| The Lake of Fire
Installment XVI—HELL: Part C THE ORIGIN OF ENDLESS PUNISHMENT [CAUTION: Some of the material near the end of this Installment contains explicit descriptions necessary to facilitate better understanding, and is for mature readers only]., There is not one verse in the Old Testament Scriptures that speaks of punishment after death or in death. And there are only a couple of Scriptures in the Old Testament that speak of a resurrection back to life from the dead. Moses mentioned nothing concerning rewards or blessings under the Old Covenant that went beyond this present temporary life in the land. A resurrection to life other than the righteous is mentioned by Daniel only in these words:
There was nothing in the Law of Moses that suggested anything, good or bad, after death or in death. Death was the consummation of both the sinner and the saint. It is clear that Job, Daniel, Moses, and possibly David had some knowledge of the resurrection of the dead. It was not, however, taught anywhere in the Law of Moses. To Israel under Moses, death was the final chapter. A GENERAL CHRONOLOGY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 5500 BC—Creation of heaven & earth (Gen. 1:1) According to the Septuagint. 4004 BC—Creation of heaven & earth according to Archbishop Ussher. 2285 BC—The worldwide flood of Noah’s day (1500 yrs. earlier by Septuagint). 2160 BC—Building the Tower of Babel in Mesopotamia. 1995 BC—Abram [Abraham] is born in Ur of Mesopotamia. 1895 BC—Isaac is born 1835 BC—Jacob is born/1744 Joseph is born. 1700 BC—Famine in Egypt ends. 1688 BC—Jacob dies 1634 BC—Joseph dies. 1600 BC—Israel prospers in the land of Egypt for 150 years. 1450 BC—Israel is forcibly conscripted into hard labor under the 18th Dynasty. 1355 BC—Moses is born of the tribe of Levi. 1275 BC—Passover, Israel leaves Egypt, Arrives at Mt Sinai, Builds Tabernacle. 1234 BC—Israel invades Canaan under Joshua, Destroys Jericho. 1228 BC—Joshua divides Canaan among the Tribes of Israel 1211 BC—Joshua dies and Israel is ruled by system of Judges. 1025 BC—Saul reigns as king over Israel for 21 years. 1004 BC—David is made king over Israel for approximately 40 years. 965 BC—David dies, Son Solomon builds the Temple—total reign 40 years. 597 BC—Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem, takes thousands to Babylon. 516 BC—Destroyed Temple rebuilt 450 BC—Malachi, last prophet for 400 yrs. 3 BC—Birth of Jesus the Messiah and John the Baptist. ADAM AND EVE WERE NEVER WARNED BY GOD OF ENDLESS PUNISHMENT
The wages for eating the forbidden fruit was "you shall surely die." And:
Death began immediately. Notice a better translation of Gen. 2:17:
Their life was but a slow death until they returned to the dust of the ground. God said that their judgment for sinning was to be RETURNED to the ground from whence they came. They didn’t come from some terrorists hellhole of torture in fire, so how could they "return" to such a place when God plainly stated that they would "RETURN unto the ground?" They came from the earth and they returned to that earth. God cursed the serpent, and God cursed the ground, but nowhere did God curse Adam and Eve. God pointed out the different judgments against Adam and Eve, such as multiplied childbearing pains, sorrow in gathering food all the days of his life, thorns, thistles, and sweat, but no mention of punishment in death or after death. If Adam and Eve were to have a far greater punishment (trillions and trillions of times greater) at death or in death or after death, why did not God warn them of such an horrible destiny? Why would God tell them one thing and then pull a trick on them and do something totally different when the time came? Listen to what God said to Ezekiel:
Are we to believe that God held Ezekiel to a higher standard of morality than God holds for HIMSELF? God told Ezekiel that He would require Ezekiel’s blood if he did not warn the wicked so they could be saved from death. Do we then turn around and accuse God of a lower standard in which God Himself has utterly failed to warn the human race of a destiny that is trillions of times worse than mere death? God would hold Ezekiel responsible for the death of just one wicked person, whereas God Himself feels no responsibility for failing to warn the entire human race of a fate trillions of times more severe? CAIN WAS NEVER WARNED BY GOD OF ENDLESS PUNISHMENT Notice very carefully God’s conversation with Cain:
God warned Cain that if he did not do well, that sin would be at his door. But did God say "endless torment and punishment would be at his door?" No.
