LAKE OF FIRE Installment XVI-HELL: Part B In Part A we saw how the Hebrew word sheol in the Old Testament is translated "pit" three times and "grave" thirty one times. In Part B we will see that this very same Hebrew word sheol is also translated thirty one times as "hell." Just what, pray tell, is the linguistic law or principle that imposed the translators to do this? No law. No principle. Well, why then? There is NO Scriptural or rational reason for translating the Hebrew word sheol into the English word "hell" at all-NONE! And there surely is no reason to use the word hell in light of the fact that the Old English meaning of this word has been grossly perverted by the Christian church beyond recognition over the past four centuries. Let's look at our definitions once more: The "hell" as the English used it in everyday life in the 1600's:
The "hell" of the 21st Century:
Does anyone believe that these two definitions of "hell" have anything whatsoever in common with each other? Then how is it even in the realm of possibility that the Christian definition of hell today can be a translation for a word that is also to this day, translated three times as "pit," and thirty-one times as "grave." Am I going to fast for anyone? THE DAMNABLE HERESY OF ETERNAL HELL This evil teaching of the Church derogates God into an alien monster, and causes believers by the hundreds of millions to live in fear and mental turmoil and emotional anguish over presumed lost loved ones who are thought to be suffering day and night in this fabled hellhole of eternal torture. If there truly is a Christian hell as taught by fundamentalist preachers, then the god of that hell would be far more evil than all the sinners in the history of the world combined. There could never be any sin or evil more vile and revolting, or totally insane, than to torture most of humanity in literal fire for all eternity! It would be the ULTIMATE SIN, and its designer and sponsor would be the ULTIMATE SINNER. But since this doctrine is bogus; a damnable heresy; an invention of depraved minds; a theological lie; a Christian hoax; it thus becomes, THE ULTIMATE BLASPHEMY by those who revel in and teach this spiritual swill. Words fail to express the depth of this Satanic heresy. Theologians, professors, teachers, preachers, and pastors decry the sins of the most vile sinners of humanity, and then teach that the God Who will be their Judge, is trillions of times more depraved than the ones being judged. And this they call "FAIR" and "JUSTICE." Unbelievable. UNBELIEVABLE! May God have mercy upon their depraved minds and miserable souls! Amen. With that said, back to the business I was called to do: "[1] Preach with SOUND DOCTRINE and [2] Refute those who CONTRADICT IT" (Titus 1:9, The New Revised Standard Version). THE 31 HELLS IN THE KING JAMES OLD TESTAMENT First we will go through all 31 references to "hell" in the Old Testament of the King James Bible. All 31 "hells" are translated from the one Hebrew word sheol. We will then see if there is a lick of difference between those verses where sheol is translated grave and where it is translated hell. I hope that you will be as shocked and outraged as I was when I discovered these truths. To save time, I will not comment on every single reference to "hell" translated from "sheol," but I will quote them all and point out the fallacies on those that make mention to fire or anything vaguely related to the Christian hell. In all the "Torah"-the Law, that is all the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, the word "hell" appears but once in the King James Bible. Here it is:
Well, at last. There it is, "fire" is found with the word sheol, so surely now we have found Scriptural proof that sheol sometimes does mean the Christian "hell of eternal torture in fire," right? WRONG! This verse says nothing of burning dead people in sheol with fire. The whole chapter is a "Song of Moses" (See verse 1). God prophesies through Moses' Song, His anger over Israel's lack of faith and the fact that they will turn to other gods, and for this God will punish them. He will not, however, torture them in an eternal fire of a Christian hell. Here is what God will do to them:
Notice that according to God Himself, the only way that someone He "kills" can ever live again is if God also "makes alive" again. Do Christians believe that dead people must be made alive again? No, of course not. They don't believe that dead people are even dead, so why would God ever have to "make alive" again? It is not Scientifically, Physiologically, or Scripturally possible to physically DIE and yet be alive. Let's notice one most profound point in this Song of Moses which should remove any and all doubt as to whether Israel is being "tortured in literal fire" in this "lowest sheol." Verse 25:
To be sure, God affirms that sucklings will be in this sheol. Are we to believe that God will TORTURE sucklings in sheol? Is sheol really a hell of torture in fire as orthodoxy demands? No, this is nothing more than the "grave" that we saw in the previous 31 Scriptures translated from the same Hebrew word sheol.
Does anyone believe that David just narrowly escaped the tortures of an eternal hell of pain in literal fire? No? I don't either. But I can clearly see how he felt death and the grave closing in on him when his enemies were out to kill him.
