Do We Go To Heaven Or Hell At The Moment Of Death? Part 1

Much of what you are about to read goes against the common beliefs of most Christians.  Please pray for the Holy Spirit to be with you before you continue reading so you can receive "the word with all readiness of mind" (Acts 17:11) and be prepared to "follow the Lamb whithersoever" He leads you (Revelation 14:4).  As Christians we desire the truth over fables so "when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13).  Praise our Lord!

Do you believe we will see King David in heaven?  I do.  Do you think he's already there?  Not according to scripture.  The following was spoken by Peter on the day of Pentecost which followed the crucifixion:

Acts 2:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
Acts 2:34 For David is not ascended into the heavens...

So David isn't in heaven yet.  When will he go?  Let's ask Jesus:

John 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

One reason for the common misconception that people go straight to heaven shortly after death is the account of the thief who was crucified and died alongside Jesus.  He said to Jesus "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom" (Luke 23:42) and here was Jesus' response as it's written in our English language translations:

Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.

People read that and presume both the thief and Jesus were in heaven before the end of the day.  But there's a problem, an apparent contradiction with a what Jesus said to Mary Magdalene on the day He resurrected:

John 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

See the problem?  Both Jesus and the thief died on a Friday, but the following Sunday Jesus said He hadn't gone to heaven yet.  So how could the thief have been with Jesus in heaven that same day?  After all Luke 23:43 says "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise."

Actually the way to reconcile this is pretty easy.  The original Greek didn't have any punctuation marks so all the comma's, period's, colon's, etc in our English language bibles were added by the translators to fit our rules of grammar.  A mistake in the punctuation of a verse could drastically change the meaning of it. 

The following is a well-known example of punctuation changing the meaning of what was written.  I found this at the following website: https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-examples-of-sentences-where-punctuation-changes-the-meaning.  Word for word both of these sentences are exactly the same, only the punctuation has been changed.

A woman: without her, man is nothing.
A woman without her man is nothing.

Quite a difference right? 

Getting back to Luke 23:43, the words in the original Greek were perfect, inspired by God.  But the punctuation in English was a was a work by man, very well done but not 100% perfect.  Here's the verse again with the comma moved from before to after the word "Today."

Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee Today, shalt thou be with me in paradise.

In modern English it could be re-worded "Today I say to you, in time you will be with me in paradise."

This has to be the case otherwise it not only contradicts John 20:17 but also everything the bible says about the resurrection of the dead including this from statement from Paul:

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1 Thessalonians 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Did you catch the sequence of events?  Jesus returns at the Second Coming and then "the dead in Christ shall rise."  After that the resurrected saints and those who were already alive at Christ's return all go to heaven together.  This perfectly matches John 6:40 which I will post again here:

John 6:40  And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Amazing that so many people think we go to heaven (or hell for that matter) at the time of death when the bible says otherwise.  Lazarus' sister Martha knew the truth as demonstrated in John chapter 11.  After Lazarus had been dead for four days Jesus reassured Martha her brother would rise again.  Check out her response:

John 11:23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
John 11:24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

You know the story.  Jesus resurrected Lazarus right then and there but both King David and the thief on the cross will not rise again until the resurrection at the Second Coming.  In the bible there were a few exceptions of people who went to heaven early.  I'll talk about that in part 2 which will follow soon.  I will also talk about what it means when it says "the spirit shall return unto God who gave it" (Ecclesiastes 12:7).  It does not mean what you think it means.

Thanks for reading.  God Bless.

============

Click here for Part 2 
Click here for Part 3
Click here for Part 4


 

Do People Burn In Hell For All Time? (UPDATED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST ON 5/24/16)

This is one of my longest posts so far and I hope you'll read it all the way through.  The reason it's so long is because I'm going to make the case that one of the most widespread, almost universal beliefs in Christianity is wrong.  I'm going to make the case that the bible says nobody, not even Satan, will burn in hell for all time.  This isn't my opinion - the bible says so.  I know this goes against most peoples' lifelong preconceived notion but as Christians we are to be truth-seekers, so please pray about this and keep an open mind as you read through this.  I pray the truth blesses you.

