THE NEW COVENANT EXPLAINED - PART 4

The New Covenant is in essence, an improvement of the Old (Sinai) Covenant and not a replacement of it. For one, the New Covenant provides a better relationship with God as the former only provides a symbolic relationship with the Creator. New features were added in the New Covenant and some features that are symbolic were removed from the former. This is because Jesus Christ is now the permanent High Priest unlike the former which was based on the Levitical Priesthood descended from Aaron.

The sacrificial death of Jesus Christ provides a better promise in that eternal life was offered to all who would accept and obey Him as compared to the Sinai Covenant which provides only physical blessings as the blood of bulls and goats can never permanently take away the sins of mankind! Besides, the gift of the Holy Spirit is only available under the New Covenant for all who would repent to become sons and daughters of God born again into His Divine Family. Such gift was not made available to the masses under the Sinai Covenant. However, do note that the spiritual and moral laws of God enshrined under the Sinai Covenant remain intact and has never been replaced under the New Covenant  - they remain relevant even throughout eternity!

The Apostle Paul states that the spirit and not the letter of the law is to take precedence - 2 Corinthians 3:6. What it means is that the original meaning and purpose of the law is to take root in our hearts and mind and not just the letter written on tablets of stone - verse 3. This will enable those who are called of God to live life righteously and be able to have proper spiritual discernment in making life's decisions.

In fact, this is the miracle of "new creation" in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) when God writes His law in our hearts and minds through the gift of the Holy Spirit and not through physical circumcision. The Apostle Paul is reminding the Galatians  - having started with the Spirit and to end with the circumcision of the flesh would be foolhardy - Galatians 3:1-3.

We now come to the 'new part' of Jesus Christ's 'New Commandment' that is often misunderstood. Many assume that Christ came to replace all of God's commandment taught in the Old Testament with this New Commandment - John 13:34. However, this is never the case as all His teachings show. Centuries ago before the first advent of Christ, Moses wrote about the same commandment recorded for us in Leviticus 19:18 - 'Thou shall love thy neighbour as thyself : I am the LORD'. Jesus added the phrase 'as I have loved you' in John 13:34 but not found in Leviticus 19:18 because at the time of Moses, Jesus Christ was not yet incarnated as Man to walk the earth  and die for the sins of mankind.

The short phrase (as I have love you) holds great significance as it sets the perfect example of love Jesus has for all who would believe and obey Him - Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends - John 15:13. The point Jesus was making is that love and obedience are inseparable - If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love: even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in His love - John 15:10.  All the teachings of Jesus Christ, particularly the Sermon on the Mount and that of the Apostle Paul clearly point to this fact - that observance of God's righteous law in the external form without a change of heart and mind is defective as one could still break God's righteous law inwardly where it cannot be seen by men. Such was the hypocrisy practiced by the scribes and Pharisees which was condemned by the Lord Jesus Christ - Matthew 5:20!

The Apostle Peter's caution about misunderstanding and misinterpreting Apostle Paul's teaching about law and grace has to be taken to heart. Otherwise, some will twist Paul's words out of context to mean different from what he intended - only to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16)! Contrary to what many believed Paul was teaching that the law of God had been 'nailed to the cross', he actually put the law on a firmer footing (Romans 3:31) - by affirming that the law of God is holy, and the commandment holy, just and good (Romans 7:12) as the law define what sin is (Romans3:20) - for sin is the transgression of the law (of God) - 1 John 3:4.

 

THE NEW COVENANT EXPLAINED - PART 3

The New Covenant is different from the Old (Sinai) Covenant is one crucial aspect - where God's law is written. While the Old Covenant was written on slabs of stones, the New Covenant is to be inscribed in the fleshly tablets of the hearts of those who are converted by receiving the gift of God's Holy Spirit - Jeremiah 31: 31-34. This would require a change in the law regarding the office of the High Priest - Hebrews 7:12. The Lord Jesus as the High Priest could assist all true believers in obeying God from the heart as He is seated at the right hand of God the Father, ever making intercession for those who are called by God.