This is poetic language and has nothing to do with a place of torture in fire.
I heard this verse quoted on TV just this past Sunday. Boy oh boy this one seems pretty hard to side step, isn't it? "The wicked shall be turned into hell." Well, maybe not. The translators have tried to do their tricky little deceitfulness once more. You see, the word translated "turned" is the Hebrew word shub and it means "to RETURN," (not, "turn" or "turned"), but REturn or REturned. In fact this word is translated "return" or "returned" almost 100% of the approximately 450 times it is used. Notice how other versions correct this same verse:
Actually "return" is a better translation than "turn back," but at least we can see that other translators see and use the proper meaning of shub, which of course, The King James did not. The Bible likens death to a "Return." The soul RETURNS to sheol/hades-the UNSEEN. The spirit RETURNS to God who gave it. And the body RETURNS to the dust of the ground from whence it came. And so likewise, the wicked nations will be RETURNED to sheol-the grave, sheol, the unseen, DEATH. If "sheol" is a Christian hell of torture in fire, then they would also have to conclude that these nations also CAME FROM an eternity of suffering in fire, and they are not RETURNING to that same place. Anyone see a problem with such unscriptural nonsense?
Although this is a prophecy concerning the Lord, it is nonetheless, the words of David concerning himself and his own salvation from sheol. Notice that David concedes that he (his soul, the conscious, sentient self) will die and go to sheol. But David's prayer is that God, "will not LEAVE my soul in sheol." Everyone's soul goes to sheol at death-both the sinners and the saints.
David is not in sheol, but rather is sorrowful in just contemplating death.
Notice that that one must be "dead" in order to go to sheol.
Seems pretty clear that feet and steps are one, and they go to one place- death and hell [ sheol] are all one.
Once more, her house with its chambers, go down to hell/sheol and death.
Hell/sheol contains DEAD PEOPLE, not living souls!
Notice in both verses 15 and 18 of Isa. 28 that "death and hell" keep company together. Another major proof that those in sheol are DEAD, not tortured in fire. Sheol is associated with DEATH, not life.
Imagine that! The belly of a FISH is also the "belly of hell." But for sure there was no literal fire inside that fish torturing Jonah.
Again we see death and hell keeping company. There is NO CONSCIOUSNESS in sheol / hades / grave / death. Jonah only figuratively (symbolically) cried out from "the belly of hell/ sheol." Jonah was not literally in sheol, as he had not died, although he was very close to it. David in the same way, cried out in his agony as though he had already been consumed with death, although he had not. We have now quoted every Scripture from the Hebrew Old Testament which contains the word sheol . 3 times as "pit," 31 times "grave," and 31 times "hell." Not once did we read of "PUNISHMENT," "TORTURE IN FIRE," or a place of "EVERLASTING" anything. We have clearly seen that both the righteous and the unrighteous go to this same condition and place called sheol. It is spoken of literally, figuratively, symbolically, and poetically. IS SHEOL THE SAME AS THE GRAVE? When it comes to matters regarding the salvation of all mankind theologians have found it necessary to distort many verses of Scripture to force a compliance with their pagan teaching on the subject. I will try to clear up all of the difficulties and contradictions associated with sheol/hades because of the pagan Christian teaching of an eternal hell. Strong's Concordance, Dictionaries of Hebrew and Greek, and the Bible, is all we need to make sense of it all. Although sheol is translated "grave" 31 times in Scripture, the question remains, should it even be translated grave at all? We will prove that it should NOT be translated "hell," but should it ever be translated "grave," seeing that there is another Hebrew term used in Scripture that specifically means grave. It will all make sense when we come to realize that there are two aspects regarding the grave that are spoken of at some length in Scripture:
The Hebrew qeber qibrah means: sepulcher, burying place, grave ( Strong's Hebrew Dictionary). It is used many times in Scripture, as in Job 21:32:
This verse pretty much defines gave by stating that a person brought to the grave would remain in the tomb (the "tomb" being a "burying place"). But does not sheol/hades also mean: sepulcher, burying place, grave? Strong's definition of qeber gibrah is quite accurate and accords perfectly with the Scriptures. His definition of sheol, however, leaves much to be desired:
Nowhere is the grave called "a world," and nowhere are there "inmates"-that is living residents in the grave. Strong's word "retreat," however, is interesting. Here's an American Heritage College Dictionary definition of, " retreat, a place affording peace, quite, privacy, or security." Sounds more like a country club in the Caribbean, than the hell of Christendom. However, the last three words he uses to define sheol-"grave, hell, pit" could all be correct and acceptable if we use and understand "hell" to be only what it was defined as and used as in Old English-"to cover or conceal." Since Strong defines sheol as hades, let's look at his definition of hades.