==========

When people are cast into the lake of fire will thy continue to burn for all eternity?  After all Revelation 20:10 says they will be tormented forever.

Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Is this lake of fire in a subterranean underworld as legend would have it?  If you think so did you know the bible tells us at least twice  that the lake of fire is going to be on the surface of the earth?  Did you know it also says both Satan and all the wicked who are unsaved will be reduced to ashes and that we will walk over their ashes?  How can we walk over the ashes if they are burning for all eternity?  Aren't the wicked "tormented day and night for ever" as Revelation 20:10 puts it?

In a previous post, Is Forever always Forever? I used the bible to demonstrate that forever doesn't necessarily mean for all future time as we generally think of it.  If you haven't read it please do so now as I think it will help you understand the truth about hell better. 

If you think about it when you break the word forever down, "for" means to represent something and "ever" means an unspecified amount of time.  When God says something will last forever it means it will last for whatever amount of time God has determined.  In Is Forever always Forever? I showed you some examples from scripture where forever meant for an appointed amount of time until completed. 

• In 1 Samuel 1:22 Samuel was to abide forever in the service to God in God's temple, but forever meant all the days of his life.  So forever in that instance meant for life.
• Two examples from Exodus 27:21 & 29:28 of old covenant statutes which were to be in place forever... but then in Hebrews 9:10 we see that forever in those cases meant until the new covenant began. 

In Revelation chapter 20 the wicked are resurrected at the end of the millennium.  After facing their final judgment the bible says they are killed in the lake of fire.  Revelation 20:14 specifically calls it "the second death."  In fact the bible repeatedly tells us the penalty for unforgiven sin is death, most famously in Romans 6:23 where it says "the wages of sin is death."  Death is not eternal life in flames.  Jesus paid the price for our sins because He died on that cross.  If the wages of sin was burning alive in hell for all future time then Jesus failed to suffer the penalty we deserve.  He would be burning in hell right now but we know that isn't the case.  So no matter how popular the misconception of eternal torture in hell is, the bible tells us that those who are cast into the lake of fire will die after their appointed time of punishment.  Even Satan will die.  Frankly the notion that God would brutally punish anybody with never-ending agony of fire is a lie designed by Satan to make God look like a brutal, hateful tyrant.

Think about it.  Ever burned your finger on a match?  It is quite painful.  Do you really believe that for a few decades of sin, God will punish people with flames for a hundred-trillion years... but even that's not enough because the torture is just getting started? 

With the bible, I try my best to follow Isaiah 28:10 which says:

Isaiah 28:10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

In other words find as much information as you can throughout the entire bible - here a little, there a little - and then make a determination.  Rarely does just one verse or passage give all the pertinent information.  It's easy for a pastor up on his pulpit to point out Revelation 20:10 and say the unsaved will burn in hell for all future time.  But if he followed the Isaiah 28:10 principle he would already know that forever doesn't mean for all future time... and he would also know that the bible says the unsaved will die.  They will be destroyed and never exist again.

I mentioned the bible tells us twice the lake of fire will be on the surface of the earth and now I'm going to show you one of those instances.  In Revelation chapter 20 God has gathered all His people into one place.  Let's look at what happens:

Revelation 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

Revelation 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

Revelation 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

 

The place where they are at is the camp of the saints and the beloved city (probably New Jerusalem).  It is surrounded by Satan (also called Gog) and his followers from all the nations (also called Magog) who come from ends of the earth to attack God's people.  Take note that Revelation 20:9 says the wicked who attack "went up from the breadth of the earth."  So the hellfire doesn't happen in some subterranean underworld as often thought, but happens on the earth's surface as "fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them."