The Old Covenant could only remind the people of their guilt and the need for redemption, but could not blot out their sins through the blood of bulls and goats - Hebrews 10:4. In the New Covenant, the blood of Jesus Christ permanently washes away the sins of those who truly repent - John 1:29; 1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5. This paves the way for true repentance and reconciliation between God and man through Jesus Christ. Hence, the foundation is laid for God's laws to be written in the hearts of man that comes with obedience made possible with the help of God's Spirit indwelling in the mind of each believer - for all shall know me (Hebrews 8:11). That was not made available under the Old Covenant. With such change, all believers can come boldly before God the Father through Jesus Christ who is the High Priest to help us overcome sin and seek forgiveness before the throne of grace - Hebrews 4;15-16.

In A.D. 70, the Roman army captured Jerusalem and the Jewish temple was completely destroyed. With it, the Levitical priesthood system of worship including the animal ritual sacrificial, which were closely interlinked, came to an end. Jesus Christ foretold of this event and God had allowed it to happen  - thereby ending the Sinai Covenant system of worship. The book of Hebrews explain explicitly that only the symbolic features - food and drink and various ceremonial washing - of the Old Covenant were done away with in the New Covenant. Nowhere in Hebrews did the writer states that the laws of God defining righteousness were changed or abolished. The only things that had changed were the symbolic features of the worship and the system of  Levitical priesthood from one that is temporary to the High Priest who is permanent since He lives forever!

The issue of physical circumcision has been hotly debated among members of the early church during the time of the Apostle Paul. Some contended that unless the non Jewish believers are circumcised according to the law of Moses, they cannot be saved- Acts 15:1. The apostles held a conference in Jerusalem to address the issue so that justification through faith in Christ would not be distorted. Centuries earlier, Moses was commanded to pen thus -  the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart and the heart of thy seed - Deuteronomy 30:6. Paul also affirms that a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter - Romans 2:29.

In Galatians, Paul explained extensively  that a new believer who is circumcised in the heart is a ' new creature or new creation' in Christ - 6:15. Justification is not through the law, for if that is so, then Christ died in vain - 2:21. But that does not mean that the righteous moral laws of God had been done away with - nailed to the cross - and they are free to live and do as they like. Many misinterpreted Paul's argument to their own destruction - 2 Peter 3:16!

Obedience to God's laws does not come by physical circumcision but through the Spirit of God. Circumcision of the heart is the heartfelt repentance that comes about from the inner change of heart and mind and not through observance of some ritualistic practices - 3:1-3.

A common misunderstanding over the debate of law and grace is regarding the interpretation of the phrase "nailing it to the cross" - Colossians 2:14.  The Lord Jesus Christ did take out something at His death on the cross, but that something was the record of all our sins and transgressions - not the laws of God.  At Christ's crucifixion, a signboard was nailed to the cross stating THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS - a charge of treason for which Jesus did not commit. Jesus was framed by the religious leaders fearing that He was up against the Roman authorities by proclaiming the Gospel of the kingdom of God, and thereby threatening their hold on position and power - for whosoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar (John19:12). 

Jesus was thereby charged as a transgressor. He did not defend Himself against the charge because by accepting the death penalty for the false charge, He became a substitute sin bearer for the legitimate charge that God has against us for our sins and transgressions. Hence, Jesus "wiped out" our sins and transgressions by taking the charge upon Himself, and in so doing make possible the forgiveness of sin for all who would put their faith and trust in Him!

THE NEW COVENANT EXPLAINED - PART 2

The Lord Jesus came as the Messenger of the New Covenant - Malachi 3:1. He did not come to
put away the laws of God and replace it with grace. However, both law and grace can coexist harmoniously and they are inseparable. For without law there would be no need for grace, for sin is the transgression of the law - 1 John-3:4. If there is no law to break, there is no concept of sin.

Since God is perfect and holy, He cannot allow sin to go unpunished. Therefore,  God's Plan of Salvation encompassed the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Through it all, He might taste death for everyone (Hebrews 2:9) for forgiveness of our sins. This is God's grace, His favor, available for everyone who repent by turning away from sin. Those who obey and are given the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:32) are people redeemed from every lawless deed, purified and set apart as a group of special people zealous for good works (Titus 2:14). No amount of good works by man can cancel the death penalty for sin save the redemption work of Jesus Christ!

Grace is not just God squashing the death penalty for those who obey Him and receive forgiveness, but much more than that. It also involves the gift of His Holy Spirit to help the believer obey His law from the heart and eventually obtain eternal life in the kingdom of God. Hence, without law there would be no way to define sin; and without grace there would be no way to find forgiveness for all our sins! Contrary to popular belief, both law and grace are interlinked and required for salvation and eternal life. They are not mutually exclusive.