Did God threaten Cain with "endless punishment in some subterranean hellhole of torture in fire?" No. But notice Cain’s reply?
What? My punishment is greater than I can bear? If Cain thought being a fugitive and vagabond and having poor crops was greater than he could bear, what pray tell would he have thought had God told him that he would be punished for all eternity in some hellish pit of fire? Did God fail to tell Cain about the "endless torture" because He was afraid it would be too much for Cain to psychologically handle? Did God fail to inform Cain of his coming endless punishment because He was afraid it might discourage him, or some other unfathomable fiendish foolishness? Search all we may, we won’t find this pagan doctrine of Christendom in the Scriptures. But hold on there’s more. We are not finished with this account of Cain yet.
Let’s all use our brains together on this one: Cain is a murderer. It doesn’t get much worse than that. Not only a murderer, but, a murderer of his OWN BROTHER. But God tells us that if someone should find and slay Cain the murderer, then that person would have vengeance taken on him seven times greater? SEVEN TIMES GREATER than burning in some fabled hell for all eternity? Seven times greater than that? Are they kidding? Are they out of their cotton-pickin’ minds? Can any human mind conceive of a punishment seven times GREATER than being tortured in fire for all eternity? Here then would be the orthodox logic of this whole scenario: Kill your brother, and receive a certain punishment: but kill the murderer of his brother, and receive "seven TIMES greater" punishment. Can we all say: Contradiction, Square Circles, Theological Insanity? There is nothing greater, or "seven TIMES greater" than an eternity of torture in fire. Does someone wish to stop and seriously argue this point? Then how is it possible that any who would kill Cain, would have a punishment "seven times greater" than Cain, if his punishment is to be tortured in real fire endlessly? Well of course, Cain’s punishment will not be an eternity of torture in fire. This is but another Christian Hoax and Christian Lie designed to keep all of you in constant fear for your eternal well being (if you don’t give your pastor ten percent PLUS of all your annual salaries! It’s not ALL about the money: it is ONLY about the money!) Cain died, just as his parents (Adam and Eve) died. But there is no punishment in death. Cain’s "punishment" was here on this earth while Cain was still alive, not after. And likewise, anyone who found and killed Cain would have punishment on this earth while they were still alive, "seven times greater," than that of Cain. NO ONE BEFORE THE FLOOD WAS WARNED OF ENDLESS PUNISHMENT
All mankind are said to be only evil continually. That’s a lot of evil. And what does God say their punishment for all this evil will be? They shall die. Punished endlessly? No, they "shall die." Do we think that God lied to the whole world? Do we think that God said, "shall die," but secretly meant: "punished endlessly?" Ask your pastor if he has an answer to this Christian enigma? It apparently took a hundred years to build the ark, and so for a hundred years Noah warned the world that God would kill them for their gross sins. But not one word that God would punish them endlessly after they died:
Why doesn’t even one of these verses tell us that this wicked people will be judged in death and then sentenced to an eternity of torture in real fire? Why? Why wouldn’t God give us at least one verse somewhere? He could have said something like this: "Be it known to all sinners that whosoever repenteth not of his sins and dies, shall be sentenced to punishment in fire so hot as to burn brass, and he shall never ever be set free, and his pain and suffering shall never come to an end, no not ever, saith the Lord." There are thousands and thousands and thousands of words in the Old Testament Scriptures, so why isn’t there one word warning us that unrepentant wicked people will be sentenced to an eternity of torture in real fire? Why? The books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy have 186 combined chapters. So why couldn’t at least one of these 186 chapters contain at least one verse which warns of the horrible eternal torture for most of the human race? Why? Prov. 6:6 admonishes, "Go to the ANT you sluggard, consider her ways and be wise." Does any serious-mined human on this planet believe that it is more important to know the work habits of ants (many so tiny one needs to get on his knees with a magnifying glass to even see one), than to know the eternal destiny of billions and billions of human beings? Does anyone hear what I am saying? Does anyone truly see what the Scriptures quoted here say? Does