Hell Is Not The Issue by Truth Simplified

Unless otherwise noted, all biblical quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved. "Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved." The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. "Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org) Hell Is Not the Issue: How God ultimately creates a win-win for everyone. Copyright © 2013 by Truth Simplified, LLC. All rights reserved. ISBN # 9781311851710 Truth Simplified, LLC and the author may be reached by e-mail at truthsimplified@mail.com Truth Simplified, LLC invites you to like our Facebook page where readers are welcome to post comments and discuss the book with the author. www.facebook.com/pages/Truth-Simplified-LLC/126269477549256 The author is grateful to all who post reviews of this book at their favorite online retailer.

Andrew Caleb Doughty

Hell Is Not the Issue

Dedication and Fair Use Policy As this is my first book, and since I owe not only the ideas but my ability to write to the One who gives all good gifts, this book is offered as a first-fruits offering to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As such, you are welcome to share it. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for noncommercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete, original form.

About This Book in Print Hell Is Not the Issue is a stand-alone book which has a companion manuscript, Heaven Is Not the Issue. Hell Is Not the Issue was meant to be freely distributed electronically. The intention is that together, as Heaven and Hell Are Not the Issue, both books will be put into paper form as a book for public sale. Expect Heaven and Hell Are Not the Issue to be available in print by early 2015. Heaven Is Not the Issue continues where Hell Is Not the Issue leaves off as the author continues to ponder fresh ideas and deal with misinformation about Heaven, particularly the concept that Heaven will be a place where all will be equal. If in Hell Is Not the Issue God creates a win-win, then in Heaven Is Not the Issue we’ll see that some wins are much bigger than others. The book concludes with the answer to the question, “What then is the issue?”

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Hell Is Not the Issue

Outline Introduction ................................................................................................... 4 Section One: Could We All Be Wrong About Hell?.................................................... 7 Chapter One: Satan’s Greatest Fear .............................................................. 7 Chapter Two: How Do We Know What We Know About Hell? ..................... 13 Section Two: The Character of God ........................................................................... 18 Chapter Three: What God Says Must Agree With Who God Is ..................... 18 Chapter Four: God the Father ........................................................................ 32 Section Three: The Fate of the Unrighteous.............................................................. 37 Chapter Five: The Reality of Hell .................................................................... 37 Chapter Six: Predestination and Election ...................................................... 45 Chapter Seven: Roles and Responsibilities .................................................... 57 Section Four: The Great Escape ................................................................................. 64 Chapter Eight: Proof of an Escape from Hell ................................................. 64 Jesus Preaches to the Spirits ................................................................... 65 The Least and the Greatest ..................................................................... 67 The Unpardonable Sin ............................................................................. 71 Dogs Outside the City .............................................................................. 74 I Will Go to Him, But He Will Not Return to Me ...................................... 76 The Inclusiveness of “All” ........................................................................ 78 Chapter Nine: The Kindness of Hell ............................................................... 82 Chapter Ten: The Smoking Gun ..................................................................... 93 Section Five: Everybody Wins! (Sort of) .................................................................... 102 Chapter Eleven: Limits of Glory ..................................................................... 102 Chapter Twelve: Perfect Love Doesn’t Put Second Best on the Table .......... 106 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 112 Appendix A: Answers to Questions Arising From This Book .......................... 116 Appendix B: Basic Views of Heaven and Hell ................................................. 126 Appendix C: A Brief Timeline of End Time Events.......................................... 128 Bibliography ................................................................................................... 129

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Hell Is Not the Issue

Introduction Is God really good? For centuries people have agonized over whether or not they or their loved ones would be found in Heaven one day, or if they would be forced to go to an eternal state of damnation apart from the goodness of God. Many theologians have tackled the issue and yet the confusion and arguing over the afterlife rages on. Does a good God really send people to Hell? And if he does, does he really allow them to suffer there forever…and ever…and ever? That doesn’t sound like a good God to many. But on the other hand, does a good God not punish a Hitler or a Stalin or the guy who steals from little old ladies, leaving them destitute, while living the high life? Surely God doesn’t just let the rascals of earth go unpunished. And what of the people in remote villages that have never heard about God, or Jesus, whose ancestors long, long ago decided that such information was not worth handing down to the generations that followed them? Are they really doomed to spend eternity in torment? Surely a good God doesn’t do that, does he? Intrinsically, we know that for God to be God then He must be good. We see the beauty of the world around us, even in its fallen and cursed condition, and we are forced to come to the conclusion that whoever made this is pretty spectacular. In fact, I would go so far as to say that most people, in Western cultures at least, recognize God to be good, loving, and generous. But then we hear the words of the Bible: “If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

(Rev. 20:15) “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.” (Mat. 7:13) “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” (Mat 25:46)

When we read these and other similar verses it makes many say to themselves, “How can God be good, but send people to Hell to suffer for all of eternity?” This concern is made worse when we discover that God pre-destines us, or chose those who would accept His Son. Even though we understand that we have free will, the connection between a good God and one who chooses people to spend an eternity of suffering in Hell is difficult to come to terms with.

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Clark H. Pinnock says what I believe many of us are thinking but don’t want to go on record as saying. How can one reconcile this doctrine [of Hell] with the revelation of God in Jesus Christ? Is he not a God of boundless mercy? How then can we project a deity of such cruelty and vindictiveness? Torturing people without end is not the sort of thing the “Abba” Father of Jesus would do. Would God who tells us to love our enemies be intending to wreak vengeance on his enemies for all eternity? (Four Views on Hell p. 140)

The question of whether God is really good or not is, in my opinion, the proverbial elephant in the room. Only, the room for this elephant is the entire universe. Until anyone comes to the conclusion that God is truly good they cannot give themselves completely to him. Every act of devotion will be with reservations of some kind. And as far as I’m concerned, that’s a perfectly acceptable approach to take. There are some who are able to blindly give themselves to God to be used as an instrument in his service. But I would argue that anyone who can do that without knowing first that God is good, could probably also do the same thing for a cult leader who would have that person sign over his life savings and drink the poisoned beverages as well. God claims to want a relationship with us, but relationships are built on trust. Trust comes from experience and knowledge, and I believe that when it comes to the afterlife, since we cannot yet experience it, we learn to trust as we see that the plan all works together for good in a logical, rational way. We were made to think. We are expected to consider our actions and to make decisions based on what we know. God claims to have made us, and thus he is the one who made us this way. I don’t believe that it is sacrilegious to question God’s goodness. Under God’s inspiration David wrote in Psalm 34:8, “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” “Taste…” “see…” these are words that we understand. God apparently wants us to experience his goodness. He expects us to put this goodness of his to the test. I have decided to take him up on this offer and to share what I’ve learned with you. I have been studying the Bible for nearly forty years. In that time I have learned a great many truths from men and women of faith who have studied for themselves and learned from others. I am eternally grateful for what I have been taught by my fellow man. However, the key teachings of this book have not come from any other human. What I am sharing in the pages of this manuscript comes from the revelation of the Holy Spirit as I have read the scriptures on my own. I do not claim that the ideas expressed here are necessarily original with me; only that I have not been able to find these ideas anywhere else. I humbly submit the information upon these pages with the utmost reverence and fear. The last thing that I wish to do is to lead anyone astray or to cause confusion. For this reason, I am being as careful and as thorough as I can to defend what I say with the words of scripture. Do not accept what

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I say until you can honestly conclude that the matter has been settled in your heart and mind. In doing so, I understand that faith must be part of the equation, but I want reason to be a major part of the equation as well. Since God expects us to think, I expect the reader to seriously consider the merits of each argument. The major ideas of this book can be summed up as follows: 1. While traditional Western theology teaches that God and Satan are enemies in a cosmic struggle between good and evil, this book suggests that perhaps Satan works for God as the enemy of mankind, not God, and that God’s plan for Satan is not as harsh as we have assumed it to be. 2. While evangelical theology teaches that God punishes mankind for rejecting His Son, Jesus, by sending them to Hell for all of eternity, this book suggests that Jesus not only offers payment for sin to those who accept it, but it considers that He might also offer pardons to those in Hell who repent, setting them free from the Lake of Fire. 3. That perhaps the purpose of Hell is to break down our resistance to God’s love and to get us to bow our knee to Jesus so that he can pardon us of our rebellion and rescue us from Hell. In this way, Hell is actually an expression of God’s kindness and love, designed to correct us so that the relationship between mankind and God can be restored. These concepts as outlined here are understandably difficult to accept, since they reach into some of our most core beliefs about God and us. Of course, I might be wrong about everything, but my research and study convinces me otherwise. I suggest that you take it slow through the chapters of this book. Most people who read the prepublished version took weeks and even months to finish it. At times, you’re likely to get very angry and frustrated with what you’re reading. Questions like, “How is it possible that I/we could have missed this?” and “Why is this information coming to light now when the Bible has been around for many hundreds of years?” I don’t have answers to these questions, all I can offer you is the truth that I have dug from the same book that many of you have been familiar with for years—the Bible. This book is the first half of a two-volume set. The companion book to this one deals with the Kingdom of Heaven and what the Bible says about the afterlife for those who have been chosen to rule and reign with Christ as spoken of by Jesus and the Apostles. The combined book will be titled: Heaven and Hell Are Not the Issue.

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Section One:

Could We All Be Wrong About Hell? Chapter One

Satan’s Greatest Fear Satan. Most people in the West try to think of him and what he does as little as possible. But our understanding of the Devil could unlock the truth about the fate of every human being who was ever conceived. By understanding Satan’s mission, I believe that we can discover his greatest fear. Once we know what Satan fears, then we can understand how Satan will be tormented in Hell. If we know how Satan is tormented in Hell we can see what God has in store for the humans who may ultimately find themselves in the same place with Satan, and it may not be at all what you expect.

Is Satan God’s equal? There are important details that we do know about God’s arch rival. According to the Bible, he is not the most-high God. In fact, he earned the reputation for becoming God’s adversary by trying to claim God’s throne for himself (“You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.”

Isaiah 14:13). Since he had to try to usurp the throne, he is a created being of God. Originally, God created him as an angel who shines as the morning star, commonly referred to as Lucifer. (“How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!” Isaiah 14:12) Lucifer’s problem was one of pride. It is pride that motivated him to rebel against

God in the first place, and it is pride that motivates him to defeat God on earth today. (“He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil.” 1 Timothy 3:6)

However, despite the fact that Satan is God’s most worthy foe, he is no match for God as even Jesus in his weakened humanity had no trouble overcoming Satan. This power over the devil is demonstrated in Matthew 4 as Satan himself tries three times to tempt Jesus after Jesus had gone without food for forty days. Thinking that Jesus may be vulnerable to give in to his humanity, Satan makes his move, but Jesus never flinched in his triumph over Satan and easily sent the devil away defeated. The fate of the devil has been predicted and his future is clearly set for us to view in the Bible. It is prophesied that he will have his heyday during the second half of the tribulation period (a seven year

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period predicted in the Book of Revelation where God allows Satan to pretty much have his way on the earth.) At the halfway point of the seven years, Antichrist (Satan’s counterfeit Messiah) exalts himself in the rebuilt Jewish Temple which ultimately leads to a great war known as the Battle of Armageddon. But that battle will be lost to Jesus and his Saints. After this loss, Satan will be bound for one thousand years and at the end of that time he will seduce the nations of earth in one final battle against God which will get nowhere. Having been completely defeated in battle, Satan will be cast into the Lake of Fire where he will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (“And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Revelation 20:10)

Is Satan Afraid of Hell? Knowing Satan’s fate has lured many to assume that the torment mentioned in Revelation 20:10 must be associated with being cast into the Lake of Fire and that Satan will be in some sort of physical anguish in Hell. However, Satan is not physical, he is a spiritual, angelic being and to assume that the Lake of Fire will be problematic for Satan is contrary to nearly every pop-culture image any of us has ever seen of Hell. Perhaps your experience has been different from mine, but I can’t remember an image of Satan in Hell where he isn’t powerful, dominant, healthy and in some sort of control. Healthy, powerful and in control is not consistent with the image of torment mentioned in Revelation 20:10. In fact, the Bible is definitive in pointing out that the Lake of Fire was created for the Devil and his angels. ( “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:41) In all of my study and observation about Satan and Hell, the only

reference to Satan in Hell that does not depict him thoroughly enjoying his stay there is the reference from Revelation 20:10. Could there be a different type of torment awaiting Satan? In common parlance, when one says that they made something “for” someone, it means that they have done something good on their behalf. In Matthew 25:41 there is a stern warning given to humans who are being sent to the eternal fire. It is a place not prepared “for” them. Instead, the Lake of Fire will be a place of great suffering for the humans who are sent there. This is evidenced by the use of the term, “cursed.” But could the Lake of Fire, in a sense, be the retirement community for the Devil and his team? After all, while Satan is God’s “enemy,” and his deeds are sinful (“The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” 1 John 3:8) he does what God wants him to do in providing an alternative to

God’s love. We understand that since Satan and some of the angels have chosen to attempt to defeat God, their fate is sealed. They have some autonomy, but not the same as what humans have in free will.

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(Actually, when you really consider it, does anybody really have “free” will since we all make choices based on the circumstances in front of us, and God claims to control circumstances?) If Satan is not exactly free to do as he pleases, but offers people an alternative to God’s love, then he appears to offer a service for God. Maybe one day Satan will be given a nice retirement package, since God will no longer require his services. Consider for a moment, that the Lake of Fire is actually a perfectly pleasant place for “Team Satan” despite its clearly unpleasant condition for humanity. If God loves Satan, then it is entirely conceivable that the Lake of Fire, prepared for the Devil and his angels is not so different from what Jesus told his disciples when He said, “‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.’” (John 14:1-3) I am proposing that when God prepares a place for anyone, that the place is good for the one who will inherit it. How could a good and loving God do otherwise? Let’s camp here for a little bit, because this is an important point. Can God hate Satan? Hate isn’t always bad, after all. When we love justice it causes us to hate injustice. When we love life, it causes us to hate that which causes unnatural or premature death. Hate can be the result of love, and God is love (“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:8, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” 1 John 4:16). God himself is quoted in Isaiah 61:8 as saying, “For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing.” Clearly God has the ability to hate since his love is so powerful. But it is one thing for God to hate something that is inanimate, and a totally different thing for God to hate a life which he creates. A God of love cannot create something to be the object of his wrath, unless that wrath is designed to cause the object some benefit. It’s easy for us to think of God hating a person because it’s easy for us in our sinfulness to hate other people. But really think about this. If God can hate a person that he creates, can it be said that such a God is love? If God can hate Satan, and not have to take ultimate responsibility for his well-being, then the only possible scenario that I can see that allows for such hatred is for Satan to have always existed as God’s cosmic counterpoint. Such would give credence to the Asian philosophy of Yin Yang. However, the Bible makes the claim that God created everything except for himself (“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” Genesis 2:2; “…and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.” Ephesians 3:9). Since God

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claims to have created Satan, he bears the responsibility to care for that which he created. The Lake of Fire cannot be a place of torture or of destruction for Satan, since if it were, God could be accused of not loving his own creation.

Does God Torment Satan? There is this issue of torment that we have yet to wrestle with. The Bible clearly states that Satan will be tormented in the Lake of Fire, but if that place was created for him and the place itself is not negatively charged against the Devil, it seems that there must be another form of torment. The torment of Satan must be consistent with a loving God who created Satan and must therefore be good to him, while at the same time not letting Satan off the hook of torment. If God is good, and I sincerely believe that He is, then is it really possible for God to torment Satan? Is it ever an act of love for one to torment another? I would suggest that it is not. But if God does not torment Satan it seems that there is nobody to torment Satan but himself. After all, any humans in Hell will be suffering tremendously and in no position to inflict torment upon the Devil. And it is precisely that Satan tortures himself which I am proposing. We know that Satan is a liar and that his problem is pride. He has deceived not only the world into doing all sorts of evil, but he has also deceived himself into thinking that he can claim victory over God and his Saints. Is Satan so delusional as to think that he can achieve ultimate victory over God? I would think that it is too much of a stretch, given the historical record between them and Satan’s deep knowledge of both the scriptures and the astronomical record (do an internet search of “mazzaroth zodiac” to see what I refer to) to think that he will one day overcome all prophesies which suggest that he will lose in the end. However, I believe that because Satan knows the scriptures so well, he understands that he does not have to win the war to have success. If he is able to snatch even one human being away from the love of God for all of eternity he will have achieved some level of victory over God. Therefore, every soul that gets cast into the Lake of Fire is potential victory for Satan, and from everything that I see of the way things have gone for millennia, Satan has a lot of victories to savor. But imagine that since pride has always been Satan’s issue, God allows Satan to have his moment of glory at the judgment when literally billions of souls of humankind are cast into Satan’s retirement home and sentenced to an eternity with the Devil by Jesus as judge. Would this not be Satan’s finest hour? God has claimed his thousands, but Satan has his ten-thousands! (compare to 1 Samuel 18:7 “…Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”) God allows Satan to appear to have snatched a major victory out of the jaws of defeat. Satan, in his comfortable surroundings then goes about the business of tormenting his minions in Hell, savoring his victories over his Creator.

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Satan’s Fear Realized But what if Jesus Christ, as King, stepped into the Lake of Fire and offered a pardon to anyone in Hell whose heart had truly repented of their rebellion against God? Millions might accept the offer and leave Hell to become indentured servants on the New Earth where they experience no sorrow, no sickness and no pain. They are set free, and while they may be no better than slaves in Heaven, their fate would be far better than anything they ever experienced on earth. Another few days go by and Jesus returns to Hell, taking even more people with him this time. Again and again he returns, each time taking anyone whose heart has turned toward Him. As Satan and Hell do their work of breaking down the pride of men and they see their need of a rescue by Jesus, the very place that verified Satan’s victory becomes less and less a place for people and more and more a place for fallen angels. The torment of Satan, watching his victory snatched away from him, begins with the first rescue. (For details of how this rescue mission to Hell would work, and how Scripture supports it, see chapter eight: “Proof of An Escape From Hell”.) Satan’s greatest fear is being realized, that despite his best efforts, Jesus is snatching away his victory. In desperation, Satan turns his attention to the dwindling numbers of human souls in Hell. He takes out his personal torment on them, making their existence in Hell even worse, ultimately having the end effect of convincing even the most hardened individuals that existence without God’s love is unbearable. Eventually, even Hitler and the most vicious men and women of all time surrender their will to Jesus Christ. They bow their knee in submission to the King of Kings, not at the judgment as most would expect, but in Hell (“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11 emphasis

added) as they come to their senses (“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.” Luke 15:17-20a). They return to Jesus in

humility and the King is pleased to accept them. (“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” Luke 15:20b)

Ultimately, the Lake of Fire has not one human being left in it, and none will ever return for they have gone to a place where there is no evil. Satan will be tormented day and night forever with thoughts that if he had used a different strategy, perhaps he could have achieved a different outcome. His torment will be completely of his own doing as God has provided him with a home that is perfectly

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suitable for him. Satan and his team will be isolated from all of humanity for the rest of eternity but all of their needs will be met and they will be comfortable, maybe even better than comfortable. In the end, with this scenario, God achieves total victory. Every one of the eternal beings he created is getting an eternity far better than they deserved or even imagined. God is able to enjoy eternity with each soul, and we are able to enjoy eternity with the One who loves us more than anyone else ever has or could in an eternal existence (â&#x20AC;&#x153;For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.â&#x20AC;? John 3:16). God wins, and mankind wins.

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Chapter Two

How Do We Know What We Know About Hell? Having considered Satan’s fate, let’s start again with the beliefs we hold about the afterlife. Is it possible that anyone can know the truth about Heaven and Hell? There are a lot of opinions out there on the subject, (see Appendix B) and the majority of people consider their opinion about the afterlife to be of significance in their life. So where is everyone getting their information about Heaven and Hell anyway? And what makes anyone think that they can claim that they know anything about what happens to us when we die? There aren’t a lot of authoritative sources on the subject, but the Bible claims to be an authority on the afterlife. My study of the Bible leads me to believe that Jesus Christ is the best source on the topic of Heaven and Hell, and that what he tells us, combined with what he revealed to his Apostles, has the information necessary to form a complete picture on the subject. This isn’t to say that other religions don’t have valid insights about the afterlife, I am merely pointing out that in my opinion Jesus is the best source on the subject. I believe this more than ever now that I see how the story of redemption works as a whole, and not just how it works for those who may be part of the “in crowd,” or the “chosen ones.”

What does Jesus Say about Heaven and Hell? Jesus Christ spent a significant amount of time and energy explaining the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven to His followers. The Gospels record many of these discussions, most of them given to us in parable form. He also told us a little about what Heaven would be like and how to get there, and what Hell was like and how to avoid it. Here is what Jesus and the Bible say directly or imply explicitly. Heaven is real—in fact it’s as real as the earth you see around you. Heaven exists right now, and many of those who have gone on ahead of us are there, awaiting our arrival. It is not physical so that we can see it or find it in space. It exists at a dimension beyond our third dimension. Hell is real, it is everlasting, and it is awful for people. It too exists in a dimension beyond our human senses that we currently experience. The final manifestation of Hell, the Lake of Fire, is currently empty of any human souls and it awaits the great Day of Judgment. We will discuss and support these details at length as we go along. The Bible also claims that God is loving, good, wise, powerful, and forgiving. He allows people to choose Hell in their rebellion. The Bible is clear that the Lake of Fire is an everlasting place and that

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those who will be cast into it are sentenced to be there for eternity. Unfortunately those who claim to be teachers of Jesus Christ’s message have not done a good job in reconciling the two opposing facts that God is love and that Hell is eternal. Let’s review and clarify this first little bit. In this book we will examine the following claims from the Bible: 1. That most people go to Hell after they die 2. That Hell is everlasting 3. The sentence upon all who are cast into the Lake of Fire is eternal 4. That God loves all who are cast into the Lake of Fire

The key to this book is to make sense of that fourth claim. How can God claim to love those that He creates, but send most of them to Hell (a place described as the “Second Death”) for all of eternity? As discussed in the previous chapter, I am proposing that the answer to this conundrum lies in the possibility that Jesus, after condemning these people to Hell as judge, returns to Hell as King to offer pardons to those who repent and submit to His authority.

Why Should We Be Concerned About Hell? So what about Hell then, you might ask. Why do we concern ourselves about it at all if we may not spend eternity there? First of all, most of God’s creation will go there, so we need to concern ourselves with it due to the sheer numbers of people who will be cast into it. Second, it is a terrible place worth avoiding, and love should compel anyone to warn those who may not be aware of its horrors if it can be avoided. Third, we have no way of knowing for sure how long anyone will spend in Hell, so since people may find themselves there for a significant period of time it is worth understanding. Finally, Jesus spoke directly about Hell and it was his intention to warn us of this place, therefore we should heed the warnings we have been given. Let’s get something clear right away. According to the Bible, Hell (the Lake of Fire) is eternal, and when Jesus judges mankind for rejecting him in this life, the sentence will be for eternity. The Bible makes no mention of anyone being cast into Hell for a short time, nor does it say that you can pay off your sin debt over time in Hell. The Bible is perfectly clear that Jesus will sentence people to Hell forever. (“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:46) Hell is not to be taken lightly! Hell, like Heaven, has been progressively revealed to us in Scripture. There are several words in the Bible that have been translated as Hell, including some that refer to the place where the “good

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people” went when they died. Much more will be explained about Hell in later chapters, but generally when I speak of Hell in this book I’m referring to the final abode of the wicked, the place where Satan and his demons will spend eternity and where God will withhold his goodness from mankind. The Hell I speak of over and over in this book is known as the Lake of Fire.

How Long and How Severe Will Hell Be? I believe that the Bible teaches there are varying degrees of suffering in Hell, with some barely suffering at all; however, the fact remains that Hell is a place where people will suffer. Some will no doubt suffer greatly. The Bible clearly says that all who will not be found written in the Book of Life will be cast into the Lake of Fire (“Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15). The Bible says that the names of those who are righteous in this life will

be found in the Book of Life. (“May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.” Psalm 69:28; “The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.” Revelation 3:5) All

others will spend some time in Hell. How long will they be there is a great question. The Bible only says that people will be sent to Hell forever and it gives no direction to the amount of time anyone will actually spend in Hell other than forever. Although the Bible claims that those in Hell are sentenced there forever, nobody will need to remain in Hell to make payment for all of the wicked, careless or evil things they’ve done. That debt has already been paid by Jesus at his crucifixion. (“For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.” Hebrews 9:15) It makes no sense for God to require us

to pay a debt that has already been paid for by his beloved Son. However, if we refuse to accept the payment made on our behalf, it only stands to reason that God would allow us to try to pay for our own debt of sin. This is, in small part, why I agree with the scripture when it says that Hell is an everlasting place. Mankind is in no position to be able to pay its sin debt. Imagine being required to pay a debt to someone but the required price is measured only in a currency from a distant galaxy and you have no way of traveling to that galaxy. At no point in eternity would you be able to pay the debt because you simply don’t have the means to attain the debt price. A similar situation exists between us and God. Only Jesus had what it took to pay our sin debt—his moral perfection—making Jesus the only one able to satisfy the payment. By rejecting that payment and attempting to pay the debt ourselves, the best we can do is spend eternity trying in vain to do what is impossible for us.

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However, since God is all-powerful and therefore can do whatever he wants to; all-knowing, so he can figure out any plan regardless of its complexity; and also merciful, gracious, loving and good; I believe that God will be pleased to send his Son, Jesus, the King of the Universe, to the Lake of Fire to offer a pardon to anyone in Hell who will accept it with humility. I believe that the masses of all ages will accept this gracious offer and they will exit the Lake of Fire with Jesus to serve Jesus and his followers for the rest of eternity. Just as in our world, anyone with authority to overrule a judge can issue a pardon to end even a death sentence. Jesus will have the authority, as king, to overrule his own decision to cast people into the Lake of Fire forever. This allows Hell to be eternal and for people to be sent to Hell for eternity, yet for God to make all things right by allowing those that he created to spend the rest of eternity in a place of bliss. I believe that the damned will spend as little time as necessary in Hell suffering varying degrees of consequence based on the deeds of their life on earth. People will need to suffer for at least a period of time in order to convince them to accept the pardon that Jesus will offer. I can’t imagine that it will take a lot of time for people to come to the conclusion that they cannot pay the debt on their own and that Hell is a place that they would want to escape. A loving God will not want anyone to stay in Hell but would rather have everyone come to repentance. (“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9)

Unfortunately, the offer made by Jesus to the captives in Hell will not be to enter the joy of the Lord as a joint-heir with Christ, but rather to serve him and his Royal Family as indentured servants in a kingdom of unimaginable happiness and glory. It will be a great offer, a generous offer, a loving offer, but in comparison with the offer available to each of us today it will be a sad consolation prize. Here are more points that we will consider in detail in the remainder of this book: 5. Jesus Christ will judge all mankind for their life’s choices 6. Only those who embrace Jesus Christ and take on his righteousness in this life will not be cast into the Lake of Fire 7. Once finished as judge, Jesus will accept his role as King of Kings 8. Jesus is eager to pardon and rescue people from Hell 9. None who are pardoned will enjoy any of the inheritance of Christ but they will enjoy an eternity of happiness, joy and peace under the righteous rule of Jesus and his followers

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I understand that you are likely to be skeptical. Even if your understanding of Hell is at a basic level, you are probably asking where such incredible claims come from. I strongly encourage you to read the rest of this book. There you will see that there are passages of the Bible in plain view that few seem to want to touch. If one is willing to venture into some of the more delicate passages of scripture and study what these passages are actually saying they would see there is great information to be gathered which sheds light on difficult concepts such as the afterlife. As one who has read the entire Bible through multiple times and studied it for well over thirty years, I have tried not to approach the Bible with the mindset of one who already knows the truth and who reads the Bible to see how it agrees with what I already know. Instead, I continue to train myself to read the Bible to see what it actually says without trying to fit each passage into my systematic theology. I am fully prepared to back up everything that I have stated in this chapter. If you are prepared to let me show you what the Bible says about the afterlife, I would be honored to help you understand it. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s begin!