The Sinai Covenant (Old Covenant) given through Moses was not flawed per se, but the problem lies in the people's lack of a willing heart to obey God's law - Hebrews 8:7-8. Also, since the people then were not given the Holy Spirit due to disobedience, they could not understand the full meaning and significance of God's law given to them because the natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God, and foolishness unto him (1 Corinthians 2: 14). But the day is coming when God will give them His Holy Spirit and write His laws on the fleshly tablets of their hearts - 2 Corinthians 3:3.

The writer of Hebrew (whom I believe is the Apostle Paul) states that Jesus Christ came as the Mediator of a better covenant which was established with better promises. It is a better covenant because it included the gift of eternal life which was not available in the Sinai Covenant. Such better promises came about only after Jesus Christ had been crucified and resurrected from the dead! Coupled with the gift of God's Spirit, it can transform hearts and minds of those who will repent and accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Those who eventually succeed to become over-comers will receive the promise of eternal inheritance - Hebrews 9:15.

The Sinai Covenant was temporary in that until everything it symbolized were fulfilled by or through Jesus Christ. Such symbolic features like ceremonial rituals were no longer required under the New Covenant when Jesus Christ came as the sacrificial Lamb  to replace bulls and goats and became our High Priest in place of the Levitical priesthood. It does NOT do away with the moral laws of God of righteousness like The Ten Commandments. All the moral and righteous laws of God remain intact even under the New Covenant! In fact, it expects a higher standard in that not only the letters of the laws but the spirit and intent of God's laws have to be kept. In A.D 70 when the physical temple was destroyed and burnt to the ground by the Roman army, all form of ceremonial rituals practiced by the Jewish system of temple worship came to a halt.

THE NEW COVENANT EXPLAINED - PART 1

There is a deep misunderstanding between the Old Covenant (also known as the Sinai Covenant) of the Old Testament and the New Covenant of the New Testament. Theological debate on these two Covenants centered along the line of law and grace - that the Old Covenant is all about the law and the New Covenant is all about grace. Many believe that the New Covenant taught by the Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles was introduced to do away with the law of the Old Testament to inaugurate a dispensation of grace. But is that the correct understanding of Scriptures?

We will attempt to examine the biblical meaning of these two covenants and their role in God's plan for mankind. But first do note that the Bible can be seen as a series of covenants that reveal the relationship God intends to establish with man who is created in His image. It is like a series of promises, but with conditions attached. Those who meet these conditions receive the blessings of God and the reverse holds true for those who refuse to abide by the requirements!

Through His servants (Deuteronomy 5:29; Jeremiah 24:7; 32:40; Hebrews 8:8-11), God revealed that He intends to give His people a new heart and mind that conforms to His plan and purpose for their lives - so that man can acquire the righteous character of Christ-likeness to live for eternity. But how is it to be done? - through believing in Jesus and His gospel message of the kingdom of God. Only then can those who are called of God be empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit to change hearts and minds to conform to His ways instead of the ways of this world ruled by Satan!

God's plan from the beginning is for all human beings to walk the path that leads to eternal life. Only Jesus Christ has ever succeeded in doing so with the rest falling short (Romans 3:23). On the night before His crucifixion, The Lord Jesus instituted the New Covenant - 'this cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you' (Luke 22:20). This New Covenant involves the detailed plan of salvation for mankind instituted by God! Hence, it is important to understand it correctly.

The central message of Jesus Christ is the gospel of the kingdom of God (Mark 1:14-15). In it, God plans to transform all human beings to conform to the likeness of Christ, starting with the hearts and minds. Although the True Church that Christ built is to continue His work, only relatively few are called in this church age, with the rest of mankind to be called after the close of the Millennium Age (Revelation: 20:5). Christ first coming only begins the process, the fulfillment of God's plan for the salvation of all mankind is yet ahead!

The Sinai Covenant or Old Covenant established the ancient national kingdom of Israel, but the New Covenant promises that the Messiah Jesus Christ will establish a more inclusive kingdom that covers the whole earth (Isaiah 9:7; Matthew 25:34; Luke 22:29-30; Revelation 11:15). All who meet the terms specified in God's covenants will inherit the kingdom of God (also known as kingdom of Heaven). The Lord Jesus Christ has set an example for us to follow by meeting all the terms perfectly.