Again, "hell and grave" would be acceptable if we understand "hell" to mean "conceal or cover" rather than, "a place where sinners are tortured with Satan and devils in literal fire for eternity." The "grave" is the common denominator in all verses regarding sheol. But why didn't the writers use the Hebrew qeber qibrah which most definitely means grave? Why are both terms used if what is always meant is "the grave?" ANSWER: The Hebrew qeber gibrah always has reference to the geographical location and vessel of internment for the body. For example, is the body buried on the top of a mountain in a cave, down in the valley in the ground, or maybe in a garden in a tomb? The first time qeber qibrah is used in the Scriptures is a perfect example:
Here's another:
Okay then, if the " qeber qibrah-grave" is the location and type of burying place, what does " sheol-grave" mean? Does sheol then fit the description and definition of a grave? Yes, it does, but with an added dimension. The " sheol-grave" addresses not so much the location or type of burying place, but rather the CONDITIONS surrounding the person(s) entombed. Here are just some of the things associated with sheol as a grave:
Now seriously and honestly and Scripturally, is there ANY torture in fire going on in sheol? Is there ANY human activity whatsoever going on in sheol? Is there even consciousness in sheol? Of course not-SHEOL IS DEAD! But Christians ASSURE us that sheol/hades/hell is a place of extreme activity, pain, screaming, torture, fire, demons, Satan, etc., etc., etc. Let me make this so simple a child can understand it. Remember the Christian definition of hell in our dictionary: The American Heritage Collegiate Dictionary:
Okay then, here are ten bold key words which define "hell." If these are the proper words and phrases to describe and define "hell" in our English Bibles, then we should find these ten words scattered all through the verses of Scripture which speak of sheol/grave/hell . Let us now go through all 31 verses of Scripture in which the translated sheol into the English word hell, and count all of the times that we find the words: condemned souls, devils, eternal punishment, Satan, separation of God, evil, misery, discord or destruction, torment, anguish.
Now to the average theologian I have proved absolutely "zero" by my above scholarship. If fact, they might even laugh me to scorn for such antics. However, let it be known that I thank my God many times over that He does not allow my mind to work like the minds of popular theologians! This little experiment above proves VOLUMES to me regarding the meaning and usage of the Hebrew word sheol. Me thinks that they do lie and deceive when they continue to translate sheol into the modern Christian "hell." HEADS = GRAVE, TAILS = HELL Below I list all of the 65 Scriptural references to sheol in the King James. It appears that they might have used the flip of a coin to determine whether to translate any particular verse as heads or tails. I do this to impress upon your minds the unscholarly, unscriptural, and silliness employed to come up with 31 graves and 31 hells by using the same one word, sheol. In one verse they would have us believe God is speaking of an "ETERNAL LIFE OF TORTURE IN FIRE," and in another verse using the very same word sheol, they would have us believe all are "DEAD." And they did this SIXTY-FIVE TIMES!