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Section Two:

The Character of God Chapter Three

What God Says Must Agree With Who God Is In order for us to have a framework for where the claims of this book are headed, it is important to ground the arguments first. It will do little good to hear that Jesus will free the captives in Hell if the source of such information, the Bible, isn’t rock-solid about the character of God and Jesus. After all, if God is the one in control and Jesus is the judge who sends us to Hell, then I need to know that this same God is concerned for my well-being in ways beyond a simple, “Jesus loves me, this I know; for the Bible tells me so.” We must have assurances that the one who will sentence us to punishment will also rescue us. And that the one who saves us also rewards us. For these assurances, we must seriously consider the character of the one who is calling the shots. Regardless of what the Bible appears to say, if the Bible is the inspired Word of God then it cannot say that which is inconsistent with the character of God. You may be familiar with the statement, “Stupid is what stupid does” which was made famous by the movie, Forrest Gump. While the direct meaning does not apply to God, the concept behind this statement is valid. One cannot claim to be something and then act differently to what they claim. You are what you do. If God claims to be just, then he must act justly. If God claims to be merciful, then he must show mercy. Of course, character allows for some extenuating circumstances. A person isn’t considered stupid for one act of foolishness. However, it doesn’t take too many instances of foolish behavior to demonstrate the character of a fool. I trust that you get the idea here. What people believe about God is extremely important. What we believe about Him can be of the greatest comfort to us, or it can scare the living daylights out of us. The power to manipulate people with information about God is ripe for abuse, and I believe that it has been abused by pretty much every culture throughout history. Since the Bible claims to be the Word of God, and despite the challenges the Bible has faced over the centuries to discredit it, I believe that the Biblical record, in conjunction with the creation that we live in, gives us the best understanding of what God is like. Let’s take a detailed look at what God says about himself through the record of the Old and New Testaments. I may get a bit

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animated at times in this section because I believe that God’s character sets the limits to what God can and cannot do, and what he must do in order to maintain His credibility. GOD IS SOVEREIGN and OMNIPOTENT By sovereign I am using the definition that God is in total control. He does whatever he pleases. By omnipotent I mean that all power belongs to God. If God is omnipotent then no action can take place within the universe without God being the energy behind that action. These are massive claims. If God is indeed sovereign and almighty then he is unstoppable in any way. The world is his stage and we are his puppets. But does God actually claim to be sovereign? Does he say that all power is his alone? Psalm 135:5 and 6 says “I know that the LORD is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods. The LORD does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.” Clearly, the psalmist is attributing to God the sovereignty of his nature. Psalm 91:1 says, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” The name “Most High” is “El Elyon” in Hebrew which means “God most high”. This verse provides a nice segue from God’s sovereignty to his omnipotence as it also describes God as being almighty. In these passages a human ascribes these characteristics to God, but God also makes it abundantly clear in Job 38:1-40:1 that he ascribes these attributes to himself as well. God describes himself as being the almighty (omnipotent) one many times in the Bible. Here are several examples: Genesis 17:1; 35:11; Isaiah 51:15; Jeremiah 19:3, 15; 25:27; 29:8; 35:17; 39:16; 44:11; 46:25; Zephaniah 2:9; Revelation 1:8. Without doing an exhaustive study on these characteristics, the Bible is crystal clear that God claims to be both sovereign and omnipotent. Since God claims to be sovereign, he alone chooses what he will do, and nobody can make any decision for him. Since he is almighty, nobody can stop him from doing whatever pleases him to do. If God decides, then it either is or it will be. To quote a trite phrase, “God said it. That settles it.” Whether we believe what God says or not is inconsequential. God’s sovereignty and omnipotence make him the ultimate unstoppable force. He has both the power and the permission to do whatever pleases him. At the core of what we believe to be true about the ultimate being, or God, is this freedom and power described here. In order to really be God, the one who is God must be able do whatever he wants, and have the power to do whatever he imagines possible.

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GOD IS HOLY and JUST Contrary to what most people I know think “holy” means, (they generally think “holy” means purity or piety) it actually indicates that something is different, set apart, or even “special.” The opposite of holy is closer to “common” than it is to “evil.” But by extension, God’s holiness means that he is different from us in that he is strong while we are weak, he is right when we are wrong, he is noble when we are easily influenced, he is great when we are pathetic. Holiness always deals with difference of a better or higher kind. When thinking about the holiness of God, understand that what God means is that in all things he is better than we are. If we could do things well, He would do them “exceedingly well.” R.C. Sproul had this to say about God’s holiness: The primary meaning of holy is ‘separate.’ It comes from an ancient word that meant, ‘to cut,’ or ‘to separate.’ Perhaps even more accurate would be the phrase ‘a cut above something.’ When we find a garment or another piece of merchandise that is outstanding, that has a superior excellence, we use the expression that it is ‘a cut above the rest.’ This means that the one who is holy is uniquely holy, with no rivals or competition. When the Bible calls God holy it means primarily that God is transcendentally separate. He is so far above and beyond us that He seems almost totally foreign to us. To be holy is to be ‘other,’ to be different in a special way. The same basic meaning is used when the word holy is applied to earthly things. (R. C. Sproul, The Holiness of God (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1985), p. 54,55)

There are many verses in scripture which ascribe holiness to God. Here are just a couple: “Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you— majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” (Exodus 15:11) “There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” (1 Samuel 2:2)

The implication of holiness is that regardless of what God does, he does it better than we would do it. This is important because we often like to second-guess God and the way he has chosen to allow the events of this world play out. According to God, he is running this world much better than any of us would do if we were in charge. There’s another aspect of holiness that must also be considered. Since God is so much better than we are, he cannot tolerate our pitiful-ness. He commands those who claim to be his to “be holy as I am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2 & I Peter 1:16) This holiness demands purity. We are impure which makes us pathetic in God’s sight. He cannot look favorably upon those who are wicked or impure. (“Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.” Habakkuk 1:13a) Therefore God must do something

about our impurity and commonness in order to fellowship with us.

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God is also just. Psalm 89:14 says, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.” Justice seeks to make everything correct. It means that somehow everything has to balance in the end. Nothing can go unpaid; all must be harmonized. The picture of the scales is the perfect illustration of justice. In the end what’s on one side must perfectly match the other side so that the scale points to zero. God is a great bookkeeper. He doesn’t miss a thing. Everything we do in this life is put on the scales of justice. Many people feel that in order to satisfy God’s justice they need to do more good deeds in this life than bad ones and that some actions “weigh” more on either side than others do. The problem with that line of thinking is that we don’t understand what God is weighing on the scale. One side of this scale represents God’s righteousness; the other side represents our righteousness. All it takes to tip the scale off zero is one act of unrighteousness. In Matthew 5:20 Jesus said, “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” This is really bad news for us since the scribes and Pharisees made it their life’s mission to obey the law to the letter. Humanity has reason to fear the justice of God. God must punish sin; he has no option but to deal with the imbalance. On the other hand, I find great peace and comfort in the justice of God. Because even though things don’t look good for us based on God’s scale, his character is deeper and more multifaceted than his relationship to mankind alone. God’s justice means that God must do something about the curse upon the earth and the animals; he must deal with the angels as well. Since God is sovereign over all things, he must make all things balance in the end. His justice goes way beyond his dealings with you and me. Genesis 18:25b asks, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Somehow, God will. We can expect that he will not allow injustice of any kind anywhere. This is very significant as it relates to you and me and the destiny of Hell. A righteous judge cannot allow you to suffer in torment more than you deserve. If Hell is meant to correct us then it cannot be everlasting for us, otherwise it would leave us with no benefit from having been corrected. That would be unjust. The whole purpose of correcting someone is to be able to restore them to society to prove that they have been corrected. Even if Hell is meant to be punitive instead of corrective, it cannot be everlasting since the argument could be made that there is no crime great enough to deserve everlasting punishment. Some would argue with me on this point, but that’s okay. Think about what I’ve said for a while here. If we deserve eternal punishment (and in order to receive such from a just God we must deserve it), what could possibly be the crime that would warrant such an outcome? Mass murder? Serial rape? Rejecting

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the gift of God’s Son? Perhaps we underestimate eternity. You may disagree with me here on the details, but I feel pretty confident that a just God cannot punish you more than you deserve. I don’t expect this matter to be settled for you at this point, so an entire chapter is dedicated to this idea. GOD IS MERCIFUL and LOVING This is where things get good. The definition of mercy is that God exhibits active compassion or kindness upon those who offend him. Is God merciful? Psalm 116:5 says, “The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion.” Psalm 62:11,12a says, “God has spoken once, Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God. Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy.” (NKJV) I would be happy to debate anyone at any time that you can find mercy in the everlasting punishment of mankind in Hell. Everlasting punishment with no chance of reprieve is the exact opposite of mercy by definition! Why does a person scream, whine or whimper when someone hurts them? Some would answer that they do it so that somebody else would come to their rescue, and that would be a good answer. Why then does a person scream when hurt by an oppressor when they know for certain that there is nobody else to appeal to for help? They do this because they are appealing to the attribute of mercy within the oppressor. When a person no longer wants to fight, they beg for mercy. Some would say that God’s justice is stronger than his mercy. That might be so, but if God is merciful, he cannot ignore the cry of surrender from those who have offended him. If a man or woman surrenders to God, God’s mercy must respond. Consider Micah 7:18, “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.” There is not a single example that I know of in the entire Bible where a person humbled himself and God did not respond in mercy—not one! This is consistent with what Jesus himself said in Matthew 32:12, “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” As I see it, there are only two possible scenarios where God’s mercy would not allow for a person to be released from Hell. The first is that God’s justice overrides his mercy. This includes the argument that since God gives everyone an opportunity to repent in this life that he is justified to sentence them to an eternity in Hell. The second is that it is not possible for a person to repent (express remorse, humble himself, stop fighting against God) in Hell. Naturally, we will deal with each of these scenarios.

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GOD’S LOVE TRUMPS GOD’S JUSTICE The way that we will handle scenario one of why God would not allow a person to escape Hell, is to have a look at the fact that God is love. Even if God’s justice were to trump God’s mercy, if God’s love trumps his justice, then love would come to the rescue of mercy. Love is a difficult concept to define, but over the years I’ve come to the conclusion that love is the conscious decision to put the needs and desires of someone else ahead of your own. Love is sacrifice in action. If God is committed to punish someone for disobeying his commands, but I am committed to being set free from my torment, then guess which one wins if God is love? If God’s desire is to make an example of me for my wandering heart, but my desire is to try again to do better the next time, then which desire wins if God is love? If you’ve ever experienced true love (as opposed to lust or need for security, etc.) then you understand that love delights to make the other person happy. Happiness is a result of positive happenings. When something we like happens, we are made temporarily happy. The bad part of happiness is how fleeting it is. Yet love’s desire is to provide an endless stream of happenings that cause the object of our affection to be in a state of happiness. If God is love, then he delights in making us happy. I know this to be true by experience. God delights in making me happy, and I delight I telling him how happy he makes me feel. Sadly, my love for him is not so strong that I regularly go out of my way to please him, but he regularly goes out of his way to please me. (This does not infer that God desires to make us monetarily rich or comfortable or to satisfy our selfish desires.) God’s love attribute causes him to be proactive rather than reactive in his dealing with mankind. He actively seeks ways to delight us rather than always waiting for us to ask him for something. Since his love is proactive, I have no doubt that God has already devised a way to please us when it comes to the issue of Hell. A loving God would not allow himself to be caught off guard as to how to handle the sticky situation that he must, for justice sake, sentence the mass of humanity to the most unloving place of all time. A loving God would have already considered that this same mass of humanity must be permitted to experience the joys of the most wonderful place of all. We get a sense of the same as God speaks about his everlasting love: This is what the LORD says: “The people who survive the sword will find favor in the desert; I will come to give rest to Israel.” The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful.” (Jeremiah 31:2-4)

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In this situation God was promising to restore Israel even before he punished her. Surely if God would do that for Israel, he would consider doing the same for the rest of his creation in the afterlife. Perhaps nobody captures the spirit of God’s love attribute more succinctly than John the Apostle when he wrote, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:8) We know from 1 Corinthians 13 that love is greater to God than even faith or hope, even though God said that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). In fact, if the man on the street was asked to name one attribute of God, it is most likely that “God is love” is the first response that would come out of his mouth. Love may be the characteristic of God that is closest to the core of his essence, but we’ll save that debate for later. Needless to say, very few people would argue that God’s justice trumps God’s love. If God’s love trumps his justice, then mercy will always kick in when a person humbles himself. You can take that one to the bank. While I’d like to move on to the next point, I must take a detour here and discuss the tension between God’s justice and his mercy. In Ezekiel 18 God goes out of his way to help us understand Himself as being both merciful and just. Take a look at what God says about himself by examining Ezekiel 18. It’s a long passage, but every part of it is important. “Suppose there is a righteous man who does what is just and right. He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor's wife or lie with a woman during her period. He does not oppress anyone, but returns what he took in pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. He does not lend at usury or take excessive interest. He withholds his hand from doing wrong and judges fairly between man and man. He follows my decrees and faithfully keeps my laws. That man is righteous; he will surely live, declares the Sovereign LORD. “Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things (though the father has done none of them): “He eats at the mountain shrines. He defiles his neighbor's wife. He oppresses the poor and needy. He commits robbery.

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He does not return what he took in pledge. He looks to the idols. He does detestable things. He lends at usury and takes excessive interest. Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he will surely be put to death and his blood will be on his own head. “But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things: “He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel. He does not defile his neighbor's wife. He does not oppress anyone or require a pledge for a loan. He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. He withholds his hand from sin and takes no usury or excessive interest. He keeps my laws and follows my decrees. He will not die for his father's sin; he will surely live. But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people. “Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him. “But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live. Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? “But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die. “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear, O house of Israel: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin, he will die for it; because of the sin he has committed he will die. But if a wicked man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life. Because he considers all the offenses he has committed and turns away from them, he will surely live; he will not die. Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are my ways unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust? “Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live! (emphasis added)

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Ezekiel 33:11 says similar and contains perhaps an even clearer statement, “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.” Here in Ezekiel 18 and 33 is the heart of God on display. His justice does not allow sin to go unpunished unless the person humbles himself and repents! But if the person repents, the individual is transferred from the death column to the life column. How can this same God not have a similar approach to people in the Lake of Fire? The only explanation left to me that makes sense is that once cast into Hell, man is not able to repent. GOD IS FAITHFUL and TRUE A merciful, loving God is wonderful, but let me tell you, he gets better and better! Let’s look at what it means for God to be faithful and true. God is faithful, which means that he always keeps his promises. He will never go back on his word. He doesn’t lie. But faithfulness is more than that. It means that what he starts, he will finish. It means that he won’t allow anything to stand between what he plans to do and actually carrying through with his plans. Deuteronomy 7:9 “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.” Lamentations 3:22,23 “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” 2 Timothy 2:11-13 “Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” If God is faithful then we can be assured that he will not allow his love for us to wane. Just as a faithful husband or wife remains committed to the one he/she married, God’s faithfulness to us means that he will not simply cast us aside. We, his created beings, are his workmanship. He does not abandon his creation. Like a faithful husband, he will fight to protect us and to keep us from ruin. He is concerned for our security. God is also true. Being true is a powerful compliment to being faithful for where faithful is steadfast, true is genuine. While faithful is protective, true is unwavering. To be true is to have no counterfeits, no errors. More than that, true is loyal, precise, legitimate, and sure. You can count on true because true can’t be anything but what it is. Another way of looking at this attribute is to say that God is immutable, which means that he never changes. I prefer true to immutable because people get

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flustered when God appears to change his mind in the biblical record. True is immutable without the rigidity. If God is true, then he will never steer us wrong or lead us astray. Like the good shepherd who leads his sheep to green pastures and beside still waters (Psalm 23) the true God is eager to keep us safe from harm on the “straight and narrow way.” Revelation 3:7b “ These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.” John 17:3 “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Revelation 19:11 “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war.” GOD IS ETERNAL and OMNISCIENT Here is what the Bible says about God’s attributes of eternity and omniscience. “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” (Psalm 90:2) “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8) “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” (Isaiah 40:28) O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. (Psalm 139:1-6)

It is not difficult to define eternal. Even a child can comprehend that to be eternal means that you have no beginning and no ending. But to understand what it is like to be eternal is something that we can barely even begin to explore. Since God created time, he necessarily operates outside of it. Therefore, yesterday and tomorrow are equal for him to understand. Because time is central to how we operate as created beings, we cannot understand how eternality functions. But since God is eternal, the only uncaused cause of the universe, we know that he has options available to him that we don’t know or understand. He can plan things with the ending as clear as the beginning. This fits hand-in-hand with God’s omniscience. God knows everything, and he has always known it. Nothing you do today catches God by surprise. He has always known it. In fact, if you consider the truest meaning of omniscience you will begin to understand that God doesn’t just know everything that has ever happened or will ever happen. He knows every option available for every choice ever to be

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made and he knows the full implications of each option for all of time. God doesn’t just know everything, he knows infinitely more than everything! Now, since God is both eternal and all-knowing, how could God create something and then wish that he had done a better job of creating it? God cannot wish for anything since he knew before he created what his creation would be like. Even his decision to destroy the world with a flood, due to the wickedness of the people on the earth, was not the result of a mistake. His omniscience necessitates that he designed us to be the way we are; that he designed us to live the life we live; that he designed us to experience what we experience. That’s serious business. We have never done anything that God didn’t already know that we would do, but he created us anyway. We have never been injured but that God already knew how much we would suffer. We have made every choice in our lives with God’s full awareness of that choice for all of eternity. If that is the case, and God knows everything, then why do we have such different experiences in life? Why do some have such pleasant lives, while others have such difficult ones? Why does it seem that things are so unbalanced in this world? The answer can only be that things are the way they are because God designed them to be this way. He must have a perfectly good reason for allowing our world to operate as it does. And if he can allow things to appear as imbalanced as they are here, then with his infinite knowledge and his ability to see the end as easily as the beginning of things, he should have no trouble making what seems imbalanced balanced in the end. God has all of eternity to make things work out so that he is pleased with what he has done. GOD IS RIGHTEOUS and UNFATHOMABLE God claims that everything that he does is right. Consider that for a moment—God claims that everything that he does is right. When a volcano erupts and buries a town, God is right. When a mighty earthquake levels entire regions, God is right. We simply do not understand this. It doesn’t appear to be right when natural disasters affect us. But since God is all-powerful, even when he is not directly responsible for the act, God lends his power to the one who does the act. How can God be all-powerful and sovereign while at the same time righteous in a messed up world like this one? Let’s first make sure that God claims to be righteous. “Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true.” (Psalm 119:142) [ascribed to God] “Declare what is to be, present it— let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me.” (Isaiah 45:21) [claimed by God] Righteousness and justice are almost the same attributes. The subtle difference lies in the fact that justice is concerned with being legally right, while righteousness is concerned with being morally

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right. Maybe that’s a distinction you think is too close to call, but it works for me. If God is righteous he must take the moral high ground on all matters. He can’t just hide behind his own laws, since he is the one who gets to be the law maker. God’s righteousness demands that all of God’s laws must be good and loving and considerate. God is also unfathomable, Job 36:26 says, “How great is God—beyond our understanding! The number of his years is past finding out.” [ascribed to God] And Isaiah 55:9 states, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” [claimed by God] We simply are not able to comprehend him or how he works. Put these two attributes of God together and you have someone who is able to imagine things that are beyond our comprehension, and everything that he does is for the right reason and will be judged by all to be right in the end. Reader, if that doesn’t comfort you, you need to read it again and again until it does. Finally… GOD IS IMPARTIAL and UNLIMITED IN CREATIVE POTENTIAL Since the Bible claims that God is impartial (Deuteronomy 10:17; Job 34:18,19; Acts 10:34,35; Romans 2:11; Galatians 2:6; Ephesians 6:9) then all of his creation must be given the opportunity to experience God’s blessings. How can God claim to be impartial while allowing some people to live for more than 100 years, and not allowing others to escape their mother’s womb? How can some be born with profound cerebral palsy while others live extremely healthy lives? The answer is in the fact that there is more to our existence than what we experience in this mortal life. It certainly appears that God has favorites when we look at life on this earth, but God claims that he doesn’t. Each man will be judged according to his works (“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.” Revelation 20:12,13) If God is who he claims to be, then there must be more to this

story of our existence than meets the eye. We know for certain that from our perspective, God has acted partially here on earth. He selected the descendants of Abraham to be a chosen line of blessed individuals which would lead to the throne of David and Jesus himself. He acted partially between Ishmael and Isaac, choosing to bless the younger son of the wedded mother over the older son of the unwed mother. He was partial in revealing himself and his plan of salvation to the children of Israel and allowing the Gentiles to flounder in their wickedness for many centuries. Since God claims to be impartial, then we can take comfort in the knowledge that he has reconciliation in his plans of the future—he simply must.

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God is also unlimited in his ability to create. A person who believes that God created the universe just has to look at the amazing variety of plants and animals on our planet to see that God is very, very creative. And yet, as I Corinthians 2:9 says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” This is a great hope for us for the future as so many people wrongly think that Heaven will be dull and boring. But his creativity isn’t limited to ways to make our existence more interesting. I am firmly convinced that God’s unlimited creativity allows him to come up with plans and concepts that have before and will again make our jaws drop in awe. In fact, I believe that God’s creativity will come into play in a significant way as it relates to an escape from Hell in the future. GOD LIMITS HIMSELF FOR OUR BENEFIT We think that God can do whatever he wants to do, and to some extent this is true. But God has limited himself for our benefit and for his own glory so that there are now things that God cannot do. (For example the Bible clearly tells us that God cannot lie. (“God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” Numbers

23:19; “God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.” Hebrews 6:18)) Since God has limited

himself for us, he has bound himself to act according to not only his words, but also his character. God’s words cannot fundamentally contradict God’s character. To do so would be to discredit God at the core. If God exists and he has chosen to reveal himself to us as the Bible claims he has, then his revelation must be consistent not only in the accuracy of the message, but also in the congruency with his character. I cannot stress this point enough. God and his message must match up! Having said all this, there are times when an action must be taken that appears to be out of character due to the necessity of another character quality. For example, a person who is “peaceful” and “loving” might have to fight with a person who he witnesses abusing the rights of another individual who is unable to defend himself. The love that he has for the abused causes him to set aside his characteristic of peace for a moment. This is not considered to be a breach of the peaceful nature of the individual, even though it does put people on notice that peace is not to be assumed in all cases. I bring this up because even though God claims to be a certain way and we can expect him to be consistent in his character, there are necessarily times when God has to give way to one character quality in order to uphold a character quality that is even closer to the heart of God’s nature. The question is which character quality of God is so central to the essence of God’s existence that he would never allow himself to act counter to it? To discover which character quality is closest to God’s heart we must look at

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the Biblical narrative and see if there were ever times when God’s attributes came into conflict with each other, and which ones prevailed when they did. The most significant scenario of the Bible where God’s attributes are tested is in the life and death of Jesus Christ. Since John 1:1, 14 (“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”) makes it clear that Jesus was/is God

then we can see that God was willing to sacrifice his omniscience (Matthew 24:36), his omnipotence (Luke 4:1), his immutability (Philippians 2:7), his omnipresence (John 11:32), and other attributes which we have not even mentioned. When it came to his own trial, Jesus clearly sacrificed justice since he was innocent and was mistreated in a kangaroo court. While none of these attributes were completely surrendered by God in any way, it does show us that some attributes are more important to God than others. Perhaps someone who is a much better Bible scholar than I can write a book on this subject in detail someday. Having concluded that justice is not core to God’s attributes, I would suggest that the attribute of God that is at the core is his GOODNESS. Over and over again in the Bible we see these words, “The LORD is good, for his love endures forever.” Because God loves us so much, he can only act toward us in a way that is good. The ultimate question that we started with in the introduction to this book is the ultimate conclusion that God wants us to come to. “But,” you protest, “if God is good, how can he permit so much suffering, sorrow and wickedness in this world?” That’s a great question; I hope that you will continue to read on and see how God works all things together for good.

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Chapter Four

God, the Father This book that you hold deals with very weighty issues—particularly the issue of Hell. If we are to truly understand how we are going to be treated in the afterlife, we would do well to understand how God wants us to think of himself. I discussed at length in the last chapter that God has told us what he is like by giving us descriptions of himself through his attributes. These attributes cannot be forgotten at any time during the entire discussion of this book. At the same time, we must never forget that God’s preferred word picture for himself is that of a loving father and that Jesus gives us a powerful story which tells us what that father is like. How God chooses to describe himself is extremely important. As an author, I have the freedom to choose the words that I use. That’s a tremendous advantage. It’s wonderful to be able to say what I want to say using the exact wording that I wish to express it. God, through the Holy Spirit claims to be the author of the scriptures. (“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16) Therefore, as the author, God was able to choose the word

pictures that he felt would convey the message he was trying to express most vividly and accurately. God describes himself in many, many ways throughout the Bible. There are dozens of names of God which give us clues as to what he is like. But without question, the preferred imagery that God uses to describe himself is that of a father, especially in the New Testament. I’m not saying that this is a poor choice. Like I said before, the author gets to choose his word pictures. But choosing to be a father puts God in what appears to be some very unnecessarily dangerous territory. After all, we all know fathers. A healthy percentage of the world’s population is fathers. Not a lot of fathers are all that great in that role. In fact, fathers are among the most hated people on earth. Can you, the reader, not name somebody you know who despises the man that brought them into this world? I think we all know someone like that. And yet, after careful consideration, God’s preferred image of himself to us is as a father. Obviously, God had very good reasons to choose this association. While we might not have each had a father that we admire as we wished we could, we have all seen enough fathers and understand their role enough to know whether or not a man is performing well in that role. For example, a good father provides for his family. We would expect then that God is offering that he wants to be our

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provider. A good father protects his family from harm and abuse. I assume that God wants to do the same for us. A good father also “husbands” his wife and children by cultivating relationships with them and overseeing the growth and maturity of those in his care similar to what a farmer would do for his crops. I strongly believe that God also wants to “husband” us as well. These are the things that a good father does. Perhaps the most famous word picture in scripture of God as a father is found in the parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15. Here we see a wealthy man who gives his foolish, selfish son half of all his wealth even though he likely had good reason to believe that the son was not about to invest that wealth wisely. In fact, we see that the son wasted the money living wildly. Curiously, at about the same time that the money ran out, a famine hit the land. Nobody was willing to repay the son with the generosity he had showered on them, but instead the son had to find his own pitiful way to survive. When the boy comes to his senses and humbles himself, he returns to his father who was eagerly awaiting his return. The father showers the son with love in many different forms and restores his son to the family. This story was told by Jesus, who knew the Father intimately and who was best able to communicate the message of the Father to the people. Let’s get right down to the brass tacks then. It is likely that the most difficult concept to grasp for most people who have read the first part of this book is that of God providing an escape from the Lake of Fire. The Bible clearly says (and it will be discussed at length later on) that Hell is real and that it is everlasting. There is no direct mention of any escape from Hell in scripture. How then can God condemn people to an eternity in Hell and somehow end up delivering all men and women of all time to a never-ending life of peace, pleasure and joy? The answer is to be found in the father’s heart. If you are a loving parent you should have no trouble understanding what I am about to share with you. You will see that if God describes himself as a loving father, and if that means what we think it means (provider, protector and gardener) then we can see how God could condemn, but then provide. Consider another parable of Jesus. This parable is found in Luke 16, the chapter following the parable of the prodigal son. In this story we see a rich man who lived a luxurious life contrasted with a poor servant. Both men died and went to the abode of the dead. The Greek word “Hades” is translated “Hell” in most versions of the Bible even though this story makes it clear that both the righteous and unrighteous can be found in this place. (The part where the righteous were comforted was called Abraham’s Bosom.) What’s important in this story isn’t the fact that the rich man was in agony or that the poor man was comforted. The dialogue and outcome of the story are not even that important for the moment. What is crucial here are two critically important facts: the rich man was conscious and