To put it succinctly, the New Covenant is all about changing the hearts and minds of believers. This can only happen through obedience when God will give them the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:32) to empower them to make the change. The Israelites under the Sinai Covenant did not obey the law of God and they were not given the Holy Spirit, apart from the few who were righteous kings and called of God to be prophets. For sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). But the time is coming - upon the return of Jesus Christ to earth - when God will put His law in their minds and write them on their hearts (Hebrews 8:8-10).

There is no indication whatsoever that God has done away with His law at the first advent of Jesus Christ. One the contrary, He has strengthened it by requiring His people (meaning all Christians) to observe not just outwardly the letter of the law but inwardly the intent and substance of it. The recipients of the promised New Covenant will have their hearts and minds engraved with the law of God.

What has been been done away with through the New Covenant is the ceremonial law of cleansing and animal sacrifice as given in the book of Hebrews chapter 10 and not the moral law of God like the Ten Commandments! This is because of a change from physical and temporary high priests (they died after some time) from the tribe of Levi to One that is Spiritual and permanent in the Person of Jesus Christ. Such change requires a change in the ritual and ceremonial law under the Old Covenant (Sinai Covenant). But Christendom portrays that all the law of God had being done away with - nailed to the cross. In truth, only the death penalty had been nailed to the cross - not the moral law of God - as no sinful man, apart from Jesus Christ, can satisfy the requirement of the law of God to put away the death penalty due to sin!

WHY IS THERE SO MUCH SUFFERING?

The world is going through uncharted territories with so much problems and unresolved issues but seemingly with no solutions in sight. Wars and conflicts are filling the news headlines with people killed and collateral damages mounting on every front. Though man may be able to send satellites to Mars, mankind has no answer to resolve man's inhumanity to man.

Take poverty and hunger for example, millions are poor and hungry without even the basic necessity of food and water to sustain life. The gross injustice done to the discriminated and marginalized in society is so rampant that it is happening even in Western developed countries.The seemingly endless series of problems and sufferings that millions are going through has no light at the end of the tunnel. Despite all the wisdom, wealth and power of nations, nothing seems able to stop the tide, let alone resolve them.

The question in most people's mind is - why God is allowing all the innocent to suffer? The popular explanation is because of sin due to the Fall of Adam and Eve - the first parents of the human race - and hence the consequences ever since. But while sin is ever present since the Fall because man had chosen the knowledge of good and evil - meaning that man chose to go their own way which has some good and some evil choices as well. The bad choices man made are the causes that result in bad effects, and this is happening all around us, albeit on a massive scale.

One of the fruits of the Spirit of God  - His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4)- is listed as longsuffering (Numbers 14:18, Galatians 5:22). The word literally means 'to suffer long'. For those who are called to be followers of Christ, and eventually sons of God, they need to develop Christ-like character and that includes longsuffering - the ability to bear suffering! If God were to eradicate suffering from this world, it would go against His will for His children to be partakers of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). But God will not allow His children to be tempted and to suffer beyond what they are able to endure - 1 Corinthians 10:13.

King Solomon penned that God built suffering into man's life for a purpose - that he might become a mature and better person through it all - Ecclesiastes 7:2-4, 14,15,18. This is evident in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ and His suffering. Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered - Hebrews 5:8. Our loving and perfect God has great power and infinite understanding (Psalm 147:5) and He expects the same from His children (Matthew 5:48).

The Bible tells us that one of God's character is longsuffering. Since God's plan is to develop His children  to have the  perfect and righteous character like the Lord Jesus Christ in order for them to be born again as immortal sons of God to rule and reign in His coming kingdom, it is essential for them to learn the value of human suffering in this world! - Hebrews 2:10. Nothing else short will do. Human mind will never understand why a powerful and loving God will allow mankind to suffer the way it is. Theologians taught that it is all a result of sin. While there is some truth in this, it is not the complete picture. Many suffer through no fault of their own, even more so than the wicked!

Similarly, the Apostle Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2:21, 'For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps'. Those who aspire to be His followers should follow in His footstep to learn the value of suffering and be mature in Christ - 1 Peter 2:19-20. ' If we suffer, we shall also reign with him' - 2 Timothy 2:12.  These verses explain that sufferings build character required of sons of God.