Now if hell burned for all future time then that means the surface of this planet will permanently be a raging inferno.  Yet according to the prophet Malachi the wicked shall be reduced to ashes under the soles of our feet.  That means the fire goes out and also means the wicked are burned to death, not suffering eternal torture in flames.  Let's look at Malachi's words:

Malachi 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

Malachi 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

Malachi 4:3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.

 

Hmmm, the fire goes out and we walk over ashes of the wicked?  Bet you were never taught that in Sunday school. 

In Isaiah 45:18 we are told when God made the earth He formed it to be inhabited and He did not create it in vain.  God will get what He wants so this world will be inhabited by His people.  And in Revelation 21:5 God says "Behold, I make all things new" so the earth will be recreated and restored as God originally intended.  Since we already learned hellfire will happen on the surface of this earth, then the fire has to go out.  And since the wicked are reduced to ashes then they simply do not burn in hell for all future time as we have been told all of our lives.

Did you know Ezekiel tells us that even Satan himself will be reduced to ashes?  

In Ezekiel chapter 28 Satan is symbolized as the King of Tyrus (spelled Tyre in some bible translations).  Now see what God says He will do to Satan:

Ezekiel 28:18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

Not only is he reduced to ashes but did you notice it said he will be reduced to ashes upon the earth?  This is the other time we are told the lake of fire will be the surface of our world.

Further proof the wicked will not burn for all time, but for an appointed amount of time determined by God comes straight out of the mouth of Jesus.  How long they suffer will be determined by their actions during their lives.  In the bible the word "stripes" is used to symbolize punishment, stripes being welts or gashes from being beaten with whips and rods.  In the Parable of the Good Servant and the Wicked Servant (Luke 12:41-48) Jesus says when the Lord returns all of the wicked will be "beaten with stripes" but some will only receive few stripes.  Others will receive many stripes.  This symbolizes the amount of time people will live while burning in the lake of fire.  The more wicked you are the more time God will keep you alive in the flames.  This matches Matthew 16:27 where Jesus said He will "reward every man according to his works." 

Luke 12:47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

Luke 12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

Luke 12:49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?

 

How can burning in hell for all future time be represented as being beaten with only a few stripes?  The eternal torture in hell myth gives a petty thief the same amount of never-ending punishment as someone who is responsible for a large scale genocide, totally contradicting Jesus' own words.

God requires justice, so the wicked will be punished. But He is also merciful and I praise Him for that. 

Amen.

==========

(UPDATE 5/24/16)

I said there were two times the bible says the lake of fire will actually be on the surface of the earth (Ezekiel 28:18 & Revelation 20:9). 

Well I just found a third time...

Deuteronomy 32:22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

The Letter Of The Law Vs The Spirit Of The Law (UPDATED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST ON 6/25/16)

Romans 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

2 Corinthians 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

What does is mean when it says we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter?  Why does the letter of the law kill, but the spirit gives life?  I've heard many people give their opinions.  But Jesus has the opinion which matters most so let's see what He says.

Matthew 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Matthew 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Verse 21 describes the letter of the law which is don't kill people.  Also notice Jesus states "it was said of them of old time."  This is the "oldness of the letter" as described in Romans 7:6.  Then in verse 22 "newness of spirit" is described which says merely being angry without justification is as bad as killing.  So the spirit of the law is to obey the letter of the law but then go the extra mile out of love.  You obey the letter out of duty, but have the spirit when your love for God is so great that simply obeying the letter makes you feel like you are shortchanging the Lord.  This gives new meaning to the phrase "love is the fulfilling of the law" (Romans 13:10; see also Galatians 5:14 & James 2:8).

Here's another example:

Matthew 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

The letter of the law - Don't commit adultery.
The spirit of the law - Don't even entertain the thought.

