Just as in my previous blogs about heaven, many people - including evangelical preachers - have misconceptions about hell. They think that 'eternal death' is 'eternal life in hell', the lost and wicked will forever be 'burning and suffering but the fire will never be quenched'. But think for a moment, is this what the Bible teaches about the person and character of God? Many wrongly assumed that because God is both a loving Father and one who punishes sin and the wicked, He is one who will send the lost and wicked to 'roast in hell forever'. Is our God one Who burns people for all eternity without ever burning them up? To me, that is a serious misreprecentation of the Person and character of God. Let us explore scriptures to find out the truth.
Most people are ignorant that the concept of an ever-burning hell originates primarily from pagan authors and poets, particularly Dante Alighieri's (1265-1321) famous work on Divine Comedy. This famous poet depicts life in paradise, purgatory and hell which in many aspects run counter to the teachings of the Bible. His view was a carry forward of the famous Greek philospher Plato about the concept of the immortality of the soul, which again is unbiblical.
If hell is a place of eternal suffering, then those who go there must also have eternal life! But the scripture from Romans 6:23 is clear, "For the wages of sin is DEATH, but the gift of God is ETERNAL LIFE in Christ Jesus our Lord". Similarly, John 3:16 says ' that whoever believes in Jesus should not perish but have eternal life'. It does not say, 'Should not suffer eternal life in hell or torment'. Let truth be told, the punishment of the wicked is death, not eternal life in a place of suffering or torment! But what then is 'death' ? Simply put, it means the absence of life, period.
Such confusion arises because many wrongly believe in the immortality of the human soul. But the Bible teaches that only God has an immortal soul (1 Timothy 6:15-16). Genesis 2:7 (King James) tells us 'that God formed man of the dust of the ground ... and man became a living soul'. In other words, men are souls as our forebear, Adam became a soul - he was not given a soul. The prophet Ezekiel understood this well, "The soul who sins shall die" (Ezek 18:4,20). Solomon in Ecclesiastes penned thus, "For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing" (Eccl 9:5). Hence, death is like sleeping (more like in comatose) with no consciousness of the passage of time and events (Psalm 146:4). So death is the CESSATION of LIFE, not leaving this life for a life in another place, at least not yet!
Consider the words of our Lord Jesus in Matthew 10:28, "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him (God) who is able to destroy both SOUL and body in hell'. Physical bodies can die and be destroyed in various ways, but souls are destroyed by God in hell!
Job knew this full well when he wrote under the inspiration of God's Spirit, "If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, till my change comes" (Job 14:14). He answered his own questions in Job 19:25-27, "For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me". Job knew that after death, he shall wait (sleeping/comatose) for his resurrection and then be born again into a new creation of spirit body (Job 14:14 ...till my CHANGE comes... see 1Corinthinas 15:51 & 52) to be forever with the Lord Jesus Christ ('my Redeemer' in Job 19:25) in the Kingdom of God on earth ('And He shall stand at last on the earth' Job 19:25) at His (Jesus Christ) call and I (Job) will answer (Job 14:15... see 1 Cor 15:52 -last trumpet). Similarly, in Daniel 12:13, the Angel Gabriel told prophet Daniel, "But you, go your way till the end ('end times' we are in right now), for you shall rest (sleep/comatose), and will arise (resurrect) to your inheritance (reward in the Kingdom of God - Super Government of God) at the end of the days (end of the church age).
We can also find such evidences in Psalm 6:5, "For in death there is No rememberance of You (God); In the grave who will give You thanks'. In Psalm 17:15 David wrote, 'as for me, I will see Your face in righteousness (only in the Kingdom of God is there righteousness - Romans 14:17); I shall be satisfied when I awake (resurrecttion) in Your likeness (born again new creation of spirit body that will live forever like our Lord Jesus Christ ... see 1 John 3:2). This is also echoed in Psalm 115:17, "The dead do not praise the Lord. Nor any one who go down into silence (death)". Such biblical evidences point to the truth contrary to popular misconceptions that the dead are either wailing or screaming in hell or praising God in heaven, as such scenarios cannot be considered as 'silence', these are absolutely false!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Heaven and Hell (3)
The idea that man has an immortal soul dates back thousands of years ago, and originates from the Babylonians, Egyptians and the Greeks, particularly Plato. The early Christian writer Origen was one whose writings was influenced by Plato who taught that the soul separates the body upon physical death and lives on 'somewhere' in consciousness. The old fable of the Egyptian god named Osiris was killed and taken to heaven. There he was miraculously resurrected to life and live on blissfully in heaven. Writers thoroughout the centuries had used this to justify that good people go the heaven and bad people go to hell upon death.
But this is contrary to what Jesus and His apostles taught in scriptures! In John 11:11-15, the Lord Jesus told His disciples that 'Lazarus sleeps' (verse 11), but His disciples misunderstood to think that Lazarus was indeed sleeping in the natural state which is good for recuperation when one is unwell. Look at what Jesus said in verse 14, 'Lazarus is dead'. Lazarus' sister Martha knew that her brother will rise again in the resurrection at the last day (verse 25). This goes to show that physical death is like sleep when one has no consciousness of time and events that passed by, for the dead know nothing (Eccl 9:5).
One of the least understood passages come from misquoting the Apostle Paul's statement in Philppians 1; 23-24, 'For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you'. Many assume that Paul was going to meet Christ at the moment of his death. But Paul knew that all the dead in Christ 'have fallen asleep' (1 Thessalonians 4:13), to be resurrected to eternal life at the first resurrection (1 Thess 4:16-17) upon the Return of Jesus Christ.