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aware of his condition, and the rich man was able to make decisions and requests. These facts are unmistakable in the dialogue as the rich man, upon seeing his former servant in comfort says, “‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’” He also pleads, “‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’” Now I don’t know for sure that the situation of the rich man in Hades is an accurate description of what conditions will be like in the Lake of Fire, but I have never heard anyone argue that those who will be cast into the Lake of Fire are unaware of their condition or that they could not make decisions or requests. Therefore, I must offer this qualifier that if conditions in the Lake of Fire are not similar to what Jesus described for the rich man in Hell in Luke 16, then God will have to work a different plan than what I am proposing. However, I feel confident based on the many things that Jesus said about Hell that conditions for the unrighteous in Hades (the place of the “first death”) will be somewhat similar, at least in the ways that matter here, to the Lake of Fire (the place of the “second death”). If God is a loving father, the direct creator of all mankind, and a loving, faithful and merciful God, then consider what would happen in this scenario: Imagine that the great judgment of humanity has just taken place. The books have been opened and those whose names were read from the Lamb’s Book of Life have been separated from the rest of humanity. Millions upon millions of people have just been cast into a place far more horrific than any Nazi concentration camp. It’s a place that God designed to keep the Devil and his team of demons occupied for eternity so that they could never again cause the suffering and sorrow foisted upon men for millennia. The people who have been cast into this place immediately see what fate awaits them for all of eternity. Within seconds, cries of pain, sorrow and suffering are heard coming from this pit. In addition to the reaction to the conditions, you hear cries for help…desperate cries for help. Then you hear people repent. They realize that they need a savior and they are truly sorry for their sin and their rejection of Jesus Christ. Suddenly, God looks at you and asks, “What do you think a good father would do?” Now consider a slightly different scenario. Imagine that you were listed in the Lamb’s Book of Life and you are safe, but you have just witnessed your own son or daughter being cast into the Lake of Fire. As you witness this horrific scene, you can pick out the sound of your own child among the voices screaming from Hell. Your child is screaming in pain at first, but then the screams change to cries for help. You hear your child screaming for anyone to rescue him, and then you hear those words…”I’m sorry! I’m truly sorry!” Of course, you’re not God, but imagine if God turned to you at that moment and

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asked, “What would you do if you were me?” Can you sincerely imagine that the God who calls himself a loving father would respond with, “I wish that there was something that I could do, but I’m powerless to stop this. They’re just going to have to suffer like this for the next 999 billion years or so.” If God is a loving father who provides, protects, and husbands, then there is no way that he, being all-powerful and all-knowing and infinitely creative can’t find a way to do what a loving father would do. A loving father is going to do whatever it takes to rescue his son or daughter from the flames. No loving father is going to listen to their son or daughter scream and plead in Hell for all of eternity and turn a deaf ear to it. That just isn’t going to happen! If you can picture these scenarios as I have just described them and you are still convinced in your heart that God will punish all of the billions of people in Hell forever and ever and ever while you rest comfortably in Heaven, then may God have pity on your soul because I’m not sure which god you think you know. I have very specifically withheld the true identity of the One who oversees this horrible scene. You see, most people think that at the Great White Throne Judgment (where all mankind will stand before God to be judged) God the Father is the one who judges mankind and sentences them to the second death which is the Lake of Fire. But that would not be accurate. Many people think of God the Father as being the stern, tough one, while Jesus is the loving, nurturing person of the Godhead. Jesus, the sin-bearer is meek, humble and kind. Jesus was willing to go to the cross and die taking your sins and mine upon himself. He’s the good guy. Jesus is the one who satisfies the wrath of an angry God, and the Father is the wrathful God himself. If Jesus was the judge then maybe things would be different, but that can’t be because gentle Jesus would never be so cruel as to send people to Hell for eternity, right? I hate to break it to you, but that isn’t what the Bible says. This is what the Bible says: We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him [Jesus] by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. (Acts 10:39-43) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (II Corinthians 5:10) This will take place on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares. (Romans 2:16) In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: (II Timothy 4:1) (emphasis added in all four cases)

I invite you now to ask yourself, if Jesus was sitting near the edge of the pit of Hell and he could hear people cry out for help in repentance (as he may be), would Jesus say, “It’s really too bad that I

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can’t do anything about your suffering but you’re getting what you deserve. Get used to it. You’re going to be there for a long, long time.” Again, I’m sorry but I just cannot accept that this is what Jesus would do. Jesus was not only willing to die on the cross for our sins, but among the last things he said before he died on the cross was, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) Jesus forgives. Jesus saves. We have considered what God is like and we know that since God is sovereign and omnipotent there is never a situation where God finds himself unable to act. Also, since God is omniscient He would never get himself into a situation where He wouldn’t be able to do something about our eternal fate in Hell. Because God is unlimited in creativity, even if it appeared that God had painted himself into a corner God could find a creative solution to any problem, and He would have found this solution an eternity ago. Furthermore, God claims to be a good, loving father who delights in his children and Jesus, whose very name means “savior” is the judge who will oversee the punishment of the wicked as they are cast into the Lake of Fire. Surely, despite what the Bible appears to say about how millions upon millions of people are going to be locked up in Hell for all of eternity, a creative way to rescue them must be on the table. We must consider that God allows people to experience Hell long enough to get them to the place where they truly are sorry for what they’ve done and then offers a creative solution to this dilemma. If all we had to work with was the character and nature of God and his son, Jesus Christ, I believe that there is enough evidence there to convince mankind that God will not allow the masses of humanity on the broad road that leads to destruction to spend eternity in Hell if they repent. God’s word cannot contradict his character. There must be more to the story that isn’t written in the text. Then again, maybe more is written in the text than we thought.

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Section Three:

The Fate of the Unrighteous Chapter Five

The Reality of Hell Make no mistake, when Jesus spoke of a place called Hell, he wasn’t joking. Nor was he unconcerned that people would go there. Three times in Mark chapter nine Jesus said that it was better for a person to lose a key part of the body (hand, eye, foot) and enter into life than to be cast into Hell. None of us would consider cutting our hand or foot off, or plucking an eye out as being something worth considering under any circumstance, yet Jesus cautioned that in comparison to being cast into Hell, you would do well to lose a limb. Keep in mind that Jesus said it was better to lose a hand or an eye than to even be cast into Hell, that is to say nothing about how much better it would be to give up an eye or hand to avoid spending any serious time in Hell. Some will no doubt consider that I am “soft on Hell” since I sincerely believe that humanity will ultimately escape this dreadful place. I accept that I am softer on Hell than those who would say that any who reject God’s gift of grace through Jesus Christ will burn in the Lake of Fire for their entire future. The issue, however, is not whether I am soft compared to these people, but whether I am soft compared with Jesus, who ultimately will be the one who determines how long anyone spends in Hell. I am not lobbying for better treatment of God’s enemies. Their fate has long ago been determined. I only seek to uncover the truth that God reveals to us in his Word, the Bible. I wouldn’t want to spend a moment in Hell, not even to see what it’s like. I don’t enjoy horror movies, and to my way of thinking Hell will make the most terrifying horror movie seem like an episode of The Care BearsTM. We simply cannot imagine how awful a world without God’s love would be. I believe that the Bible is clear that some go to Hell condemned to suffer more than others due to their choices in this life. (“…The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.” Revelation 20:12,13; Luke 12:42-48) I also, therefore, believe that God will shelter those who are not found in the Lamb’s Book of Life due to choices that are not their own (such as those who die in the womb or are aborted) from the full realities of Hell. However, it will not be a pleasant place for anyone.

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Even if Hell is your experience for a short time, I would pity you for that time. No human will go to Hell and enjoy their time there. It will be absolutely dreadful. Having no certainty how long Hell will last for you makes going there an even worse scenario. I expect that Hell will last for you as long as God has determined it will last for you. Hell will last at least as long as it takes for a person to truly repent and humble himself. Therefore, it may last longer for some people than others. I like to think that Jesus will only have to enter Hell one time to offer an escape, but again, this is only wishful hope. I don’t know how Jesus will provide a pardon from Hell, I’m only convinced that he will provide the opportunity for an escape. One of the greatest concerns with the writing of this book is that some people will read what I say and come away minimizing Hell’s reality. If a person thinks that Hell isn’t going to be such a bad place, and that since everyone will eventually be rescued they should try to get the most out of life down here as they see fit, then they have completely missed the point of this book. This isn’t a book about the “casual-ness” of eternity or about how you can have it all now and still get a great deal from God after you die. If you die without confessing that Jesus Christ is your master and you are his servant then you will someday experience a reality of raw misery. Hell will break you. That’s what Hell is designed to do to humans. The most hardened, rebellious souls may not be broken by the time that Jesus comes to offer others a pardon. But make no mistake, Hell will break them. Consider this parable from Matthew 21.

The Parable of the Tenants “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to

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a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” Notice how Jesus ends this parable, “Anyone who falls on this stone [Jesus] will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” What Jesus is saying here is that if a person submits to God in this life, he will be broken, or he will have to voluntarily give up his life (his will, his sinful desires) to God. This is option number one. This is the recommended option, because option number two is that the person who does not allow himself to be broken by God will be crushed by God. Hell is where God crushes us to the point of breaking. Nobody is going to want the second option. I don’t know how bad Hell will be for anyone or for how long it will last for anyone but I am very confident that if your name is not found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life at the Great White Throne Judgment, then you will be crushed to the point (and possibly well beyond the point) of breaking in Hell. God is not soft on Hell. But God has a soft spot for you. Some people reading this book may conclude that I do not believe that Hell is everlasting. They may think that since I suggest that people will at some point escape Hell that this makes it something other than what the Bible says it is. But I agree that Hell (the Lake of Fire) is everlasting, and I agree that billions of people will go there. It is a place where God will punish people for their sinful acts (because they rejected Jesus’ offer of payment for their sins). And even though I believe the Bible hints that all mankind will be freed from the place, I believe that Hell will continue on forever as the home of Satan and the fallen angels. It is interesting, though, that when Jesus and others speak about people and Hell, that the language used makes it clear that the place is everlasting, but that the duration of time served in Hell may not last forever. In reading the Bible, I noticed that the language used makes a few things crystal clear about Hell: First, Satan and the demons will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. They will never escape. Second, the sentence pronounced by Jesus the judge will be for eternity. Nobody will be sentenced to less than eternity in Hell. Third, when it comes to the language used to describe the time that people will serve in Hell, there is a lot of flexibility. Let’s have a look at how the issue of Hell and people’s sentence there is handled in scripture. Keep in mind that I fully believe that Hell is everlasting and that the sentence that Jesus gives is for eternity. We are looking for the answer to the question, “Does the Bible say that mankind will suffer without end in Hell?” All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the

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Hell Is Not the Issue

gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power. (1 Thessalonians 1:5-9 emphasis added) In this passage it is clear that God will punish those people who were persecuting the saints with “everlasting destruction.” Does that make it crystal clear that they will never escape such destruction, or does it mean that the destruction that punishes them is everlasting? Although it would be a logical conclusion that one who is punished with everlasting destruction is never freed from such punishment, that conclusion is not necessarily the case. This word use does not exclude a rescue or pardon. A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name." (Revelation 14:9-11 emphasis added) Here we are told that anyone taking the Mark of the Beast will be afflicted with burning sulphur and the smoke from their torment will ascend forever. Again, one would naturally conclude that if their smoke rises forever then they must be burning forever. But again, I would suggest that an infinitely creative God could arrange for smoke to ascend forever even if the burning stopped long ago. I’m not denying the logical conclusion, I’m only saying that if God wanted to emphasize that these people would burn he could have just come right out and said it. To further emphasize this point, consider Isaiah 34:9,10. Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch, her dust into burning sulfur; her land will become blazing pitch! It will not be quenched night or day; its smoke will rise forever. From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever pass through it again. (emphasis added) Here we have very similar language of smoke ascending from the burning sulfur forever, but Edom is not burning today. If we are to assume that the meaning of Revelation 14 means that people are burning forever, then we should expect Edom to still be smoldering. Therefore, smoke can rise forever long after the burning stops. Here is another passage that deals with the time-frame of human suffering in Hell: The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

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Hell Is Not the Issue

Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. (Matthew 25:40-46 emphasis added) Those who do not love God by caring for the poor will be sent to eternal punishment, while the righteous are sent to eternal life. Clearly, from these verses we see that the sentence and the “jail” are everlasting, but why doesn’t it say, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment where they will be punished without end, forever”? I would suggest it is because there is something else that God knows that he doesn’t want to come right out and tell us, but that he is hinting at that might be there. It doesn’t make sense for a judge to tell the accused before the trial that his sentence will not have much clout. Hell exists for good reasons to God, and he does not want to minimize it unnecessarily. Based on these three passages, it seems clear that Hell is an everlasting place and that the destiny of the wicked is connected to an eternal place as similarly as the destiny of the righteous is connected to an eternal place. I cannot deny that. Hell will be the fate of all who reject Jesus Christ; they deserve nothing more. God does not owe his creation anything. But God, who is rich in mercy and grace desires to save us. Here is a passage that refers specifically to those who embrace Jesus Christ in this life, but it’s worth looking at. Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus. God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

Andrew Caleb Doughty

Hell Is Not the Issue

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:1-10 NLT)

Notice that over and over again, God points out that the only reason why any of us are saved is because God acts through grace. It is emphasized that there was nothing that we could have done to earn this salvation. The Elect were as dead as everyone else. Ephesians 2:12 says that we were “without hope” but God made a glorious plan through Jesus Christ. God wants to rescue us and God does not have favorites. Romans 2:9-11 says “There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.” If there is nothing that we can do to earn our salvation, and God chooses those who will be part of his Royal Family, how can God claim to not show favoritism? (We discuss the issue of predestination and election in another chapter.) Certainly, if God creates some to be celebrated forever as masterpieces in Heaven, but discards others forever away from his presence in Hell then there has been an issue of favoritism. I see no other way to explain this. We, his creation, have a fundamental understanding of fairness, and this does not compute! However, if God chose us based on his foreknowledge of how much we would desire to be in his presence, and everyone got what they wanted, there would not be an issue with fairness, especially if even those who did not desire God still got a blessed eternity. Now, let’s deal with the eternal Hell issue head-on. I believe that God is a master communicator. The Bible is an amazing piece of literature as well as a source of information unmatched in the history of the world. Since men were inspired by God to write what was written, (apologies granted to those who translate the text into other languages) the text should say what God wants to say in the way that God wants to say it. Specifically, while the implication from the texts I’ve quoted earlier makes a clear connection between eternal suffering and those who are not righteous, the text is not as crystal-clear as it could be. For example, if God wanted to settle the matter once and for all that unrepentant mankind would spend all of eternity in Hell, I would expect that he would write something like this: “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10) Is there any doubt in anyone’s mind that Satan, the Beast, and the False Prophet will spend all of eternity in Hell? Of course not. The text is clear. On the other hand, when it comes to man, you see over and over that man will be sent “into everlasting destruction,” and “eternal punishment.” Since Hell is an everlasting place as horrible as described throughout the Bible, it is fair to say that anyone who is cast

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into the Lake of Fire is cast into a place of eternal punishment, or a place of everlasting destruction. We can say that because at least the Devil, the Beast and the False Prophet will be tormented forever in that place. And barring a rescue, all who enter that pit will never escape. Imagine having a judge sentence you to life in prison with no chance of parole. Your sentence is to go to jail and to remain there for the rest of your life (In reality, we all know that the justice system doesn’t always mean what it says. Please work with me here.) In this circumstance you would be convinced that you were going to spend the rest of your days in prison. The one with the authority to put you there (the judge) has proclaimed it. It is a truthful saying. But just because you were sentenced to spend the rest of your life there, and because you actually went there, and because you actually spent time there doesn’t mean that you will never escape there. Although you cannot expect to be set free, if the Governor, or a politician who has the authority to overrule the judge, grants you a pardon, you will be set free from jail. That’s what I’ve been saying. No pardon will ever be granted to the Devil, the Beast and the False Prophet, but as long as the King can overrule the Judge, there is a possibility of a pardon being issued to anyone in that prison. I am convinced that the Lake of Fire is real, that it is awful and that it will be a place of torment forever and ever. The Bible is perfectly clear that this place was designed by God to deal with Satan and the fallen angels, but that men and women will be cast into it as well. There seems to be no ambiguity about the fact Satan and the demons will never escape the lake of Fire or that the sentence pronounced upon people who are cast into it is everlasting. However, I see nothing in scripture that conclusively details that men and women will never escape Hell. God could have made this perfectly clear as he does regarding Satan, but he does not. The question must be asked, “Why not?” Finally, I started this chapter quoting Jesus telling his disciples that it would be better to lose an eye or a limb than to be cast into Hell. Here is the text from Mark 9: If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— where ‘Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.’ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— where ‘Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.’ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire— where ‘Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.’ “For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. (Mark 9:43-49 NKJV)

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Hell Is Not the Issue

This passage is intended to emphasize the seriousness of Hell, but at the same time, it shows me that while Hell will indeed be awful, it will not be as awful as it could be. Consider with me that Jesus says that it would be better for you to enter Heaven (life) maimed, lame, or missing an eye than to be cast into Hell. But if Hell is never-ending suffering for eternity the language that Jesus uses is surprisingly mild. If Hell is as bad as we think it’s going to be, it would have been completely appropriate for Jesus to say that it would be better for one to enter life with third degree burns covering eighty percent of his body and boils covering the other twenty percent, while dealing with a severe case of migraine headaches and kidney stones than to be cast into Hell. In other words, there is no amount of suffering that anyone could endure in this life that would compare to being cast into Hell if Hell is inescapable. But Jesus concludes his lesson by telling his disciples that everyone will be “seasoned” with fire. Seasoning is something we use to make food taste better. If an individual is being seasoned by fire, then it would indicate that fire is being used to make the individual better somehow. The idea of seasoning in fire is completely incompatible with a never-ending, inescapable Hell. Of course, by now you also noticed in the Mark 9 text that while there is considerable talk about people being cast into Hell, all of the language used leaves the door wide open to an escape. Sure, the worms never die there, and the flames are never quenched there and people are “cast into” such a dreadful place, but does it say that men and women will never escape there? No, the place is everlasting, but the torment for mankind is not. Hell is meant to break you. Later in the book we will see in detail that a terrible Hell is actually a very good thing for everyone who is sentenced there. But before we get to that point we need to consider the role that God has in our eternal destiny.

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Hell Is Not the Issue

Chapter Six

Predestination and Election To fully appreciate what I am about to say, I would urge you to read Romans chapter 8 and chapter 9. Since you’ve barely started this chapter anyway, why not go ahead and get a Bible out and read these two chapters. If you just finished reading the chapters I asked you to read, you now have the point of reference for this difficult problem we have with God concerning predestination and election. I will be referring to this text at length in this chapter. Predestination can be described as the word breaks down; “pre” (before) plus “destination” (where you have chosen to go). It’s knowing where you’re going ahead of time, but even stronger than that. Predestination is the concept that God decides, before you have the opportunity to choose, where you will eventually end up. Since He knows everything, He knows what you will choose to do in your life. Whether He chooses us based on our future choice or whether we choose Him because he chose us to choose Him is a matter for theologians to debate. We do know that 1 John 4:19 says that we love Him because he first loved us. However, this does not conclusively decide the matter. Election is a similar concept, but with a slightly different angle to it. Just as when you go to the polls and select the person or people that you wish to have as your leaders in a general election, God selects those who He wants to have as his adopted children. These adopted children are sometimes called “the Elect” and they are also the ones who we are told will one day rule and reign with Jesus Christ and will share the inheritance that God will give to Jesus. Life in the future is good for the Elect. Romans 8 makes that very clear. In this chapter alone, we see the following statements made to the Elect: 1. You will never be and cannot ever be condemned. vv.1, 34 [They will not be sentenced to spend time in Hell] 2. You have the power through the Holy Spirit to be free from the power of sin. vv. 2, 12 [They can defeat Satan] 3. Life and peace can be yours in this life. v.6 4. You will live even though your body will die. vv.10, 11 5. You have been made right with God. vv.10, 30

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6. You can call God the Father, “Daddy.” v.15 7. You are an heir of God’s glory. vv.16, 30 8. You will be free from death and decay. v.21 9. You will be given special rights as God’s children. v.23 10. You will be given a new body. v.23 11. You have help in prayer from the Holy Spirit. v.26 12. Everything will work out for good for you. v.28 13. You have protection from being separated from God’s love. vv.31-39

Yes, the Elect have it made (except for that suffering part that cannot be missed in chapter eight.) The problem is that not everyone is part of the Elect. Not everyone is predestined to spend eternity with God as his adopted children with all of the benefits of such election. In fact, it is made clear in other passages that only a small fraction of the general population will be included in this family relationship. It is only fair, then, to consider the plight of the “non-elect” those predestined not to spend eternity with God as his children. The combination of predestination and election makes for a potent cocktail. It means that God knows what we’re going to do, and how we are going to choose, and since God is all-powerful, he has the power to affect these decisions we make. However, God also chooses the ones he wants to be part of his family. He adopts only the ones he chooses to adopt. In fact, in I Corinthians 2:10-16 the Apostle Paul points out that those who are not the elect cannot even understand spiritual truths, but that the Holy Spirit of God is required to understand even the message of salvation. John 14:17 says that the world (or non-elect) cannot accept the Holy Spirit. In Romans chapter nine, we see the concern that Paul has for those he loves who are not part of this blessed group. He is filled with grief and sorrow for them. He points out that the people he loves, those of the nation of Israel, should and could have been the ones who were part of the elect, but he concedes that not all who are part of the “family” (Israel) by birth are part of this family of God. In verse six, Paul begins to ask some tough questions. “Has God failed to fulfill his promise?” The answer is no, and a detailed explanation is given, complete with clarity about the fact that God chooses people without giving consideration to whether they are doers of good or bad. In verse fourteen the Apostle lobs the big question, “Is God unfair?” Paul emphatically says that God is not unfair and that it is within his right to show mercy and compassion to whomever He pleases. He goes on to say that we have no say in the matter by our

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choices or our actions. Then a very interesting example is set forward. Paul quotes God as saying that He used Pharaoh to spread the fame of God throughout the earth and that God chose to harden the heart of Pharaoh. No apology is made for this, even though the implied understanding is that God manipulated Pharaoh and in hardening his heart also damned him. Can a God who claims to be loving and just damn a man when God claims to have hardened his heart? The answer can only be, no! A fair God may use unconventional tactics, but he cannot make somebody perform a certain way and then punish him eternally for doing so. That just isn’t fair. “Why does God blame people for not responding?” is the next question, followed up with, “Haven’t they simply done what He makes them do?” The answer to these questions is not nearly as satisfying as the answer to the other questions we’ve just considered. Paul tells the reader that we have no right to ask that question since we are the creation and God is the creator. The creator can do whatever pleases him. Although this answer seems unsatisfactory to us, the words that follow are critically important.

Vessels Unto Honor and Dishonor A potter makes articles out of clay, and it is the decision of the potter alone as to what kind of pottery the potter will make. The clear inference by what is said in Romans 9:20, 21 is that we, as humanity, are all clay and that God is the potter. Depending on his decision alone, some articles are made for decorative purposes, and others are used to throw trash into. Nobody wants to be made into a garbage can, but the potter has use for garbage cans, just as he has a purpose for decorative vases. Having garbage cans pleases the potter, having decorative vases pleases the potter too, but the pleasure is much different. There is an issue here with favoritism, but as we considered in the last chapter, God does not show favoritism so there must be an element to our free will involved in this selection process. In the discussion of the potter and the different ways in which the creator makes what he creates, we have this frequently overlooked verse—Romans 9:22. The New Living Translation says it like this, “In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction.” I am not able to determine from this verse alone what the patience of God means here, but I can conclude that it is a very good thing for those who are destined for destruction. The Greek word used here for patience (makrothumia) is also translated “long-suffering.” We can gather some hypotheses from this verse within the context. The first is that those upon whom his anger falls and those destined for destruction are the same people. We know that those destined for destruction are those who will be cast into the Lake of Fire. (We know this because there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)) If there is

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patience and long-suffering for those who will be cast into the Lake of Fire, then we must consider that this patience relates to the people’s existence after they are cast into Hell. Otherwise, this passage does not make sense. But how could God have patience and/or long-suffering for those he has condemned to spend eternity in torment? For those who believe that Hell is inescapable, there can be no patience or long-suffering extended to those who are in Hell. There is no reason for patience or long-suffering toward Satan since his fate is sealed. Why would there be a mention of patience or long-suffering for the non-elect if their fate is eternally sealed as well? And yet, here we have it in black and white that God will show patience to those upon whom his anger falls, those who are condemned to everlasting judgment in Hell. A further explanation of this text is that God may allow for some to be made into garbage cans so that those who end up being made into beautiful pottery will be able to see the stark contrast and have all the more reason to be grateful for what God has chosen to make of them. In this discussion about the elect and the non-elect, Paul goes on to point out that God will love those that He did not love before (Rom 9:25), quoting from Hosea. Reference is made to the reality that God brought the Gentiles into the same standing before Himself as the Jews, and in stating that, Paul quotes Hosea again by saying that those who are not God’s people will be called the children of God in the very place that they were once told that they were not God’s people (Rom 9:26). This section does not conclusively make a claim that God intends to bring the Christ-rejecters of earth into His heavenly realm, but it does make us wonder what the connection is between those made into garbage cans and the inclusion of the Gentiles into the fold of God’s grace. While inconclusive, I have yet to hear a good explanation for what this means other than that those far from God in Hell will be loved again by God in the New Earth. The passage culminates in the question, “What does this all mean?” The Gentiles weren’t looking to be made right with God, but God made them right anyway. That’s very significant. We’ll see from Ephesians that this was a great mystery. Others, it says, stumbled over the great rock (Jesus) that should have been their means of being made right because they were intent on doing things the old way. Chapter nine ends and we don’t have a clear explanation of what Paul is talking about as he refers to the patience of God for the damned, nor do we fully understand what he means by referring to us as pottery pieces, some of which are beautiful and others that are merely functional. Fortunately for us, Romans 9 is not the only place where these issues are addressed. Another commonly overlooked verse of scripture is 2 Timothy 2:20. In the verse before it, we see that Paul is referencing the elect again as he says, “The LORD knows those who are his.” This

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commonly overlooked verse (v. 20) has never been explained to me in all of my years of Bible study or in the hundreds and hundreds of sermons I have heard preached. Here is what it says, “In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use.” (NLT) This passage has distinct similarities to the object lesson of the potter and his pottery from Romans 9, and it is used in similar context. We know from the Romans 9 “potter lesson” that God chooses to make some of his creation into beautiful vases and others into garbage cans, and that He alone decides which will be which. There is a clear analogy between the pottery used for throwing garbage into with those who were made for destruction in Romans 9. But here we find both articles, the expensive ones and the cheap ones in the same place. They are found in a wealthy home. There is no mention of the cheap items being destroyed, instead, we see both items being used, but they are used for very different purposes. The next verse, 2 Timothy 2:21, helps shed some light on the meaning of verse 20, “If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.” The explanation is that the pure, which are the Elect, will be the special utensils, and the inference is that the Non-Elect are the cheap utensils. However, it is essential that we see that both sets of tools are found in the wealthy home and used for work. I call this the “vessels of honor and dishonor” argument borrowing from the King James Version of the 2 Timothy verse. The concept, if I have not made it plain already, is that God makes no excuses for making some of his creation for common purposes but others for special purposes. He is pleased to have all sorts of utensils in his house, just as we have many “common” utensils in our homes, but a few special ones as well. We delight in displaying the special ones to our friends. The image of the good potter is ruined if we are led to believe that the potter makes some of his products fatally flawed and cast away. A beautiful part of the imagery of the potter is that if the creation that a potter makes does not come out exactly as he wants it to, he simply has to add a little more water and start the process over again. Pottery is one of the only professions I know where waste (at the creation stage, at least) is completely optional. How else can these pictures of gold and silver utensils and vessels of honor be considered, as they are juxtaposed with common, cheap utensils, except to consider that the great house is Heaven, or at least the New Earth, and that there are two distinct classes of people there? Since this understanding makes so much sense, how can we consider the cheap, common utensils to be in any way associated

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with the Elect? To insinuate that the “garbage cans” of Heaven will be those for whom God hand-picked makes no sense whatsoever. Romans 8 and 9 goes to great pains to ensure that the Elect are blessed and it is those who are not part of the Elect that we need to feel sorry for.

Together Under the Authority of Christ In the book of Ephesians, which is a book which goes into great detail about the Elect, we see the unfolding of the mystery of God’s great plan. Let’s take a look at Ephesians 1:9-11: “God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.” Without a doubt, this is a section of scripture explaining details about the relationship between the Elect and Christ. If we read between the lines just a bit, we’ll see that the plan for the Non-Elect appears to be found here as well. Verse 10 is the key to this passage. I love the wording of this verse in the New Living Translation: “And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ— everything in heaven and on earth.” God’s mysterious plan is to one day bring all things together under Jesus’ authority. It can’t be assumed that the unbelievers will be in Heaven one day simply because all things will be brought under Christ’s authority, but the compelling part of the argument is that it says that all things will be brought under Christ’s authority and that they will be brought together. It cannot be denied that if all things are to be brought together under Christ, this could and should include both the saved and the damned. In fact, I would suggest that to say that the damned will not be included in “all things” requires some proving of its own. How can God make the claim that all things will be brought together under Christ if a huge portion of his creation and an entire category of that creation (the NonElect) is not included in such a statement? The inclusion of “all things” is consistent with the prophesy made in the last half of Psalm 22, where all will turn to the Lord. The poor will eat and be satisfied. All who seek the LORD will praise him. Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy. The whole earth will acknowledge the LORD and return to him. All the families of the nations will bow down before him. For royal power belongs to the LORD. He rules all the nations. (Psalm 22:26-28)

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Hell Is Not the Issue

It is interesting that not everything will be brought together at some specific, known point in history. God could have had Paul say that the plan was to bring all things under the authority of Christ at the last trumpet, or at the judgment, or any other date already set. The fact that the term “at the right time” is used leads one to believe that it is likely that this date is unique or that it isn’t a singular date at all. There is a different date that has been set in God’s plan to bring everything together. This date could coincide with another date, but the absence of such a mention leads me to believe that this is not likely the case. I would propose that this date is a special day that comes relatively shortly after the establishment of the New Heaven and New Earth, or it could be that there is no specific date and that people are pardoned from Hell as they repent individually.