Not once in all 65 verses where we find the word sheol do we find a word associated with Christianity's hell . What do we find in these verses then? Well, for one thing, in these 65 verses we find the words "death," "dead," or some form of dying (as in 'slain with the sword'), TWENTY-FIVE TIMES. Yet we do not find any one of the ten words used to describe the Christian hell, even ONCE in all 65 verses. Is anyone out there in computerland beginning to use their own God-given brain just once, instead of listening to the "Church Authorities" (Which Church Authorities Jesus Christ upbraided to high heaven)? THEY LOOK LIKE SHENANIGANS TO ME Let's consider some very interesting translations: In Psalm 88:6 we read this:
And in Psalm 139:15 this:
But in Deut. 32:22 we read:
Why "hell?" Why not "pit?" We already have Scriptural proof that there are such things as the "lowest pit" and "lowest parts" with absolutely no connection or reference to any kind of hellish torture chamber, so why not use "pit" in Deut. 32:22? Actually "grave" would be better, but since they like to translate sheol as "pit," why not make it pit in Deut. 32:22? You tell me. In Job 17:13 we read:
Here we have God telling us that Job will make his "bed" in the darkness of the sheol-grave. But in Psalm 139:8 we read:
What sense is it for Job to say, "If" he makes his "BED in the sheol-GRAVE," whereas King David considers, "If" he make his "BED in the sheol- HELL?" Consider also that when people have been buried in graves from time immemorial, they are laid down as in a bed (witness the mummies of Egypt), but in what possible, conceivable way can a person in a "Christian hell" who is supposedly being tortured in literal fire, be considered to be "in BED?" Do Christians never, ever, EVER think about what they are reading? Apparently not to often. Clearly, Psalm 138:8 should be translated "If I make my bed in the GRAVE..." Furthermore we have Scriptural proof that David was buried in a grave:
And NO, David never went to heaven either:
In Psalm 31:17 we read:
But in Psalm 55:15 we read:
Was this another toss of the coin-heads it's "grave" or tails it's hell? In one verse the King James sends the wicked to the grave, and in another the King James sends the wicked to hell. Do you think they learn these things I am teaching you in seminary? Does it really matter? Does anyone really care? Why should anyone question such trivial things? Listen to me very carefully: What I am teaching you right here in these pages has to do with whether there is a lick, a smidgen, a crumb, a shred, a tad, a scintilla, an iota of proof or Scriptural evidence that ANYONE ON THE FACE OF THIS EARTH, FOR A PERIOD OF FOUR THOUSAND YEARS, WAS EVER WARNED BY GOD OR A PROPHET, OF AN ETERNAL HELL FIRE OF TORTURE FOR ALL WICKED PEOPLE WHEN THEY DIE. God clearly and plainly tells us that before He would ever send calamity or evil upon a people, He will first warn them:
Has God blown a trumpet to let humanity know that all unrepentant wicked people will be burned in some fabled eternal fires of hell? The Hebrew Scriptures cover four thousand years of human history. Where is there a warning of an eternal hell of torture in fire for the wicked? WHERE? WHERE are the prophets who have warned of such a fate of eternal torture in fire? Where? Give me chapter and verse? Does God LIE? Does God's Word LIE? Or do your theologians, pastors, and ministers LIE? Do not the web sites by the hundreds of thousands, LIE? Are not the Bible book stores, and now even the department stores, parading books filled with the lies of babbling religious heretics? Are not the air waves filled with the LIES of televangelists trying to frighten more and more people into sending them more and more money for their $25,000,000.00 private executive jets? Have they no conscience? Have they no shame? Jesus WALKED, Peter, Paul and the apostles WALKED to spread the gospel, but FIRST CLASS on modern jets and limousine service is NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR TODAY'S phony evangelists. Maybe to some of you that is a very small thing, not even worthy of study. To me it is a GIANT THING because I have seen and experienced the suffering of those who have unfortunately bought into this most "DAMNABLE HERESY AND BLASPHEMY" in all creation, which the Church has fostered upon all of us whom they consider to be, VERY DUMB SHEEP! Well God is giving some of us dumb sheep a voice to expose and make known these damnable heresies to the whole world. Regardless of how they translate sheol we know from the context in no less than 25 of these verses that sheol is a place of DEATH. Is there any hope for all those who go to sheol in death, which includes every person who has ever died? Yes there is. THE POSITIVE SIDE OF SHEOL/GRAVE/HELL I've heard many, many times that hell is "separation from God." And, of course, they translate "hell" in the Old Testament from one word only- sheol. Now then, is this oft-repeated statement in Christendom true? NO, not according to the Scriptures, not according to God-Psalm 139:8:
Sheol cannot separate God from humanity. God is just as surely in sheol as He is in Heaven. [1] Psalm 49;15:
And Hosea 13:14:
Notice the context of this verse in this chapter as it is speaking of SINFUL Israel. Israel has sinned greatly, they have died, but notice God's ultimate mercy upon them:
And so, even though they died in their sins without repentance, yet will God be their help and will "RANSOM them from the power of sheol." But orthodox Christian theology teaches us that once a wicked person goes to sheol there will never ever be a return. They say that there will never be a "second chance" to be saved. As though the Scriptures ever speak of a FIRST CHANCE? Let me digress for a minute to clear up another damnable heresy of the Church, and that is this unscriptural notion of "chance." The Scriptures know of the carnal concept of "chance." Never, ever is salvation associated with the idea of one having a "chance" to be saved. The word "chance" does not exist in God's sovereignty, anymore than the words "unpredictable" or "luck." The American Heritage College Dictionary:
