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  1. Shalom, everyone. I think I may have started something like this a year or so ago, but I still feel that it is important to explore and correct, if possible. Down through the last 2,000 years or so, we have made some MAJOR changes to terminology that I believe we as a people once knew and now have changed the meanings of those words into something that is now totally foreign to the first century meanings. Among these words that are so foreign to their original meanings are the following: I believe that we should work toward a paradigm shift back to the original meanings of these words. There are others, of course, that could have been listed, as well, but these are the fundamental ones. And, I believe they are fundamental because to some they are especially "holy words" that "one should not touch" as far as trying to correct their meanings. The major six are the ones in the circle: salvation, gospel, kingdom, Christ, church, and heaven. I started with angel and heaven, but one could start anywhere, because it is truly a "state function." That is, it doesn't matter how you get from point A to point B; it will take you the same amount of time and effort to make the journey. Let me start with a few basics: Will = want. When one asks, "What is God's will for my life?" he or she is actually asking the same thing as "What does God want for my life?" This may break down into more particular questions, like: "What does God want me to do for a living?" "What job does God want me to have?" "Who does God want me to marry?" "Where does God want me to live?" Faith = trust. "To have faith in God," one must learn "to trust God." Connected to this is the adjective and adverb forms of the words: "To be faithful" = "to be trustworthy." When we say, "God is faithful," we are saying that "God is trustworthy!" that is, "He is worthy of our trust!" A "faithful" spouse is a spouse we can trust to be consistently devoted to us. A faithful person or a trusty person is one we can count upon. Faithfulness = trustworthiness. There are certain words that are used in church or in synagogue on Sunday or Shabbat that have SYNONYMOUS COUNTERPARTS in life during the weekdays in other scenarios and workplaces. Let's start with some fun. What are some other words that you use in church that have a different word you've noticed using in secular areas of your life? Let's see how many we can come up with.
  2. How can an educated person believe God created the world? How could a loving God send people to Hell? Didn't science disprove Christianity? Many Christians hear objections to Christianity and have a crisis of faith. Let's explore these questions now. https://raptureandendtimes.com/2020/08/22/end-times-crisis-believe-science-or-the-bible/
  3. From the Coronavirus to riots and unexplained explosions, it looks like 2020 is the year that the Bible warned us about. Things are getting scary! But - Spoiler Alert! - I checked the ending of the Book, and it all works out! https://raptureandendtimes.com/2020/08/08/rapture-2020-spoiler-alert/
  4. Is watching certain movies with swear words and saying swear words a serious sin? Will I go to hell for it?
  5. Before reading, just know that is a long text, and may seem like something ridiculous and not needing to bother with to most of y'all, but this means a lot to me, and I keep hoping to find answers, but can't find any, so that's why I'm here... Hey, Everyone! I am fairly new to this Forum and excited to be a part of it! I was born into the faith, and have been a Christian my entire life (I'm 17 years old, lol). It wasn't until around I was about 12 or 13, though, that I began to become more interested in Christianity and the Bible, and at the age of 15, I discovered Apologetics, which helped me retain my faith that I was struggling with at the time. Thanks to that, I now have learned much more about Christianity than I ever thought I would, and I am so happy to know that Christ is Lord and that I am a Follower of Him! So y'all are probably wondering "what does any of this have to do with Tupac Shakur, as named in the title?" Well, that's where the questions come in. For any who don't know, Tupac Amaru Shakur (1971-1996) was a rapper who went by the stage names MC New York, 2Pac, and Makaveli. He was born in New York, and then moved to Maryland where he attended the Baltimore Academy of Arts (I believe that's what it is called), but then moved to California at the age of 17, where he was introduced to the drug and ghetto culture, where dealing, gang violence, sex, and robberies were frequent and even promoted. He was brought up as a thug, due to this, and incorporated this message in many of his songs. Unlike many rappers today though, when Tupac rapped about drugs and crime, he didn't do it in an attempt to glorify them, he did it to show the consequences of dabbling with them and tried to show those that didn't live that lifestyle, what it's like to live it. Tupac even made songs that, to me, were very powerful. His songs such as: Changes, Dear Mama, Brenda's Got A Baby, Until the End of Time, etc. are enough to make one tear up (I did with Brenda's Got A Baby). Me, being born into the ghetto and being raised in a household of domestic violence, I began to feel extremely attached to his music and his message. I began to binge several of his interviews, videos, albums, films, etc. It got to the point to where he felt like a friend of mine, or even, family. Then, I saw an interview where he was asked his religious views, and this is where it gets downhill. His songs and poems show that he was an extremely strong believer in God, but when he is asked about what he follows, he responds, stating that he believes that if you are good in your heart and do good things, then you are closer to God. But if you're evil in your heart and do bad things, then you're closer to the Devil. But he then went on to say that the Bible, he believes, was made by a person who wanted to find a way to control people. He says that the Bible says that certain people (prophets, patriarchs, etc) are good because they suffered a lot. He then went on to say that he got shot 5 times, and that he was 'crucified' by the media, and he 'walked through with the thorns on', and he told the thief (probably someone in the jail he was in) that 'this ain't supposed to happen, I'll come back for you.' Then he clarified by saying that he ain't saying he's Jesus, but that people go through that type of 'stuff' everyday. He then went on to attack a lot of what he sees as selfishness by megachurches and gigantic cathedrals who won't help homeless people who need God (although I don't have an issue with that point). During this interview, he was quick to make sure that he wasn't trying to disrespect anyone's beliefs, and that these things he's saying are simply his opinions only. This broke my heart. I thought Tupac, someone who I see as an inspiration, was a full on believer! I began to overspeculate, and came to several conclusions, one of which was that Tupac wasn't being entirely truthful in the interview, as he does have different tones with different interviewers, and that he truly did believe in the Bible, but then I felt like I was lying to myself. There several factors that contribute to my continued belief that Tupac was a Christian. Such as: - He had a giant tattoo of a cross on his back - He had a tattoo of a cross, along with Jesus' face, with the words "Only God Can Judge Me" on his arm - His most frequently worn necklace was a necklace of a cross - He was extremely close to his mother, who was a very devout Christian, who even claimed that the group she was in (Black Panther Party) failed because they didn't involve God - In many of his songs, he implements Christian tones: "Hail Mary", "Only God Can Judge Me", "Black Jesuz", "Ghetto Gospel", "I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto" - Many of his lyrics point to a Christian belief: "Father please forgive me for my life of sin, my hard stare seems to scare my sister's kids.." (Until the End of Time) "Get on yo knees to pray, Oh Lord, Help me change my ways, and show a lil mercy on judgment day, it ain't me I was raised this way.." (Hell 4 a Hustla) "Is there a ghetto in heaven or do I go to hell?" (Gotta Survive) "Picture a world where black babies can survive past five, but we must keep hope, quotin the reverend from the pulpit.." (Everything You Own) "Question for the Lord, why don't He like me, please guard my soul" (High Speed) "Just another lost soul stuck callin Jehovah.. Father how the hell did I survive these five shots?" (All Out) "and I wonder if the Lord ever heard of me.." (Po N*gga Blues) "and I pray to black Jesus to please take the rest of me.." (As The World Turns) "Before I go to sleep I pray and thank the Lord for another fruitful day.." (F*ckin with the Wrong N*gga) "Dear God I been feeling like I'm close to Jesus.." (Catchin Feelings) "And God said He should send His one begotten son to lead the wild into the ways of the man Follow me; eat my flesh, flesh and my flesh" & "Catch me father please, cause I'm fallin," (Hail Mary) "Cry later but for now let's enjoy the laughter God bless the dead" (God Bless the Dead) "Dear Lord..How can I survive? Got me askin white Jesus will a brotha live or die, cause the Lord can't see us in the deep dark clouds of the projects, ain't no sunshine No sunny days and we only play sometimes" (Still I Rise) "Keep yo' head up and try to keep the faith And pray for better days" (Better Dayz) "Searchin for Black Jesus It's hard, it's hard We need help out here So we searchins for Black Jesus It's like a Saint, that we pray to in the ghetto, to get us through" (Black Jesuz) "Who do you believe in? I put my faith in God Blessed and still breathing And even though it's hard That's who I believe in Before I'm leaving I'm asking the grieving Who do you believe in?" (Who Do You Believe In) These things often comfort me. In regards to Christianity, the closest he ever came to "insulting" it, is saying that the Bible wasn't "written by God". He harshly criticized pastors, priests, and especially televangelists, but he never once, not once, ever spoke bad about Jesus Christ. And even though he didn't hold the Bible in the same regard as we do here, he never insulted any prophet or person in the Bible that is shown as good. What's strange though, is that, in an interview after this, Tupac, while acting in a movie called "Gang Related", states that his faith is in "Black Jesus" and that he has "been gifted by God, by Black Jesus". Here, Tupac refers to Jesus as God, (the reason he uses the term "Black Jesus", is because he wants to make it clear that he doesn't have the same thought pattern as WASP Christians) (also, note that this interview isn't part of the movie, lol). In an interview with MTV (I believe this was his last interview before he was eventually shot and killed), he compares Judas' Betrayal to his competition in the music industry. I don't remember what he said exactly, but it's easy to find online, and it's very short. After he was shot, he didn't die on the spot, but instead, fell into a coma and was rushed to the hospital, where he was alive for about 3-6 days until he eventually died from his wounds. During this time, he was visited by his mother, Afeni Shakur, and his aunt, Gloria Cox, both of whom were devout Christians, and they had with them, in Tupac's hospital room, an Evangelist, who was Tupac's aunt Gloria's cousin, who visited Tupac all the time and prayed over him, and also put oil over him and put a healing cloth on him, while he was still shot up and unconscious, but still alive. He eventually passed away, with the last ones seeing him pass on, being his mother and aunt. Now some of y'all may have a question of