Ruling in the World to Come Further explanation of God’s plan to bring everything together under Christ from Ephesians 1:10 is explained in verses 19-22: I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.

Let’s consider what is being said here by breaking this passage down into four parts. First, Paul prays that we would understand the greatness of God’s power. (“I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him.”) This power is not understood by merely a

casual glance. This is a mystery which can only be understood as revealed by the Holy Spirit. (“The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” 1 Cor. 2:14) Since Paul goes on to

say clearly that the interpretation of this mystery for his time was the inclusion of the Gentiles into the promise of God to Abraham, the discernment appears to be the understanding of the meaning of such power as it applies in the future. The Second part is that the power referred to here is the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. (“This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.”) This is important because it connects the gathering of all things

under Christ’s authority in the future with the resurrection after his death on the cross in the past. A power that is sufficient to raise a man from the dead is a power beyond anything that man has access to on his own. This power also refers to authority since it links the appointment of Jesus to the place of

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honor at God’s right hand. Therefore, by the power of the resurrection and the authority of God himself, all things are going to be brought together for someone else’s benefit. Thirdly, we notice that Jesus Christ will not only be the ruler of this world, but also of the world to come. (“Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.”) This is the crucial point of this discussion which we will elaborate further.

The fourth part is that Christ has been put in authority over all things for the benefit of the Church, or we could say, for the Elect since the terms are interchangeable. (“God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.”)(I prefer to use the

term “Elect” over “Church” because there is so much confusion about what the Church is. Many people mistake the Church as an organization or corporation such as the Roman Catholic Church or the Church of Latter Day Saints.) So while Jesus is given great authority, an all things are brought under his control, it has the purpose of benefiting the Elect. As mentioned earlier, Paul explains that the mystery being revealed in Ephesians is that the Gentiles were now being brought into a relationship with Christ that previously had been reserved for the Jews alone. (“Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.” Ephesians 2:12-14) This in

itself was enough of a revelation to the people of Jesus’ day to be sufficient in its explanation. However, if this was the only mystery being revealed in Ephesians, I would suggest that there is no reason for Paul to write this in verses 16 to 18 of Ephesians 1. …I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

It is clear to me that Paul wanted to let us in on an even greater application of God’s glorious plan so that the Elect, could be made aware of how great their inheritance will actually be. This is not to minimize the wonder of God’s grace in extending the plan of salvation to the Gentile world. We can be eternally grateful for such a wonderful gift. But now that we have received such a great gift in the offer of salvation, let’s consider the even greater gift as found in this mysterious revelation of Ephesians.

The Rule of Christ Christ will rule this world (Eph 1:21). Yet, as of the writing of this book, Christ has not ruled this earth. This may sound blasphemous to some, but the Bible asserts that Satan is currently the ruler of

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this world. (“In which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” Ephesians 2:2) We know that Christ will

one day rule the earth as a fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel. Jesus Christ will rule the earth from Jerusalem for a period of one thousand years following the period of tribulation mentioned in great detail in the book of Revelation. (“I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” Rev. 20:4) During the time of Christ’s

reign on the earth, we understand that the “ruled” will be those who survive the great tribulation (We understand this from the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 25:31-46—since the unrighteous dead have not yet been raised, and all of the righteous have been caught up with Christ to rule with him.) Those being ruled will be people who are just like you and I in bodies like we have now. Israel will finally be the most powerful nation on earth and the other nations will pay tribute to Israel for one thousand years. During this period, the Elect (including both Jews and Gentiles) will rule this earth with Christ. (“Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.” Rev 20:6)

Christ and the Royal Family will also reign over the New Earth, described as the “world to come.” (Ephesians 1:21 above) But what will that reign look like? A logical conclusion could be that Christ and the Royal Family will reign in the world to come over the people of the world to come. Although we are told that the Elect will one day judge the angels (“Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!” I Corinthians 6:3) to reward them or to punish them, and

that what Christ rules the Elect will also rule, we understand that there is a fundamental difference between what it means to rule angels and to rule people. Angels no longer appear to be in the habit of making moral choices. People make choices. Even in the New Earth it would be assumed that people will make choices. It’s just that with the enemies of our sinful flesh and the world renewed without sin or the curse, and with Satan imprisoned, there will be no evil choices to make. Besides, Jesus already rules over the angels, and always has, (we see this demonstration of his power repeatedly in the books of Matthew and Mark as Jesus cast demons out of people) yet we don’t consider this world, where many angels currently exist, to be ruled by Christ yet. It is only when the people of the world will be ruled by Christ that we will consider this world to be ruled by Christ. This is consistent with the fact that when God created Adam that God gave him dominion over the earth (“Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Genesis 1:26). By extension, we

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can presume that it will be that when the people of the New Earth are ruled by Christ that the New Earth will be said to be ruled by Christ. We’ve discussed who the people of the Millennial Kingdom will be. But who will be ruled by Christ and the Elect in the New Earth? Although the answer I get from biblical scholars is always, “the Church will be the people of Heaven,” it doesn’t make sense to say that the rulers will be the ruled. The Church (also known as the Bride of Christ, the Righteous, and the Elect) is repeatedly mentioned as being with Jesus as he rules and reigns, and as being part of the ruling process. (“He does not take his eyes off the righteous; he enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever.” Job 36:7; “Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.” Rev. 20:6) If the Elect rule with Christ, and the Elect are

also ruled by Christ, there must by necessity be some of the Elect who only get ruled and have nobody to rule over. I can’t envision a time-share rule in the Kingdom since a time-share does not fit the illustration given in the Parable of the Talents (Matt. 25). Furthermore, Revelation 20: 4 and 6 say that the righteous ones who rule with Christ for the 1000 years indeed rule with him; they are not ruled by him. At the point in history when Christ and the Church rule for 1000 years, I expect (and in the New Earth I am sure) that the Elect of God will finally be one with Christ as Jesus prayed that we would be in his high-priestly prayer of John 17. The Elect are in Christ (“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Cor. 5:17) and therefore cannot be ruled by Christ. The only

logical explanation for who the people of the New Earth will be, and who will be ruled there, are the Non-Elect. (If the Righteous rule the Righteous then there must be an ever deeper mystery related to different status in the afterlife for the Righteous. This topic is explored in the companion book, Heaven is Not the Issue.) The Elect will reign with Christ, and we know that God put Jesus over all things in this world to come for the benefit of the Church. (Ephesians 1:22) The meaning of why Paul says that Christ rules for the benefit of the Church has little to do with the fact that the Gentiles have been brought into the same condition as the Jews concerning salvation. I would suggest that there is something much bigger being revealed here. In the context of Ephesians 1, I am convinced that the benefit of the Church is that they will rule in righteousness over the unrighteous, first in the Millennial Kingdom, which is part of this age, and also in the New Earth, which is the age to come. Having non-elect people to rule is a major benefit to being part of the Elect. We don’t know much about what we’ll be doing on the New Earth, but it would seem ludicrous to think that it would be better to be ruled than to be a ruler in the new order. Having a group of people who will serve you

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completely, for eternity, gives the Elect the opportunity to accomplish things that we couldn’t even begin to imagine if we had to serve Christ directly in all things. The Elect will have the ability, through the servant class, to be able to serve Christ while enjoying the presence of Jesus and the other saints in more pleasant activities. (The matter of the Elect and the extent of their leadership in the future is covered in detail in Heaven Is Not the Issue.)

Bowing the knee to Jesus Finally, consider the progressive revelation of the fact that one day all people will bow the knee to Jesus Christ as revealed in these three passages: Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, “In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.” All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. (Isaiah 23:22-24) You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: “As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.” (Romans 14:10,11) Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)

It is clear from these verses that every created man and woman will bow to Jesus Christ at some point. If you don’t like that idea, then you will have to be broken or crushed first before you do. For those of us who have already bowed our knee to Christ, these are very pleasant verses. In this act of servitude to God, we will not only bow our knee, but we will confess to God the Father that Jesus is our Lord—our master and ruler. If most of mankind is to be sent eternally to Hell with no chance of escape, there is no need for a confession that Jesus is Lord. One would do well to consider how a good God could punish anyone who confesses that Jesus is Lord. Why would that one need to be eternally punished? Yet every single soul will indeed make such a confession. Furthermore, notice that those making the confession are not just on the earth, it also includes those who are “under” the earth, which would implicate the dead, who we understand have sealed their fate already. If everyone will bow their knee to Jesus and confess that he is their master, then does it not make sense that such an action would take place by people who have repented (either on earth or in Hell)? And doesn’t it compute that these people would be free after such a confession to live free from eternal punishment? That’s how I understand it.

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In my training, I was led to believe that those who do not bow the knee to Jesus in this life will do so at the great Day of Judgment. However, when I consider the fate of men and women who stand before a judge in our court systems of this world, I am not so sure that people will bow the knee at such a Judgment. My experience of those who stand before a judge today is that they tend to be polite, and even humble most of the time as coached by their attorneys to gain favor from the judge and perhaps a lighter sentence. But it is also my experience that criminals who have full knowledge that they deserve no mercy show little remorse or humilty God knows those who love him, and he knew that information long before time began. He chose those who would accept him and would want to serve him. Therefore, God bears much of the responsibility for the actions of those who reject him in this life. A good God would not create anything knowing full well that he would spend eternity destroying it. As a good potter, by simply giving us life, we are getting more than we deserved. By giving us life in eternity rather than suffering, regardless of whether that eternal life is as a ruler or a servant is a good deal. Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s predestination and election do not work to our disadvantage, they actually work to our advantage. There is even more to the idea which we eluded to earlier that God chooses people. In the next chapter weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll consider what the implications are of the fact that only God has the ability to draw us into a relationship with himself.

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Chapter Seven

Roles and Responsibilities We’ve seen in the previous chapter that God chooses through predestination and election. Therefore, it would not seem fair for God to create a person and choose for him an eternity of suffering in Hell. Since God has such a significant role in the destination of his creation, we could argue that we are excusable for living pathetic lives since it was God’s responsibility to control our circumstances. If all that we have is God’s sovereignty, foreknowledge and omnipotence to consider, then as the creation of God, we can claim victimhood and justly neglect any responsibility we have for our lives as well as the afterlife. If God is good, then it would seem that He has to give everyone the freedom to choose for themselves how they will live and where they will end up. If people are not free to determine their own life path, then any punishment they receive without free will is not just. We might not ultimately have free will as we think of it. We aren’t truly autonomous if God orchestrates the circumstances of our lives. For example, I cannot choose to be born anywhere but where I was born, nor can I choose my birth parents. These critical options were chosen for me—perhaps by chance, but if the Bible is true, these circumstances were ordained by God. I can choose to be healthy by eating well, exercising, and so on, but I cannot control the length of my own life. Yet we recognize that the choices that we make each day are of our own doing. We do not feel coerced into most of the choices we make. Our options may be limited for us (for example, I cannot attend Princeton University if I apply and they reject my application, or if I cannot afford the tuition, or if I am locked behind bars in prison) but those limitations do not generally cause us to feel that our free will is compromised. It is universally understood that each member of mankind has a will, even though some are better at expressing their own will than others are. When talking to others on this subject I like to share that my position on the matter is that we have the illusion of free will. Our will is not at all free since every choice or decision we make has been either pre-determined for us or the options have been so limited that the outcome was never really in doubt. However, to us, at the time, the choice seemed completely within our power and we feel responsible for the choices that we make. Whether real or illusory, the important takeaway here is that we end up with a sense of responsibility for our actions.

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God is responsible to reveal to us that He is sovereign and that He ultimately controls our choices, even if He does so in ways that we do not fully understand. However, He does not reveal Himself to everyone equally, and a thorough read of the Bible confirms this repeatedly. As the authority, God controls and is responsible to dictate to each of us how “in control” He actually is. But coming to grips with why God reveals Himself more to some than others when, to our way of thinking, power must assert itself is something of a mystery. Have we all not experienced the lives of people who seem to be oblivious to the concept that their lives belong to a sovereign God and that life ought to be about discovering the purpose for which we were created? How can such people exist and God maintain His sovereignty? Our free will may not be as free as we think. Can a sovereign God actually limit the choices we make within our free will to control the course of history? Can God influence us or prevent us from being influenced to make certain choices that we might not make if we had more freedom? These challenging questions lead us to consider whether a God who claims to be both sovereign and good accepts the responsibilities for affecting our free will. If what we think of as free will is not truly free, but only feels free to us, then we have to ask whether God is willing to own up to the responsibility to take care of us, for we are much more pathetic than we realize. What if God somehow limits our free will as it relates to the afterlife? If God in any way prevents a man or woman from being his adopted son or daughter, then it would behoove him to compensate that individual in some extraordinary way. After all, if one can be denied the option of being found written in the Book of Life then hasn’t that one been denied the greatest opportunity of our human existence? A good God must make compensation for such in order to remain true. Yet it is God who makes the point of telling us through the scriptures that there are limits on what an individual can choose, and it is precisely in the area of selection of the Elect that God makes such limitations. One of the most important books I’ve ever read is Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby and Claude King. It is a wonderful explanation of how we can know God by our own experience and to understand how He is communicating with us all the time. In this book, Henry explains the positive nature of the role that God plays in drawing us to himself as He pursues us in a love relationship. He says: God always takes the initiative in this love relationship. God must take the initiative and come to us if we are to experience Him. This is the witness of the entire Bible. He came to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. In love He fellowshipped with them, and they with Him. He came to Noah, Abraham, Moses and the prophets. God took the initiative for each person in the Old Testament to experience Him in a personal fellowship of love. This is true of the New Testament as well. Jesus came to the disciples, and chose them to be with Him and experience His love. He came to Paul on

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the Damascus Road. In our natural human state, we do not seek God on our own initiative. “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10-12). Sin has affected us so deeply that no one seeks after God on his own initiative. Therefore, if we are to have any relationship with Him or His Son, God will have to take the initiative. This is exactly what He does. God draws us to Himself. The Scriptures testify to the drawing activity of God: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him...everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me...Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.’ (John 6:44, 45, 65) The Lord has appeared to me of old saying; “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” (Jer. 31:3) I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love, and I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. (Hos. 11:4) The love that God focuses on your life is an everlasting love. Because of that love, He has drawn you to Himself. He has drawn you with cords of love when you were not His friend, when you were His enemy. He gave His own Son to die for you. To firmly anchor the experiencing of God and knowing His will, you must be absolutely convinced of God’s love for you. (Experiencing God, Blackaby & King, Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994. pp 54, 55)

Blackaby is speaking to an audience that is already on the inside of God’s plan, therefore there is no real controversy as the readers of his book are happy to know that God has drawn them to Himself. It’s not controversial for him to speak to believers about how God takes such initiative. However, the audience for this book you’re reading is not all insiders, and I would expect that there is plenty of controversy within this readership about the role that God plays in our relationship with Him and our responsibilities in relation to these roles. The Bible says, and it is Jesus who makes the statement, that nobody can come to Christ unless the Father draws him. Paul later elaborates, quoting from Isaiah, by saying that there isn’t a single person who seeks after God. The indisputably clear message that Blackaby is pointing out in Experiencing God is that men and women, who were born with a sin nature, are incapable of initiating a relationship with God. Incapable. We simply cannot do anything to solve the problem of our isolation from God. God must take that initiative. We won’t do it, and we can’t do it. If it were a matter of us having the ability to initiate a relationship with God but we would not, then any rational person would conclude that we would deserve to suffer the consequences of that choice. Even if there were extenuating circumstances which might serve as excuses (I was unaware, I was afraid of God due to my circumstances, etc.) the individual might still be justly convicted. But if we are unable to initiate a relationship with God, then a rational mind would conclude that we are not held responsible for such activity, nor should we bear the consequences for any lack of initiation.

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Before we move further, there is a passage of scripture found in Acts 17 which is very appropriate for this discussion. In a visit to Athens, Greece, the Apostle Paul witnesses the idols that are to be found all over the city. He acknowledges that the men of Athens are on the outside of God’s family at this point, so when Paul is given an opportunity to speak to these outsiders, here is what he says: People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead. (Acts 17:22-31 emphasis added)

In this speech, Paul appears to be saying that we can initiate the relationship. But this cannot be true since it was Paul who also said in the letter to the church in Rome that there is none who seek after God. (Romans 3:11) Do we then need to seek God? The answer is yes. But we can only seek God as God allows us to seek Him. Here are some more verses to consider. “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Luke 10:22)

According to this verse the only people who can know God are the ones that Jesus (the Son) chooses to reveal the Father to. Jesus, speaking to his disciples says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” (John 15:16) “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:12,13)

Again, we see this apparent opportunity to do something, but the power to do it comes from God. If man is not capable of initiating a relationship with God, then he cannot be held permanently punishable for not initiating the relationship. Let me repeat that in case you read it quickly. If man is not capable of initiating a relationship with God, then he cannot be held permanently punishable for not initiating the relationship. Most Christians that I know contend that the main reason why people go to

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Hell is their refusal to have a relationship with God. That reason falls flat on its face when we consider that God explicitly states that man cannot initiate such a relationship. Mankind is capable of initiating worship and is also capable of creating religion without having a relationship with the Creator. It is important that we see the distinction between worship or religion and a genuine relationship, since we often equate religion to a relationship with God. Religion has never been God’s plan for mankind. Religion, even Christianity, is a means for man to reach out to God, rather than a relationship which accepts God reaching out to us. God permitted the Israelites to make a religion out of the basic rules that God gave them on Mount Sinai, but He always wanted a relationship with them. In fact, he wanted a personal, authentic relationship with them. Religion is the counterfeit substitute for a relationship with the personal, real God. Before you consider that I just insulted your religion or Christianity, please allow me a brief explanation. Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father. Jesus was explicit about this in John 14:6 when he said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” But although Christianity is the religion which generally acknowledges Jesus as the Son of God and the savior of the world, Christianity is still a systematized, organized, methodology using the Bible and Jesus as props to further a worldview or belief system that does not require anyone to have an actual relationship with God, Jesus or the Bible to be included. I recognize that most people who are to be found written in the Book of Life one day will also have claimed some affiliation with Christianity. But millions of people who claimed to be Christians will not be found written in the Book of Life. As Jesus himself said, “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:22,23 emphasis added) Religion and relationship are not the same thing. Unfortunately, there is even more bad news for those who are not the Elect. Second Corinthians 4:4 says, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” Even though unbelievers are incapable of reaching out to God without God first drawing them, they are further hindered by the fact that they are blinded to the good news of Jesus Christ by Satan and his demonic team. Being blinded does not mean that one is unwilling to see, but unable. Many Christians will attempt to defend God at this point. They will make arguments saying that God has every right to limit us in our choices since he knows the choices we would make anyway and that God doesn’t need to compensate anyone for anything he does. I would completely agree with

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those arguments. But the problem with those arguments is that God purposely made himself vulnerable to us in our opinion of himself by telling us through the Bible what He claims to be like. If God is eternally all-knowing then He did not need to create this tension; it is He who chose to create the tension. And it was He who decided to let us in on the fact that as a sovereign, all-powerful God He limits our ability to initiate a relationship with him. I doubt that we would have ever figured this truth out on our own without God revealing it to us. Since God reveals all of this information to us, I’m convinced that what He is subtly saying is that he is looking forward to compensating those that He creates but who are not drawn to Him. Perhaps you have lived a miserable, rotten, no-good life. I think that God may be trying to tell you something like this: “You know what, you really didn’t do so well in the big test of life. But do you know why? You failed because I didn’t help you as much as I helped some other people. But don’t worry about it. I’ve known about your failures all along, and I’ve already worked things out to make things right for you. I’m going to allow you to live in my paradise where all your needs are met all the time. You’re going to love being with me and my family. You might see yourself as a failure, but I see you as a valuable part of my plan. You’re going to see that while it seems as though the cards were stacked against you in life, it was because I have reserved your benefits for eternity where they are much more valuable.” When we considered the character qualities of God, I mentioned that God is impartial. In that discussion I pointed out that an impartial God must allow all of his creation to experience his blessings. While this means that bad people as well as good get to experience both sunshine and rain, I believe that God’s impartiality goes way beyond such surface-level blessings. When God talks about being impartial he tends to speak about how he does not look at a person’s earthly status and become affected by it. Princes and paupers matter to him equally. I also pointed out that in this life of ours, we do not see this impartiality being played out. In fact, consider that God chose the nation of Israel to experience His miracles and blessings in ways that the Gentile nations could only imagine. According to the Bible, Israel will one day rule the entire world with Christ at the head for 1000 years. This hardly seems to be impartial. Fortunately, we can learn a lot about God through Jesus. Jesus broke many conventional methods by making choices which showed that he gave value to people whom society considered valueless. He went out of his way through his teachings and his actions to be impartial. He gave value to children, women, Samaritans, the poor, and the sick. In most cases, it was through an act of restoration that Jesus demonstrated his impartiality. The cards of this life have not been dealt equally. As I sit at my

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computer writing this book, there are billions of people struggling to survive. Many will not eat tonight. Some will not only be starving, but they will be physically abused as well. I, on the other hand, will be well-fed, safe and comfortable. This does not compute for me, on the surface level, as being impartial. So how then can God possibly make all things right in the end when inequities are so extreme in the world we live in? I believe that the basic formula that God uses is that we will always get better than we deserve. That seems to be the modus operandi of God. Since we deserve nothing from God, but he chooses to give us life and other blessings, it makes sense that he would choose to go far above and beyond what we feel we deserve in the pouring out of his blessings upon us. After that, I rely upon the justice of God to make all of the accounts balance. Since I believe that God is vitally interested in proving to us that his fundamental characteristic is his goodness and love, then I logically conclude that God makes some inequities go away by giving us much, much more than we deserve at his own expense. In review, God desires to have a relationship with us in this world (and quite likely the next) however, we are incapable of initiating that relationship. It is always God who makes the first move— although we are expected to seek after God as God enables us to do so. Without God’s power to get to know Him, we are unable to reach out to God as we have no innate desire to seek God or to pursue Him. Furthermore, we are powerless and blind to be able to remedy our own situation. It is a privilege and honor to be drawn by God. Since we are so limited, even though we feel as though we are completely free to make choices for ourselves, those who limit us must be held accountable for limiting us or they must compensate us for not really allowing us to have the benefits we might have otherwise obtained. God is in the restoration business and he delights in compensating those who appear to have gotten the short end of the stick in life. This will not excuse anyone who was offered the opportunity by God to be drawn to him but who rejected such drawing, but it will give men and women the peace of knowing that God, the righteous judge, will make all things right as he puts all things under the rule of Jesus Christ. The framework has been laid for the idea that God, while not telling us plainly that He plans to rescue those that get sentenced to eternity in Hell, will allow Jesus to pardon all those in Hell who repent. We’ve considered God’s character, His desire to be a father to us, the realities of predestination and election, and the roles and responsibilities that we have before God and that God has toward His creation. Now let’s get down to brass tacks and consider specific Biblical texts that give more than just clues that a rescue is coming.

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Section Four:

The Great Escape Chapter Eight

Proof of an Escape from Hell Is an escape from Hell really possible? And can the Bible be used to support such an idea? After all, it is the common interpretation of the Bible that has most people in the West believing that God punishes the bad people in Hell forever and ever. We’ve already looked at the statement that God does not delight in the destruction of the wicked. And we’ve also taken a close look at Romans 9 and 2 Timothy 2 where the illustration of the potter and clay indicates that both vessels of honor and vessels of dishonor are found in the Master’s house. Additionally, we have examined the character of God and His claim to be like a good father to convince us that God will not permit bad to come to us without His ability to find a remedy. But perhaps you’re not yet convinced. Thomas, one of Jesus’ own disciples said that he would not believe that Jesus had risen from the dead until he saw the scars in his hands and side for himself. If you still have doubts, this chapter is for you. Let me remind you that the amount of Scripture that has been used to convince you about God’s plan to punish not only the wicked but also the ignorant in Hell forever is a handful of verses. If you want to believe that God eternally punishes people you will find enough evidence to support that theory by picking and choosing passages of Scripture that support your belief. Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of interpreting the Bible as we see fit. The Apostle Peter tells us, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:20,21) And Paul, in Acts 20:27, points out the importance of declaring the “whole counsel of God.” This chapter is designed to add to your knowledge on the subject of the afterlife. The passages studied here all deal with Heaven and Hell and must be considered in the shaping of our theological worldview as much as we consider Revelation 20:14,15. We’ve already looked briefly at several Bible passages and noticed that while it is clear that humans are cast into the Lake of Fire forever, there is still

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some “wiggle-room” as to whether anyone will actually stay there forever. Here, we will address more passages in greater depth. This chapter gets a bit technical, but for those of you who are serious about getting to the bottom of the issue of eternal damnation in your heart, there are many Bible references given in this chapter to support the concept on a much broader level than you may have considered previously.

JESUS PREACHES TO THE SPIRITS There is no direct mention in the Bible of a time when Jesus will go to the Lake of Fire and offer the human inhabitants of that place an opportunity to escape. It isn’t there. If there was such a reference, a book like this would have been written centuries ago. But despite this lack of an obvious escape from Hell, consider with me the main thrust of the argument related to the offer of a pardon from Hell. Let’s look at whether the Bible says such a rescue is not possible, and then consider if the possibilities that do exist connect with the character of God, the father-type. Jesus Christ himself lived on this earth for about thirty-three years. Three of those years were spent in intense ministry where Jesus went from place to place teaching and preaching to people. If the Gospel as we in the Western world know it is the same Gospel that Jesus knew, then I would ask, why is our message so much different? In Matthew 4:23 and 9:35 we see nearly identical reports of what Jesus preached. The text says, “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. (Matthew 9:35) Notice that Jesus did not go around warning people of the terrors of Hell. He undoubtedly did mention Hell in his teaching, we see this clearly from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. Yet the central message of Jesus Christ was not about Hell, but the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 3 is a very curious chapter because it discusses the baptism of Jesus by John. One of the things that I did in my role as a supporting pastor was to teach a class to those who were considering being baptized. In the class, we discussed the meaning and rationale for baptism and one of the issues we covered was the baptism of Jesus. Since Jesus was baptized, if we are followers of Jesus, one of the reasons why we should be baptized is that we show ourselves to be imitators of Jesus by following the example that He set for us. Certainly, part of the reason why Jesus submitted to being baptized was to provide leadership for his followers. Yet, we must ask the question, “Why was Jesus baptized at all?” Since he was sinless, he wasn’t being baptized as part of a process of salvation. John, who baptized Jesus made it clear that his [John’s] baptism was a baptism of repentance because the Kingdom of Heaven was near. By his baptism, Jesus identified himself as part of the Kingdom of God. Neither John, nor Jesus preached repentance to escape Hell; they preached repentance to gain the Kingdom.