God's true servants like David, Job, Daniel, Paul and Peter among many others all suffer in one form or another. David declared, 'It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes' - Psalm 119:71. The Apostle Paul had endured it all (2 Corinthians 11:24-30), perhaps more than any others apart from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Suffering is unpleasant but necessary to learn the lesson God has intended in His infinite wisdom and power engineered in our lives. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution - 2 Timothy 3:12. The passage in 2 Timothy 3 is written in the context of the last days - the very time we are living in now! But take heart that God will not allow His called elect to endure beyond what they are able to bear, for He will provide them with a way of escape - 1 Corinthians 10:12-13.

THE TRUTH ABOUT HEAVEN

For centuries, traditional Christianity have been proclaiming that all who trusted in Jesus Christ will go to heaven when they die, regardless of what happen between the time of acceptance and death. Theologians and preachers have been trumpeting that heaven is the reward of the saved. Such doctrine has been built into the psyche of Christendom that countering such doctrine would almost certain be branded a heretic. Truth is, that is not what Scripture teaches.

At the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus said, Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth - Matthew 5:5. In Revelation 5:10, the Apostle recorded, And hast made them (the saints) unto our God kings and priests, and they (the saints) shall reign on the earth. These verses show us that God's plan for the saved is to rule on earth with Christ after their resurrection.

Christ was given the right to rule in the kingdom of God by God the Father  before His return to earth - Daniel 7:14 clearly reveals that He is coming for His people and the kingdom of God will be on earth, not the saved going to heaven - that all people, nations and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. It goes on to reveal that the saints will possess the kingdom of God - 7:22. Similarly, the book of Revelation affirms the Lord's teaching that the saved is to share rulership in the kingdom of God with Christ over all nations and peoples on earth - And He that overcome, and keep my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations (Revelation 2:26; 5:10) ; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years (Revelation 20:4).

In John 3:13, Jesus said, And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. So did the Apostle Peter preached on the day of Pentecost that David is both dead and buried and his sepulchre (tomb) is with us unto this day - Acts 2:29. A few verses down in verse 34, it was recorded for us that David is not ascended into the heavens. Since David is a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22),  fell asleep and saw corruption (Acts 13: 36) what is the basis to assume that all other believers will pop up in heaven with they die? This is simply baseless assumption albeit with good intention to soothe and comfort those who are bereaved and mourned!

The Lord Jesus Christ's throne is in Jerusalem on earth as He will sit on the throne of David when He returns (Luke 1:32-33) while the Heavenly Father's throne is in heaven. Together with the resurrected saints (who will by then be born again as immortal spirit-composed beings), they will execute judgment upon all people of the earth - Jude 15. When James and John came to Jesus to request tenure on the throne in the kingdom of God, the Lord replied that such positions are not His to give - but it shall be given them for whom it is prepared (Mark 10: 35-45). The implication is that whom the Father has called (John 6:44, 65) and are prepared to pay the price of obedience will qualify (for many are called but few are chosen - Matthew 20:16; 22:14).

When the Lord returns, He will separate the sheep (right hand) and the goat (left hand) and those on His right hand who are blessed of the Father will inherit the kingdom (of God) prepared for them from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:33-34). The Scripture is explicitly clear about man's ultimate destiny but Satan deceived humanity into believing that the kingdom of God or kingdom of heaven is heaven itself, which is not. God's standard is very high and all born again saints made immortal spirit being endowed with authority and power from on high will judge even the angels (1 Corinthians 6:3). It is not merely "believing in Jesus and get to heaven when you die" philosophy propounded by man. Millions simply believe on Him but not His words and teachings!

During memorial services, pastors who conduct the services will often preach on John 14:1-2, comforting those who mourn to take heart that their loved ones who passed on are  "now in heaven with mansions far better than earthly ones". The appropriate translation ought to be rooms or offices, where those who are called will be given different appointments, based on rewards (Luke 19: 12-19), in the kingdom of God much like in large corporations where office bearers have their own rooms or offices to work in.

True Christians are overcomers (Revelation 3:5,21) destined for great works (Ephesians 2:10) and not simply get to heaven to "walk the pearly gates and streets of gold" or "frolicking the beaches all day" in wanton idleness for all eternity! God did not create the universe with trillions time trillions of stars just for show - it has to have a purpose for humanity to have dominion over all his creation (Colossians 1:16-17) - of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom... forever - Isaiah 9:7.