your own when reading this: "Why do you care so much?". Well, because I feel extremely close to Tupac, and he touched on so many things that meant a lot to me, and what he said are things that I very much relate to. He feels kind of like a best friend, or even a brother sometimes. I don't let this cloud my judgement, though, as there are aspects of him that I don't agree with. I don't want to follow the life he lived, and I believe that Biggie handled their feud in a much more mature manner and tried to calm people on both sides down, whereas Tupac, due to growing up in the ghetto and already being shot 5 times, became extremely paranoid and reacted somewhat militantly (though, only verbally, not physically). But as Tupac said, he didn't want to be seen as a role model, but instead, show the world what he alone was like. With all this being said, there are some questions I have regarding this. 1) Tupac promoted songs and messages of righteousness, with some gangsta-type themes, only so he could connect and reach out to the people who lived in ghetto hood areas. First and foremost, 2Pac believed in helping the poor, and fought for those who couldn't, but often times his anger did get the best of him, and he would act out on it, but then regret it later on. ~ Does this make him more of a no good thug rather than someone who can be seen as good? 2) Despite him not believing the divine context of the Bible (at least not at the time of the interview), do you think he could still be considered a Christian? He held a very strong and firm belief in God, and believed in the teachings of Christ as well. His Gang Related interview shows him calling Black Jesus, God. Maybe he could've been what is called an "Agnostic Christian"? What is the minimum requirement to being called a "Christian"? 3) Would you say that Tupac made it into Heaven? Or that it seems like He could've? He did exactly what Jesus taught people to do in His Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, but he didn't seem to believe in Biblical authority, but he did refer to Jesus as God. This means he took Him as his "Lord", but I'm not sure if he then also took him as his "Savior". His body art and songs seem to show a promotion of Christian belief, though. I remember reading about King Solomon who was once righteous in the Eyes of God, but then turned to idolatry and had several women as his wives and concubines. I don't think Solomon would've landed in Hell though, so I don't think that what Tupac did, would've landed him in Hell (but I'm not the one to make that judgement). Sorry for seeming somewhat dramatic, and over thinking the faith and actions of one man, but the reason I do this, is because I love Tupac and I genuinely care about his condition and his faith. If there's anyone here, especially a fan of 2Pac who may also know about his life, who can give an answer, then as Tupac said in Dear Mama, "you are appreciated". I kindly ask for as many answers that can be received as possible. Thank you, and God Bless!
  6. Please and please, I beg you in the Name of JESUS, kindly read to the end, it won't take you more than 5mins to READ and ASSIMILATE. Let's go...... Copied: VERY CRITICAL ALERT!!! Hello beloved saints, I'm sure you know that New international version (NIV) was published by Zondervan but is now OWNED by Harper Collins, who also publishes the Satanic Bible and The Joy of Gay Sex. The NIV and English Standard Version (ESV) has now removed 64,575 words from the Bible including Jehovah, Calvary, Holy Ghost and omnipotent to name but a few... The NIV and ESV has also now removed 45 complete verses. Most of us have the Bible on our devices and phones especially "OLIVE TREE BIBLE STUDY APP." Try and find these scriptures in NIV and ESV on your computer, phone or device right now if you are in doubt: Matthew 17:21, 18:11, 23:14; Mark 7:16, 9:44, 9:46; Luke 17:36, 23:17; John 5:4; Acts 8:37. ...you will not believe your eyes. Refuse to be blinded by Satan, and do not act like you just don't care. Let's not forget what the Lord Jesus said in John 10:10 (King James Version). THE SOLUTION: If you must use the NIV and ESV, BUY and KEEP AN EARLIER VERSION OF the BIBLE. A Hard Copy cannot be updated. All these changes occur when they ask you to update the app. On your phone or laptop etc. Buy and KEEP EARLIER VERSIONS AND STORE THEM. There is a crusade geared towards altering the Bible as we know it; NIV, ESV and many more versions are affected. Rapture will take place any time from now. Everything hindering the rapture has been removed. Gospel has been preached almost everywhere, all the prophecies has been fulfilled. The devil is working very hard to occupy Christians with the things of this world so that the day will catch them unaware. Please be prepared, there is no more time, Use the advantage of SMS, WhatsApp, BBM, Facebook, Twitter etc to send this message to at least 10 people. Do not ignore. This is also a source of evangelism, souls are dying. God bless you! Let’s Pray Hard: 6 6 6 The Mark Of The Beast Prophesy Finally Fulfilled… Written By: Jonathan Annobil. The US supreme Court has rule that states must allow same-sex marriage (SODOMY) which was the same reason God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. the US Senate has also passed the Obama Health Bill into law. The implementation has already commence. The bill would require all Americans to be implanted with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip in order to access medical care. The device will be implemented on the forehead or on the arm. This is to fulfill the prophesy in the Book of Revelation 13:15-18 concerning the MARK OF THE BEAST. Are you still doubting the END TIME? Do u know that the special car which was made for Obama is known as the BEAST? Get READY. The rapture is near! Revelations 13, is being played out right before us. Many are still unaware. Why is the chip being implanted exactly where the Bible says it would be. Why on the hand and forehead. Why not anywhere else? 2. Why is it being connected to your bank account? Remember the Bible says you wont be able to buy or sell without the mark 6 6 6. And guess what! The chip is connected to your financial details. What breaks my heart the most is that many people in the Church will not make it if Jesus comes now? Many are unaware that the ends is near. Don’t tell me that its advancement in technology or development. If any area of your life is not in sync with God’s word repent and be converted. If you miss heaven you can never miss hell…think about it. Hell is not a pretty place, the worst part is that it is for eternity… He who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the church. Please rather than post and forward senseless messages. Send to everyone you know. Do the work of an evangelist. PLEASE SHARE THIS MESSAGE WITH ALL YOUR CONTACTS. Have you ever wondered what should have happened if we treat the Holy Bible the way we treat our mobile phone? And we really can’t live without it. Only 7% percent will re-send this message. Don’t be of the 93% who will not share the message. Satan said. “I wonder how humans claim to LOVE GOD and disobey Him, and claim they hate me yet they obey me” Do not send later. Share and send now.
  7. You must analyze all the information here carefully. You must spread all the information to everyone else. Christianity is the religion to follow and God the Father exists now. Jesus Christ exists now. Be a good and holy Christian for God the Father and Jesus Christ. The three videos put here are here for a reason. The reason the videos are here is because they are about how to be a good and holy Christian for God the Father and Jesus Christ. The videos also teach you how to avoid experiencing Hell forever after your life ends. The videos also teach you how to get to experience Heaven forever after your life ends. The videos are about avoiding sins. Sin causes you to experience Hell forever after your life ends. Read, watch, and listen to all the three videos thoroughly. Analyze it all carefully. Here is a link to one of the testimonies from the website, Divine Revelations. It is important to read, see, hear, and analyze all the information from this testimony. There is also more information and testimonies from the website, Divine Revelations, you should analyze. Click on the link here: Click on the link here: Christianity is the religion to follow and God the Father exists now. Be a good and holy Christian for God the Father and Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ exists now. This website, called Divine Revelations, has testimonies of experiences with Jesus and God the Father. This website has information you must read, see, and listen to. Analyze all the useful information that it has. The information is about Heaven and Hell. Heaven and Hell exist now. Being a good and holy Christian, the way God the Father and Jesus want you to be can allow to experience Heaven forever after your life ends. Click on the link here: Here is a link about the rapture, end times, and tribulation. See, read, hear, and watch all the important information carefully. Click on the link here: Click on the link here: Extra information Do you know a forum/website where I can post important information like this everyone should know? You must help everyone be holy for God the Father and Jesus Christ. God the Father and Jesus Christ exist now. I had to put the videos together with all the other information for all the information to work the right way. The videos and websites should be here because they are very important information. Spread the information to everyone because the information is something everyone must know. Remember the pictures from the websites and videos because they are very important to know. I do not own the videos and websites. Edit: Removed the links. This post amounts to spam, since it is largely the unrequested promotion of a website. If you want to enter into a dialogue with members io this site, then do so, start a topic in the appropriate area, and tell people what you want to tell them, and don't just send them to some website. If you do not own videos or the website, then please to not attempt to make us host them for you, we do not want to violate copyright or be part of that either. - Omegaman 3.0