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However, there is this one reference—a curious reference indeed, in 1 Peter 3 that talks about a time when Jesus preached a message that was not about gaining the Kingdom. Let’s take a look at it. For Christ [the Messiah Himself] died for sins once for all, the Righteous for the unrighteous (the Just for the unjust, the Innocent for the guilty), that He might bring us to God. In His human body He was put to death, but He was made alive in the spirit, In which He went and preached to the spirits in prison, [The souls of those] who long before in the days of Noah had been disobedient, when God's patience waited during the building of the ark in which a few [people], actually eight in number, were saved through water. (1 Peter 3:18-20 Amplified) While Jesus was in the spirit, he went and preached to the spirits in prison. There is no mention of what was said, and we see no results from this preaching. Many people have used this passage of scripture to build one of many arguments that contradict the scriptural teaching about salvation. The Bible teaches that life in the flesh is the opportunity that we have to be saved. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2b NKJV) While I am proposing that Jesus will offer escape from Hell, I by no means wish to confuse people from the clear teaching that today is the day of salvation. Jesus was not preaching to the spirits in Hell about being saved, that ship had already sailed for them. But neither was Jesus preaching to the spirits about the Kingdom of God. Nobody can be saved from Hell and become an adopted son or daughter of God after death. Again, we don’t know what Jesus said to them, but we know that these two things were not part of the conversation. I am pointing out this passage of scripture for one basic reason—that God felt it was important enough to have the scriptures record an incident where Jesus makes contact with the unrighteous dead. There can be no denial that the people being preached to as referred to in this passage were those disobedient humans who died during the days of Noah. I am not going to speculate as to why it was that group of people that Jesus preaches to, what the reasons for the dialogue were, or for how long Jesus preached to them. It is sufficient for me that Jesus contacted the unrighteous dead in their place of containment (which certainly was not the Lake of Fire since the Lake of Fire has been empty to this day). It is important that we establish that Jesus made such contact because it removes one barrier to the claim that Jesus could one day go to the eternal Hell to offer an escape. If Jesus went to Hell once to make contact with the men and women there, and He can leave that place as easily as he entered it, then he can go to Hell again. And if he can go to Hell a second time to make contact with people there, he can do it again and again as he sees fit. Jesus is interested in people who are in Hell. He proved this by going there once before. We don’t need to know what he said

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to them. We only are interested in the fact that there is no barrier to Jesus entering Hell and making contact with the people there, who are able to hear and respond to his message. Just to make sure there is clarity, I wish to make the distinction between post mortem evangelism and what I am proposing here. Post mortem evangelism is the teaching that people can be saved after death and that God offers a second chance on the same eternal life that Jesus offers us in this life after we die. The key to the differences revolves around the word salvation. Jesus spoke many times about the need for salvation, and the apostle Peter made it clear that “Salvation is found in no one else [but Jesus], for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) Salvation means to be kept from harm or destruction. Only by accepting the gift of salvation in this life will anyone be saved from being cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the “saved from” aspect that the apostle Paul speaks so eloquently about in the first seven chapters of Romans. The “saved unto” aspect of salvation referred to in the latter part of Romans is the abundant life that the elect will enjoy forever as joint-heirs with Christ. I do not believe, nor do I propose that anyone will be saved from entering the Lake of Fire who does not hear and accept the Gospel message of Jesus Christ while alive in the flesh on the earth. Nor do I believe that anyone who does not accept this same gift of salvation while in the flesh will be given the abundant life as part of the elect in Heaven or while here on the earth. However, I do propose that all will be rescued out of the Lake of Fire after a period of time spent there and that they will enjoy an everlasting life from that point onward, even though that life will not be the abundant life of the elect. As Jesus himself said, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:14) In summary, the fact that Jesus preached to the dead spirits in Hell at the time of his death while in the Spirit proves that Jesus not only can enter Hell, but that he purposely did so once before, perhaps to indicate to us that he intends to do it again in the future. This supports the idea that Jesus, as King, will one day enter the Lake of Fire and preach a message of repentance and forgiveness to the captives there. The possibility exists.

THE LEAST AND THE GREATEST In Matthew 19, a visit from a rich man sparks a dialogue with Jesus. This wealthy young man was the one who went away sad after Jesus told him to sell all that he had and follow him. We don’t know for sure how much time had elapsed between this conversation and those recorded earlier in Matthew chapter 18 and 19, but we can assume, based on the discussion that Jesus had earlier with the disciples, that the topic of the Kingdom might have still been fresh in the minds of the disciples as so much of

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what had been recorded in chapters 18 and 19 focused on Kingdom talk. One of those conversations was even about who would be greatest in the Christ’s kingdom. Here is the dialogue that followed the departure of the rich young ruler: Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I’ll say it again—it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” Then Peter said to him, “We’ve given up everything to follow you. What will we get?” Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the world is made new and the Son of Man sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life. But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then. (Matthew 19:23-30 NLT) While the discussion of the possibility of rich people entering the Kingdom is fascinating, the part of this speech that I want to focus on now is the last half. Jesus couldn’t be clearer about the time frame of which he was referring to. He indicates the time when the world is made new and the Son of Man sits upon his throne. This can only refer to events after the tribulation period and after the millennial reign. The world will not be made new until after the final rebellion of man, led by Satan who had been imprisoned for 1000 years. (Revelation 20:7-9) This is also after the Great White Throne Judgment where the masses of humanity are judged and cast into the Lake of Fire. (Revelation 20:11-15) The New Heaven and New Earth are described in Revelation 21 after these events are accomplished. Therefore, the time when the disciples will judge the twelve tribes of Israel is after all of the events of the Bible story and in the period of the New Earth, or we could say, in eternity. After Jesus points out that the disciples will get handsomely rewarded for the sacrifices they have made to serve Him, he says these famous words that most of us learned early in life as “the first shall be last, and the last shall be first.” The New Living Translation and the Amplified version of the Bible translate this verse in a way that makes the meaning clear. Many who are first, or greatest in this life, or in this world, will be the least or last in the new world, and many who are last or least now will be greatest in the new world. There can be no other explanation for this text considering the immediate context and the greater context. Let’s consider what this phrase means, which Jesus repeats two more times in the following chapter and is picked up in Mark and Luke as well. The man who had just walked away was a wealthy,

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religious man. There is no doubt that Jesus is using him as the model for this discussion. The young man would have been, due to his power and influence a man to be revered. He also would have been respected and appreciated as a man of outstanding character for his effort to follow the law. Yet we suspect that this man, who looked Jesus in the eye and turned away, will one day be cast into the Lake of Fire. He will be separated from the disciples at the great judgment and placed on the side that nobody wants to be found on. We know this because he rejected the gift of salvation offered to him by Jesus. He decided to go his own way. Jesus says that this young man, who was among the elite in his world at that time, would be last in the New Earth. But there’s a problem here…the New Earth comes after the time when he would have been cast into the Lake of Fire. (Revelation 20:11–21:6) Jesus is either telling us that those who reject him in this life will one day exist on the New Earth, or else Jesus made a horrible eschatological mistake. After all, isn’t the common claim that once cast into the Lake of Fire there is no escape for him and that he will spend eternity in Hell? If that wasn’t enough, Jesus follows up this revelation to his disciples by telling them a parable about a group of men who were hired at various times throughout the day. (Matthew 20:1-16) He ends up paying each one a full day’s wage even though some worked for twelve hours and others only worked for one hour. It’s a great story about the generosity of the landowner who decides to be liberal with his money, giving some much more than they deserve, while everyone is treated fairly and well. The trickiness with this parable is that it is sandwiched between the statements “the last shall be first and the first shall be last.” The meaning of this parable must be interpreted within the context of the last now being first then, and the first now being last then. This context renders the traditional interpretation of the parable faulty. Traditionally, the parable of the vineyard workers has been interpreted that the landowner is God, and the workers are the righteous. There are some who embrace Christ at a young age and serve God with their whole lives. In return, they are given life in Heaven with God. There are others who live their lives for themselves, but later in life they turn from their wicked ways and embrace Christ as well. They too get to go to Heaven. Finally, some wait until just before they die to embrace Christ, and they too get to go to Heaven. God, the generous landowner has been generous with everyone, but he has been especially generous to some. This is the landowner’s right since it is his money to give as he pleases. Were it not for the fact that this parable is sandwiched between the first/last, last/first phrases, I could be convinced of this interpretation, and in fact, this is what I believed until I studied this passage for myself.

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Unfortunately, we do not get to interpret the parable outside of the context in which it is given. The landowner is indeed God; that part was easy. But consider that the workers are mankind as a whole. We do not need to determine what every part of the story means to understand the parable. The point of the story is that the landowner wants to make it known that he chooses to be generous with people. He chose some to work all day and he chose others to work only one hour, yet he gave some a fair wage and he gave others more than a fair wage. As a good God, he gives everyone a fair wage, in fact they will get better than they deserve. The argument could be made that it was only because the landowner decided to employ these workers in the first place that they qualified for any remuneration. They deserved no better than to go all day without work and without pay. But within the context of the least shall be the greatest then, the one who had the least amount of opportunity to serve was rewarded the most handsomely based on the rate of pay. The one who had the most opportunity to serve was paid at the lowest rate. Those who in this life have the greatest opportunity to serve God (the rich, the powerful, the influential) will be rewarded, but because these people so often use their wealth, power and influence to advance themselves, their reward will pale in comparison someday to the poor, the helpless and the needy, who despite their poverty often take on the role of a servant and benefit others. What Jesus offered the rich young ruler was an opportunity to go from being first in this life to being first in the afterlife. Had he sold all he had to become a servant of Jesus he would have been rewarded as a servant with great riches (one hundred times as much) in Heaven. Because he refused Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; offer he may be found in Heaven with all the common blessings there, but without the rewards that Christ offers to those who sacrifice for His sake. If the last now are to be first in the New Earth, and the first now are to be last in the New Earth, then I see no other way of reconciling this passage of scripture than to conclude that those who choose not to serve others with their lives (the unfaithful) will be ruled in eternity by those who choose to sacrifice for the good of others (the faithful) or even the poor. I can come to no other good conclusion. In any case, it puts the non-elect on the New Earth, and out of the Lake of Fire. Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; clear teaching through the last/first, first/last instructions are in direct conflict with the theory that all who are cast into the Lake of Fire will stay there eternally. Since the context of the last/first, first/last teaching is indisputably chronologically after the Great White Throne Judgment, Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; teaching on this subject is either eschatologically erroneous, or our idea that bad people suffer in Hell forever is not correct. Both cannot be true at the same time.

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THE UNPARDONABLE SIN The unpardonable sin has been a point of confusion for many people, both believing and unbelieving alike. To help the reader understand this teaching, I refer you to the eloquent answer of Paul S. Taylor of Christian Answers Network. An unforgivable sin is described in Mark 3 and Matthew 12. These passages involve Jesus Christ's repeated and widespread public defeat of Satan and his demons. Many readers and theologians have been confused about the true nature of this sin. As you read these verses for yourself (below), bear in mind part of the purpose of Jesus Christ’s ministry was to directly confront darkness with the light of truth in a public battle of pure good versus pure evil. The only being in the universe that is more powerful than the Evil One, is God. He is the only one with enough power to bind Satan himself and forcibly dispossess him. Mark 3:22-30 states, “And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, ‘He has Beelzebub,’ and, ‘By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.’ …’Assuredly, I [Jesus] say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation;’ because they said, ‘He has an unclean spirit’” (NKJV / Note: The Pharisees made the same charge in Mat 9:34.). In Matthew 12:31-32, Jesus says to the Pharisees, “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come” (NKJV). What is the context of these statements, and what is the exact sin described? The Pharisees had long observed the sinless Jesus Christ. They observed him doing undeniable and powerful miracles that were, at the very least, clear evidence of power supplied by God. These impressive miracles were freely given in pure kindness and love to release people from obvious suffering and the oppression of horrible evil. However, the Pharisees had so firmly set their hearts against accepting Jesus as the Messiah that they rejected the obvious truth before them and perversely twisted it to influence the crowds. They publicly credited the most ultimately evil being in the universe with these precious, godly miracles. In other words, they called the precious and holy Spirit of God, the unclean spirit of Satan. In effect, they charged Jesus Christ with sorcery; one who is in league with Satan. These charges are not only appalling and extremely serious, but clearly absurd. As Jesus immediately responded, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No

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one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house” (Mark 3:23-27; also see Luke 11:14-23). Note that… “Jesus does not deny the existence of other exorcists here. [See: Matthew 7:22-23] …Exorcists often invoked a higher spirit to get rid of a lower one. …But a demon’s retreat that meanwhile drew attention to another of Satan’s servants would only be a strategic retreat; such possible activity contrasts with the wholesale exorcizing of the masses that Jesus undertakes, which clearly signifies a defeat of Satan [Matthew 12:29; 4:24; 8:16; Mark 1:34, 39; 5:12, 15; Luke 9:1] …the parable about tying up a protective householder means that Jesus had defeated Satan and could therefore plunder his possessions--free the demon-possessed” [Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary, New Testament (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1993), pp. 143, 80.]. Author Dr. Henry Morris insightfully clarifies the true nature of Pharisees' sin: “The unforgivable sin of speaking against the Holy Spirit has been interpreted in various ways, but the true meaning cannot contradict other Scripture. It is unequivocally clear that the one unforgivable sin is permanently rejecting Christ (John 3:18; 3:36). Thus, speaking against the Holy Spirit is equivalent to rejecting Christ with such finality that no future repentance is possible. ‘My spirit shall not always strive with man,’ God said long ago (Genesis 6:3). …In the context of this particular passage (Matthew 12:22-32), Jesus had performed a great miracle of creation, involving both healing and casting out a demon, but the Pharisees rejected this clear witness of the Holy Spirit. Instead they attributed His powers to Satan, thus demonstrating an attitude permanently resistant to the Spirit, and to the deity and saving Gospel of Christ” [Henry M. Morris, The Defender's Study Bible (Iowa Falls, Iowa: World Bible Publishers, 1995)]. (http://christiananswers.net/q-eden/unpardonablesin.html) An understanding of the unpardonable sin is valuable to know. It’s also important to understand that since it means that you would have to reject Christ so completely that you could not entertain the idea of embracing Him at a later date, it is impossible for a person who has already embraced Jesus to commit this sin. The unpardonable sin is no casual matter. It is with this kind of gravity in mind that we focus our attention now on Matthew 12:32. The New King James Version quoted above says, “But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.” The meaning is clear here, but again, I find that the meaning is enhanced by the rendition found in the New Living Translation: “But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.” The Greek word translated “age” and “world” in the first case of this sentence is the Greek word “aion.” It is most often translated in the Bible, based on its context as “age,” “world,” or “forever.” In

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the second use, the word in the Greek is “mello,” meaning “to be about to” or “to come.” It is important that we understand the meaning of these words because so much rides on just a few words. Again, I’ve heard numerous mentions of the unpardonable sin, but never have I had anyone try to explain what Jesus is saying when he tells the Pharisees that the one who commits this sin cannot be forgiven in this age (which we all understand) or the age to come (which isn’t so easy to understand). I’ve noticed a distinct lack of attention to this verse in the systematic theology texts I was educated with. The doctrine of forgiveness in the eternal age never seemed to be addressed. Yet, by extension, if Jesus is saying that those who commit this heinous sin cannot be forgiven in the age to come, it must mean that some can be forgiven in the age to come. Notice that Jesus did not say that they can be “saved” in the age to come. There is an enormous difference between being forgiven and being saved. How can it be that some in the eternal age can be forgiven? First of all, we must get it out of our minds right away that people are cast into the Lake of Fire to atone for their sins. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, he paid the full price for all sins ever committed, past, present, and future. I realize that some believe that Jesus’ blood only covers the sins of the Elect, and that those who God knew would not embrace Jesus will have to pay for their own sins in Hell. Unfortunately, while brilliant men and women have held this belief, I think that you’ll find that the majority who steadfastly hold to the limited atonement theology do so to support other aspects of theology that they also hold (most notably the pre-tribulation rapture theory). The fact is that the Bible says that Jesus “died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” (1 Peter 3:18) Mankind may be cast into Hell because they did not accept the forgiveness Jesus offers them, but to consider that mankind is even able to pay the price for our sins is to give man too much credit. It is interesting to me that every English translation of the phrase “to bring you to God” (from 1 Peter 3:18) is translated that way. The eloquent New Living Translation takes some liberty in translating this phrase as “to bring you safely home to God,” which only enhances the meaning, in my opinion. You see, a person can be forgiven at any time because Jesus has already satisfied God the Father with the payment He made, once and for all on the cross. No other sacrifice is necessary, no other payment will be made. We may choose to reject Jesus in this life and miss out on the best rewards of Heaven, but Jesus held nothing back when He died on the cross for your sins. He paid the price in full. Since the price has been paid in full, anyone who finds themselves in the Lake of Fire will find themselves there only until their rescue mission is dispatched. Jesus will have the authority to go to Hell and offer you an escape because God will have given all authority to Jesus, and Jesus has already satisfied your debt for

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the sins you committed on earth today. Forgiveness is always an option that Jesus can offer you, even long after the option for salvation has passed. There is a clue in the term â&#x20AC;&#x153;unpardonable sinâ&#x20AC;? which is beautiful by itself. Pardons are given to those who have been convicted, sentenced and penalized in prison. By saying that such a disaster as an unpardonable sin exists, Jesus actually is giving the vast majority of humanity great news that pardons will be given in the age to come. In the companion book to this one, Heaven Is Not the Issue, we will come back to the concept of the unpardonable sin as it relates to the blood of Jesus Christ and his power to save. In summary, to say that one sin is unpardonable in this age or in the age to come, Jesus is saying both that all sin but one is pardonable, and that forgiveness will be available after the judgment and the refurbishment of this earth. Would this not suggest that Jesus was giving us a clue that pardons and forgiveness will be offered to those in the Lake of Fire during the age to come?

DOGS OUTSIDE THE CITY Perhaps no other text in scripture is more conclusive that the damned will be found in Heaven after all than that of Revelation 22:14,15. The twenty-second chapter of Revelation, the last chapter of the Bible, starts out with a description of the Heavenly City, the place where God the Father will occupy for eternity. The river of the water of life and the Tree of Life are mentioned, as well as the privileges to those who will be present there. They will see his face and they will have his name on their foreheads. Anyone who believes the Bible is true and holds to a literal interpretation of scripture would hold that this text is clearly describing the New Jerusalem that will come down out of Heaven and descend to earth. In verse 7 of chapter 22, there is a change in the flow of the discussion. John is writing, but Jesus appears to speak at times and an angel speaks at other times. Not everything that is said from verse seven and onward is about the New Jerusalem. However, when we get to verse 14, there is no doubt that the discussion comes back to the eternal city. Here is what verses 14 and 15 say: Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. There is another reference to those who have washed their robes. In Revelation 7 we see that there are a great host of people who are wearing white robes from all nations of the earth. In verse 15

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of chapter 7 it is revealed that they who washed their robes in the blood of the lamb and who came out of the tribulation. Whether or not they who wear the white robes refer to only those saints who endured the persecution of the Antichrist, or whether it refers to the entire bride of Christ by extension is unclear. What is clear is that the ones who wear the white robes, who had faith in Jesus Christ in this life, will have access to the New Jerusalem. This could not be more clear within the context of the first six verses of chapter 22 since the tree of life is described as being within the city where God lives. The next verse describes those people who will not be able to go through the gates of that city. The description given describes the multitude of people who did evil in this life. They cannot be evildoers of that time because there will be no sin after the Great White Throne judgment. The only logical explanation of who is being described here is that these are the wicked of this life who died without embracing Jesus Christ. This group of people is described as being located outside the gates, and the clear inference is that they can come up to the gates of the city, but no further. In all of my upbringing within the church, and my years of study at Bible colleges, there has only been given to me one explanation of what is going on in Revelation 22:14 and 15. The explanation given to me was that those in the white robes are indeed the saints, (or the Elect) and that those on the outside are the unbelievers who are in Hell. The “outside” mentioned here is a reference possibly to the fact that the unbelievers will be cast into outer darkness as mentioned three times in Matthew’s gospel where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 25:30) However, if a person did not hold to the “once in Hell, always in Hell” doctrine, and read the text simply as it is presented, one would come to the conclusion that the text indicates that the evil-doers described in Revelation 22 are not far, far away, locked up for eternity in a never-ending death sentence. It reads as if they exist in the same place as the people with the white robes, but they are prevented from entering the gates to the city. Consider with me for a moment the very existence of walls and gates to a city where all of the inhabitants are part of the Royal Family. Furthermore, Revelation 21:12 says that twelve angels guard the twelve gates to the city. Walls, gates and guards are, by design, to keep certain people out. If everyone on the New Earth was either part of the elect or a good angel, then there would appear to be no reason for gates, walls and guards. In this world, we only put up gates and walls when there is something special on the inside that insiders are free to enjoy but that outsiders are not free to enjoy. If the damned are safely locked away in Hell, then I see no reason for there to be gates other than for decorative purposes. In Revelation 21:11-21 we are told that the walls of this city are approximately 200 feet (65 meters) thick. This would seem to me to give an appearance of impregnability.

Andrew Caleb Doughty

Hell Is Not the Issue

The fact that Heaven has walls, gates and guards at all, and that Revelation 22:15 indicates that sinners will be present, but only able to come as far as the gates of the City says to me that the message of Revelation 22:14, 15 is that the sinners will indeed be present in the New Earth, but excluded from the New Jerusalem, the best of Heaven. The wicked cannot be locked away in eternal Hell and just outside the gates of the New Earth at the same time. Therefore, either John, the Apostle made a mistake when he wrote Revelation 22:15, or the sinners are somehow set free from their prison and are allowed to live eternally on earth so long as they stay out of the Holy Place of God. This concept of some being permitted access to the Holy Places of God is consistent with what is described in detail in God’s design of the Jewish Tabernacle and Temple.

I WILL GO TO HIM, BUT HE WILL NOT RETURN TO ME If I was forced to place a wager on three people that I am certain to find in Heaven, those three people would be Jesus, Peter and David. Jesus, because he is the Son of God and because the book of Revelation specifically mentions him being there. Peter, because Jesus says that upon this rock (Peter) Jesus would build his church and that he would be given the keys to the Kingdom (Matthew 16:18,19.) And David, because David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22) and his throne was promised by God to be established forever (Isaiah 9:7.) The importance of David being in Heaven is emphasized in a dialog that David had with his attendants at his palace after the death of the Bathsheba’s baby. The back story is that David saw Bathsheba bathing and lusted after her. He had her come to the palace where they were intimate and shortly thereafter it was discovered that Bathsheba was pregnant by David. David tried to hide his sin by convincing her husband, Uriah, to be fooled into thinking the child was his, but that plan didn’t work so David had Uriah killed in battle. Just after the baby was born, Nathan the prophet exposes David’s sin and tells the King that the child would die. David fasts and prays for days to get God to change his mind and spare the life of the child, but to no avail. It is at this point, when the attendants at the palace were afraid of David’s reaction to the news that David calmly made this profound statement: “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” (2 Samuel 12:22,23)

This statement by David has been used to defend multiple theories about the afterlife and what happens to children when they die. Most, if not all of these theories contradict the rest of scripture. It is not my intention here to argue for or against original sin, or an age of accountability or any other theory

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Hell Is Not the Issue

that this statement evokes, but rather to show that David’s statement agrees with the idea of a release from Hell. The Bible is perfectly clear that all whose names are not found written in the Book of Life (at the Great Judgment) will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:15.) Therefore, only those who are saved will have their names written in the Book of Life. And how does one get saved? “For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “LORD, who has believed our report?” So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

(Romans 10:13-17 NKJV) This passage and others make it clear that an act of faith is required for salvation. If a child is found in Heaven (and the Bible says that the Kingdom of Heaven will be “of children” - Matthew 19:14) it cannot be because they were saved or because they were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. As much as I would like to believe that God has a special plan for children who do not have the opportunity to accept the gift of salvation offered through Jesus Christ, I can find no such special treatment in the Bible anywhere. Furthermore, any such special grace given to babies, young children, or unborn children gives sanction to the abominable practice of killing children as an act of mercy. The thinking is that since most people will reject God by adulthood, if a child is killed before reaching the “age of accountability” he will go to Heaven instead of Hell. This line of thinking is completely contradictory to the character of God and anything written in the Bible, except possibly this statement by David. I believe that all who were ever conceived in the womb (or in a test-tube) will face the Judge at the Great Judgment. Only those whose names are found written in the Book of Life will escape the punishment of the Lake of Fire. But since the scriptures are clear that we will each be judged according to our works these children will not suffer terribly in Hell. “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.” (Matthew

16:27) In fact, as I’ve stated before, though these babies will end up in Hell they will have little reason at all to be broken by Hell or to resist any rescue mission. If Hell is designed to bring people to the place of

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Hell Is Not the Issue

repentance (which I believe it is) then only the slightest awareness of the horrors happening to others will be plenty to convince these “innocent” ones to repent. Once these babies have repented and rescued by Jesus, they will forever be found in the New Earth where people like David and the other saints will be able to go to them. A rescue from Hell through pardons offered by Jesus explains how David could say that his son would not return to him, but that he would one day go to his son. This explanation also allows God to be consistent with His character in not creating a scenario where one is better off being murdered before or shortly after birth. God is exclusively pro-life, even when it appears otherwise. Since anyone who is rescued from Hell can do no better than to become an indentured servant forever in a kingdom of love and peace, killing a child not only robs them of the blessings of life on earth but it also robs them of the opportunity to become part of the Kingdom of Heaven. There is no mercy in killing unborn or young babies; any such thought could only come from the Devil himself. Since David prophetically tells us all that his child will be in a place where he can go to him, we can conclude that unborn and young children who die will be rescued from Hell and will serve the Elect in the New Earth forever. This redemption plan of God’s considers everyone, doesn’t it?

THE INCLUSIVITY OF “ALL” If the various arguments presented so far haven’t convinced you that Jesus will offer a rescue to those in Hell, then please consider these verses and the meaning of the word, “all.” Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:18-21 emphasis added) When you read Romans 5:18 do you think to yourself, “That first ‘all’ doesn’t really apply to everyone.” No, nearly everyone agrees that the original sin has affected every single human being ever born, except Jesus Christ, since He was born of a virgin and therefore did not have the seed of sin passed onto Him. However, some people seem to think that the next “all” is selective. They refuse to believe that despite the obvious literary parallelism offered here, the first “all” means “all,” but the second “all” means “just a select few.” This passage says that through the righteous act of Jesus, all people will receive justification and life. The Bible makes no provisions for justification of anyone who rejects Jesus Christ prior to the actual

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Hell Is Not the Issue

casting of souls into the Lake of Fire. And certainly, the Lake of Fire is not referred to as a place of life. In fact, the Lake of Fire is clearly described as being “the second death” (more on this idea later.) Either “all” does not mean all, or everyone who is cast into the Lake of Fire will be justified and given life after being cast into Hell. God’s gift to all of us through Jesus Christ is everlasting life. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) If that wasn’t enough, verse eighteen is followed up in nineteen with another parallel statement. The same act which made all men condemned is now said to make “many” sinners. How many is “the many”? Is it not one hundred percent minus one? Yet again, the corresponding truth is that “the many,” as defined in the sentence previous, will be made righteous. Can there be any legitimate argument that many and all are synonymous here? Doesn’t this verse make it clear that all of the sinners will be made righteous? Here’s another one: The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV emphasis added) This verse requires very little explanation. If it is not God’s will that any should perish, then how can any perish? If it is the will of an almighty, eternal, omnipotent God that all will come to repentance, then what can stop anyone from ultimately repenting before they perish? This verse is crystal clear in its message. I don’t believe that this verse can be misunderstood unless it is rejected on its face for being inconsistent with other scriptures. I am curious—if this verse doesn’t mean what it clearly says, then what does it mean? Isn’t the infallibility of the scriptures at stake if we reject this verse for meaning what it clearly says? Many have confused “not willing” to mean “not wishing” but an all-knowing God does not wish for anything. Here’s yet another “all” verse: And God purposed that through (by the service, the intervention of) Him [the Son] all things should be completely reconciled back to Himself, whether on earth or in heaven, as through Him, [the Father] made peace by means of the blood of His cross. (Colossians 1:20 Amplified, emphasis added) The word “reconcile” is one that we rarely use any more except for in accounting and bookkeeping. It means to make good again, to repair that which was broken, or to bring something back into harmony. Now if Hell is indeed a place of never-ending torture then reconciliation is not possible. In order for something to be reconciled it must be corrected and brought back into fellowship. Neverending punishment does not bring about correction, or if it did the endurance of the punishment would lead to feelings of never-ending frustration and betrayal.