In Isaiah 42:21 the Lord promises to "magnify the law" and that is exactly what Jesus has done.  Now do you understand why 2 Corinthians 3:6 says the letter kills, but the spirit gives life?  Jesus is saying if you only obey the letter  you will be in danger of hell fire!  The letter kills because it is the bare minimum one can do and shows a lack of desire to go the extra mile.  But if you love the Lord with all your heart and let the Holy Spirit lead you then the spirit saves.   For "if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law" (Galatians 5:18).

As witnesses for Christ we are commissioned to obey the spirit of the law.  The heretical claim made by some people within the church that the 10 Commandments were only for the Jews is completely false.   I find it astonishing some Christians have been deceived into believing the 10 Commandments were only valid under the old covenant.  They often cite some of Paul's writings as their proof but they are quite mistaken.   In particular they cite Colossians 2:14 to claim the 10 Commandments were nailed to the cross and abolished.  Paul was talking about the sacrificial ordinances which were made obsolete when Jesus offered Himself as the supreme sacrifice for sin.  For "we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Hebrews 10:10).  Jesus didn't abolish the law, He magnified it.  The new covenant is to let the Holy Spirit dwell within you, teaching you to obey God out of love not obligation.  I'm going to end this post with a handful of verses to demonstrate that point.

Hebrews 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

2 Corinthians 3:3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Isaiah 42:21 The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.

Amen.

============

(UPDATED ON 6/25/16)

I found a couple of things which I think make good additions to this post.

Deuteronomy 28:47 Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; 

The spirit of the law is to obey God with joyfulness and gladness of heart... not with the attitude of "sigh... okay I'll do it because I have to."  So let's take what God says about the Sabbath to heart.

Isaiah 58:13 If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

Now there is something I've been guilty of.  It's not enough to observe the Sabbath day as the Lord commands, it needs to be with joyfulness and gladness of heart too.  Ever get impatient or restless for the Sabbath to be over so you can do your own thing?  I have and it is to my shame that I admit it.  The Sabbath is our day to commune with God, to rest also, but not to do your own thing while He is furthest from our minds.  It's a day to get rested up and it's a day to assemble and have fellowship with other Christians, but most importantly it's a day to spend with God in you heart and in your thoughts all throughout the day.  Fact is, far too often I haven't even observed the Sabbath to the letter, let alone the spirit.  I've been guilty but I want to be clean from here on. 

Thank you Father for the blessed Sabbath day.

 

The Bible Warns Paul's Writings Can Be Difficult To Understand

Take a look a what Peter said about Paul:

2 Peter 3:15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
2 Peter 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. 

Many people believe that Paul preached lawlessness; they think he said it was okay to break God's commandments.  That isn't true but just like Peter forewarned, the unstable and unlearned twist Paul's writings out context.  The sad thing is, this will lead unto the destruction of many people.  The people who justify their sins while citing Paul words that we "are not under the law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14) are in grave danger.  Paul wasn't saying you can keep sinning with impunity; rather he was saying when we repent (turn away) from our sins, though we fall short sometimes, we can claim the cleansing grace of Christ's blood to redeem us; therefore we are not under the penalty for breaking God's law but instead covered by the grace of Jesus.  The very next verse, Romans 6:15, tells us we cannot keep willfully sinning just because we are under His grace.  And Hebrews 10:26 says "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins."

There are many topics I want to cover in this blog over the course of time, and helping people understand some of Paul's misunderstood writings is something I want to do.  And let me acknowledge right now that I still get confused by some of his writings myself.

For now I want to point out a couple of things straight from the bible which should reassure you Paul's epistle do not preach lawlessness or disobedience to the LORD.

• In verse 15 at the top of this post Peter called Paul "our beloved brother."  I think we can safely presume the bible would never call someone who preached disobedience to God our beloved brother.  I hope you would agree.
• In Acts 9:15 Jesus said "for he [Saul aka Paul] is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel."  Jesus knows the end from the beginning and I think it is 100% certain Jesus would not have chosen Paul to bear His name before the world if he was going to teach people to disobey Him, His Father and the Holy Spirit. 