  8. I have been studying eschatology for more than 30 years now. Originally I believed in a pre-tribulation rapture because frankly it was the only view I had ever heard. One day I was listening to the radio and heard a man mentioning the fact that there were other views on the topic. This got my curiosity up and I decided to study the Bible myself and see if I could discover what the Bible itself actually taught about these things. I was really serious about it. The method I chose to employ was to read the Bible from Genesis through the Book of Revelation and write down every verse or passage that I believed spoke to the issue of the timing of the sequence of the Rapture of the Church with respect to the Great Tribulation. This took me eight months to accomplish. Once I had all of my notes, I copied them onto Post-it notes so that I could arrange them in a chronological sequence if something in the verse or passage had a clue about the order in which it fit with respect to the other verses and passages. This was done on a 4' x 8' sheet of particleboard laid out on a folding table. I tell you this in case you want to try this yourselves sometime to let you know what it takes and what you will be in for. My wife died recently and I myself am aging and have had some recent health issues. This has brought into focus the fact that my own time on earth may be limited. Actually this is true of every one of us, no one knows the time of their own death. You could have a stroke, or be in a car accident tomorrow. In Eschatology, the study of the last things, we usually think in terms of things prophesied in the Bible that are yet to come. Things like the Rapture of the Church, the Great Tribulation, the Second Coming of Jesus, Armageddon, the Millennium, these sorts of things. While many of us believe that Jesus could come at any moment, few of us really live as though we expect that to happen. We understand that it has been about 2000 years so far, and that casts some doubt our hearts and minds about whether he will really come today or tomorrow or even in a week or this year. Though I have always realized intellectually that my personal time on earth, my own life, could end in a moment, it is the events of this last year but it made me thoughtfully confront the reality of my limited time. What this means then is that no matter how delayed Jesus second coming might be, I will likely be face-to-face with Jesus within 10 or 20 years. Eschatology is then therefore not limited to the study of the last things predicted in the Bible, but we each have our own personal last days which are contained within our natural lifespans. Some people say that if it is true that Jesus will not be coming back until after the great tribulation that that removes the motivation to live as we should so that we will be found doing what we should be doing when he does return. I want to say to you that if that is what you think: "Shame on you!" The motivation to live correctly should not be a concern to not be caught failing to live as we should be living when Jesus comes at the end of the age. Jesus suffered and died on the cross for our sins. Gratefulness for our undeserved salvation should be more than enough motivation to live within the will of God without concern of the question of when Jesus will return. When we are not living correctly, we have already been 'caught'. The Holy Spirit is inside us if we are believers. God is omnipresent. Whatever we do, we drag Jesus with us. Nothing we do, nothing we say, nothing we think, goes unnoticed by God. So I think then, that for those of us who think that a pre-tribulation rapture of the church is a motivation to live rightly, with that thinking we are inclining ourselves to living wrongly. Rather than to live holy lives out of the gratitude we have for what Jesus has done for us - rather than live as dedicated servants who owe him everything - rather than realize that we are not our own but have been purchased - some of us shamefully take his grace as a license to sin because we know we have been forgiven. We live worldly lives because we think in our hearts that our master is delaying his return, even while we say with our lips He might return at any moment. Those of us who think and act in this manner are self deceived and we are hypocrites. In June of 2014, a couple months ago as I write this, I had the great privilege of delivering a sort of eulogy at my wife's memorial service. Gathered there were friends and family some of whom are believers, some who were not, and some who think they are believers and don't even understand what the difference is. It had been on my wife's heart for years that many of her family were likely destined to suffer in eternity. I know that like me, she was dissatisfied with the fact that it is easy to avoid speaking of spiritual things with loved ones because it feels awkward. Personally I feel shame that I have too often avoided that awkwardness and instead of demonstrating love by informing people of their peril, I have been willing to risk their eternal destiny for the sake of my temporary comfort . This is a great sin and I confess that as such and am attempting to repent of it. The eulogy I gave was the first significant step in telling people to re-examine their hearts and their lives and their need of salvation from their sins . This had been on my mind for years but having so many people as a captive audience at a time when the temporary nature of life was so obvious, was an opportunity that could not be passed up. What I was saying then was not just a recap of my wife's life, it was an expression of things that she had left unsaid. Confronting the fact that no matter how long it is before Jesus returns, it is true that we all have limited time left. So I realized that there are two kinds of the end times. There is the near-term end time which is represented by our limited lifespans, and there is the end times for mankind itself which began while Jesus still walked the earth and which we are in today as well. Both types of end times carry the same implications. Time is short, and there is a dying world out there that needs to understand that. Jesus himself near the end of his life told us to go out into the world and to preach the gospel to everyone. This was not a suggestion. Not just a nice idea. It's not optional. It is a command to every believer. Failing to do this is disobedience. It is sin. It is unloving. Penn Gillette, a self-professed atheist, said to the effect: "How much do you have to hate someone to believe that eternal life is possible and then not tell them how to obtain it?" I think those are pretty profound words on the topic for an atheist. It is too bad so many Christians don't get it. I have been one of them. So, in these last days of my own life I have determined to try to improve in a lot of things, but most specifically two things. The first is to be more active, perhaps even aggressive or at least assertive in evangelism. People need to understand that they are sinners. People need to know that their sin separates them from God. People need to understand that unless Jesus saves them from their sins, that separation from God is a permanent condition. They need to understand that that separation from God is a separation from everything good. Imagine if you will, what it would be like to spend eternity apart from good. Where there is no good, only evil remains. I believe that this concept of hell is accurate. I don't even like to think about it. When I try to imagine it, what I imagine is an eternity of suffering and pain, a despondent existence, a type of suffering worse than anything we have yet experienced in our lives while all the time knowing that this condition will be never ending and could have been avoided. What if life was so bad, that you never wanted to awaken, and you could never fall asleep again? If I really consider this all I can do is loathe my own evil and selfish heart, and at the same time feel an indebtedness and gratitude for the Savior who spares me from the eternity that I deserve and am apparently willing to let others earn for themselves. So, evangelism it is. I have to tell people. If I don't, I am a morally hideous monster. We do not need to have any special calling on our life to be ministers of the gospel. Where are all supposed to be evangelists. We do not have to wait for a leading of the Spirit to talk to a person about these things. We have already been told to just do it. Thing is when we realize what is at stake, we should not even have to be told. So then, the most important task that I have in my last days, the thing that I really want to be found doing when Jesus returns or when I go to be with Him if His return is delayed, it is to be telling others about God's love for them in the person of Jesus Christ who suffered and died for their sins to spare them from an eternity separated from God's love and goodness and filled with despair. When Jesus told us to go out into the world and preach the gospel to every creature he did not say to limit ourselves to evangelism. The purpose of evangelism is to make disciples, to make other followers of Jesus, and to teach them everything he taught us. One of the areas that Jesus taught about, that His apostles taught about, and that both Testaments of the Bible speak about frequently, are the end times and especially about warnings not to be deceived in them. So, because I have spent so much of the last three decades studying this area of Scripture, and because there are so many warnings not to be deceived, I feel a special responsibility to obey Jesus and tell other disciples about this topic because some are underinformed while others are deceived. I may at times sound arrogant due to the confidence I have in my understanding of eschatology, the study of the last things. I admit it, I am opinionated, passionate, and confident. When you put those three things together in one person, you have qualities which others may consider to be arrogance, maybe it is. Nevertheless I cannot in good conscience fail to attempt to pass on what I believe I have learned. I have been preparing questions for a trivia game on the topic of eschatology. While doing this I have been studying and reading the writings of others whose views are different than my own. There is one theologian in particular widely regarded as the foremost scholar on his particular viewpoint of eschatology. I have always had great respect for this man even though I disagree with him. He does deserve respect for his love of the Savior and his hard work and dedication to study. This is true of a lot of ordinary Christians as well. However after just having reviewed one of his books, I am finding so many unfounded presumptions, and faulty exercises and logic, that although I may respect his hard work, I have to reject his conclusions. Maybe I really am arrogant. However, even though I know this is redundant, I have to follow my convictions and make disciples, teaching them everything that Jesus taught his first disciples to teach other disciples in an ongoing chain until his return. Perhaps with this you can understand my focus. I hope that you can be patient with me while I am living out my faith and while the process of my own sanctification continues. I urge you, to also consider the shortness of time and make efforts to reach out to those you come in contact with and make a few disciples yourselves. Thanks for listening.
  9. Every now and then I can use a bit of confirmation that I'm doing the right things that Jesus ordered, as you may have noticed. That the signs point in the right direction, with an eye on the afterlife i.e. the Real Life. In my working life I developed a lot of 'scorecards' and now I found an interesting one that estimates or simulates no less than the future of my soul: Heaven or hell? All a bit presumptuous maybe, and I therefore really hope that this Achille Christian guy has thought very very well about the 40 questions an angel asks me in this 'game'. With God's Mercy set to 50% I'm going to Heaven all right. I'll have to try with 100% and 0%. For Roman Catholics, purgatory was optionally included. Maybe somebody on this forum is willing to make the effort of checking if the questions make good sense (I think reproducing the list here is not allowed). We still won't see the actual weighting, though. I saw a free version with 15 questions.
  10. At some times I can use a bit of confirmation that I'm doing the right things that Jesus ordered, as you may have noticed. That the signs point in the right direction, with an eye on the afterlife i.e. the Real Life. In my working life I developed a lot of 'scorecards' and now I found an interesting one that estimates or simulates no less than the future of my soul: Heaven or hell? All a bit presumptuous maybe, and I therefore really hope that this Achille Christian guy has thought very very well about the 40 questions an angel asks me in this 'game'. With God's Mercy set to 50% I'm going to Heaven all right. I'll have to try with 100% and 0%. For Roman Catholics, purgatory was optionally included. Maybe somebody on this forum is willing to make the effort of checking if the questions make good sense (I think reproducing the list here is not allowed). We still won't see the actual weighting, though.