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Hell Is Not the Issue

When I checked the Greek words used to convey the term “all things” (since I wanted to be sure that I was using this verse appropriately) I discovered that the Greek words are “ta panta” which literally translates to “the all” or “the everything.” This is exciting because it leaves no room for exceptions. This “all” isn’t just talking about mankind, it’s talking about everything on earth and in Heaven. God is going to make everything good again, and that includes you and me. The last point I want to bring up about this Colossians verse is the translation by the authors of the Amplified version that adds in parenthesis the way that all things will be reconciled is “by the service” or “the intervention of” Jesus. Doesn’t that sound like Jesus going down to Hell and offering pardons to those who have repented? It sure does to me. Finally, consider this verse: With a view to this we toil and strive, [yes and] suffer reproach, because we have [fixed our] hope on the living God, Who is the Savior (Preserver, Maintainer, Deliverer) of all men, especially of those who believe (trust in, rely on, and adhere to Him). (1 Timothy 4:10 Amplified) This passage doesn’t say anything spectacularly different than the two passages ahead of it. I like how the Amplified version defines what is meant by the word “Savior” in this verse. By pointing out that the Savior is, among other things, a deliverer, we can see how He saves all men. What makes this verse particularly important is the fact that Paul goes out of his way to point out that when he refers to “all” he doesn’t just mean those who are the Elect (or the Church, or the Saints, or whatever you want to call those who embrace the gift of Jesus in this lifetime.) This verse makes it emphatically clear that those who believe will be saved, but so will everyone else. The difference is that those who believe will be saved to an even greater extent. Could this not mean that all will ultimately be rescued, but that those who put their faith in Christ Jesus while alive on this earth will be saved without having to be cast in to the Lake of Fire in the first place? It seems to clear to me. Can we authoritatively say that those who rejected Christ in this life will spend eternity in Heaven with the elect and escape from Hell? If we understand that heaven will be wonderful, but very different for the ones who are freed from Hell than it will be for those who embraced Jesus in this life, then I strongly believe that we have such authority, especially if we make distinctions between the New Earth and the New Heaven. Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for the sins of all people—past, present and future. We have just seen that Jesus has made contact with the unrighteous dead before and that for him to go to Hell again would not be in violation of any limitations that God puts on him. Furthermore, we witnessed that Jesus told his followers that in the New Earth those who were first here, the rulers of earth, will serve those who were last here, the servants of earth. We also are aware that pardons will be awarded

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Hell Is Not the Issue

in the age to come because Jesus suggested that some will not be able to be forgiven in that future age because they have committed the unpardonable sin. And since, in the eternal age, no new sin will be committed, the only forgiveness offered will have to be based on sins committed from this age. We see that babies who have had no opportunity to make moral decisions of their own will not be kept apart from the righteous forever, but will likely be found in the New Earth one day. And finally, there is a clear picture in the final chapter of the Bible of evil-doers in Heaven, but they are kept away from being able to experience the best of Heaven. Personally, I’m somewhat of a skeptic, but I find these arguments very satisfying. I submit them for your scrutiny and approval. Is God good? He creates people who have been pre-destined to go to Hell. But if God arranges for them to be rescued from Hell those same people will indeed be blessed for most of eternity. The vessel for common use does not ask to be made in the first place, nor did any of us in the human race request to be created. It is up to God, the creator, to ensure that what he makes is not junk, nor that what he makes is not wasted. The fate of the damned is still glorious. It will be an absolute joy to live on the New Earth for eternity, where all is as it should be. Just as there is no shame in doing an honest job here on earth as a garbage man or a toll collector, there will be no shame in eternity for being a “vessel for common purposes.” After spending even a short time in Hell, all who leave there will understand for the rest of eternity that they are getting far better than they deserve. They will enjoy a life far greater than anything anyone enjoyed on this sin-cursed earth we live on now. Let’s be honest, if you were offered an opportunity to live forever in a situation that would be considered superior to that which kings and queens of earth enjoy today, you would probably take it. I’m suggesting that God offers you that option as the default, but I sincerely hope that you reject this offer. He has a much better offer for you. Hell is not the issue.

Andrew Caleb Doughty

Hell Is Not the Issue

Chapter Nine

The Kindness of Hell One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: “Power belongs to you, God, and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”; and, “You reward everyone according to what they have done.” (Psalm 62:11,12) Why does a loving God send people to Hell? If God is love, then mustn’t Hell somehow be an expression of that love? Consider that it is Jesus, the one who willingly died to save people from their sin and its consequences, who will condemn the masses of humanity to eternal damnation. Is the one who died to save us really going to condemn us without hope? My training in the Bible has revolved around a few central themes. One of those themes is that the righteous will inherit eternal life, and the wicked will spend eternity in Hell. Indeed, if you have spent any time under the instruction of Bible teachers this theme is likely one that you have been taught as well. But is the majority on anything always right? Could it be that most of my Bible teachers and yours got faulty information and passed it along because it made sense to them? Did those who taught us really study this issue, or did they accept the leading teaching of the day or instruction from someone that they trusted and pass it along to us? As we have reviewed already, the Bible is clear that Hell will endure forever, and that the wicked (all that aren’t found written in the Book of Life) will be cast into the Lake of Fire. It’s simple logic to conclude the wicked will spend eternity in Hell when you put these two facts together. But does the Bible actually say that the wicked will never be released from Hell? And is there a greater purpose to Hell than simply to “punish the evil-doers”? I was also taught that all of Scripture is given by inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16) and that Scripture is not to be interpreted in isolation, rather, in accordance with the rest of Scripture (2 Peter 1:20). I’m not claiming that my teachers had any evil intent, but when it comes to the absolutely critical understanding of our future beyond the grave, one must consider the entire Book on such a central theme to the story as a whole. It isn’t right to tell people that they are going to spend eternity apart from God and all of his goodness forever, and that they will suffer without end unless one is certain that

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Hell Is Not the Issue

such a statement is true. After all, there can be no message any crueler than that to be told, especially if these same people are damned to such a place before they were even born (through predestination). One must ask the questions, “What else does the Bible say about how we will be judged?” and “Does this conclusion line up with the rest of Scripture?” Does the Bible say that God’s punishment has limits? And if so, how are his judgments limited—especially the one about so many of us going to eternal torment forever after we die? To try to come to the answer to these questions I invite you to explore three similar passages of Scripture. Each of these passages is as inspired of God as the ones condemning the evil to Hell. The first is the quote that I started this chapter with: One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: “Power belongs to you, God, and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”; and, “You reward everyone according to what they have done.” (Psalm 62:11,12) This is Hebrew poetry translated into English. When the writer says that God has spoken one thing and the writer heard two things, what he means is that the two statements, while sounding like two different ideas are actually one thought. Let’s take a deeper look at what these two statements say. First, God is all-powerful and loving. And while God holds all the power, his love for us never stops (fails). This reminds us of the earlier discussion we had in this book on the character of God. Love always seeks to restore the relationship. Love never gives up on the one who breaks the trust. Many of us are familiar with the famous quotation from the Spider-Man comic books and movie, “With great power comes great responsibility.” (Spider-Man, the Movie (2002) adapted from Stan Lee, Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962) “With great power there must also come—great responsibility!”) In the Spider-Man story, Peter acquires incredible powers through the bite of a radioactive spider. The temptation for Peter was to use his new-found power to benefit himself. However, his Uncle Ben wisely informed him that love doesn’t use power for its own advantage; love uses power to benefit others. A god who claims to be both powerful and loving must use his power to benefit others. Second, God rewards everyone according to what they have done. This statement cannot now be taken in isolation. We know that God’s rewards are linked to the statement of power and love as if the two were one thought. Therefore we can deduce that when God rewards us for what we’ve done, whether for good or for bad, God will use his power to make things turn out for our benefit.

Andrew Caleb Doughty

Hell Is Not the Issue

Let me ask you the question, “Does God’s power to keep people (who will no doubt be seeking any means of escape possible) in Hell for eternity provide any benefit to the prisoners? Is locking people up for eternity with Satan a loving thing to do? The answer, of course, is no. Let’s look at another, more detailed passage on the subject. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things [pass judgment on others] is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism. All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

(Romans 2:2-16 emphasis added) While the whole of this passage is important to consider, let’s focus on the three statements I’ve emphasized in bold type. 1. God’s judgment is based on truth. In order to understand what this statement is getting at, we must consider the famous question, “What is truth?” Again, since it is the Bible that we are sourcing and the Bible says you cannot interpret the Bible without considering the rest of the Bible, we must consider how the Bible defines truth. Jesus defines truth for us in the Gospel of John in a prayer to God the Father: “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17). Therefore, We could restate the first bolded statement as “God’s judgment is based on God’s word.” Unfortunately, that isn’t much help. We may not know what the truth is, but most of us don’t know God’s word either. Does the Bible happen to define what “God’s word” is? Fortunately for us, it does. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And he further defines God’s word for us in verse fourteen, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” God’s word is his son, Jesus. That means that we can restate the bold quotation in terms we can understand, “God’s judgment is based on God’s son, Jesus.” This point is further emphasized by the final bolded statement above, “This will take place on the

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Hell Is Not the Issue

day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ.” The idea that Jesus is truth is confirmed by his own words when he said, “I am the way and the truth and the life...” (John 14:6) Now consider how Jesus judges. When Jesus was hanging from the cross he was looking down on the crowd. Some there had been personally responsible for torturing him only hours and minutes prior; others in the crowd had chanted to have him crucified, even if it meant releasing a violent criminal back into their society to accommodate them. While looking upon this crowd, Jesus says, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” This is consistent with what Jesus had preached to the crowd a few years earlier when he said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:43-45) Not only does Jesus demonstrate that he is the son of God by making such a statement on the cross, but he clearly tells us how God judges those who are his enemies. By God’s actions he showed us that God’s way of judging us is to recognize that we don’t have a clue what we’re really doing, and to take the punishment himself. God’s judgment is based on Jesus, and Jesus takes our punishment upon himself. Jesus loved his enemies. Do you comprehend what you’re doing with your life of rebellion against God any more than the Jews knew what they were doing with their rebellion at the crucifixion scene? A God who judges by casting souls into Hell forever and throwing the key as far as the east is from the west seems incompatible with the narrative of the Bible, and especially that of Jesus. 2. God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance. As we have considered earlier, particularly with the passage we looked at from Ezekiel 18 and 33 from chapter three of this book, God does not delight in the death of anyone. And as we will explore in detail in the next chapter, being cast into the Lake of Fire is a form of death. Rather than satisfying his anger against mankind’s wickedness, God’s intention always appears to be repentance so that people can be spared destruction. Consider the following examples: God sent prophets to the Northern tribes of Israel warning them to repent of their wickedness. He did the same for the southern tribes of Judah when they turned against God as well. God sent Jonah to warn the people of Nineveh to repent to avoid being destroyed for their evil ways. God gave the people at the time of the great flood the testimony of Noah to warn them, and he offered them opportunity to enter the ark before the flood. These are just a few examples of many that could have been used. The point that I’m working toward in all of this is that before God punishes people His intent is to bring about repentance. In other

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Hell Is Not the Issue

words, the threat of punishment is designed to bring about repentance because only in an environment of repentance can restoration take place. I’m well aware that there are some very difficult passages of the Bible that describe instructions for individuals and groups to kill others under God’s command. What appears to most as God’s cruelty, since some were told to kill without any sense of restraint—sometimes instructing that even the women, children, and animals of the people be completely destroyed—is always the repercussion of a refusal to repent. I would challenge you to do an in-depth study on this subject. Look to see if God ever gives a command to destroy other people without first giving those people a warning that their ways were evil and self-destructive as well as plenty of time and opportunity to repent. If you take up my challenge, you will find that God has an unblemished record of giving the evil-doers a form of due process. Sometimes, when God warns the wicked, they repent and are not only spared some calamity, but often they are restored to fellowship and peace. An example of this can be seen in the famous story of the Israelites at Jericho. When the Israelite spies infiltrated Jericho, they found shelter with Rahab, the harlot. She told the spies that the people of her city knew all about the miraculous events that had happened to the Israelites, and that the people of Jericho were terrified of them. However, rather than repent, and they had seven glorious opportunities to do so as the Israelites marched around their city, the people continued to resist change. However, Rahab was willing to repent, as indicated by her willingness to provide safety to the spies. She asked that when the Israelites attacked that she and anyone that she could convince to join her in her spot along the city wall would be spared. The spies, not knowing how God was going to deliver Jericho to them, agreed that anyone in the room that bore the scarlet rope would be saved. Apparently, when the walls came down, that part of the wall was not destroyed and Rahab and her family were not only spared their lives, they were later able to live among the Israelites. At other times, the wicked persist in their evil ways and suffer the consequences. In the same story, the rest of Jericho’s people, despite their God-given fear of the Israelites and multiple opportunities to surrender and repent, refused to humble themselves to God. After seven days of watching the Israelites march peacefully around their city walls, the city collapsed and everyone and everything in the city (except Rahab’s family) were destroyed. But were the people of Jericho really so bad that they needed to be completely wiped out? Wasn’t this culling a factor of war and a premeditated land-grab? Let’s see what Moses had to say about the matter just weeks prior to the destruction of Jericho.

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Hell Is Not the Issue

“Listen, O Israel! Today you are about to cross the Jordan River to take over the land belonging to nations much greater and more powerful than you. They live in cities with walls that reach to the sky! The people are strong and tall—descendants of the famous Anakite giants... But recognize today that the LORD your God is the one who will cross over ahead of you like a devouring fire to destroy them. He will subdue them so that you will quickly conquer them and drive them out, just as the LORD has promised. “After the LORD your God has done this for you, don’t say in your hearts, ‘The LORD has given us this land because we are such good people!’ No, it is because of the wickedness of the other nations that he is pushing them out of your way. It is not because you are so good or have such integrity that you are about to occupy their land. The LORD your God will drive these nations out ahead of you only because of their wickedness, and to fulfill the oath he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You must recognize that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land because you are good, for you are not—you are a stubborn people.

(Deuteronomy 9:1-6 emphasis added) In the Biblical narrative about Jericho we see the two basic options that God always offers: repent or be destroyed. God never destroys anyone for refusing to repent the first time. In the case of Jericho, they had at minimum seven opportunities to repent. God does not delight in the destruction of the wicked, but if they stiffen their necks and refuse to humble themselves in repentance, destruction awaits. We might sit in judgment of God and say that destruction is unnecessary, but we as the creation, do not see things from the vantage point of the whole that the Creator sees. Since destruction is the conclusion to which any who refuse to repent are facing, then If God gives anyone such a difficult experience that it causes him to repent of his destructive ways, God is being kind to that person by giving them the difficulty. This is a challenging concept, so I intend to take some time in explaining it. This is core to the explanation of the kindness of Hell. Consider a parent who discovers that his child has taken up smoking. The parent, perhaps a former smoker himself, sees the future destruction of his child’s body and health that a lifetime of smoking represents. At first, the parent warns the child of the dangers of smoking, but nothing changes. Then the parent begins to place restrictions on the child as punishments to get him to stop. Unfortunately, those have no effect either. Finally, in an act of desperation, the parent hires a friend of the family to follow his child around every moment of every day with the expressed instructions to beat the child to a pulp every time he puts a cigarette to his mouth. Eventually, the child figures out that smoking isn’t worth the suffering and he quits. Please don’t use this example as advice to stop a child from smoking, but recognize that a wise parent understands that any controlled use of short-term pain to avoid uncontrolled long-term pain is generally a good trade-off. And this is the situation that we have with Hell. The Lake of Fire itself is eternal destruction for mankind—uncontrolled in its eternity. Therefore, as a last-ditch effort to get every man and woman who failed to reverse the path of destruction they were on in life, God will allow each and every soul in Hell

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Hell Is Not the Issue

to be punished short-term to such an extent that they each get the message and see the benefits of repentance. Destruction is avoided by repentance. Since God desires restoration, destruction is not an option, therefore everyone must come to a point where they repent. “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” (2 Peter 3:9 NLT) As described by those throughout the biblical story who refused to repent of their wicked ways, the only alternative to repentance is destruction. That is why Hell must be horrible, and worse for some than it is for others. Some people will need to be tormented significantly to get them to repent, but I am convinced that God’s design of Hell will be such that every man and woman ever created will experience just enough misery in Hell to bring them to the point of true repentance. This is God’s act of kindness to us. For without the suffering in Hell, the only option we have is to continue going our own way in rebellion against God to our own everlasting destruction. A similar, but not as grave, scenario is played out between the Apostle Paul and the people of the Church at Corinth. Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

(2 Corinthians 7:8-10) Notice that Paul is pleased, not because of the suffering they endured, but because their discomfort led them to the point of repentance. A loving God, desirous of relationship, must find a way to restore the relationship. 3. God will repay each person according to what they have done. This section should be rather easy to explain because it means exactly what it says. But let’s break it down further to get a really good grasp on this very important statement. God will repay. Notice that the words are not “dish out,” “allot,” “assign,” or “dispense.” God will give us what we have earned. Consider these verses as well: “According to what they have done, so will he repay wrath to his enemies and retribution to his foes; he will repay the islands their due.” (Isaiah 59:18) “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19) If you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength! Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”

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does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done? (Proverbs 24:10-12) God will give us each exactly what we deserve, and we will deserve according to what we have chosen to do. That might sound terrifying to us, since we have some idea of how wicked we can be and have been. And in some ways it’s beneficial that it terrifies us, especially if it leads us to repentance. However, knowing that our future punishment will be limited to the repayment of our actions should also provide great relief. I say this because there is no sin that we can commit (except for the unpardonable sin) that is eternally punishable. Consider even Josef Stalin who ordered the premature death of millions of his fellow countrymen. If the wages of one murder is 1000 years in Hell, and Stalin is credited with as many as sixty million executions, then for his murders alone Stalin would be facing around sixty billion years in Hell. Yet sixty billion years is infinitely better than eternity, as hard for us as it is to imagine such a thing. Any number, no matter how large, is smaller than infinity. If we are to be repaid according to our works, then by definition the wages must be measured, not infinite. (The remaining uncomfortable issue of the unpardonable sin will be dealt with in detail in the followup book, Heaven is Not the Issue.) Having dealt with some extraordinarily large numbers as we consider the wages we might receive for our choices in this life, let me remind you that when God saw fit to have His son, Jesus, take the sin of the world upon himself on the cross, God did not need billions of years to do the punishing. It is no secret that Jesus accepted the punishment for all of the sins of mankind. “‘He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.’” (1 Peter 2:24) Neither is it a mystery as to how long Jesus suffered the consequences of our sins. “And he said, ‘Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day.’” (Luke 24:46) It took God only three days and nights to satisfy the punishment of all the sins of mankind through Jesus. Jesus is an extraordinary case. As the son of God and without a sin nature, it is conceivable that punishing Jesus for our sins could be accomplished in a small fraction of the time that we could pay for our own sins in Hell. However, keep in mind that Joseph Stalin is only required to pay for the sins of Josef Stalin—one man! Jesus, on the other hand was paying for the sins of Josef Stalin as well as more than ten billion others at the same time! Even if Jesus

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could bear our sin debt at a 1,000,000:1 (one million to one) ratio he would still be looking at astronomical numbers for the deeds of billions and billions of sinners. And yet, God saw fit to subject Jesus to only three days of punishment for all of the sins of mankind. Now that’s what I call mercy! Furthermore, as noted above, Jesus has already paid the price for all of our sins. While we will be repaid according to our works, there is nothing left to pay. “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him [Jesus] the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) We couldn’t pay the debt for sin anyway, since we don’t have the remedy within ourselves. The best that we can do is suffer in torment until we come to that realization and bow our knee to Jesus. Every man, woman, child and unborn child will pay suffer in Hell proportional to what their deeds on earth have earned them. This should be of great comfort to those who have lost a child during pregnancy. However, since Jesus has already paid the full price for every sin ever committed, the only reason why anyone continues to suffer in Hell is because their pride refuses to allow them to repent. Hell must therefore be so fierce for some that it will crack even the hardest soul, bringing them to the point of bowing their knee to Jesus in true humility. A kind, loving God would do this, but would likely do it as quickly as possible to prevent the maximum amount of suffering and to maximize the time spent in glory.

A return to the Potter and the Prodigal God has plans, and He reveals those plans to us as He feels we can handle them. But God’s ultimate plans are not always what He indicates to us. If God told us plainly exactly what was to happen all the time, we would lose our sense of free will. Therefore, God gives us the impression that He changes His mind sometimes in order that we can more fully join with Him in His plans for the world. Take a look at yet another story about the potter: The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. Then the LORD gave me this message: “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand. If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. And if I

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announce that I will plant and build up a certain nation or kingdom, but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless it as I said I would. (Jeremiah 18:1-10 emphasis added) God always seems to have an option available for repentance. Even when it appears as though no hope exists, with God hope always exists. God does not punish us with the intention of destroying us, He punishes us to correct us, and to draw us back to himself. How do I know this? Well, to answer I need to return to our understanding that God wants us to view Him as our Heavenly Father. The story of the Prodigal Son is one of the most beautiful stories in the entire Bible. It’s a story about a man and two sons. Each had the opportunity to inherit great riches and power. The younger son is a rebel. He wants to have it all, right now! Surprisingly, the Father allows the rebel son to have exactly as he wishes, even though he knew in his heart that the son was likely headed for disaster. Despite its familiarity, here is the whole story as told in the New Living Translation: To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’ “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’ “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

(Luke 15:11-24 NLT) The intention of the father was always reconciliation. And although the Father in this story is not seen as having power over the conditions to start a famine, it seems more than a bit coincidental that the famine arrives just as the boy’s money runs out. The hidden message in this story is that He who controls circumstances is at work to produce correction and reconciliation. Had it not been for the

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severity of the famine, the son might never have come to the conclusion that he’d made a mess of his life. Sometimes the kindest thing that can happen to us is the worst kind of disaster, especially if the disaster is tailored to cause us to see the error of our ways and turn things around or to reach out for help. Can Hell really be an expression of God’s kindness? It certainly cannot if the suffering never ends. Eternal punishment is a lose-lose proposition. But a Hell that punishes mankind enough to break each and every man and woman who is placed there so that they repent of their rebellion and bow their knee to the one who wants desperately to rescue them and then to bring them to a place of un-ending glory and grace is not only kind, I can think of only one thing that is kinder. An all-knowing God who seeks a win-win scenario for both Himself and His creation is permitted the freedom to allow us to think that all hope is gone, but then to present a hope that is more glorious than anyone could have ever imagined. That’s the kind of God that I get excited about, and it’s why I am happy to serve Him each day of my life. You simply cannot lose when you serve a God who has only your best intentions in mind. I certainly hope that by now you have concluded that my theory on God’s plan to rescue people from Hell through Jesus issuing pardons to those who repent is compelling. If you haven’t been convinced yet, I’ve saved the best for last just for you.

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Hell Is Not the Issue

Chapter Ten

The Smoking Gun As compelling as the ideas put forth so far have (hopefully) been, when it comes to a matter as serious as one’s eternal state, every one of us wants conclusive proof that what is being proffered is true. When it comes to solving crimes, there is nothing better than finding the proverbial “smoking gun”—that tidbit of evidence or information that makes the case open-and-shut, leaving no hope for the defense to be able to convince the jury that anything other than the prosecution’s case is valid. If you will bear with me, I would like to pretend that I am the prosecuting attorney and that you are the jury. As my final point to prove that Jesus Christ will find a way to set free those billions not found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, I submit to you the smoking gun. The Book of Revelation makes a point of describing the place called Hell known specifically as the Lake of Fire (or Gehenna, in the Greek) as “the second death.” “Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.”

(Revelation 20:14) “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)

This fact could not be made more clear or explicit. The Lake of Fire is the second death. Other verses in Revelation point out the blessings upon those who are able to avoid this second death. “Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:6) “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.” (Revelation 2:1)

The second death has power over all who do not escape it. Just as our first death brings a sense of closure and permanence to life on earth, the second death brings a sense of closure and permanence to the afterlife. Note, though, that death only brings a sense of closure, not actual closure. For just as the death of the body does not bring an end to our existence, neither does the second death bring about an end to our existence. Those who exist in Hell are not annihilated. We know this, in part, because of what we read in Revelation 22. Those who are outside the gates, the immoral and wicked of this life, despite being cast into the Lake of Fire are still present outside the gates. Argument can be made as to exactly where these people may actually be, but nobody that I know is arguing that these

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individuals aren’t very much still in existence. For those who are convinced that billions of people will be tortured in Hell forever, this endurance is important. In the book, Four Views on Hell, Clark H. Pinnock writes, “Being unable to discount the possibility of hell as a final irreversible condition, I am forced to choose between two interpretations of hell: Do the finally impenitent suffer everlasting, conscious punishment (in body and soul, either literally or metaphorically), or do they go out of existence in the second death? In other words, does hellfire torment or consume?” (Four Views on Hell, p. 142) Pinnock admittedly comes to his conclusion that annihilation is God’s plan for the vast majority of His created people because he feels that there are only two legitimate options available. Either God does what He says he will do (which is to cast people into Hell for eternity where they will be tormented forever), or His love will win out and He will completely wipe out all memory of these individuals. Pinnock opts for the latter because he finds the former impossible to accept. The annihilation theory is not much more loving, in my opinion. Annihilation is the lesser of two evils. It certainly isn’t very loving to the billions who were born into suffering, struggle and injustice in this life, who will never see justice, redemption or grace. And this is only one of my concerns. Perhaps upon reading this book, Mister Pinnock will embrace a third legitimate option. The reason why it is important for us to understand that God calls the Lake of Fire the second death, and why it is important for us to understand that the second death does not mean annihilation is because the Bible is explicitly clear about what God intends to ultimately do about death. Here is another significant portion of text from the Apostle Paul as he wrote to the believers in Corinth. The context is important, that is why I want you to read all twenty-six verses, even though we will focus on the final paragraph below. Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than

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that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

(1 Corinthians 15:1-26) The hope of all who believe is wrapped up in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Paul makes it very clear that if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then the best anyone who puts their trust in him can hope for ends with life here on earth, making us absolutely pitiful. But Jesus Christ did indeed rise from the dead. He demonstrated such power by bringing Lazarus and others back from the dead while he was alive, and he returned to those who knew him to verify the fact of his own resurrection before ascending into the clouds. If you are in need of evidence about the literal resurrection of Jesus Christ, there are some good books on the subject including Lee Stroebel’s book, The Case for Easter. However, ultimately, since we did not witness this resurrection ourselves, we must accept it by faith at some level or reject it. Paul’s point here is that if there is no resurrection from the dead by Jesus, then all hope for the future is gone. We might as well eat, drink and be merry here while we can because nothing good will be awaiting us on the other side. Jesus’ resurrection is given as the first fruit for the ultimate harvest. In ancient Jewish tradition, there is a celebration as part of the Passover called the First Fruits. “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before the LORD so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.” (Leviticus 23:10,11). As part of this feast/holiday the Jews were to bring a sample of their harvest from the barley crop, which was the first of the growing season to ripen. The significance of this offering is that God was given the first part with the expectation that He would deliver a healthy remainder of all of their crops for the growing season. With Jesus described here in 2 Corinthians 15 as the first fruit of those who have fallen “asleep” (meaning death of the body), Paul is explaining that Jesus represents the first part of a harvest of bodies that will be raised to new life. Because Jesus arose, many others will arise. The big question then is how many will rise from the dead to new life? The answer could not be made more clear than what is given to us in verse twenty-two—as many as have been made dead in

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Adam will be made alive through Jesus Christ. That means every single person who ever lived! I’ve heard the arguments before that this cannot mean every single person, but the text is designed to be explicit about this. The only reason why anyone would say that 1 Corinthians 15:22 is not saying that onehundred percent of the people of earth will be risen from the dead is because they are bringing other beliefs into the equation and have prejudged that all cannot equal all. What most people are not considering about this rising from the dead issue is that death has two distinct forms. There is the first death, which is the one we are all familiar with. The first death is the particular death of our natural bodies on earth, and the resurrection of these bodies will be glorious. 1 Corinthians 15:35-57 tells us that the natural body will be gloriously raised to immortality at the last trumpet. But there is also the second death which provides God an opportunity to raise the majority of people from a different kind of death, the perpetual death of the body, unto life—a life of splendor in the New Earth as glorious indentured servants. I believe that this resurrection from perpetual death (in the Lake of Fire) will be even more glorious than the resurrection of the bodies of the Saints. The text further elaborates that there is an order to this resurrection. Jesus is first, then the saints will be resurrected at a later date, and finally, the end will come. Take a look at what Reverend Bryan Findlayson has to say about what “the end will come” means from verse twenty-four. to teloV (ouV to) "the end will come" - end, conclusion, goal. Paul does not explain what this is, but possibly he is speaking about the end of human history, or in a wider sense the end of God's redemptive plan in Christ, the submission of all powers under Christ's reign... Yet, Paul may just be using the word in the sense of "climax", or "goal", a climax/goal which entails the handing over of the kingdom to the Father... Following the resurrection of believers and the consequential end of human history, the sequence of events moves to the ultimate goal when Christ hands over the kingdom to the Father. It is possible, although unlikely, that teloV here means "rest / remainder", so the resurrection sequence is: first Christ; then believers; and "then the rest." (Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons. A New Testament Greek Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:20-28. www.lectionarystudies.com/studyn/sunday34aen.html)

Findlayson says that it is possible that what has been translated as “the end will come” could have been translated as “then the rest.” What makes Findlayson’s final comment about such a translation “unlikely” is probably his prejudiced idea that “the rest” will never be risen from the dead, but will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. Therefore, the text can’t say what it appears to say because that would cast doubt on the “fact” that the unrighteous will never be raised to life after being cast into the Lake of Fire. But even if “then the end will come” is the best translation of “to telov” it seems that the meaning must not be what we would generally expect “the end will come” to mean, as Findlayson admits. After all, one wouldn’t expect more to happen after “the end.” Here we see that Jesus gives all authority back to the Father after having put all enemies under his own feet. There is no sense of

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ultimate finality here at all. Jesus’ work is complete, but it is by no means the arrival of the end. This leads me to believe that the translation of “to telov” as “then the rest” makes more sense than “then the end will come.” The first to rise from the dead is Christ, then the saints when Christ returns, and then the rest—which brings us to an end since there is nobody left to be resurrected. If the better translation of verse twenty-four is “then the rest/remainder” there must be a third resurrection which happens to the bodies of those still dead after the resurrection of the saints. The timeline of the three resurrections, then, goes like this: Jesus, the first fruits, was resurrected approximately 33 AD, three days after his death on a cross. Those who belong to Jesus (the Church/Saints/Elect) will be resurrected at the time called the “Tribulation Period” which is at the end of the Church Age that we are living through now. The Tribulation Period immediately precedes the 1000 year (Millennial) reign of Christ and the Saints. In the 2 Corinthians 15 text this resurrection is described as “when he comes” since it coincides with the physical return of Jesus Christ to earth. The rest will be resurrected after the 1000 year reign. “The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.” (Revelation 20:5) Yet, if they indeed “come to life” in the passage I’m about to show you, this “life” is extremely short-lived, and it is not described as life in the text. Here it is: Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

(Revelation 20:11-15) According to Revelation 20, the rest of the people go from death to the second death without a resurrection to life. But Revelation 20:5 says that they come to life after the 1000 years had passed. Either the unrighteous dead are resurrected to life, only to be cast into the second death, or as the text seems to indicate, the dead are brought before the judgment seat in their still-dead form. This may not seem possible since earlier it says that the dead were standing before the throne, and dead people can’t stand. However, the Greek word translated “standing” is the word “hestōtas” which means “to make to stand or to stand” (Strong’s Greek 2476) so it is altogether possible that they are standing, but not under

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their own power. As we know from life on earth, one does not have to be alive or present to be judged, so the fact that they are judged does not necessitate a resurrection to life either. As I mentioned before, just because an individual is dead does not mean that their spirit is unconscious. The death mentioned in this passage is the Greek word “nekros” which means it’s like dead flesh or as a rotting corpse. It’s a dead body, but the spirit is still conscious. Why am I making such a big deal of the time when these resurrections take place and whether or not the dead are raised to life? The key to our “smoking gun” is literally the relationship between life and death. Let’s examine this crucial text about bodily resurrections from 1 Corinthians 15: But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a lifegiving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.