And do we really think such things exist in God's economy? For all of you who have read my "Myth of Free Will" series, you know that God is the "cause" of all, and that absolutely nothing is "unpredictable" or "unknown" to Him. Yet twice the translators of the New Testament King James thought it necessary to use the word "chance" in describing that which was not by "chance" at all. Luke 10:31- "And by chance there came down a certain priest that way..." No, the priest didn't come down by "chance," but by "coincidence." The Greek compound word translated "chance" is, su[n] g kur I'a. Literally, "together-sanction." Hence "co - incidence"-"Together happen." Sometimes a "coincidence" really seems very strange, but would we expect anything less from a God who does many things that seem strange to us. I Cor. 15:37- "And that which you sow you sow not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain." Think for a moment think-someone who didn't actually plant the seed might not know what will come up, but I guarantee that the sower who sowed the seed knows. No one has ever sown a kernel of corn and had a stalk of wheat come up. The word translated "chance" in this verse is the Greek, tu[n] gch[an] 'o, literally "happen [-up]," and can be translated "happen" as in Rotherham's Translation. Now, lest anyone thing that there is an element of "chance" involved in this word, notice how it is used in Heb. 8:6- "But now has He obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the Mediator of a better covenant..." The phrase "has He obtained" is the translation of this one Greek word tungchano which is translated "chance" in I Cor. 15:37, believe it or not. It merely means "to happen, to obtain, to come about." There is absolutely NO "chance" of anything in Scripture or with God. Salvation has nothing to do with "chance" or "luck" or any such carnal nonsense. Salvation through Christ our Lord is absolutely SURE: "SURELY [Gk: ge-"a primary particle of emphasis, yet, at least, besides, doubtless, SURELY"] , He Who spares not His own Son, but gives Him up for us ALL, how shall He not, together with Him, also be graciously granting us ALL?" (Rom. 8:32, Concordant Literal New Testament). Is anyone so foolish as to think that the very ministry of our Lord was a thing of "chance?" What a powerful Scripture Rom. 8:32 is when we translate all the words: and yet most Bibles do not even translate this word in their versions. What a shame. [2] But there is more; a great deal more: "...I will redeem them from DEATH: O death, I will be thy plagues." (Verse 14). We also read this same truth in the New Testament in I Cor. 15:55, but the translators tried to hide it: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave [grave is translated from hades, but the translators tried to hide it by translating it just this once as "grave," whereas every other time they translate hades as "hell"], where is your VICTORY?" Yes, there is "...victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" over hades (Verse 57). This is because: "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is DEATH" (Verse 26). [3] And what does Hosea say that God will do after He "Ransoms them from the power of SHEOL..." and "...redeems them from DEATH..."? Let's read it together:
WOW! We have just seen clear Scriptural proof that there is VICTORY over death and the grave [hades/sheol], and that we (saints AND sinners) will be RANSOMED and REDEEMED, from the power of sheol, and God will be the utter DESTRUCTION of death and the grave [sheol]! Unrepentant sinning Israel, Sodom, Jerusalem, all the Hitlers of the world and every person who has never even heard the name of Jesus Christ will be raised from the dead and JUDGED in the Great White Throne / Lake of Fire / Second Death Judgment, and then all humanity will be saved and God will be "ALL in All" (I Cor. 15:28). There will never be death again, as it will be completely abolished (I Cor. 15:26) by being destroyed along with hades/sheol in the Lake of God's Spiritual Consuming Fire (Rev. 20:14). So why doesn't the Church teach these marvelous Truths of God? Because the "Synagogue of Satan," (Rev. 2:9), and "Satan's throne" (Rev. 2:13), and the "depths of Satan" (Rev. 2:24), are in "The Seven Churches of God."
THE ONLY OLD TESTAMENT REFERENCE TO FIRE AND JUDGMENT There is not one single word in the entirely of the Hebrew Old Testament Scriptures that speaks of the dead in sheol being tortured or burned with fire. There is a Scripture however that speaks of a "refiner's fire," but the time setting for this fire is not the Old Testament, but rather the New: Israel and especially the priests mocking ask:
To which God answers:
Just who are the "sons of Levi" under the New Covenant? Why they are the "chosen elect FEW." Peter describes them:
Ironically, it is the "people who were NOT a people" that make up the New Covenant "royal priesthood" (II Pet. 2:9). It is the " uncircumcision who are now God's circumcision people" (Phil. 3:3) It is the GENTILES who are God's New Covenant "JEW which is one inwardly" (Rom. 2:28). It is the GENTILES who are the New Covenant SPIRITUAL "Israel OF GOD" (Gal. 6:16). Notice that Peter calls us "a ROYAL priesthood." The word "royal" is translated from the Greek, basileios, and it means "kingly." Peter is speaking of " a KINGLY priesthood" or "KING/PRIESTS." Yes, that is exactly what God calls us:
Continuing in Mal. 3:3
Now where do we read of this in the New Testament/New Covenant? Paul makes clear to us that only the "gold, silver, and precious stones" of God's word in us will survive the "refiner's fire":
Concluding Mal. 3, verse 3:
It is this "offering in RIGHTEOUSNESS" that the "kings of the earth [we, the chosen elect few, ARE the 'kings of the earth, Rev. 5:10] do bring their glory and honor ['an offering in righteousness'] into it [New Jerusalem out of Heaven] " (Rev. 21:24) . THE BLESSINGS AND THE CURSINGS THE BLESSINGS: "And all these BLESSINGS shall come on you, and overtake you, IF you shall hearken unto the voice of the Lord your God" (Deut. 28:2).