Men and women of faith who died have yet to receive salvation - not even patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (later named Israel) - these all died in faith and were buried in the graves, not having received the promises (of salvation and city of Jerusalem where the kingdom of God will be headquartered) - Hebrews 11:8-16. All are awaiting for the resurrection, for if there is no resurrection, our faith is all in vain - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

In Genesis 5:24, it was recorded that Enoch walked with God; and he was not; for God took him. Many concluded that Enoch was "taken up into heaven". But he was not found (Hebrews 11:5) with his body removed by God to another place for burial (just like Moses) - the same word used for transporting Jacob's body to Sychem for burial (Acts 7:16).

One often hears in Sunday school of how prophet Elijah was "taken up by a whirlwind into heaven " - 2 Kings 2: 1 &11. In biblical term, the word "heaven" has three meanings - the first heaven is the atmosphere that envelops earth while the second heaven is the outer space where no man can survive unaided; and the third heaven is where the throne of God is (2 Corinthians 12:2). Since Jesus Christ categorically states that no man has been up in the third heaven (John 3:13), that leaves one of two possibilities. But no man can survive in outer space without oxygen and the right equipment, Elijah must have been somewhere on earth but at a different location! Some years later Elijah wrote a letter rebuking king Jehoram for not following the ways of his father Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 21:12). Since only earthlings sent letters, Elijah cannot be in the third heaven!

An important point worthy of note is the patriarchs of old who were people of faith has yet to receive the promise of salvation because God's plan encompass all of us who would believe in the church age - God having provided some better thing for us (those living in the church age including now), that they without us should not be made perfect (resurrected into immortal spirit beings) - Hebrews 11:40. The Lord's prayer is "Thy kingdom come" (Matthew 6:10) - not we get into heaven. Three times in Revelation 22 - verses 7, 12 and 20 - the Lord Jesus said "I come quickly" and "my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be" (verse 12). What an amazing and loving God we have yet so few truly understand His plan and purpose for humanity!

THE TRUTH ABOUT HELL

Most people believed that when a believer died in Christ, he/she will pop up in heaven. Whereas when an unbeliever died, he/she will be eternally burned and tortured in hell. But what most people did not know is that such teaching is pagan in origin and man-made and not the teaching of Scripture. So where does all the talk about heaven and hell come from? The answer will surprise most people - from Greek and Roman philosophers and ancient poets/writers.

Many people, regardless of religious affiliation, believed in a perpetual fiery hell where the wicked will be burning in pain and suffering presumably without end. The idea was first penned by an Italian poet named Dante Alighieri (A.D. 1265-1321) in the early 1300s in his famous work The Divine Comedy.

In the poem, Dante dreamed that the Roman poet Virgil took him on a guided tour of hell, where the souls of wicked people undergo nine circles of hell in perpetual torment and suffering. He let his imagination runs with demons poking, jabbing and whipping the poor souls suffering in boiling blood, buried with their head first and feet burning in scorching flames. Some are frozen in a lake up to their neck to suffer the agony of bitter cold.

Such images have successfully etched in the minds of masses from different religions and cultures up to the present time! Even the Taoist monks practiced some rituals to help departed souls ride through nine circles of hell during the wake of those departed. I know because I was a participant at the wake when my grandparents passed on decades ago. Dante's fictional story has grasped the attention of people from all religious affiliation and culture much more than the Bible. Even the Catholics and Protestants are not spared from such influence, right up to the present time. The Catholic Encyclopedia calls it the Sacred Poem and the fictional story has largely remain the standard understanding of hell and all those who go there will have to endure for time without end!

Let's look at what the Bible actually teaches - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Death means the absence of life, not eternal life in  hell! For all who died, there is no consciousness of the passing of time or anything going on in and around the world. But some may wonder where did Dante got the idea from - the famous Greek philosopher Plato. His concept of the immortality of the soul is a legacy that seeps into many religions, including Christendom!

Plato wrote his renowned work titled The Republic in around 400 B.C. In the book he wrote about two chasms in the earth and two chasms in the heaven above. In between these chasms are judges who will bade the just to the right on the journey into heaven above and the unjust to the left to descend into hell below. Those who descend into hell below will suffer tenfold the wrongs done and those who done righteously will in like manner, be rewarded tenfold. Several centuries later, Catholic writers and theologians like Justin Martyr, Tertullian and Augustine incorporated these pagan teachings into Catholic theology. Subsequently, Protestant churches also adopted these ideas when great evangelists and preachers used them with much drama and effect "to frighten unbelievers into accepting Christ as their Savior".