(1 Corinthians 15:35-49 NKJV) There are a couple of key points to consider in this incredible passage. The first is that new life only arises out of death. In the case of those who embrace the gift of grace while alive here on earth, we have died to self, but we have had the physical death of Jesus attributed to our account. By being found in Christ, we are seen as having died with him. For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in

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Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:14-17)

But as this text points out, since One died for all, then all have died. We all have a death that we can claim for new life. The second point from the chapter 15:35-49 text is that this new life that we get is a spiritual life, not another natural or physical life. And that when we receive this new life the change will be glorious and powerful and the new life will be incorruptible. The righteous are told that their resurrection will indeed be glorious. Take a look at the wording used about it: Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Death is swallowed up in victory.â&#x20AC;? (1 Corinthians 15:51-54 NKJV)

That sounds glorious and powerful. But when we look back at the Revelation 20 passage as the dead are given up for judgment there is nothing glorious or powerful expressed there at all. Many have been led to believe that the promise of the glorious resurrection applies only to the believer Saints. But let me remind you of this verse that we quoted earlier: But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. (1 Corinthians 15:20 NLT emphasis added)

This resurrection of the dead is not reserved only for the saints. All who have died will be restored to a new, spiritual existence through Jesus Christ. But the resurrections do not necessarily happen at the same time or in the same way. The resurrection of the Saints will indeed be glorious: I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4-6)

Those who participate in the first resurrection will experience the 1000 year reign of Christ along with the restoration of the earth. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed [raised to life in the first resurrection]. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

(Romans 8:19-21) But the rest of humanity will also experience a glorious resurrection, and the glory and power of the second resurrection will be much different from that of the first. Where the first resurrection was instantaneous (1 Corinthians 15:52), the second will take some time, possibly more time for some than for others. Where the first resurrection was highly anticipated by his followers, the second will be

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marked by complete surprise. And where the first resurrection is for a small group to rule, the second will be for a huge group to be ruled. The inheritance goes to those in the first resurrection, but as glorious as the first resurrection will be, I believe that the second resurrection, when the unrighteous dead are brought to life, will be even more glorious than the first. THE LAST ENEMY - DEATH Let’s return to the earlier part of this chapter where we were considering the first twenty-six verses of 1 Corinthians 15. We had left off with the idea that there is a three-fold sequence to the resurrection of the dead—first, Jesus; then the Saints when Jesus returns; and finally, the rest will come. This sequence to the resurrection of the dead is punctuated by a statement in 1 Corinthians 15:26 which is short and to the point—“the last enemy to be destroyed is death.” Again, let’s consider what Bryan Findlayson says about this passage. katargeitai (katargew) pres. pas. "to be destroyed" - being abolished. Most translations understand the present tense as expressing "what is certain"... Yet, giving weight to the durative aspect of the present tense in the Gk. we have the sense "the last enemy is being destroyed / annihilated", expressing the thought that the process is underway now through Christ's reign, ie. "death is being led inexorably to its final doom", Naylor, cf. Barrett. (Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons. A New Testament Greek Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:20-28. www.lectionarystudies.com/studyn/sunday34aen.html)

The understanding of what is being said here is that death will be annihilated. If death is destroyed then there is no such thing as death in existence. Death is gone, eradicated, deleted. This is the smoking gun. If death is destroyed then there can be no more death of any kind, including the second death. The Lake of Fire is the second death where the body experiences perpetual death. Jesus will one day destroy death, but he will do so after resurrecting all who died because of Adam (verse 22). If all are resurrected from death unto life with new bodies, then there is no way possible that any human can be in the Lake of Fire at the point in time when Jesus hands over the kingdom to the Father. “Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” (1 Corinthians 15:24,25) Thus, nobody spends eternity in the Lake of Fire. You simply cannot have death of any human in any form after death has been destroyed—that would not compute! When Jesus hands the Kingdom back to his Father, everything will be made right, and all will be as God intended it to be. Yes, death is going to one day be forever done away with. All that God has created will have life, and that life will be a spiritual life, an everlasting life. Satan and the demons will be separate from humanity in a place designed for them, and mankind will be on the New Earth, refurbished and without the curse. Each will have different roles and opportunities in the New Earth, but for mankind Hell will be

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only a horrible memory, one that all who experienced it will look back on with gratitude that God allowed them that reality so that they could experience His glory in such a more powerful way. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s review: Does the Bible explicitly tell us that all who are not found written in the Lambâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Book of Life will be cast into the Lake of Fire? Yes it does. Does the Bible explicitly tell us that the Lake of Fire will burn forever and ever? Yes it does. Does the Bible explicitly tell us that the sentence given to everyone who is cast into the Lake of Fire will be forever? Yes it does. Does the Bible explicitly tell us that the lake of Fire is the second death? Yes it does. Does the Bible explicitly tell us that Jesus is going to one day completely destroy death? Yes it does! Then will all who are cast into the Lake of Fire be redeemed, rescued and blessed for all of eternity, even if it means they are given a less-blessed eternity than those who embrace Jesus Christ while living on earth? My friends, you can take it to the bank. Jesus will rescue every soul from Hell. All means all.

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Section Five:

Everybody Wins! (Sort of) Chapter Eleven

Limits of Glory Some readers who know their Bible well might be thinking, “Didn’t Jesus specifically say that certain people would never enter Heaven?” In fact, Jesus and the disciples did make it clear that some people would be excluded in the afterlife, but as we’ll see, the exclusion isn’t what we grew up thinking it was. Furthermore, we’ll discover in this chapter the importance of being able to see the face of God the Father, which the church fathers coined “the beatific vision.” Jesus told his disciples in John 14 that he was going to prepare a place for them and that he would come again to receive them unto himself. He described this place as “my Father’s house.” (John 14:2) But shortly after telling his disciples about bringing them to the place he had prepared for them, we see him saying these famous words to Thomas, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) What was Jesus saying here? Was he really saying what most of us were taught, or at least what we assumed to mean that nobody can get to Heaven except through him? That seems to be a safe assumption, since it is clear that Jesus, in the context, is telling the disciples about their homes in Heaven. But Jesus did not say that nobody could get to Heaven except through him. He specifically said that nobody can come to the Father, except through him. This is not the only case where what we thought was an exclusion of Heaven was specifically an exclusion from seeing the Father. Hebrews 12:14 says, “Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.” (NLT) 2 Thessalonians 1:8, 9 says, “He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power.” (emphasis added in both cases) Whenever we see limits being put on the wicked in eternity those limits always refer to being kept out of the holy city (New Jerusalem) or from seeing God the Father.

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Perhaps I’m not looking hard enough, but I cannot find a single passage of scripture that makes it clear that anyone (other than those who commit the unpardonable sin, or perhaps those who take the Mark of the Beast and worship his image) will be prohibited from being present in the New Earth. There are a number of passages that say that some will be excluded from the Kingdom of Heaven, but as it will be clarified later on in this book, the Kingdom is primarily the rule of the king and his family, not just a location. References to exclusion from the Kingdom include: Matthew 5:20, 7:21, 18:3, 19:23-25, 21:32, 23:13; Mark 10:15, 10:23; John 3:5; Acts 14:22) In Luke 13:23-25 the disciples ask Jesus if only a few are going to be saved. Here is Jesus’ response: He said to them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don't know you or where you come from.’” Again, this does not exclude anyone from Heaven directly. By referring to those who are going to be saved the reference is that the rest will not be spared from going to Hell. Those who are “saved” enter into eternal life. There are several verses that speak of entering into this “life” (Matthew 18:8,9; 19:17; Mark 9:43-47; John 10:7-10). Those who inherit eternal life are those who escape Hell altogether. The Bible is clear on that. Anyone who does not have eternal life will “perish” in Hell in what is called the second death. (John 3:16; Revelation 20:6) It’s clear then that not all will be saved, but that some will go to Hell; however, the issue we’re more concerned with now isn’t about whether we are excluded from being saved, but being excluded from being rescued. Perhaps the most challenging passage of scripture related to the unrighteous ending up in Heaven is found in Hebrews 3 and 4 as it relates to entering in to God’s “rest.” Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. (Hebrews 3:16-19) Hebrews 3 and 4 speaks at length about some entering into God’s rest and others not being able. In fact, it says that some will never enter God’s rest. The Old Testament reference spoken of here is of the Israelites who, under Moses, had the opportunity to leave behind the life of slavery in Egypt and settle in Palestine, their promised land, where they would be able to be free from their taskmasters and live a life of peace. Historically, we know that this group decided not to enter the land out of fear of

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the giants who lived there, and therefore only two people—Joshua and Caleb—out of that entire generation aged twenty and above got to eventually enter the land. All of the others died in the wilderness. To the Israelites, the Promised Land is the prophetic equivalent to Heaven for us. There are many parallels that can be seen between the Israelites and the Promised Land, and the Church and Heaven. However, although the Promised Land represents Heaven, the rest that God specifically refers to in Hebrews does not necessarily refer to the New Earth. In fact, we know that it is the elect who will enjoy real rest in Heaven. The ruling class will work for God in eternity, but not like the indentured servants. For the indentured servants, work will be a fact of life. For the ruling class, joy will be a fact of life. Even this Hebrews passage seems to fit better with the concept that the elect will enter the rest of God. The rest to be enjoyed in eternity does not exclude the non-elect from being on the New Earth, it simply means that they will not experience the same rest that God wanted the Church to look forward to. In Isaiah chapter 35 there is talk about Zion, the holy city of Jerusalem. Verse 8 of that chapter says that there will be a highway there that the unclean will not journey on. One could extrapolate such a passage to mean that the unclean must not be in Heaven since the highway could extend well beyond the borders of the New Jerusalem. I agree that it could, but with a city that is 2,200 Kilometers wide and long, there is no need for this highway to extend beyond the borders of the city. If there is a passage of scripture which prohibits the non-elect from being in the New Earth, this does not appear to be it. A strong argument to support the theory that it will be the unbelieving of this life who will be ruled in Heaven is the fact that nowhere does scripture say that the non-elect will be prohibited from anything outside of the New Jerusalem. The biblical record is abundantly clear that only the ruling class will enter the New Jerusalem (Psalm 118:19, 20; Isaiah 26:1, 2; 51:11; 52:1; 57:2; Revelation 21:22-27), but there appears to be no limits to anyone being able to live anywhere else in God’s Kingdom.

The Beatific Vision While it might seem like a relief that the unbelievers who escape Hell will be allowed to enjoy the New Earth, it is a terrible shame that anyone would miss out on being able to have the ultimate experience in life, which is to see the face of God the Father. The beatific vision and the New Jerusalem as a whole will forever be the major difference between the quality of life for the elect and the nonelect. It won’t feel like a punishment to not be able to enter the Holy City and see the Father, but it certainly will be something that the non-elect will wish they could experience. To compare the concept

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with something more tangible, being in the New Earth with the common benefits but without the ability to ever see God’s face or enter the New Jerusalem is like living your whole life without being able to experience good sex. Sure, you can have good quality of life, but anyone who has experienced pleasurable sex would feel sorry for those who never get such joy in this life. Several times we see the writers of Scripture make a big issue of people being able to see God’s face or experience God’s glory. When Moses came down from meeting with God at Mount Sinai, his face was glowing. Here’s what Exodus 34:28-30 says: Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. We know from the story that Moses did not see God’s face; here’s the record of why Moses’ face glowed: Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.” (Exodus 33:18-23) God revealed his glory to many other people through the Ark of the Covenant, the pillar of cloud, and several other ways. In every case, as people saw the glory of God, they were awestruck, even though the glory they saw was significantly diluted compared to seeing God’s face. I say this to point out that while I’m convinced that there is no barrier to the non-elect enjoying the New Earth, I certainly hope that you won’t want to settle for that. God wants to offer you so much more. He has so much more to give you in the New Jerusalem with him. Unfortunately, only those who accept the gift that Jesus Christ offers by faith in this life will be able to experience all of the benefits of the afterlife.

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Chapter Twelve

Perfect Love Doesn’t Put Second Best on the Table This book makes a significant claim: that most people, including many that consider themselves followers of Christ, will go to Hell and while there all people will be offered a pardon by Jesus to escape that punishment, allowing them to live out the rest of eternity as indentured servants on the New Earth. Even if I have been able to convince you that what I’ve claimed is correct, you’re probably asking a couple of very important questions—“Why does God choose to do things this way?” and “Why haven’t I heard this teaching before?” I’m not sure that I can satisfactorily answer the second, but I feel some confidence with the first. Allow me to frame the question properly, because I feel strongly that a proper answer to the “why” of this discussion is absolutely critical. I believe that the real, difficult question to answer in response to this book is “If everyone, or at least nearly everyone, is going to go to a perfect place where love rules and all of my problems will be a distant memory; and where all of the people I’ve known, good, bad and indifferent will also be, regardless of what they’ve done in this life, why doesn’t God tell us that plainly in the Bible?” This question leads us to also ask, “Why does God allow us to think that we will suffer eternally in Hell if we don’t do things according to His plan? And why doesn’t God allow us to enjoy living for ourselves in this life without the threat of eternal punishment looming over our heads since we will all eventually give in to God’s love anyway and God will get what He wants from us?” If you have had questions like this running through your head as you read this book then I hope that I can provide you with some satisfaction, for these are the same kinds of questions I asked myself as I was discovering the core truth of this book. As my friend, Bruce, who was one of the first to read the original draft of this book said to me over and over, “Where does the Scripture say what you are claiming?” As a student of the Word of God, Bruce recognized the painful truth of this book—that the teachings of this book are not laid out in chapter and verse format. There is no specific text to which I can point you that says that Jesus will pardon people from the Lake of Fire. Despite this lack of obvious evidence, I believe that the arguments set forth in this volume do prove that this is precisely what will indeed happen someday. I also am convinced that the arguments made are biblically-based, honest, and true-to-the-text validations of the thesis.

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One of my greatest concerns with the writing of this book was that some people would read it and conclude that since they will not spend eternity in Hell they might as well live however they please here on earth. I also feared that those who are part of the Elect might be tempted to neglect the responsibility we have been given by Christ to spread the good news of the Gospel to everybody since God has already pre-determined who will be part of God’s family and who will not. Having completed the book, I still have some reservations about how this work will be received, but I’m not worried that my words will have a negative effect on God’s plan for mankind. As you come to an understanding of my answer to the original questions in this chapter, I believe that you will see why.

God’s plan for mankind is much bigger than our understanding of it. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9) Everything shared in this book is based on what I’ve read from Scripture itself. The main ideas are solidly found in the teachings of the New Testament and are supported by Old Testament truth. God’s decision to allow me to see what others have not seen is likely a combination of God’s timing for what he has in store for this and subsequent generations and a special expression of the gift of the Holy Spirit through me. I do not claim to understand why God would choose to reveal this mystery at this time or through me. I am only grateful that God saw fit to use me to share His message. The point is that who God uses to share His message is of little importance. If it was not me, it would have been somebody else. What is important is that God has chosen to reveal this mystery now. His timing is always perfect, and someday we will understand why this truth has been kept from the public view for so long. I have tried to speculate as to why this message is being revealed now, but the Spirit of God has not chosen to give me understanding of what will take place in our world that requires this information to be shared. My role is simply to write the truth.

People do not need to be manipulated in order to fulfill God’s plan. Religion has used many tactics to get people to conform, submit, and contribute. Sadly, it has been well-documented that Hell has been one of the all-time favorite tools of the religious to manipulate the masses. But does God really need his so-called followers to do his redemptive work? I don’t believe that He does. God will judge sin; we’ve already discussed that. And yes, Hell acts as a deterrent to people to help keep them from doing even more evil than they already do. However, to assume that God needs Hell as a tool to keep us all in line and to consider that God couldn’t accomplish His purposes without

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Hell is to trivialize God to the point of blasphemy. Personally, I am happy that the fear of Hell keeps some people from being more wicked than they might like to be, but I have no doubt that God could limit the amount of suffering and evil on this planet in many other ways if He wanted to. You see, if God is going to ultimately draw all men unto himself (John 12:32) then it isn’t so important how much evil is committed here in this world, but what matters is how that evil is compensated. Consider this tricky verse from Revelation 22: He who is unrighteous (unjust, wicked), let him be unrighteous still; and he who is filthy (vile, impure), let him be filthy still; and he who is righteous (just, upright, in right standing with God), let him do right still; and he who is holy, let him be holy still. (Rev 22:11 - AMP) And its parallel verse from Daniel’s prophesy. Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand. (Dan 12:10) It seems that what God is trying to teach us is that the role of the righteous is not to reform the unrighteous, but they are simply to live lives of righteousness before the rest of the world so that they can bear witness to God’s work in their lives. We might all be a lot better off if those who claim to be Christ-followers would focus our attention on being what we say we are, rather than focusing on the shortcomings of our fellow-man who may not even care about doing what is right. If we say that we are holy (set apart for a special purpose) then it should be readily apparent to all who see us that we are indeed holy. If we are righteous, then what business do we have complaining about the actions of those who do evil? If we are truly righteous, then shouldn’t even the unrighteous be coming to us to settle disputes and to find justice? My personal experience has been that it is difficult enough for me to be holy and righteous in all of my actions without having to also focus on the righteousness of others. My observation confirms to me that everyone is better off when the righteous focus on their own righteousness and let God deal with the unrighteousness of the wicked. Regardless of how much evil, pain and suffering there is in this world, God is more than adequate to balance the accounts. What the world needs is to see real contrast between the righteous and the unrighteous. Currently it seems as though the difference is often imperceptible. I believe that part of the reason why some people have such a difficult time accepting that Jesus may pardon those in Hell is because they have allowed religious leaders whose intentions were not necessarily magnanimous to manipulate them into believing that God needs “his” people to control the actions of others. Yet, when I study the Bible I do not see any such command, nor do I see that those who do so are commended for it. In fact, in the New Testament, a significant amount of ink is given to the struggle between those who embraced the message of Jesus and those religious people who sought

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with great vigor to control these converts by forcing them to submit to the laws of Judaism. The Apostles came to agreement that rather than yoke these people to the law, they should be given as much freedom as possible to live the life that the Spirit of God directed them to live with only a bare minimum of interference. (Acts 15) I believe that part of the reason why God wanted me to write this book is to help promote the contrast between those who are God’s and those who pretend to be.

God doesn’t put the second-best option on the table Love always seeks the best for the object of its affection. The purer my love for my wife, the more I am willing to sacrifice to show that nothing less than the best will do for her. The same is true with God. I believe that the reason why God doesn’t “advertise” that Jesus will pardon those who go to Hell is because he does not want any to go to Hell at all. People get so wrapped up in the punishment of Hell, but Hell is not the foundational issue with God. God wants you and me to have a love relationship with Him. His desire is to court us and to shower his love upon us. He even uses the descriptive language of a husband and wife to describe his ultimate relationship with those who embrace Jesus. Since God wants the most intense relationship possible with us, it makes perfect sense that the book he has written does not promote the “second best” option. Living on the New Earth forever and ever in peace, harmony and fulfillment will be wonderful, even if it comes after a time in Hell. Anything good multiplied by eternity makes a period of suffering bearable. But living on the New Earth without pain, sorrow, sin or suffering is not what a loving God who has so much more to give would offer the object of his affection. God wants you to enjoy the very best of eternity and he’s willing to put a little fear into you with the threat of Hell if that’s what it takes to get your attention long enough to see his love for you. The Bible tells us that “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9) but for too long many have accepted the lie that God has little of interest to offer us. We have spent so much energy focusing on how intent God is on punishing us that we’ve nearly completely missed the fact that God is eagerly awaiting the opportunity to shock us and awe us with his creativity, generosity and love. Anything that we can do on this side of eternity to give us standing which puts us closer to God should be encouraged. However, if the love of God does not draw you or even interest you, then you can rest assured that God’s second best will not be burdensome. Instead, God’s second best will still be better than anything that this world has to offer.

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Why have you not heard this message before? The claims of this book are not easily seen in the pages of scripture, but they are there. In 1 Corinthians 2 Paul explains that only those who have the Holy Spirit of God within them can understand the mysteries of God, and even those who have the Holy Spirit do not automatically receive the understanding of these mysteries; they must be studied out. One of the ways to show God how much we love Him is to study His Word and to desire to know his deeper truths. I am not a super-saint who figured this out through much hard work and superior intellect. I am more like the servant of Abraham who exclaimed in Genesis 24:27, “…Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, Who has not left my master bereft and destitute of His loving-kindness and steadfastness. As for me, going on the way [of obedience and faith] the Lord led me to the house of my master's kinsmen.” (Amplified) It all started when I was teaching the book of Romans to an adult class at the church where I used to work. When I got to chapter nine, it was as though God showed me that there was more to what I was reading than I had ever seen there before. The next course I taught was the book of Ephesians and when I saw how God planned to make a public spectacle of those who were his masterpieces for all of eternity from people who were spiritually dead it started to click. This led to the rediscovery of the potter and the clay and of Revelation 22. I basically re-read the entire Bible looking for further clues to the truth that I had seen in Romans and Ephesians. This book is the result of God showing me something that I had not seen before. My sincerest desire is that the same Holy Spirit who revealed this truth to me will confirm it in the hearts and minds of those who share the same Spirit. To conclude, I want to point out that God is in the restoration business. This may come as somewhat of a surprise to those reading this book who have unresolved issues, heartaches, and sorrows in their life, but it is true. God tells us that he intends to restore everything eventually. We need look no further than Jesus’ famous story of the prodigal son to see that God, the Father, eagerly waits for the day to throw his arms around those wayward sons and daughters of his who have returned to him in humility. Romans 8:19-21 says: The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

Perhaps it is time that the sons (and daughters) of God are to be revealed. There are many signs that indicate that the return of Christ is near (although I am not the least bit interested in setting dates). Those who claim to be the Elect may soon be put to the test as never before. Perhaps when it is clear who the Elect are the restoration of this earth will begin. If there is anything that I truly desire to see as

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an outcome from the publishing of this book it is that the Elect will step up and step out to show themselves as fully committed followers of Jesus Christ, willing to embrace any suffering necessary to demonstrate their commitment to Jesus and to show the world a touch of what Heaven will be like. Has God drawn you to demonstrate His love to the world; I sincerely hope so, the Kingdom awaits.

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Conclusion In order for God to be the God, we would expect Him to not only be mighty and authoritative, we expect Him to be, well... impressive. After all, there are some pretty impressive characters among those of us in the human race. Since we bear the image of God, then we could expect that He is the “most impressive One.” Our human story with all its pain and suffering is not all that impressive if it ends with the majority of God’s creation being cast into a fiery grave where His creation is perpetually tormented. We were made to want a happy ending to our stories, and this is definitely not a happy ending. We also appreciate a story with an unexpected twist at the end that not only turns an unhappy story into a happy one, but which leaves you marveling to your friends afterward that you “never saw that one coming.” Surely, if God is the God, He will write a story for mankind that is better than any story written by His creation. After all, He’s infinitely wise, and He’s had eternity to come up with the plot. Will the Great One not write the story of the ages that leaves all other narratives looking hollow and thin? And in the end, won’t we all marvel at how brilliantly this whole story wove together and made perfect sense by the conclusion? A great lover not only delivers his love-interest what she desires, but he does it best when she is left to wonder if she will actually get what she wants until she wants it so badly that by giving it to her she is desperate for it. To give away the plot too soon would be to spoil the surprise and leave the reader only mildly impressed. I am convinced that in revealing the message of a ransom-plot, God is preparing to insert a couple of important elements to His incredible story: 1. He is offering a narrative that makes sense of the whole glorious story. Our current narrative with all the pain, sorrow, sickness and suffering is flawed and anythingbut-glorious. If most people go to Hell forever with no escape, then the story of mankind is a petty, partisan struggle with more losers than winners. But if God allows all this misery here and now to greatly amplify the wonders and majesty of His plan for our future, then it gives all that grief a valuable place in the story. 2. We are near the end, and it is time for the sheep to identify themselves (or be identified.) It makes no sense for the great storyteller to give away such a carefully guarded secret now unless the conclusion of this scene is in view. He must feel that letting us in on this secret will not diminish the glory of its revelation. I feel a sense that God is saying to mankind as Jesus said to Judas, “Do what you came for, friend.” (Matthew 25:50a) Perhaps the time has come for those who have been pretending to be the Church, to reveal their true colors and for the true disciples to accept their roles and the suffering that will go with it, knowing that the future glory is worth the suffering. If indeed God has planned to gloriously restore every man, woman and child that was ever conceived through a rescue mission to Hell by Jesus then the story of mankind is both a happy one in the

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end and a marvelous one. Let’s review all of the reasons to believe that God’s plan for everyone who chooses not to embrace the salvation gift of Jesus Christ, or who never had the opportunity to make such a choice for themselves will be to spend a short time in Hell where each will bow the knee in repentance to Jesus and be redeemed through a pardon to eternal life on the New Earth. A. Romans 9:22, 23 says “What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory.” Hidden in plain sight, God says that He will display His wrath upon both Jews and Gentiles who are prepared to be destroyed, but He does this so that He can proudly show the mercy and the glory of His plan. Unless the Elect were prepared for destruction, the non-Elect are going to experience the great patience of God and a glorious, merciful rescue. B. If God is sovereign, then nobody can overrule his choices. If God is omnipotent, then none can stop Him from doing what He chooses to do. If God is holy, then He does and will do all things better than we could do them. If God is just, then everything must balance in the end, no punishment can be given that exceeds the damage created, and all things must ultimately be made whole. If God is faithful, then He cannot abandon that which He chooses. If God is true, then He must be loyal to that which He calls His own. If God is eternal, then nothing can take God by surprise. If God is omniscient, then He knows the solution to every problem before the problem even exists. If God is righteous, then He must always take the moral high ground and He cannot be petty. If God is unfathomable, then His ways may be mysterious to us, but they are perfectly clear to Him. If God is impartial, then He cannot pick and choose winners and losers without our full agreement to such choosing. If God is unlimited in creative potential, then even if it seems that there is no solution to a problem, there is a solution. In other words, if God is God then His “God-ness” (goodness) prevents Him from torturing His creation in Hell forever. There is no need for it, and there must be a plan to avoid it. C. God cannot claim to be merciful and then commit the most merciless act of all time by casting conscious souls in Hell forever with no chance of escape. To do so would make God a liar at best. D. If God is love, then He must always act in the best interest of the other party, not Himself. Love will not allow God to satisfy His anger or His justice with revenge. Love means that God must put the anger aside and care for those that He created. There is no loving care in Hell without a rescue. E. No loving father would ever punish his own children indefinitely. In order for a father to be considered good, he must protect, provide for, and act as a gardener toward his children. A father can allow his children to be punished, but only enough to bring about correction, not destruction. F. God does not delight in the destruction of the wicked. And the only alternative to the wicked being destroyed is repentance. G. Although the Bible is clear in telling us 1.) that Hell exists, 2.) that those not found written in the Book of Life will be cast into Hell, and 3.) that Hell is everlasting, nowhere in the Bible does it explicitly say that the humans cast into Hell will never escape, as it does for Satan and the Antichrist. H. Jesus said that it would be better for a man to lose an eye or a hand than to be cast into Hell. But such language seems to be too mild if those who are cast into Hell are never to escape. I. Since mankind is subject to God’s predestination and election, even if God chooses to make one a “garbage can” for eternity, God will still take care of such “garbage cans” and they will ultimately find themselves in the “great house” with the “vessels of honor.” The potter does not waste his clay.