So remember, if you are ever confused by Paul's writings... if he seems to be preaching something that doesn't seem Christ-like... keep studying his words carefully because you might be misunderstanding him. 

And if a pastor or a friend has convinced you that you are not obligated to obey God's commandments - and they use Paul's writing's to do so - then keep in mind Peter's warning that many people will twist Paul teachings and "also the other scriptures [the rest of the bible],unto their own destruction."  But since Paul's epistle's were specifically mentioned, be extra cautious about what they claim he said. 

Amen.

Is Forever Really Forever?

I looked up the word Forever in the dictionary and here is what came up:

For all future time; for always.
Without ever ending; eternally.

When you see the term forever in the bible do you automatically think it means for all future time or  never-ending for all eternity?  Did you know that biblically that is not accurate?

In 1 Samuel Chapter 1 Hannah pledges her son Samuel to serve the Lord in the temple "all the days of his life" (verse 11) and that he is being lent to God "as long as he lives" (verse 28).  In other words "for life."  But verse 22 demonstrates that forever means for life.  Obviously she realized Samuel would die one day so when Hannah says her son will abide in the temple performing service to God forever she meant until he died.  Here are the verses I'm referring too:

1 Samuel 1:22  But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord, and there abide for ever.

1 Samuel 1:11  And she vowed a vow, and said, O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

1 Samuel 1:28  therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there.

Now I'm going to show you a couple of things from Exodus regarding laws that were declared by God to be in place forever but were later abolished, which again proves that biblically forever does NOT mean for all future time.  These involve the duties of the priests in the tabernacle.  Keep in mind God knows the end from the beginning, so He knew the man-made temple was going to be replaced by the temple of the body... so when He said the temple services would be required forever He meant until a time appointed when they would be abolished.  Let's see if the bible backs up what I'm saying.  Here are 2 examples of God declaring temple services to be statutes forever:

Exodus 27:21 In the tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall [cause the lamp to burn] from evening to morning before the Lord: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

Exodus 29:28 And it shall be Aaron's and his sons' by a statute for ever from the children of Israel: for it is an heave offering: and it shall be an heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, even their heave offering unto the Lord.

God no longer requires either of those statutes to be performed anymore does He?  Of course not, since He doesn't dwell in a temple made of hands anymore.  And there are many other examples of statutes which we were told would be in effect "forever" that are no long valid found in Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

So either forever means for all future time and God is a liar or forever really means for a limited amount of time which God determines. 

Hebrews chapter 9 talks about those "forever statutes" from the Old Testament only being imposed on God's people until the time of reformation (when Christ died and the new covenant went into effect).  Here it is in context:

Hebrews 9:8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
Hebrews 9:9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
Hebrews 9:10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances [statutes], imposed on them until the time of reformation.

I believe I just showed you enough evidence that forever doesn't necessarily mean for all future time.  But I also know it's very difficult to let go of longstanding beliefs so please pray on this if you are having trouble accepting this notion.  Please keep in mind what our modern definition of a word means doesn't matter; what matters is what a word meant when the pen was put to the paper.

Now you might be saying to yourself what difference does it make?  Well, if you are really searching for the truth about what the bible says with all of your heart then it matters because Christians should always want the truth. 

Amen.

In some of my upcoming  posts I will show where the bible says...

• People will burn in hellfire until they die, not for all of eternity.
• People do not go to heaven or hell right after they die but have to wait until they are resurrected by Jesus.
• People do not have immortal souls or live as disembodied spirits after they die; in fact they only go to heaven or hell when their physical body is resurrected.
• The word hell biblically means grave, not an eternally burning underworld as is commonly believed.