To get to the bottom of this, one has to understand what the Bible means by "hell" as used in Scripture, otherwise the truth seeker will go round in circles with little hope of understanding. Four different words were  translated as to depict "three hell"  in the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible and three of the four words used have nothing to do with hell in the common understanding of the word.

The first "hell" is sheol in Hebrew and hades in Greek. The Old Testament was mainly written in Hebrew (with some Aramaic) and the New Testament primarily in Greek. Sheol and hades refer to the resting place of the dead - the grave  - and nothing more. Most people with preconceived idea automatically assume a fiery inferno of everlasting fire, but that was never the original intent of the word in Scripture! Great men of old like king David and king Hezekiah knew full well that their resting place at death is sheol - the grave (Psalm 88:3; Isaiah 38:10). It is not referring to a place of fiery torment as countless billions had assumed.

Another Greek word "tartaroo", used only once is also translated as "hell" in 2 Peter 2:4. Here the Apostle Peter is referring to fallen angels (demons) who were cast down and are now under restraint or imprisonment. Such fallen angelic beings were  and still are confined in chains unto darkness reserved for the day of judgment. This word is used specifically for fallen angels that sinned against the Creator and in no way refer to any fiery inferno reserved for fallen humanity. Many modern translations have left such word untranslated so as not to add to confusion.

The third "hell" is the Greek word Gehenna, which means the 'Valley of Hinnom'  This is a deep valley which lies to the south-west of Jerusalem. Many years ago, my wife and I went on a Bible study tour to Israel and we had passed through the place with no fire burning at all - let alone an inferno! Instead, many ancient tombs dotted the hillsides of the Valley of Hinnom. In ancient past, the valley was the place where idolatrous worship of the Canaanite gods Molech and Baal took place where children were sacrificed by burning them alive in fiery flames under the reign of king Ahaz and king Manasseh (Jeremiah 7:31, 19:4-5, 32:35). At the time of righteous king Josiah, he put an end to such practices. Because of such ill reputation, the place became a city garbage dump during the time of Christ's First advent.

The Lord Jesus used the term Gehenna eleven out of twelve times recorded in New Testament. During the time of Christ, dead animals and even corpses of criminals were thrown into the fire at Gehenna to be burned up as the flames were left burning continuously. Some corpses fell on branches grew out from the side of the valley and left hanging there but never made it to the fire below and were eventually devoured by worms (Mark 9:43-48)!

The audience listening to Jesus knew full well what the Lord was referring to - a place where everything dumped into went up in smoke - including human corpses. He used this illustration to point to the fact that those who refused to repent will eventually end up in the lake of fire - where they will be burned up (Matthew 5:22, 29-30, 23:15,33; Luke 12:5) - known as the second death (Revelation 20:6) with no possibility of resurrection!

All the unrepentant wicked who end up in the lake of fire will be annihilated as ashes and stubble under the feet of the righteous who will inherit and walk the earth (Malachi 4:1-3) - restored by Christ and His resurrected saints and refined by fire. That is why when the thief requested the Lord Jesus Christ to remember him when He returns to restore the kingdom of God on earth, Christ told him that he will be with Him in paradise (Luke 23:42-43) - when earth will be restored, including cleansing by fire as it was at the Garden of Eden before the Fall of humanity!

Some theologians and preachers believe that after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, all has changed. They would normally quote Ephesians 4:8-10, Wherefore he saith. When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the  same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things). The Roman Church use this to justify the doctrine of purgatory.

But the true meaning of  'captivity captive' is that sinners who were slaves to sin were converted to servants of righteousness. The following two verses in 9 to 10 refers to Jesus Christ in His pre-incarnate state (Jesus Christ in His pre-incarnate state was known as the WORD - John 1:1 and also the God of the Old Testament - John 8:24, 28, 58; 1 Cor 10:4), went to the abyss to  preach to fallen angels before the time of the Flood in the days of Noah (1 Peter 3:19-20). Christ having overcome all evil and temptations in the flesh was eminently qualified to return to heaven to receive the kingdom of God from the Heavenly Father and will return at His Second Coming to rule and reign over all things on earth - the gist of the Gospel message that few understood even in Christendom to this very day!