  11. I would not be surprized if this video is not already in here, but I figured it was faster to make a new post, that to find one here. I wanted to be able to make reference to this in another thread, so here it is:
  12. I have heard that many Christians do not believe that hell is real. I found this to be absurd, but I am open to hearing both sides of the argument. So that is what has lead me to proposing this question, is Hell real? If it is or is not please explain. P.S. I for one do believe it exist. Sorry for the pun in the poll but is just too much for me to resist.
  13. I just came from a thread which got me to thinking about the disagreements about Hell in those who claim to be Christians. I have always believed that Jesus dying to redeem us from a real, eternal Hell is a necessary part of the gospel. It is surprising to me as to why a Christian could think otherwise. So I found an article from www.gotquestions.org, which I will copy and paste. If anyone wants to comment, feel free. All I ask is that things be respectful. Thanks. Note: I just thought it was an interesting matter. If anyone out there happens to know the original languages our scriptures come from, I hope you will weigh in as to whether this article is accurate. I will post it on the next page, as this intro is getting long.
  14. A few years ago I was really struggling with OCD in the form of obsessing over worrying about getting HIV. I was worried about getting it even in mundane everyday living sort of ways, like a bug flying in my eye for example. I'd been tested multiple times within a year and was losing my mind over worrying about it. After saying it was the last time I'd get tested so many times, I decided to try to force myself to stop getting tested for stupid reasons. So, I promised God I wouldn't get tested unless it was a real risk and if I broke this promise to send not just me to hell, but everyone I loved too. I actually dared God to do it in a really maniacal way. I think you know where this is going... I had an incident a couple weeks later in which there was some extremely small likelihood of risk and a couple people on forums recommended getting tested. I know almost all doctors would've said there's essentially zero risk in this situation, but I knew there was an absurdly unlikely possibility of it. So, I went and got tested, feeling that it satisfied the caveat built in to my promise that it was possibly a legitimate risk. Fast forward a few months to when I returned to Canada after living abroad for 2 years. HIV was still occupying 1/2 of my waking thoughts, so I decided that I'd get tested one last time and then only allow myself a test once a year from then on out or something. And, at the time I figured since I'd basically already broken my promise I may as well get tested even though there was no legitimate concern I had HIV, just wild OCD fuelled paranoia. So, I got this test and then from there I was able to slowly make my tests more and more infrequent. But in the process of doing so I broke a promise to God in which I dared him to send me and my loved ones to hell. Now I'm left wondering if I should try not to love anyone in my life; no kids, no wife, push away friends and family, etc. Because isn't there now a possibility God will follow through on that? If so, I am literally causing the eternal suffering of everyone I care about. So, isn't it worth it for me to live a miserable life alone & empty inside instead of potentially causing this everlasting harm? What is the best & right thing for me to do in this terrible, stupid situation? What does the bible say, if anything, about this kind of thing? Is God not quite vengeful in the Old Testament? Please no answers just trying to make me feel better, I actually want to do what's right here, even if it means killing myself. Thanks, Terrible Selfish Idiot.
  15. If someone doesn't know about Christ, and has never heard of Christ, then where do they go when they die? I can provide an example if requested.
  16. KiwiChristian

    Hell.

    HELL In the New Testament, 162 passages speak about unrepentant people going to hell, and 70 of these were described by Jesus, as he warned people to avoid it. When the unsaved die, they go immediately to hell. Later, at the end of Christ's 1,000 year reign on earth, the unsaved will leave hell, receive their resurrected bodies, go to the Great White Throne Judgment and will then be cast into the Lake of Fire, where they remain forever (Revelation 20:11-15). I. FOUR BIBLE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE HELL: 1. GEHENNA1067 referred to the continually burning rubbish dump on the south west side of Jerusalem, known as the valley of the sons of Hinnom (or Tophet). Jesus used the word "Gehenna" to describe the place of everlasting punishment because hell is a place of filth and stink, a place of smoke and pain, a place of everlasting fire and suffering. This garbage dump was likened to hell. It is used as a name for the place of everlasting punishment of the lost. It occurs twelve times in the New Testament. It is the ultimate hell of fire. It is the same as the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:14,15). Matthew 5:22 “whosoever shall say, “Thou fool”, shall be in danger of hell fire” (gehenna of the fire). Matthew 5:29 “And if thy right eye offend thee ... and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (gehenna). Matthew 5:30 “And if thy right hand offend thee ... and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (gehenna). Matthew 10:28 “...fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (gehenna). Matthew 18:9 “And if thine eye offend thee, ... rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire” (gehenna). Matthew 23:15 “Pharisees, ... ye make him twofold more the child of hell (gehenna) than yourselves.” Matthew 23:33 “Ye serpents,... how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” (gehenna). Mark 9:43 “And if thy hand offend thee, ... two hands to go into hell (gehenna), into the fire that never shall be quenched.” Mark 9:45 “And if thy foot offend thee, ... two feet to be cast into hell (gehenna), into the fire that never shall be quenched.” Mark 9:47 “And if thine eye offend thee, ... two eyes to be cast into hell fire” (gehenna of fire). Luke 12:5 “Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell” (gehenna). James 3:6 “the tongue is ... set on fire of hell” (set on fire by gehenna). 2. HADES86 is the intermediate state between death and the ultimate hell (gehenna), the Lake of Fire. It is where unsaved departed spirits reside. Luke 16:23. Hades never denotes the physical grave, nor is it the permanent region of the lost. Hades occurs 10 times in the New Testament, and Sheol, the Old Testament equivalent occurs 59 times. Hades is associated with privation, detention and just punishment of the unsaved dead. Matthew 11:23 “Thou, Capernaum...shalt be brought down to hell” (hades). Luke 10:15 Hades here expresses Capernaum's absolute overthrow, from pride to humiliation. Matthew 16:18 “The gates of hell (hades) shall not prevail against it” (the churches’ attack). Luke 16:19-31 “And in hell (hades) he lifted up his eyes, being in torments931 (punishment)” v.23. Hades here has two compartments, close to each other, yet different. Acts 2:27 “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (hades).” Acts 2:31 “That his (Christ's) soul was not left in hell (hades).” Christ here descended into the underworld of the departed (Ephesians 4:9,10), to take the believers in it (eg: thief on the cross) up to heaven. Believers now go to heaven at death, while unbelievers still go to hades at death, a place of punishment. Revelation 1:18 “I (Christ) ... have the keys of hell (hades) and of death.” Revelation 6:8 “a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and hell (hades) followed with him.” Hades here is personified as the temporary destiny of the unsaved. Revelation 20:13 “death and hell (hades) delivered up the dead which were in them.” Revelation 20:14 “death and hell (hades) were cast into the lake of fire.” Note: Fire is used 27 times in the New Testament to describe the after-death punishment of unbelievers and of demons. 2 Thessalonians 1:8 “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Matthew 13:42, 50 “And shall cast them into a furnace of fire.” Matthew 5:22; 18:9; Mark 9:43,45,47 “cast into fire unquenchable, hell fire.” Isaiah 66:24 “... look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me, for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched.” Mark9:44,46,48. Isaiah 33:14 “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with the everlasting burnings?” Matthew 18:8 “Two hands or two feet be cast into everlasting fire.” Matthew 25:41 “Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Jude 7 “Sodom and Gomorrha ... an example suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” (Literally: of fire eternal, the penalty undergoing). Revelation 19:20 “Beast, .. false prophet, ... and them that worshipped his image. These were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” Revelation 20:10 “the devil ... shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (for the ages of the ages). Revelation 20:14,15 and Rev. 21:8 “death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 14:10,11 “tormented with fire and brimstone ... the smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever (for ages of ages), and they have no rest (respite) day nor night...” 3. SHEOL7585 is hades of the Old Testament. In Hebrew, it means the depth, abyss, pit, world of the dead, underworld. It occurs 66 times in the Old Testament (grave 31 times, hell 30 times, pit 3 times). Though all Old Testament people went to the grave, the souls of some will receive punishment in sheol. Numbers 16:30 “Korah, Dathan and Abiram went down into the pit.” Psalm 9:17 “The wicked shall be turned into hell (sheol).” 4. TARTARUS5020 is the deepest abyss of Hades; a place where evil angels are imprisoned in torment, awaiting judgment and everlasting punishment. 2 Peter 2:4 is its only reference in the Bible. “If God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell (tartarus), and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.” II. WHAT IS HELL (GEHENNA and HADES) LIKE? 1. UNQUENCHABLE FIRE: “He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:12. Hell “fire” is real “fire” because the same Greek word (pur) for fire is used for both. “It rained fire and brimstone...” Matthew 17:15 and Luke 17:29. The rich man in hades said: “I am tormented in this flame.” Luke 16:24. 2. MEMORY AND REGRET. Abraham said to the rich man in hades “remember” in Luke 16:25. Lost people will remember their sins and the times that they rejected the Holy Spirit convicting them of their sins and their need for Jesus Christ to be their Saviour. They will remember how Christians told them the plan of salvation. 3. THIRST. The rich man in hell begged Abraham to “send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue” (Luke 16:24), yet this was refused. Imagine going without water for one day, let alone for eternity without water. Jesus Christ offers in John 7:37, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.” 