Prove All Things PART 2

I love how the LORD works!!!  If you look at my previous blog entry Prove All Things; Hold Fast That Which Is Good you'll notice it was originally posted on Friday, March 25th 2016.  This follow-up on Sunday the 27th was inspired because of a couple of things that happened on Saturday which tie in with Friday's post.  In it I spoke of the importance of using the bible to prove whether or not someone's prophetic claims are true or not. I also put the following quote; "Whatever our opinion of the messenger has no bearing on whether what he or she said is true".  For example I think Pastor Rick Warren, author of the terrible bestselling book The Purpose Driven Life, is a false prophet.  He preaches new age self-centered humanism but calls it Christianity.  He also claims Islam's Allah and our God are the same which is ridiculous.  We typically think of prophecy as foretelling the future but it's a more than just that.  To prophesy simply means to speak on God's behalf things He has revealed to you which is what Warren claims to do.  I knew people who thought Warren words were as good as gold just because he made them feel good.  Sadly those people didn't care.  Isaiah and Paul warned their would be Christians who only want to hear "smooth things" "having itching ears" who "turn away their ears from the truth."  The problem isn't just that there are false prophets out there; another problem is there are Christians who seek them out because they refuse to prove all things.  So sad.

Isaiah 30:10 [Rebellious people] Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they [lukewarm Christians] will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
2 Timothy 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

We don't want to be found lacking on the day of judgment which is what we are in danger of if we refuse to prove all things.  Paul warned people would perish "because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved" (2 Thessalonians 2:10).

Okay now here's why I said I love how the LORD works; His timing is amazing!  No sooner did I blog about using the bible to prove all things, but also made a specific point to say your opinion of the messenger doesn't prove or disprove the truth.  I just told you my opinion of Rick Warren's teachings, but just because I don't trust him doesn't mean everything he says is wrong.   Case in point Warren preaches Jesus is the Son of God and He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.  Those things are true and can be backed up with scripture right?  Of course.  So would it be wise for me to say everything Rick Warren says is wrong because some of it is wrong?  Certainly not.

The day after I posted my Prove All Things blog entry I was made aware of a video revealing many proven false prophecies by a women who died early in the 20th century.  Her name was Ellen G. White and she was a major player in the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church during its formative decades.  She is still highly regarded to this day in some circles and a case could be made that some people even go so far as to worship her. 

I attended a handful of SDA churches services in the spring and summer of 2012 but stopped attending when I became convinced the pastor was muzzling his sermons to avoid controversy.  However I did attend online services with a different church from September 2012 until March or April 2015.  This church had beliefs very similar to the SDA and I shared many of those beliefs.  To this day I still share those beliefs and I think doctrinally they were far more solid than any other church I've attended.  But as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:12 "For now we see through a glass, darkly" only understanding the truth of God and the bible in part. 

Anyway that church held Ellen White's writings in regard and so did I.  Now keep in mind she wrote dozens of books and I surely didn't read everything.  I saw a few things here and there that I wasn't too sure of, but mostly shrugged it off or did some mental gymnastics to validate it.  But really most of what I saw didn't bother me and was probably a lot less heretical than what you would find in modern day Christian bookstores. At any rate I didn't focus too much on her writings.  I focused on the bible.  One thing I did do every Sabbath while part of that church was to get with the church online and we'd read some of her stuff for an hour, but the topics would be stuff like living healthy, why it was spiritually safer to live in the country rather than the sin-soaked big cities, that sort of thing.  Now if you typed Ellen White's name in a search engine you could find all kinds of info about her writings and frankly now I realize she said some very heretical things.

My wife also attended online services with that church but only for 2 or 3 months.  We weren't married at the time.  We left when an ugly spirit of gossip and hostility was revealed to be part of the fabric of the church from some church members in good standing to the lead pastor as well.  So be it.

Getting back to the main topic, proving all things biblically means you are able to match your beliefs with the bible.  Whether Ellen White or anybody else for that matter is a false prophet, if what that person says matches scripture then it's still true.  That's the standard.