THE CURSINGS:
Now let's be completely honest with what we have just read. All of the blessings are physical blessings of food, cattle, children, houses, and safety from enemies from without, in this land, in this life, ONLY. And the Cursings are loss of children, cattle, food, house, and their land, and sickness, disease, pain, suffering in their bodies, and captivity, slavery, bondage, misery, and death and destruction in scattered foreign lands. Nothing more, and nothing less. Where in all these blessings is there ONE WORD about anything beyond the relatively short life of prosperity and safety in the land? Where is there ONE WORD about an afterlife of blessing with God? Where in all these cursings is there ONE WORD about anything beyond the relatively short life of disease, poverty, captivity, misery, slavery and death in scattered lands? Where is there ONE WORD about punishment beyond death in an afterlife of pain and punishment in an endless hell? Can we not all agree that it just isn't there? A FEW HINTS OF AN AFTERLIFE Does this mean that the Old Testament contains not a word about an after life? No, not quite. There are a few hints and a prophecy that confirm the dead will live again, but not a word that the DEAD ARE ALREADY LIVING. RECORDED IN THE LAW:
This prophecy was indeed vague at best to Adam and Eve, and even the Old Testament readers, but it was nonetheless, a positive affirmation that the deceiving work of Satan in the Garden would one day be rectified. RECORDED IN JOB:
Job was given to understand that there is coming life after the grave. Not IN the grave but after a period of "waiting," and after a "change" takes place. RECORDED IN PSALMS:
David realizes as does the writer of Ecclesiastes, that a person dies just like an animal, and both are consumed away in the grave. But, David was also given to understand that God will "redeem" his soul (the real, sentient David, preserved by God until resurrection back to life into a new body). This will take place in either of two resurrections of the dead. RECORDED IN THE PROPHETS:
Daniel does not tell us when these two resurrections of awakening out of sleep will occur, only that they will. We know from New Testament revelation that the First happens prior to Christ's reign and the Latter happens after His 1000 year reign. But the hope of an afterlife was made know to at least a few of the Old Testament writers. Interestingly, Moses never once makes mention of any such thing as a punishment upon the wicked after death, or a blessing upon the righteous after death. We have record of but a handful of men who even knew of an after life, but not one of them suggests and endless punishment for the wicked. From where then did this teaching originate? CONCLUSION Is anyone so foolish as to suggest that possibly God revealed the teaching of an endless punishment upon someone other than His Own chosen people, Israel? From the Garden of Eden, the first five books of the Bible by Moses, and the rest of the Old Testament canon, we find not a word about endless punishment. Neither did the Jews believe in an endless punishment for the wicked. But, by the time of the coming of Messiah, many Jews where thoroughly indoctrinated with this teaching. There is a long void of canon history of some four hundred years from the last prophet Malachi and the coming of Messiah. What happened during this long period with relation to what the Jews believed regarding the belief in an afterlife? Where did they learn about "endless punishment" if not from their own Scriptures and prophets? From the very opening pages of the New Testament we find that the Jews believed in reincarnation, transmigration of souls, endless punishment, and many other such things. Did the Greeks originate the doctrines of hades and tatarus? Did the Catholic Church invent the doctrine of purgatory? How could the man blind from birth have sinned and thus be responsible for his own blindness? (John 9:1-3). Why did Jesus ask His disciples who the people were saying Jesus really was? Why did they say that some thought maybe Elijah or another prophet? Why did some Jews think Jesus was John the Baptist, when in reality they were both the same age? We shall answer these and many more things you never learned in Christendom in our next Installment.
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