4. SEPARATION. People in hell will experience a “great gulf” (Luke 16:26) between them and God. They took all the good things of life for granted when they were on earth. They will be forever separated from all the good gifts of God. Many unbelievers joke that “I won't be lonely in hell, as all my friends will be there.” Friendship means nothing under everlasting torment. 5. INJUSTICE AND FILTHINESS OF SIN are in hell. Revelation 22:11. “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy let him be filthy still.” No one likes people treating them unjustly, nor do people like being abused in a filthy manner. The unsaved will experience these conditions forever in hell. 6. HOPELESSNESS FOR ALL ETERNITY. Hell is the everlasting dwelling place of the unsaved. Sooner or later they will realise that they are in hell to stay there forever, with no escape. In Luke 16:26, Abraham told the rich man in hell: “They which would pass from here to you cannot; neither can they pass to us.” 7. STINK OF SULPHUR. “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone (sulphur); which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8. 8. EYESIGHT, HEARING, TOUCH, TASTE AND SMELL are senses that people possess in hell. The rich man in Luke 16:19-31 could “see” Abraham, “hear” his voice, “touch” the flames, desire to “taste” water, and “smell” the sulphur. Revelation 21:8. 9. THE DEVIL and DEMON ANGELS will accompany the Christ rejecters forever. 10. UNSATISFIED DESIRES. Both of the rich man's requests were denied in Luke 16:19-31. He requested a drop of water to cool his tongue, and for Lazarus to return to tell his five unsaved brothers how to be saved and avoid hell. Both requests were denied. How many times a day do you want something and get it? In hell, no one ever gets what they want. 11. PLACE OF WORMS. “Where their worm dieth not...” Mark 9:44,46,48. Worm means maggot. If the maggots do not die, and the people own the maggots, then neither do the people die or get annihilated in hell. 12. TORMENT and PUNISHMENT. “In hell, he lift up his eyes being in torments.” Luke 16:23. 13. SHAME and HATRED. “Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Daniel 12:2. People suffering in hell will get a resurrection body. They will be judged, and sent to the lake of fire in shame at their sins. They will experience everlasting contempt, hating their situation forever. 14. DEGREES OF PUNISHMENT IN HELL. “It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgement, than for that city.” Mark 6:11. Those who reject Christ most often, will receive greater punishment. Matthew 10:15. 15. WEEPING, WAILING, GNASHING OF TEETH. “So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 8:12 and 13:49,50. People who today are arrogant, proud Christ-rejecters will be wailing and gnashing their teeth in hell. 16. HADES IS IN THE EARTH. Amos 9:2 “though they dig into hell ...”, Isaiah 14:9 “hell from beneath”, Ephesians 4:9 “descended into lower parts of earth”, Numbers 16:33 “they went down alive into the pit”, Psalm 63:9 “those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.” 17. HELL IS ORIGINALLY PREPARED FOR THE DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS “Depart from me, ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:41. How does one get to hell? By neglecting to receive Christ as Saviour. Hebrews 2:3 “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” How does one avoid hell? By receiving Christ as their Saviour. John 1:12. Christians should work harder to rescue people from hell, and seek to build their church to better achieve this task, both at home and overseas. Question 1: Does “hell” mean “grave” where good and bad must go? Answer: No, because in Luke 16:19-31 both men went to the grave, but the soul of Lazarus was comforted, and the soul of the rich man was tormented. Question 2: How can a loving God send people to hell? Answer: People send themselves to hell by rejecting Christ. God is loving in sending Christ to die for our sins, but God is just in punishing sin. III. JESUS' STORY OF THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS in Luke 16:19-31. An unbelieving rich man who had abundant material possessions and food in this life, died and went to hell. A believing poor man named Lazarus who had nothing in this life but sickness and poverty, died and was carried by the angels into the comfort of paradise. The suffering rich man in hell made two requests of Abraham in paradise: i) To send Lazarus to put one drop of water on his tongue to relieve his suffering. The rich man, who refused to show mercy to Lazarus in need, now begged that Lazarus might show mercy to him in his need (v.24). The rich man declares the greatness of his torment saying: “I am in torment (agony) in this fire (or flame).” v.24. Lesson: Material things have only temporary, not eternal value. Luke 16:25. Abraham responded by calling him “son”. This means that he was a son of Abraham by flesh, not by faith. The rich man trusted his wealth and his physical descent from Abraham for his salvation. Christ showed that neither reason was sufficient for salvation. At death, one's eternal destiny is settled. "Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed" (v.26). The rich man could remember his false confidence in wealth, and his wrong devotion to it. This story refutes "soul-sleep", because the rich man and Lazarus were conscious, one enjoying comfort, and the other suffering torment. Note: Hades had two sections: paradise and hell punishment. Jesus emptied the paradise section when He rose from the dead and took the Old Testament believers’ souls to heaven. Eph. 4:8-10; John 20:17. “Torment” is used four times and means sorrow and grief. Abraham gave two reasons why Lazarus could not comfort the rich man: a) The rich man had received his reward (Matthew 6:2,5,16), and he had left God out of his life. b)The great gulf separated them. ii) To send Lazarus back to warn his five brothers. Luke 16:27-31. The rich man did not say: “I'm glad my brothers will come here, we'll have a wonderful time together.” People sometimes say: "I want to go to hell. All my friends will be there." Answer: There is no friendship in hell. Hell is a place of torment and loneliness. Lesson: People in hell have a concern for the lost, but they cannot do anything about it, BUT WE CAN! What are you doing? v.29-31: Abraham said that the only thing that could prevent his five brothers from coming to hell was: Hearing the Word of God, and responding to it by faith in Christ as Saviour. A man named Lazarus did come back from the dead, and some of the Pharisees wanted to kill him (John 11:43-57; 12:10). God had spoken many times to the rich man while on earth: 1. God permitted him to have riches, but not attributing his riches to God’s goodness, he did not repent. “The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.” Romans 2:4-5. 2. Lazarus would have witnessed to him, but his pride rejected Lazarus’ message. 3. Old Testament scriptures spoke to him. 4. Lazarus dying first, should have reminded him how he would also die. In hell he was still self-centred, praying for his comfort and for the safety of his family. He was not concerned about other lost sinners. C.S. Lewis says: “The safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” Lessons from the rich man and Lazarus: 1. The souls of men do not die with their bodies. 2. The souls of men are conscious after death, not asleep until resurrected. 3. The righteous at death are taken immediately to a place of happiness and the wicked are sent to a place of misery and torment. 4. Wealth does not protect us from death. 5. We should not envy the rich, as riches can blind us to the reality of eternity. 6. We should seek a better inheritance than this life can give. 7. The sufferings of the wicked in hell will be indescribably great of torment, burning flame, and insatiable thirst, forever. 8. Hell is a place of suffering beyond the grave. If not, this story has no meaning. 9. There will never be any escape from hell. The gulf is fixed. 10. God warns us to prepare for death through: His Word. His Holy Spirit pleading with sinners. His servants. His goodness leading us to repentance. Pleadings of friends. Heaven. If all that would not move sinners, then what would? He threatens hell. 11. God will give us nothing more to warn us. No dead man will return to tell us what he has seen. If he did, no one would believe him. If you will not hear Christ or the Bible, there is nothing you will hear. You will never be persuaded, and you will never escape the place of torment. 12. We see the amazing folly of those wanting to go to hell. They have been deceived. IV. THE IMPLICATIONS OF HELL FOR US TODAY 1. Soul winning is important. When people get angry at a preacher preaching on soul winning, they are doing the devil's work. 2. We need to become fishers of men. Matthew 4:19. 3. If we are busy pulling souls out of the fire, we will not waste our time fighting other Christians. We will seek to maintain unity in our church. 4. We see our Church as of great importance in rescuing people from hell. Rescuing people from hell is a major purpose of churches. 5. Hell focuses our attention on eternity, taking our attention off petty present things like latest worldly fashions which pale into insignificance in the light of lost people going to an eternal hell. 6. Hell makes us train workers to be soul winners. 7. It gives us a love for people to win to Christ and to train in the Bible. 8. It makes us use our time wisely so that all we do helps in some way to rescue people from hell. 9. Hell makes us mission minded so that we try to win lost people to Christ overseas. For example, Roman Catholics in Africa grew from 52 million in 1980 to 92 million in 1993. 10. Hell and eternal judgment is the sixth principle of the Doctrine of Christ, so it must be emphasised in our doctrinal teaching. “the foundation of ……eternal judgment.” Hebrews 6:1,2. 11. Hell will give us a better testimony as Christians. If we sin, people will go to hell. 12. Hell will stop us backsliding because we will realise that our job is important to accomplish in rescuing people from hell. “For what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36. What is your answer to this question? Conclusion Are you really saved? Have you received Jesus Christ as your Saviour, trusting Him alone to save you, not your religion or your good works? If you are saved, then what are you doing to tell people how Jesus Christ can save them from hell?
  17. Hi everyone! I have another question. Once we are in heaven will we still be sinners? Some Christians argue that only God is perfect, so yes, we will sin in heaven, for we are not, and never will be, God. Others argue that since it is the spirit that wrestles with the flesh (e.g. the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.) the flesh will be remade during the resurrection and the spirit will be joined to the flesh or something to that effect. Anyway, they argue that since all is remade and made new we will be perfect, or at least, we will never again sin against God or make mistakes, but rather we will be perfect as Christ is perfect. But if that were true, how did Lucifer, who was/is Spirit, rebel and sin against God? Presumably he too was perfect, until his fall from heaven, when he became lifted up in pride. If the angels are perfect and everyone in heaven is perfect, how did Satan sin against God? He was called the "son of the morning".