In the year since I've left that church I have never once cited Ellen White to defend my beliefs.  Not Once.  I've used plenty of scripture though and I make a sincere effort to use it correctly in context. 

On Saturday night (the day after I posted my previous blog entry) at a service I attended the pastor was talking about the book of Esther.  He asked if anybody knew what Mordecai's relationship with Esther was and I blurted out "he was her uncle".  Ester 2:7 reveals they were actually cousins (Esther was the daughter of Mordecai's uncle).  Now it turns out the belief that he was her uncle is a very common misconception.  Try going to Google or Bing and put "Esther's uncle" in the search box; you'll see I'm not the only one who made that mistake.  So clearly a lot of people are taught at their churches to believe the same thing.

I was a little embarrassed but keep in mind I've never done a study on Esther and Mordecai's relationship. Really didn't give it a lot of thought. In this case I was guilty of just believing what I was told.  I have however done in-depth studies on topics that really captured my interest... and I found out that many things taught at many churches are wrong.  On matters of doctrine have you done the same?  I still hold to many of the truths I held from my previous church because I did verify them to be true.  Ultimately that's the primary thing I want to do with my blog, share my beliefs about doctrine using scripture to back them up.  I hope my blog can prove to be profitable spiritually for anyone who spends some time here.

Amen.

Prove All Things; Hold Fast That Which Is Good.

To speak prophetically means to proclaim something God revealed to you.   When speaking of the end times Joel 2:28 said there would be many who prophesy in these days but the tricky part is discerning whether it is true prophecy or not.  1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 tells us not to despise prophesying's (in other words don't just automatically scoff at or dismiss someone's prophetic claims) but test it first.  If it's biblically solid hold fast to it as truth.

1 Thessalonians 5:20 Despise not prophesyings.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
 

The apostle John put it another way when he said:

1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

I think of it like this:

·    God is the Judge of all things. 

·    We are like detectives who have to go before God in His court of law to prove the things we have been told are either lies or the truth. 

·    Our witness as to whether or not we've been told the truth is the bible.   As a detective questions a witness to a crime to ascertain the truth, so we are to read the bible to learn if what we've been told is really of God.

Whatever our opinion of the messenger has no bearing on whether what he or she said is true.  Likewise whether we like or don't like what we heard has no bearing on whether or not it's true either. 

Sometimes we believe something because it "feels right".  Is there anything wrong with that?  Possibly.  Where the problem lies is when we don't investigate further.  Using the detective analogy again, sometimes detectives have a "hunch" about something but going before a judge and just saying I had a hunch the suspect is guilty won't get a conviction.  They have to follow up on the hunch and find evidence to back it up right? 

Well as Christians we sometimes have "hunches" too but instead of saying "I have a hunch" we might say "the Holy Spirit revealed" this or that to me.  But is it safe or wise to accept something because it feels right?  I'm not aware of anywhere in the bible telling us to trust our hearts or go with our emotions - but I have seen where God says to reason together with Him (Isaiah 1:18).  Reasoning is using logic.  Going with your heart or trusting your feelings is letting your emotions do the thinking for you.  The bible warns us to test the spirits and prove all things because God knows we let our emotions get the better of us far too often. 

We all know the bible uses words as symbols.  Can a symbol in the bible mean anything you want it too?  I certainly don't think so.  Case in point; in bible prophecy a beast represents a king or a kingdom (see Daniel 7:17 and 7:23).  Suppose I had a hunch the beast was mankind in general because we treat each other so badly... "we behave like beasts!" I might say.  Then I might think the mark of the beast is simply hatred for other people.  I might even be fully convinced the Holy Spirit revealed that to me, but did He?  If you believe something that doesn't harmonize with scripture then no, it was not from the Holy Spirit no matter how right it felt.

Prove all things. 

Be like the people of the city of Berea from Acts 17:10-11.  They searched the scriptures daily to see if the things they were told were true.

Amen.