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J. The Apostle Paul claims that at the right time, everything will be brought together under the authority of Jesus Christ. To be together and under the authority of Jesus does not allow billions of souls to be separate and terrorized by Satan. It does indicate that all of mankind will one day be together on the refurbished earth. Paul also claims that all things will be put under the authority of Christ, including everything in this present world/age and in the world/age to come. This does not allow for anyone in Hell to be left out. K. Since mankind is incapable of initiating a relationship with God, God must take responsibility for all of those people who do not choose to have a relationship with Him. He must also compensate them for their losses. Since the same people are blinded by Satan to even seeing that God wants a relationship with them, God is further obligated to not charge such apparent rebellion to the individual’s account. L. If the Elect are going to rule with Christ, then they must have someone to rule. Only the unrighteous who are released from Hell make a sensible explanation of who the Elect will rule in the afterlife. M. The Bible repeatedly says that one day every knee will bow to Jesus Christ, to the glory of the Father. Only repentant hearts will produce that scenario unless we somehow lose our ability to make our own choices. There are no exceptions to this action, as it covers everyone in Heaven, on earth or those under the earth. These same people will confess (with no indication of being forced to do so) that Jesus Christ is their Lord. Why would billions of souls make such a claim unless Jesus had rescued them from destruction and had given them a glorious future? N. There appears to be no barrier to Jesus visiting the unrighteous souls in Hell. He has done it before, He will do it again. O. Jesus made it clear in his teaching that those who appear to be the greatest here and now will be the least in the afterlife, and that the reverse is also true. In saying this, Jesus clearly puts both the least and the greatest together on the New Earth in eternity. P. Since Jesus also taught that anyone committing the unpardonable sin cannot be forgiven in this age or in the age to come (eternity), he inadvertently told us that any other sin can be forgiven and that pardons will be issued now and in the age to come. Q. By describing the immoral “dogs” as being outside the city gate, the Apostle John in Revelation 22 places the unrighteous on the New Earth, but excludes them from entering the New Jerusalem. This necessitates an escape from Hell. R. Through his prophetic words that he would go to his dead baby, but that his baby would not return to him, David makes the case that the Elect and the non-Elect will be reunited in eternity. This cannot happen if those not found written in the Book of Life are permanently locked-away in Hell. S. The Bible claims that as many as were made sinners in Adam (everyone but Jesus) will be made righteous in Jesus. It also claims that everyone will be reconciled and justified—no exceptions. T. God’s will is that everyone will repent. If an all-powerful being wants something to happen, it’s going to happen! U. 1 Timothy 4:10 says that God, is the Savior of all men, not just of those who believe. In fact those who believe are especially saved. Therefore, it cannot be claimed that any will not be rescued from Hell since the point of such a statement is to point out that the unbelieving will be delivered.

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V. Multiple times in Scripture it is said that mankind will be judged according to their works. No work of man is evil enough to deserve eternal punishment. Furthermore, Scripture says that even in punishment God’s intention is to lead us to repentance. If that is the case, then eternal separation without restoration is senseless. W. The one who will sentence every man, woman and child to Hell is the same one who paid the price for their sins. It makes no sense for Jesus to pay for the sins of all mankind and then to allow them to try (or be forced) to pay for those same sins again in Hell forever. X. Though not often translated as such, 1 Corinthians 15:25, 26 says that all who die will be made alive in this order: First Jesus Christ, then those who belong to him at Jesus’ return to earth, and finally the remainder will be made alive after the 1000-year reign of Christ. In that same chapter, Paul says that each time one of these resurrections happens it is a glorious thing, and that those being resurrected receive an immortal, incorruptible body. This is perfectly consistent with a pardon / resurrection from Hell to the New Earth for the billions in the Lake of Fire. Y. The last enemy that Jesus will destroy is death. Since the lake of Fire is the second death to humans, no human can possibly be part of the Lake of Fire at the time of Jesus’ eradication of death. All humans must have been removed from Hell before this event takes place. Z. Finally, God delights in issuing pardons and displaying His mercy to people. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. (Isaiah 55:7) Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. (Micah 7:18) Why wouldn’t a God who delights in showing mercy and issuing pardons do exactly that when it appears to be the only option available? My conviction is that He can hardly wait to do it! What I appreciate most about the idea that Jesus will issue pardons to those who repent in Hell is that it causes so much of the bigger story to make sense. Hell is not the issue. God has a much bigger, better plan for everyone than for this to be a cosmic game of winners and losers. The real God is able to create a win-win scenario for everyone, no matter what their condition or circumstance in this life. All will be made right with God, and all have a glorious future to look forward to—including you.

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Appendix A Answers to Questions Arising from this Book The idea of people going to Hell for a while and then being pardoned by Jesus sounds a lot like Purgatory to me, aren’t you just putting a new spin on an old idea? There certainly are aspects of what I’m saying in this book that sound similar to the concept of Purgatory, but there are fundamental differences, and I believe that those differences are absolutely critical. First, the concept of Purgatory centers upon the idea that a person can pay their sin debt to God. In Purgatory, if you endure enough suffering you will have eventually satisfied God and you will have earned your release from Purgatory. The Bible offers no remedy for us to satisfy God for our sins. We simply don’t have the currency necessary to pay the sin debt. (Psalm 49:8, 9) We have never had the payment, and we never will. The concept that we could spend eternity in Heaven with the knowledge that we had paid our own debt to God smacks of the kind of pride that God despises. Second, Purgatory assumes that once in Heaven everyone is equal. Your release from Purgatory is equal to your admission ticket to Heaven. God isn’t selling tickets to a cosmic show. He’s looking for people to have an intimate relationship with. In Heaven there are two distinct classes of people, the Royal Family and the indentured servants of Heaven. Proponents of the concept of Purgatory do not teach this. Third, Purgatory lasts for significantly different lengths of time for different people. I believe that since there are varying degrees of suffering in Hell that it is possible that all who escape Hell will do so at the same time. Yes, some will suffer more in Hell during their time there than others, but that doesn’t mean that some will be there longer than others. I cannot confirm that the pardons that Jesus offers will be at the same time, but this is a distinct possibility that the Spirit seemed to impress upon me as I studied.

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Fourth, Purgatory is about man saving himself. The good news of the Kingdom includes Jesus rescuing those who didn’t accept his offer of salvation while on earth. Jesus is always the hero, the savior, the beloved one. The Bible never teaches that we can save ourselves. Some might say that these don’t appear to be significant differences, but I think that the differences are substantial.

Is this idea a twist on Universalism? A twist, yes. Universalism, no. Christian Universalism is the belief that ultimately everyone will end up in Heaven. However, generally Universalists do not believe that souls will first go to Hell when they die. Specifically, the theological position of this book falls into the category of “universal reconciliation” or “ultimate reconciliation.” Universal reconciliation is the belief that ultimately, God’s love will provide a way for all mankind to be made right with Him. This view allows for a period of “refinement” after death such as purgatory or as in this case, a sentence to Hell and an escape from it by way of repentance and pardon. Having concluded the writing of the book, I was curious to find out if others had discovered similar conclusions and if books have been written on the subject. Not surprisingly, the position of universal reconciliation is neither new, nor is it completely obscure. However, because it has been given the label as “heresy” by numerous religious leaders over the centuries, universal reconciliation has not been widely taught in churches, nor studied in seminaries as a viable world view. The often-acute reaction of some of the proof-readers of this book shows the power of the imprinting of people’s minds by the dominant inescapable-damnation view on this important subject. I hope that by now you can see that the material put forward in this book is not heretical or based on the theories of man. While a “twist” on Universalism, this book bears significant differences to Universalist thought. Details of the differences are expounded upon in Heaven Is Not the Issue.

You speak of God motivating us by love, but wasn’t it Jesus himself who warned about Hell more than anyone else in the New Testament? Yes, that’s true. Jesus did warn about Hell, and the Bible does admonish us to fear the Lord many times. However, there is a difference between warning your children about the dangers of crossing a busy intersection and making children deathly afraid of moving automobiles. Jesus warned about Hell multiple times. Loving people who know that such a fate awaits those who reject the gospel

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would have to warn them. Jesus preached a message of the Kingdom. There’s an important difference there. Christians who feel compelled to preach a “turn or burn” message to the lost are inadvertently telling those people that they can avoid the horrors of Hell, only to escape Hell and spend eternity with its jailor. People are smarter than to think that eternity with the one who delights in roasting people forever is risk-free. Why would a god who tortures some treat the others well for all of eternity. Either God is good, or he isn’t.

You said that the people who escape Hell will not be allowed into the New Jerusalem or see God face to face. What do you base this on? There are explicit references to who will and will not be allowed into the New Jerusalem, the home of God and the Royal Family, and there are also implicit references to this in the Old Testament through the typology of the tabernacle and the temple. 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 says, “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power.” Being shut out from the presence of the Lord is a direct reference to the reality that the unbelieving will not be permitted into the throne room of God. Revelation 22:14, 15 says, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” These immoral people represent all who did not have their “robes washed” and therefore are kept out of the holy city at the gate. Since nobody in Heaven will ever be tempted to do evil, the gates of heaven will never need to be shut (Revelation 21:25) but those who did not accept Jesus in this life will be prohibited from going any further than the gate. In the Old Testament there were clear lines drawn as to who was permitted into the next level of the tabernacle or the temple. The Gentiles were not permitted past the Beautiful Gate, Israelite women were not permitted past the Nicanor Gate, the men of Israel were not permitted to enter the court of priests and only the high priest was allowed in to the Holy of Holies. This clear demarcation is a foreshadowing of the privileges given to those who drew close to God while on earth in the eternal state.

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I see people all around me who I know are going to go to Hell someday. I am burdened to reach them for Christ. I try to warn them about Hell but most people brush me off. I feel so guilty that I’m not doing enough to save people. What should I do? I would suggest that the first thing you should do is relax and let God be in control. Your burden for the lost is a gift from God, and a wonderful thing. You may have the spiritual gift of evangelism. But let me tell you, God is not in the guilt business. God convicts; that means he informs us when we are doing wrong and he urges us to change our actions. It is Satan who has the monopoly on guilt. Guilt is the feeling that I am bad or a failure if I do something I shouldn’t have or don’t do something I should have done. If it is your job to save the lost around you, why do you have a greater burden for the lost than Jesus appeared to have when he was on the earth? Yes, Jesus preached the good news of the Kingdom in many places to many people, but he spent a lot of time praying, ministering to the sick and the needy, and even spending time with friends like Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. Jesus did not even start his public ministry until he was thirty years old. Certainly one would have expected Jesus to have been a famed evangelist by then, but when he started his public ministry, which lasted only three years, he arrived on the scene as almost an unknown. Jesus commands us to make disciples, there is no doubt about that whatsoever, (Matthew 28:19) but we can only make disciples of those who choose to follow Christ. Somewhere along the way, we got the idea that our mission to make disciples changed to making converts. You can’t make a person a believer in Christ, only God can. You can be an ambassador for him (2 Corinthians 5:20) by living a life like a citizen of Heaven and you can be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope that you have, (1 Peter 3:15) but to spend valuable energy worrying about the lost around you is like worrying about the weather. Be who God wants you to be. Be ready to share your faith with others, but don’t try to make what God hasn’t changed into something else if that person isn’t ready to change. Furthermore, I would suggest that if you really want to see people motivated to turn to Christ, try living radically by faith like Jesus did. Give your wealth to the poor, be willing to make big sacrifices to do God’s will. Nothing brings people to Christ more than seeing his reality through your life.

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Are you trying to tell me that Adolph Hitler is going to be in Heaven someday? I don’t want to spend eternity with the likes of him! Since the only people specifically barred from being forgiven are those who commit the unpardonable sin, and as I explain in detail in Heaven Is Not the Issue, I believe that the demons actually are charged with the unpardonable sin. I believe that Hitler will ultimately bow his knee to Jesus and I expect that he will one day be ruled by the Royal Family in Heaven. I would think that it would be poetic justice if Hitler was ruled by a poor Polish Jew. We can assume that if Hitler enjoys Heaven he will be among “the least” there, a servant among servants. However, even as the least of all in Heaven, his existence would be marvelous. The bigger question is, are you more concerned about how wonderful it will be to enjoy God in Heaven, or about how bothered you’ll be if so-and-so is in Heaven? We’ve all been hurt in this life. Many of the people (if not all of them) that have hurt us in this life will live forever in the New Earth. I’m sure you’re not responsible for killing millions of people, but I’d be surprised if someone in Heaven isn’t amazed to see you there too. None of us deserve to be in Heaven, even as a servant. It is not our place to judge who should be there and who shouldn’t. If Adolph Hitler is in Heaven, he will be a model citizen there just like everyone else.

Are you saying that the Muslims, Hindus, Animists, Atheists and even Satanists are going to eventually end up in Heaven? I don’t see why followers of other religions wouldn’t accept the generous offer by Jesus to escape Hell. For that matter, I don’t think that atheists would have much of a problem either. Satanists, however, may choose to stay in Hell longer than others, but I expect that after experiencing Satan’s wrath in Hell even the most hardened hater of God will begin to see His love and reach out for it. Any simple follower of any religion, sect or creed will clearly see that Jesus offers a better deal than anything those who have influenced them over the years have offered them. In short, I expect that every religious group will be well represented in the New Earth, but that few of those from religions that do not worship Jesus Christ as Lord will be found within the walls of the New Jerusalem.

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If the eternal punishment doesn’t last forever, are the righteous really provided an eternity in Heaven or could they do something that would over-rule that sentence as well? That’s a very honest question, but based on the character of God and his desire to have relationship with us as our Creator, I feel pretty safe in saying that the Elect will indeed enjoy an eternity of bliss. After all, with Satan isolated, our bodies transformed, and God in charge, what could we do that would cause us to “fall from grace” like Satan did? God’s plan has always been redemption and relationship, so there is no need to alter the plan for the righteous. It is only the plan for the unrighteous that needs significant intervention as mentioned in this book.

Is God really honoring people’s free will if he manipulates them by tormenting them in Hell until they repent in order to escape. First, and this is important, God does not torment anyone. God will allow Satan to torment men and women in Hell to “encourage” them to repent, but Satan does the dirty work. God allows this torment because he knows what is best for us as the Creator and he is working with our free will to get us to work with him, not against him. As for the idea of manipulation, if I know my daughter well enough to be able to predict a healthy food that she will enjoy for the rest of her life, am I a bad father to manipulate her to make her want that food? Or am I not actually enhancing the life-long experience by making her desire it? As long as the punishment suits the crime, there is no real harm even in spending time in Hell.

You say that Jesus will destroy death and therefore every human in the Lake of Fire will be set free to live on the New Earth. But what about Satan and the demons? If the Lake of Fire is the second death, and Jesus is going to destroy death then doesn’t that mean that the Lake of Fire is going to be destroyed and Satan will be set free too? Since God created the Lake of Fire as a place prepared for Satan and the fallen angels and since it is not a place of suffering, pain or death to them, once the last person escapes the Lake of Fire it is no longer a place of the second death. Therefore, God does not need to destroy the place itself since he has

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destroyed the problem of the place. You can rest assured that Satan and the demons will be kept comfortably away from the rest of us for eternity in a place that suits them. However, as the question points out, if even one man or woman remains in the Lake of Fire then it is a place of death. Either Hell is emptied and death is destroyed or there is a significant problem with the plan.

I prayed a prayer once to accept Jesus as my savior. Are you telling me that I might not be going to Heaven? If you’ve prayed a prayer to accept Jesus into your life, even if that prayer was so that you would escape Hell, I’m confident that you will spend eternity in a place of perfect peace, harmony and love called the New Earth. I am not convinced that you will escape Hell though. The book of Revelation is crystal clear that all who were not found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:11-15), and that only those found in the same Lamb’s Book of Life will be allowed to enter the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:22-27). In Matthew 7 Jesus says the following: …Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:17-23) You never see Jesus or the disciples assuring people that they will escape Hell because they said a prayer, or because they believed in Jesus. In fact, the Bible explicitly states that the demons believe in God and tremble at his power, but they are still damned (James 2:18-20.) It is only those who publicly confess that Jesus is the master (Lord) of their lives, and who back that up by their actions who will enter the Kingdom of God and escape Hell altogether. (Romans 10:9) I believe that to be a part of the Kingdom, one must be baptized as a public declaration of personal faith in Christ (Mark 16:16), and then serve Jesus with their life, under the leading of the Holy Spirit, resulting in spiritual fruit. Anything less would make much of what the Kingdom parables say a waste of breath.

Can a saved person lose their salvation?

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“For a believer to lose his salvation would demand a reversal and an undoing of all the preceding works of the Father, Son, and Spirit. The key issue in the discussion of the believer's security concerns the issue of who does the saving. If man is responsible for securing his salvation, then he can be lost; if God secures the person's salvation, then the person is forever secure.” (Paul Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (Chicago: Moody Press, 1989), p. 341.) As Paul Enns says, it depends upon who is securing the person’s salvation. If you have repented of your sins (Mark 1:14, 15), believed on Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9), accepted his gift of grace by faith (Ephesians 2:8, 9), been baptized (Mark 16:16) have been transformed by the Holy Spirit that is within you (Romans 12:1, 2) which leads to a holy life (Revelation 22:11) and produces spiritual fruit (John 15:8) and if you do these things because you want to please the Lord, then you have little to be concerned. It would appear that God has saved you. But if you have prayed a prayer for salvation because you are afraid of Hell and your life has not been marked by obedience to the Holy Spirit and you don’t long to be with God and the people of God, then you probably were never saved. A person who has been saved can’t lose his salvation, but the message that’s out in the marketplace today is that salvation is easy and cheap and then God gives an insurance policy on one’s flimsy commitment. Let it be clear that salvation will cost you everything and that the life of a follower of Jesus on this side of eternity is not supposed to be easy. All believers are tested by Satan to question their faith. But someone who is truly saved knows that they cannot lose their salvation any more than they can lose their life. The two become one. Consider the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13; Mark 4; Luke 8), can you honestly say that any seed but the one that fell on good soil and produced a crop represents a truly saved individual? This is an important question, and I would recommend a great book by Dietrich Bonhoeffer called, “The Cost of Discipleship.” I’ve not read a better book to explain how one can be sure that they have saving faith or not.

Don’t you think that by telling people there will be a rescue from Hell that Christians will lose the urgency to tell others about Jesus? This was the ultimate question that I had to answer for myself before I started the process of writing this book. If by sharing this message I felt that the Kingdom of God would be hindered in any way then I would not have started writing. I have settled the matter in my mind that this is not the case. I know that some people will disagree with me on what I’m about to say but it must be said. The Gospel message has become polluted. God does not motivate people primarily through fear, he motivates by love. Even as Jesus warned people about Hell his purpose was to encourage them to

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embrace the message of the Kingdom. It only makes sense that among Satan’s strategies to thwart God would be to get people to pretend to be the Elect. If Satan can cause people to be confused about who the Elect are, then he can cause people to believe that the Elect are responsible for all sorts of terrible actions (like starting wars, destroying families, etc, etc.) This would cause people to remark, “Why would I want to become a Christian when they live no better than I do?” Our “cheap grace” gospel, as Dietrich Bonhoffer calls it in The Cost of Discipleship has allowed anyone who wears a cross around their neck to claim to be a true believer in Jesus Christ. Jesus himself never offered salvation that cost anything less than “death to self.” To tell others that God will make people spend eternity in Hell without hope is simply bad theology and it is definitely not “good news.” Jesus was clear that the vast majority of people are on the broad road that leads to destruction. This was never the gospel message. The good news is that although most people are on the road to Hell, Hell is not the end of hope. The blood of Jesus Christ paid the price for all to be redeemed, and all will have the opportunity for redemption. But better news than that you can be redeemed from Hell after the judgment is that you can be redeemed from Hell before the judgment, and that those who are redeemed before the judgment will rule and reign with Christ forever. Not everybody will embrace this message. But Jesus wants the message proclaimed. Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:15,16) The question, then, is “What is the good news message?” In Matthew 24, the disciples asked Jesus when the end would come and what the signs would be for the coming return of Christ? Here is Jesus’ answer: “

Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. “

Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

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The gospel that will be preached before the coming of the Lord in triumph will be the preaching of this gospel of the Kingdom. The gospel today rarely even mentions the Kingdom. People need to know the message that Jesus preached, not the message that tells people to pray a prayer of forgiveness and then says that nothing can ever take your ticket out of Hell away, no matter how you live your life. The Elect are sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13, 4:30) and those who are sealed will never lose their salvation. Praying a prayer without being transformed into a new creation makes a person no more saved than they were before they prayed the prayer. I wish to see the Elect live lives in such marked contrast with their lost counterparts that the lost know exactly who to go to for answers about getting right with God. The problem that I see today is that most people have no clue who the true believers are because there appears to be little if any difference between them and anyone else. We would all be better off if Christians lived by the motto “Do as I do,” not “Do as I say.” I sincerely hope that when people realize that God doesn’t have his heart set on destroying them, but that despite their failures and faults, God will allow them to live in a refurbished, perfect world where their every need will be taken care of and where peace will rule, that they will fall in love with the one who created them before they die and perhaps seek to become part of the Royal Family for themselves with God’s help.

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Appendix B Basic Views of Heaven and Hell Although there are many variations, there are a handful of basic themes to which people tend to shape their opinion of the afterlife. 1. Neither Heaven nor Hell exist Those who subscribe to this theory believe that when we die we cease to exist. To them there is no immaterial soul that lives beyond the existence of the body. Others who share this belief would suggest that we continuously recycle our existence until we eventually become one with the cosmos and cease to exist independent from it in any way.

2. Heaven exists but Hell does not exist Typically, those who believe that God is love can accept that God would reward people with Heaven, but they cannot accept that God would punish people in Hell, therefore Heaven likely exists, but Hell likely does not and it is used in Scripture as a warning against evil.

3. Both Heaven and Hell exist They may exist as completely different places with one being positive and the other being negative (dominant in Western Christianity), or they may both exist as the same place and whether it is positive or negative depends on your perspective (common in Eastern Christianity).

For those who believe that Heaven exists, there are a few dominant themes:

A. Everyone goes to Heaven: either when they die, or at some point after death. To some, the experience in Heaven is equal for all, for others there is variation of joy in Heaven for those who are there. B. Only the good people go to Heaven: the definition of â&#x20AC;&#x153;goodâ&#x20AC;? is hard to pin down, but the definition tends to belong to an individual or a group of people, not a higher

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authority. The word “good” could be easily replaced with “faithful”, “sincere”, or “virtuous”. C. Only the obedient people go to Heaven: Those who subscribe to this theory accept that as created beings, it is the decision of the Creator which determines who goes to Heaven, therefore those who are obedient to the will of the Creator and His plan of salvation go to Heaven.

For those who believe that Hell exists, there are some dominant themes:

D. Hell is a place of eternal punishment: Those whose choice or fate includes Hell will never escape it and it is a place of perpetual torment. E. Hell is a place of temporary punishment: Anyone who experiences Hell experiences some level of anguish, but that anguish will not last forever. Included in this group are those who believe that humans can pay off their sin debt to the Creator, others believe that grace will be extended to those in Hell. The idea of reincarnation could also fall into this category since one must repeatedly live in greater or lesser degrees of existence until one “gets it right.” Therefore reincarnation considers life on earth a type of hell. F. Hell is oblivion: While there may be some suffering in a place called Hell, those who subscribe to this theory tend to believe that the human existence and consciousness will be extinguished and/or annihilated in Hell. G. Hell/Heaven is assimilation. Another way of looking at oblivion is the Eastern idea that ultimately we become one with the cosmos, therefore while we are not obliterated, we are so completely assimilated that our identity is unrecognizable. This is neither regarded as good or bad. H. Hell exists but not as another place or another experience than what we know of on earth: The suffering of this life is what is meant by Hell, especially the unjust suffering.

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Appendix C A Brief Timeline of End Time Events AD 33

Jesus dies and resurrects

Date unknown (X)

Jesus returns in the sky, the righteous are raised from the dead

X+75 days

1000 years of Jesusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; reign on earth begins

X+1000 years (Y)

Great White Throne Judgment, where the books will be opened and all who are not found written in the Lambâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Book of Life will be cast onto the Lake of Fire. The unrighteous are raised but are still dead.

Y+?

Earth is destroyed (refurbished) by fire

Y+?+? (Z)

New Earth is prepared for life and New Jerusalem joins it

Z+?

Death is destroyed, all human life of all time is now on the New Earth

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Bibliography The Holy Bible All quotations of Scripture are from the New International Version (1984) unless indicated otherwise. The versions quoted are referenced by the following abbreviations: NIV New International Version THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV King James Version The Holy Bible (1987 printing), Public Domain NKJV New King James Version "Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved." NLT New Living Translation The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Amplified/AMP Amplified Version "Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org) All Scripture quotations were graciously provided via biblegateway.com. Blackaby, Henry T. and King, Claude V. Experiencing God: How to live the full adventure of knowing and doing the will of God Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville. 1994 Gundry, Stanley N. (series editor) and Crockett, William (general editor). With contributions from John F. Walvoord, Zachary J. Hayes and Clark H. Pinnock. Four Views On Hell. Zondervan, Grand Rapids. 1996. Bonhoeffer, Dietrich The Cost of Discipleship. Simon & Schuster, New York. 1959. Other books specifically considered although not directly quoted include: Bell, Rob Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. Harper One, New York. 2011. Chan, Francis and Sprinkle, Preston Erasing Hell: What God Said About Eternity, and the Things We’ve Made Up. David C Cook, Colorado Springs. 2011.

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Enns, Paul The Moody Handbook of Theology, Moody Press, Chicago. 1989 Keener, Craig S. The IVP Bible Background Commentary, New Testament, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois. 1993 Morris, Henry M. The Defender's Study Bible, World Bible Publishers, Iowa Falls, Iowa. 1995 Sproul, R. C. The Holiness of God, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois. 1985

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Thank you. If you have just finished reading this book, I want to express my heartfelt thanks for honoring me with your time and energy. I have worked off-and-on for four years to complete this book. It represents not only a new perspective on Hell, but a part of my soul as well. If you have grave concerns about my theology at this point, it is unlikely that I will ever convince you otherwise. However, perhaps you can set me straight by bringing relevant information to the table that I may have overlooked. You are welcome to contact me by e-mail or at the Facebook page to correct my errors. I welcome all feedback, positive and negative. truthsimplified@mail.com www.facebook.com/pages/Truth-Simplified-LLC/126269477549256 If you found the content of this book enlightening or encouraging, then would you please tell your friends about it and take a moment to write a favorable review at the place where you acquired your copy. I look forward to meeting you one day. If not in this lifetime, in the next!

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