  18. Hi I don't understand the Bible easily, but I am going to post a quote from gotquestions.org and ask you to help me understand what "gradated" punishment means HERE, but PLEASE read the verses FIRST. thanks so much. Quote : In addition to fire, the New Testament describes hell as a bottomless pit (abyss) (Revelation 20:3), a lake (Revelation 20:14), darkness (Matthew 25:30), death (Revelation 2:11), destruction (2 Thessalonians 1:9), everlasting torment (Revelation 20:10), a place of wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30), and a place of gradated punishment (Matthew 11:20-24; Luke 12:47-48; Revelation 20:12-13).
  19. HELL In the New Testament, 162 passages speak about unrepentant people going to hell, and 70 of these were described by Jesus, as he warned people to avoid it. When the unsaved die, they go immediately to hell. Later, at the end of Christ's 1,000 year reign on earth, the unsaved will leave hell, receive their resurrected bodies, go to the Great White Throne Judgment and will then be cast into the Lake of Fire, where they remain forever (Revelation 20:11-15). I. FOUR BIBLE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE HELL: 1. GEHENNA1067 referred to the continually burning rubbish dump on the south west side of Jerusalem, known as the valley of the sons of Hinnom (or Tophet). Jesus used the word "Gehenna" to describe the place of everlasting punishment because hell is a place of filth and stink, a place of smoke and pain, a place of everlasting fire and suffering. This garbage dump was likened to hell. It is used as a name for the place of everlasting punishment of the lost. It occurs twelve times in the New Testament. It is the ultimate hell of fire. It is the same as the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:14,15). Matthew 5:22 “whosoever shall say, “Thou fool”, shall be in danger of hell fire” (gehenna of the fire). Matthew 5:29 “And if thy right eye offend thee ... and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (gehenna). Matthew 5:30 “And if thy right hand offend thee ... and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (gehenna). Matthew 10:28 “...fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (gehenna). Matthew 18:9 “And if thine eye offend thee, ... rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire” (gehenna). Matthew 23:15 “Pharisees, ... ye make him twofold more the child of hell (gehenna) than yourselves.” Matthew 23:33 “Ye serpents,... how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” (gehenna). Mark 9:43 “And if thy hand offend thee, ... two hands to go into hell (gehenna), into the fire that never shall be quenched.” Mark 9:45 “And if thy foot offend thee, ... two feet to be cast into hell (gehenna), into the fire that never shall be quenched.” Mark 9:47 “And if thine eye offend thee, ... two eyes to be cast into hell fire” (gehenna of fire). Luke 12:5 “Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell” (gehenna). James 3:6 “the tongue is ... set on fire of hell” (set on fire by gehenna). 2. HADES86 is the intermediate state between death and the ultimate hell (gehenna), the Lake of Fire. It is where unsaved departed spirits reside. Luke 16:23. Hades never denotes the physical grave, nor is it the permanent region of the lost. Hades occurs 10 times in the New Testament, and Sheol, the Old Testament equivalent occurs 59 times. Hades is associated with privation, detention and just punishment of the unsaved dead. Matthew 11:23 “Thou, Capernaum...shalt be brought down to hell” (hades). Luke 10:15 Hades here expresses Capernaum's absolute overthrow, from pride to humiliation. Matthew 16:18 “The gates of hell (hades) shall not prevail against it” (the churches’ attack). Luke 16:19-31 “And in hell (hades) he lifted up his eyes, being in torments931 (punishment)” v.23. Hades here has two compartments, close to each other, yet different. Acts 2:27 “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (hades).” Acts 2:31 “That his (Christ's) soul was not left in hell (hades).” Christ here descended into the underworld of the departed (Ephesians 4:9,10), to take the believers in it (eg: thief on the cross) up to heaven. Believers now go to heaven at death, while unbelievers still go to hades at death, a place of punishment. Revelation 1:18 “I (Christ) ... have the keys of hell (hades) and of death.” Revelation 6:8 “a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and hell (hades) followed with him.” Hades here is personified as the temporary destiny of the unsaved. Revelation 20:13 “death and hell (hades) delivered up the dead which were in them.” Revelation 20:14 “death and hell (hades) were cast into the lake of fire.” Note: Fire is used 27 times in the New Testament to describe the after-death punishment of unbelievers and of demons. 2 Thessalonians 1:8 “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Matthew 13:42, 50 “And shall cast them into a furnace of fire.” Matthew 5:22; 18:9; Mark 9:43,45,47 “cast into fire unquenchable, hell fire.” Isaiah 66:24 “... look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me, for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched.” Mark9:44,46,48. Isaiah 33:14 “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with the everlasting burnings?” Matthew 18:8 “Two hands or two feet be cast into everlasting fire.” Matthew 25:41 “Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Jude 7 “Sodom and Gomorrha ... an example suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” (Literally: of fire eternal, the penalty undergoing). Revelation 19:20 “Beast, .. false prophet, ... and them that worshipped his image. These were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” Revelation 20:10 “the devil ... shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (for the ages of the ages). Revelation 20:14,15 and Rev. 21:8 “death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 14:10,11 “tormented with fire and brimstone ... the smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever (for ages of ages), and they have no rest (respite) day nor night...” 3. SHEOL7585 is hades of the Old Testament. In Hebrew, it means the depth, abyss, pit, world of the dead, underworld. It occurs 66 times in the Old Testament (grave 31 times, hell 30 times, pit 3 times). Though all Old Testament people went to the grave, the souls of some will receive punishment in sheol. Numbers 16:30 “Korah, Dathan and Abiram went down into the pit.” Psalm 9:17 “The wicked shall be turned into hell (sheol).” 4. TARTARUS5020 is the deepest abyss of Hades; a place where evil angels are imprisoned in torment, awaiting judgment and everlasting punishment. 2 Peter 2:4 is its only reference in the Bible. “If God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell (tartarus), and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.” II. WHAT IS HELL (GEHENNA and HADES) LIKE? 1. UNQUENCHABLE FIRE: “He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:12. Hell “fire” is real “fire” because the same Greek word (pur) for fire is used for both. “It rained fire and brimstone...” Matthew 17:15 and Luke 17:29. The rich man in hades said: “I am tormented in this flame.” Luke 16:24. 2. MEMORY AND REGRET. Abraham said to the rich man in hades “remember” in Luke 16:25. Lost people will remember their sins and the times that they rejected the Holy Spirit convicting them of their sins and their need for Jesus Christ to be their Saviour. They will remember how Christians told them the plan of salvation. 3. THIRST. The rich man in hell begged Abraham to “send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue” (Luke 16:24), yet this was refused. Imagine going without water for one day, let alone for eternity without water. Jesus Christ offers in John 7:37, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.” 4. SEPARATION. People in hell will experience a “great gulf” (Luke 16:26) between them and God. They took all the good things of life for granted when they were on earth. They will be forever separated from all the good gifts of God. Many unbelievers joke that “I won't be lonely in hell, as all my friends will be there.” Friendship means nothing under everlasting torment. 5. INJUSTICE AND FILTHINESS OF SIN are in hell. Revelation 22:11. “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy let him be filthy still.” No one likes people treating them unjustly, nor do people like being abused in a filthy manner. The unsaved will experience these conditions forever in hell. 6. HOPELESSNESS FOR ALL ETERNITY. Hell is the everlasting dwelling place of the unsaved. Sooner or later they will realise that they are in hell to stay there forever, with no escape. In Luke 16:26, Abraham told the rich man in hell: “They which would pass from here to you cannot; neither can they pass to us.” 7. STINK OF SULPHUR. “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone (sulphur); which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8. 8. EYESIGHT, HEARING, TOUCH, TASTE AND SMELL are senses that people possess in hell. The rich man in Luke 16:19-31 could “see” Abraham, “hear” his voice, “touch” the flames, desire to “taste” water, and “smell” the sulphur. Revelation 21:8. 9. THE DEVIL and DEMON ANGELS will accompany the Christ rejecters forever. 10. UNSATISFIED DESIRES. Both of the rich man's requests were denied in Luke 16:19-31. He requested a drop of water to cool his tongue, and for Lazarus to return to tell his five unsaved brothers how to be saved and avoid hell. Both requests were denied. How many times a day do you want something and get it? In hell, no one ever gets what they want. 11. PLACE OF WORMS. “Where their worm dieth not...” Mark 9:44,46,48. Worm means maggot. If the maggots do not die, and the people own the maggots, then neither do the people die or get annihilated in hell. 12. TORMENT and PUNISHMENT. “In hell, he lift up his eyes being in torments.” Luke 16:23. 