Later on when he knew of his imminent death (2 Timothy 4:6-8), Paul wrote of the 'crown of righteousness' which will await him when he shall be resurrected at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (verse 8). Paul preached faithfully the gospel of the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22, 19:8, 20:25, 28:23 & 31), and knew that his hope and reward will occur at 'His appearing on the day of His Coming' and not at the moment of death!
Some will inevitably ask, then what is the message of the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man in Luke 16:19-31, isn't it talking about going to heaven and hell? In the context of the passage preceding this, Christ was telling the Pharisees about serving God and mammon (money), that what is esteemed highly by men is despicable in the sight of God (Luke 16:15). Hence, this parable is an allegory on a lesson about handling worldly wealth in this life in the light of the resurrection since the Pharisees were unconvinced about what Jesus had taught them earlier.
Notice that this parable about Lazarus and the Rich Man says nothing about heaven and an ever-burning hell, but rather teaches about the resurrection of the dead. It teaches that the righteous like Lazarus, will one day be resurrected with Abraham to sit in the Kingdom of God (Matthew 8:11) - in Abraham's bosom (verse 22). The great gulf or chasm that separates Abraham and the Rich Man (verse 26) could refer to sin that cuts the Rich Man off from God and time that separate them since Abraham and Lazarus will be in the first resurrection to eternal life but not the Rich Man in the parable. The Rich Man was buried and resurrected to physical life (he lifted up his eyes - verse 23) probably in the third resurrection to face the prospect of a second death in the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:14). That could account for his torment - probably mental torture - after realising his destiny. If the Rich Man had gone into hellfire shortly after death, would Abraham used the phrase, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime' (verse 25). Note that hell is nothing more than the grave and is not hellfire as no amount of water droplets will cool such a fire (verse 24)!
In Revelation 4:8, it was recorded that there are twenty-four elders worshipping God and cast their crowns before the throne. Some mistaken them to be the saved souls living in heaven. Truth is, they are the angels numbering in the 'ten thousand times ten thousands' (Rev 5:11) ruling in heaven with God. The casting of their crowns is symbolic of the angelic beings relinquishing their positions of authority to the Lord Jesus Christ who will then establish His Millennial Kingdom on earth with His saints (Rev 3:21, 5:10, 11:15).
But this is contrary to what Jesus and His apostles taught in scriptures! In John 11:11-15, the Lord Jesus told His disciples that 'Lazarus sleeps' (verse 11), but His disciples misunderstood to think that Lazarus was indeed sleeping in the natural state which is good for recuperation when one is unwell. Look at what Jesus said in verse 14, 'Lazarus is dead'. Lazarus' sister Martha knew that her brother will rise again in the resurrection at the last day (verse 25). This goes to show that physical death is like sleep when one has no consciousness of time and events that passed by, for the dead know nothing (Eccl 9:5).
One of the least understood passages come from misquoting the Apostle Paul's statement in Philppians 1; 23-24, 'For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you'. Many assume that Paul was going to meet Christ at the moment of his death. But Paul knew that all the dead in Christ 'have fallen asleep' (1 Thessalonians 4:13), to be resurrected to eternal life at the first resurrection (1 Thess 4:16-17) upon the Return of Jesus Christ.
Later on when he knew of his imminent death (2 Timothy 4:6-8), Paul wrote of the 'crown of righteousness' which will await him when he shall be resurrected at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (verse 8). Paul preached faithfully the gospel of the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22, 19:8, 20:25, 28:23 & 31), and knew that his hope and reward will occur at 'His appearing on the day of His Coming' and not at the moment of death!
Some will inevitably ask, then what is the message of the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man in Luke 16:19-31, isn't it talking about going to heaven and hell? In the context of the passage preceding this, Christ was telling the Pharisees about serving God and mammon (money), that what is esteemed highly by men is despicable in the sight of God (Luke 16:15). Hence, this parable is an allegory on a lesson about handling worldly wealth in this life in the light of the resurrection since the Pharisees were unconvinced about what Jesus had taught them earlier.
Notice that this parable about Lazarus and the Rich Man says nothing about heaven and an ever-burning hell, but rather teaches about the resurrection of the dead. It teaches that the righteous like Lazarus, will one day be resurrected with Abraham to sit in the Kingdom of God (Matthew 8:11) - in Abraham's bosom (verse 22). The great gulf or chasm that separates Abraham and the Rich Man (verse 26) could refer to sin that cuts the Rich Man off from God and time that separate them since Abraham and Lazarus will be in the first resurrection to eternal life but not the Rich Man in the parable. The Rich Man was buried and resurrected to physical life (he lifted up his eyes - verse 23) probably in the third resurrection to face the prospect of a second death in the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:14). That could account for his torment - probably mental torture - after realising his destiny. If the Rich Man had gone into hellfire shortly after death, would Abraham used the phrase, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime' (verse 25). Note that hell is nothing more than the grave and is not hellfire as no amount of water droplets will cool such a fire (verse 24)!
In Revelation 4:8, it was recorded that there are twenty-four elders worshipping God and cast their crowns before the throne. Some mistaken them to be the saved souls living in heaven. Truth is, they are the angels numbering in the 'ten thousand times ten thousands' (Rev 5:11) ruling in heaven with God. The casting of their crowns is symbolic of the angelic beings relinquishing their positions of authority to the Lord Jesus Christ who will then establish His Millennial Kingdom on earth with His saints (Rev 3:21, 5:10, 11:15).
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