13. SHAME and HATRED. “Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Daniel 12:2. People suffering in hell will get a resurrection body. They will be judged, and sent to the lake of fire in shame at their sins. They will experience everlasting contempt, hating their situation forever. 14. DEGREES OF PUNISHMENT IN HELL. “It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgement, than for that city.” Mark 6:11. Those who reject Christ most often, will receive greater punishment. Matthew 10:15. 15. WEEPING, WAILING, GNASHING OF TEETH. “So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 8:12 and 13:49,50. People who today are arrogant, proud Christ-rejecters will be wailing and gnashing their teeth in hell. 16. HADES IS IN THE EARTH. Amos 9:2 “though they dig into hell ...”, Isaiah 14:9 “hell from beneath”, Ephesians 4:9 “descended into lower parts of earth”, Numbers 16:33 “they went down alive into the pit”, Psalm 63:9 “those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.” 17. HELL IS ORIGINALLY PREPARED FOR THE DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS “Depart from me, ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:41. How does one get to hell? By neglecting to receive Christ as Saviour. Hebrews 2:3 “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” How does one avoid hell? By receiving Christ as their Saviour. John 1:12. Christians should work harder to rescue people from hell, and seek to build their church to better achieve this task, both at home and overseas. Question 1: Does “hell” mean “grave” where good and bad must go? Answer: No, because in Luke 16:19-31 both men went to the grave, but the soul of Lazarus was comforted, and the soul of the rich man was tormented. Question 2: How can a loving God send people to hell? Answer: People send themselves to hell by rejecting Christ. God is loving in sending Christ to die for our sins, but God is just in punishing sin. III. JESUS' STORY OF THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS in Luke 16:19-31. An unbelieving rich man who had abundant material possessions and food in this life, died and went to hell. A believing poor man named Lazarus who had nothing in this life but sickness and poverty, died and was carried by the angels into the comfort of paradise. The suffering rich man in hell made two requests of Abraham in paradise: i) To send Lazarus to put one drop of water on his tongue to relieve his suffering. The rich man, who refused to show mercy to Lazarus in need, now begged that Lazarus might show mercy to him in his need (v.24). The rich man declares the greatness of his torment saying: “I am in torment (agony) in this fire (or flame).” v.24. Lesson: Material things have only temporary, not eternal value. Luke 16:25. Abraham responded by calling him “son”. This means that he was a son of Abraham by flesh, not by faith. The rich man trusted his wealth and his physical descent from Abraham for his salvation. Christ showed that neither reason was sufficient for salvation. At death, one's eternal destiny is settled. "Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed" (v.26). The rich man could remember his false confidence in wealth, and his wrong devotion to it. This story refutes "soul-sleep", because the rich man and Lazarus were conscious, one enjoying comfort, and the other suffering torment. Note: Hades had two sections: paradise and hell punishment. Jesus emptied the paradise section when He rose from the dead and took the Old Testament believers’ souls to heaven. Eph. 4:8-10; John 20:17. “Torment” is used four times and means sorrow and grief. Abraham gave two reasons why Lazarus could not comfort the rich man: a) The rich man had received his reward (Matthew 6:2,5,16), and he had left God out of his life. b)The great gulf separated them. ii) To send Lazarus back to warn his five brothers. Luke 16:27-31. The rich man did not say: “I'm glad my brothers will come here, we'll have a wonderful time together.” People sometimes say: "I want to go to hell. All my friends will be there." Answer: There is no friendship in hell. Hell is a place of torment and loneliness. Lesson: People in hell have a concern for the lost, but they cannot do anything about it, BUT WE CAN! What are you doing? v.29-31: Abraham said that the only thing that could prevent his five brothers from coming to hell was: Hearing the Word of God, and responding to it by faith in Christ as Saviour. A man named Lazarus did come back from the dead, and some of the Pharisees wanted to kill him (John 11:43-57; 12:10). God had spoken many times to the rich man while on earth: 1. God permitted him to have riches, but not attributing his riches to God’s goodness, he did not repent. “The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.” Romans 2:4-5. 2. Lazarus would have witnessed to him, but his pride rejected Lazarus’ message. 3. Old Testament scriptures spoke to him. 4. Lazarus dying first, should have reminded him how he would also die. In hell he was still self-centred, praying for his comfort and for the safety of his family. He was not concerned about other lost sinners. C.S. Lewis says: “The safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.” Lessons from the rich man and Lazarus: 1. The souls of men do not die with their bodies. 2. The souls of men are conscious after death, not asleep until resurrected. 3. The righteous at death are taken immediately to a place of happiness and the wicked are sent to a place of misery and torment. 4. Wealth does not protect us from death. 5. We should not envy the rich, as riches can blind us to the reality of eternity. 6. We should seek a better inheritance than this life can give. 7. The sufferings of the wicked in hell will be indescribably great of torment, burning flame, and insatiable thirst, forever. 8. Hell is a place of suffering beyond the grave. If not, this story has no meaning. 9. There will never be any escape from hell. The gulf is fixed. 10. God warns us to prepare for death through: His Word. His Holy Spirit pleading with sinners. His servants. His goodness leading us to repentance. Pleadings of friends. Heaven. If all that would not move sinners, then what would? He threatens hell. 11. God will give us nothing more to warn us. No dead man will return to tell us what he has seen. If he did, no one would believe him. If you will not hear Christ or the Bible, there is nothing you will hear. You will never be persuaded, and you will never escape the place of torment. 12. We see the amazing folly of those wanting to go to hell. They have been deceived. IV. THE IMPLICATIONS OF HELL FOR US TODAY 1. Soul winning is important. When people get angry at a preacher preaching on soul winning, they are doing the devil's work. 2. We need to become fishers of men. Matthew 4:19. 3. If we are busy pulling souls out of the fire, we will not waste our time fighting other Christians. We will seek to maintain unity in our church. 4. We see our Church as of great importance in rescuing people from hell. Rescuing people from hell is a major purpose of churches. 5. Hell focuses our attention on eternity, taking our attention off petty present things like latest worldly fashions which pale into insignificance in the light of lost people going to an eternal hell. 6. Hell makes us train workers to be soul winners. 7. It gives us a love for people to win to Christ and to train in the Bible. 8. It makes us use our time wisely so that all we do helps in some way to rescue people from hell. 9. Hell makes us mission minded so that we try to win lost people to Christ overseas. For example, Roman Catholics in Africa grew from 52 million in 1980 to 92 million in 1993. 10. Hell and eternal judgment is the sixth principle of the Doctrine of Christ, so it must be emphasised in our doctrinal teaching. “the foundation of ……eternal judgment.” Hebrews 6:1,2. 11. Hell will give us a better testimony as Christians. If we sin, people will go to hell. 12. Hell will stop us backsliding because we will realise that our job is important to accomplish in rescuing people from hell. “For what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36. What is your answer to this question? Conclusion Are you really saved? Have you received Jesus Christ as your Saviour, trusting Him alone to save you, not your religion or your good works? If you are saved, then what are you doing to tell people how Jesus Christ can save them from hell? reprinted with permission
  20. Matthew 10:28 "fear Him who is able to DESTROY BOTH body AND soul in fiery hell" Eph 3: 20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory So then torture - in fire and brimstone is the portion for the wicked in the lake of fire.. But they will in fact be destroyed in it after some time of suffering - in the end "both body and soul". Even Satan himself - reduced to ashes. Ezek 28 “By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence, And you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire. 17 “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, That they may see you. 18 “By the multitude of your iniquities, In the unrighteousness of your trade You profaned your sanctuaries. Therefore I have brought fire from the midst of you; It has consumed you, And I have turned you to ashes on the earth In the eyes of all who see you. 19 “All who know you among the peoples Are appalled at you; You have become terrified And you will cease to be forever.”’”
  21. Having experienced the torments of Hell, I can verify the legitimacy of this testimony, but more importantly, discernment tells me it's real and genuine. I encourage those who watch this not to go down a rabbit hole of Hell testimonies all at once, it can be overwhelming and very depressing, please be led by the Spirit by discerning the voice of God on all pursuits, but Jesus has taken people to experience these experiences for a reason. May you learn from these testimonies and be convicted (if necessary) and not condemned by responding to that conviction accordingly, (remember God chastises those He loves!) and may the Lord bless you mightily in Jesus' mighty name! Revelation 20:15: And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Luke 12:5: But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Revelation 21:8: But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
  22. Please,take time to read my post,please Since i got saved ive always doubted my salvation! always and having OCD makes it 10x worse! but Earlier today or the day before,I was convinced I was saved & I mean IVE BEING DOUBTING FOR 2 YEARS! since I was saved. But anyways,I watched a Video from pastor Francis Chan & he spoke on Lukewarm & Loving it.Which i felt convicted by,But i Wouldn't say I am lukewarm.Anyways since then,I went Online & looked at a list of signs your lukewarm,in some of the lists,I tick the boxes of being lukewarm & some lists I don't,but heres an analysis of Francis Chans list of SIGNS of lukewarmness: 1. Lukewarm people attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe “good Christians” do, so they go. Isaiah 29:13 I dont think that it makes me a good christian,but because I doubt my salvation,i use that as a reason that i'm saved 2. Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy and safe to give, they do so, After all, God loves a cheerful giver, right? 1 Chronicles 21:24, Luke 21:1-4 I havent even started given yet,I kind of feel convicted that I should be giving now,But ive never thought of giving yet 3. Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict. They desire to fit in both at church and outside of church; they care more about what people think of their actions (like church attendance and giving) than what God thinks of their hearts and lives. Luke 6:26, Revelation 3:1, Matthew 23:5-7 4. Ive never desired to fit in at church,to be honest I dont care,I dont even care about fitting in the world,I mean I do at times.I do wear smart clothes,for people to think im cool & for the attention to be on me though 4: Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don’t genuinely hate sin and aren’t truly sorry for it; they’re merely sorry because God is going to punish them. Lukewarm people don’t really believe that this new life Jesus offers is better than the old sinful one. John 10:10, Romans 6:1-2.I want my sin gone,all of it,i desire to sin free and be like jesus christ! latelty i havent felt that "oh no ive sinned" feeling though,but i know in my mind ive sinned and I repent. 5. Lukewarm people are moved by stories of people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for “extreme” Christians, not average ones. Lukewarm people call “radical” what Jesus expected of all His followers. James 1:22, James 4:17, Matthew 21:28-31 Radical? i havent even thought about being radical yet? I have times when i think or imagine preaching in the jungle with the likes of Paul Washer lol 6. Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion. Matthew 10:32-33 I share my faith,not as much as I can do though 7. Lukewarm people gauge their morality or “goodness” by comparing themselves to the secular world. They feel satisfied that while they aren’t as hard-core for Jesus as so-and-so, they are nowhere as horrible as the guy down the street. Luke 18:11-12 No,when i first got saved i was unhappy i didnt have a desire for god,now i doo have a desire..but now i want even more 8. Lukewarm people say they love Jesus, and He is, indeed, a part of their lives, their money, and their thoughts, but he isn’t allowed to control their lives. Luke 9:57-62 Jesus is in control of my life,maybe in some areas i reject him,but jesus is pretty much in control of my life,how i speak,what i listen to,how i act towards others,etc 9. Lukewarm people love God, but they do not love Him all their heart, soul, and strength. They would be quick to assure you they try to love God that much, but that sort of total devotion isn’t really possible for the average person; its only for pastors and missionaries and radicals. Matthew 22:37-38 I love jesus,but i want to love him more than my family,which is hard to do,but i want to! 10. Lukewarm people love others but do not seek to love others as much as they love themselves. Their love for others is typically focused on those who love them in return, like family, friends, and other people they know and connect with. There is a little love left over for those who cannot love them back, much less for those who intentionally slight them, who kids are better athletes than theirs, or with whom conversations are awkward or uncomfortable. Their love is highly conditional and very selective, and generally comes with strings attached. Matthew 5:43-47, Luke 14:12-14 I wont lie,i love some people more than others,im unhappy by that now,but i want to love more people,infact i struggle with that,when im judging someone or something,i change the thought & wrestle it casue everyones gods creation. 11. Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go or how much time, money, and energy they are willing to give. Luke 18:21-25 I dont think ive ever seen any limits in my serving? I guess there is some, 12. Lukewarm people think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven. Daily life is mostly focused on today’s to-do list, this week’s schedule, and next month’s vacation. Rarely, if ever do they intently consider the life to come. Philippians 3:18-20 Not even,im always anticipating the day christ returns for me & always wonder what heavens like 13. Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor. Matthew 25:34, 40, Isaiah 58:6-7 i havent even reached that yet 14. Lukewarm people do whatever is necessary to keep themselves from feeling too guilty. They want to do the bare minimum, to be “good enough” without requiring too much of them. 1 Chronicles 29:14, Matthew 13:44-46 I think I do this at times 15. Lukewarm people are continually concerned with playing it safe; they are slaves to the god of control. This focus on safe living keeps them sacrificing and risking for God. Matthew 10:28 nah 16. Lukewarm people feel secure because they attend church, made a profession of faith at age twelve, were baptized, come from a Christian family, vote Republican, or live in America. nope,not even,i feel secured because im saved 17. Luke warm people do not live by faith; their lives are structured so they never have to. They don’t have to trust God if something unexpected happens-they have their savings account. They don’t need God to help them—they have their retirement plan in place. They don’t genuinely seek out what life God would have them live—they have life figured and mapped out. They don’t depend on God on a daily basis-their refrigerators are full and, for the most part, they are in good health. The truth is, their lives wouldn’t look much different if they suddenly stopped believing in God. Luke 12:16-21 I live by faith,but i do doubt my faith at times in certain areas i wont lie 18. Lukewarm people probably drink and swear less than average, but besides that, they really aren’t very different from your typical unbeliever. They equate their partially sanitized lives with holiness, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Matthew 23:25-28, Luke 14:34-35 I accidentally swear at times,but i wouldn't say Im a swearer, Basically i don't meet all these,does this mean Im lukewarm though? i wouldnt say i am lukewarm,if you look into my life and non-believer,its totally different & even of those who just "believe" my problem is in that sermon,i dont know whether he was talkingto people who had being saved for years? cause ive being saved for 2years+ maybe & dont have those things,but i do have a desire for god & his things! my other posts which explains myself to give you an idea of me: I have OCD,to some of you guys,that is the doubting disease,which basically means OCD makes you doubt pretty much everything,at times I've doubted my sanity etc. So anyways,once I got saved I started to read my bible,but at this point I was a stupid Christian,I thought god should do everything for me.and when ever he didn't I would "temporarily" leave him,which was stupid and then I realised god doesn't owe me anything,he doesn't have to do anything for me,god is sovereign. From then the things that changed, my music taste changed,yes if I listen to my old music I can find it enjoyable,but I would feel uncomfortable, bause The music just seems like trash to me,utter garbage,I used to look up to these guys but now I think they're losers,which are going to hell,now I really want to be like guys like Tom Conway, Paul washer and ultimately Jesus. The differences in my life since I got saved; The music thing I don't steal illegal films online angmore ,I buy all my films I avoid looking at certain women so that I don't fall into lust I read my bible,everyday sometimes a little passage,but ibread it,sometimes I get bored with it,but when I find treasure in it I get so happy and ecstatic. I give Christian advice I tell people I am a Christian,when before I used to deny Christ. I remember,when I went to summer camp back when I was unsaved,I would get home and try be a nice person whatever,then it'll fade,now I'm progressing. I delite in Christ,truly I love Jesus Christ,I was going through this bad time and thinking of Christ was such a great comfort. Ive found myself crying at times when I hear a message of Christ,I never used to do that.at all. I truly now understand who Christ is,whereas when I was younger I probably never cared. I want a Christian wife,but I'm sacred I'm not "holy" enough at the moment. I don't talk to non-christian girls because I have no business with them,sometimes I fall into it but I cut It off.primarily because a non Christian girl doesn't interest me really,I just want to find a girl who loves Jesus like me. I find myself trying to follow gods commandements because I love him, and also its my duty as a Christian. Ever since I got saved I did make progress,i started to fight sin off,but I've realised I only really fought in certain areas; lust/porn/masturbation. And now I'm back to doubting my salvation because I've realised I have sin in other places,and now I'm back to square one of doubting my salvation. I'm also scared that I'm just fearing hell so I follow Christ,but truly I believe my fear of hell,overshadows my love for god. I love Jesus,he's being awesome to me,but I'm just scared 24/7. I've just realised that I'm really sinful lately,and kind of feel disgusting. Can someone advise me.I feel like when I started to move along in my walk,now I've stopped. But won't god finish the work he started in me? I'm relying to much on feelings as well,and sometimes don't take gods promises literally. But my question is,a non christian,wouldn't care if they were saved or not? There eyes haven't being open to these things.if you went up to a non believers and asked them if they were saved,in sure they wouldn't even care.:confused I'm a different person,than the one I was before all this
  23. There is no hell right now. The dead from the past, bad or good, are in their graves. when the word "hell" is used many times over in the Bible is means grave or pit. The majority of times the greek word hades is used or Hebrew's " sheof ' 2Peter 2:4 uses tartarus which means restrained referring only to the fallen angels. Gehenna is the only soul killer. Think of the billions that have died without knowing Christ. Where are they now? Dante's Inferno is responsible for a lot of misunderstanding. No one currently dead are being tortured in a hell fire now. That torment is only reserved for Satan and his demons.Matt 25:41 None of our loved ones are suffering right now. Since we have mortal souls 1 cor 15:53-54 and can perish in Gehenna, only the unrepenting souls will be thrown in and burn up completely.Those saved will become immortal spirits-the others will experience the second death-Rev 20;15 We can't burn forever unless we are immortal spirits and only satan and his demons are immortal spirits and will be tortured forever. that's the way I see it.
  24. An Atheist’s View On Life I will live my life according to these beliefs God does not exist It is just foolish to think That there is a God with a cosmic plan That an all-powerful God brings purpose to the pain and suffering in the world It’s a comforting thought however Is only wishful...thinking People can do as they please without eternal consequences The idea that I am deserving of Hell Because of sin Is a lie meant to make me a slave to those in power The more you have the happier you will be Our existence has no grand meaning or purpose In a world with no God There is freedom to be who I want to be But with God Everything is fine It is ridiculous to think I am lost and in need of saving Versus A Christian’s View On Life (Now…read from bottom to top to see a different view.) I am lost and in need of saving It is ridiculous to think Everything is fine But with God There is freedom to be who I want to be In a world with no God Our existence has no grand meaning or purpose The more you have the happier you will be Is a lie meant to make me a slave to those in power Because of sin I am deserving of Hell The idea that People can do as they please without eternal consequences Is only wishful thinking Is a comforting thought, however That an all-powerful God brings purpose to the pain and suffering in the world That there is a God with a cosmic plan It is just foolish to think God does not exist I will live my life according to these beliefs ~ Author Unknown
  25. Most people caught up the opinions of the world don't want to face the truth about what God says about homosexuality, but here goes anyway. In the Old Testament God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of sexual sin like homosexuality. Even Jesus mentions Sodom. In addition, 1 Peter condemns homosexuality. Does that give us the right bash homosexuals? No, but it does give us a clear picture that homosexuals are not headed to heaven and need much prayer so they will repent and turn to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and break free from the bondage they are in.
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