anyone see "eternal punishment" in even one of them? Yet the Christian Church assures us that this punishment is there even if it is not seen and not stated. Not one verse. Not one word. Not one mention in the entirety of the Old Testament Scriptures regarding endless punishment. How much longer are you going to sit and listen to the septic-tank swill about a Loving God Who is going to torture most people’s teenagers, mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, great grandmothers and great grandfathers, in an eternal hellhole of literal fire, without mercy, forever? Have you no conscience? Have you no love? Have you no respect or fear for your Creator God at all, that you can attribute such gross sins and immorality to your own Loving Heavenly Father? Did all the people drowned in Noah’s flood go to hell? No… they DIED. Were they tortured or punished endlessly? No… they DIED. Are they in a place of punishment now? No… they’re DEAD. Did Jesus say that those in the flood are now being punished in some kind of a hellhole? No…"…and the flood came and destroyed them all" (Luke 17:27). Is it possible for destroyed dead people to know pain and misery and punishment? No…
Hence, not one of the many men, women and children who lived before the flood and died in the flood are presently being punished endlessly. Daniel tells us that these wicked people
This is the "the lake of fire/second death" of Rev. 20. SODOM AND GOMORRAH WERE NEVER WARNED BY GOD OF ENDLESS PUNISHMENT Were any of these people told or warned that not only would they die for their sins, but that they would also be punished in death, endlessly? No, of course not. Not a word. Where then did the Church get the teaching that God punishes the wicked after death and in death? Not from the Hebrew Scriptures, that’s for sure. Every generation since Adam and Noah has witnessed their loved ones either dying or being killed. Life is short, and everyone knows it and is very conscious of it:
But Solomon and the Kingdom of Israel knew more than just the fact that they would all die one day. They also knew something that few theologians, few pastors, few Christians on earth know and believe, which is:
Is there an orthodox theologian alive, who believes this divinely inspired Scripture? Likewise, in the New Testament, we are told emphatically that:
Yet millions believe many Scriptures contradict Rom. 6:23. How can anyone put their faith in a book that they believe contradicts itself? If the theologians and your pastors are correct in teaching that "For the wages of sin is eternal life in the lake of fire," how do they account for Rom. 6:23 which clearly states: "For the wages of sin is death?" It’s very simple if you happen to be a deceiving, hypocritical, heretical, lying theologian. Their answer is: "Death IS, eternal life (in the lake of fire)." Theologians have no problem with square circles and contradictions. What would God say if there really were such an hellhole of eternal torture in fire, and if someone about to be thrown into this hellhole would inquire of God: "But God, I thought Your Word said: "For the wages of sin is DEATH…" not LIFE in some terrorist hellhole of eternal torture by fire? How would the God of Christendom respond? Would He say: "Well, sometimes My Word does contradict?" or "So maybe I changed My mind?" or "I’m sorry, I lied?" or maybe "Ooooh, picky, picky, picky…?" GOD’S WORD NEITHER CONTRADICTS NOR LIES The People of God in the Old Testament never believed in an "immortal soul," for like Ezekiel, they knew that:
And for no other reason than to hear Himself speak (I guess), God repeats it again in verse 20: "The soul [Heb: ‘nephesh’—same ‘nephesh’ that Adam became when he was MADE ALIVE by God, Gen. 2:7].that sins, it [the ‘soul’] shall die…" Maybe God forgot that He had already said the same thing in verse 4, for surely He didn’t repeat this twice in one chapter because it is IMPORTANT or anything! Perhaps God will ask the greatest and leading theologians of Christendom, how it is possible that when God teaches twice in 16 verses, that souls "die," that they are at the same time, "immortal?" Well, heck, let’s not wait till the White Throne Judgment, let’s ask it now: Christian Theologians of the world: "How is it possible for you to teach that souls are immortal, when God Himself teaches us twice in 16 verses that souls die?" What more does God require of the sinner for his sin, other than "the soul that sins, IT SHALL DIE?" Here is the Scriptural answer:
Every transgression, disobedience and sin of the past has already "received… a just retribution." How is it then that the Church teaches these sinners must yet be tortured an eternity for their transgressions and disobedience? Why don’t all of you reading this, ask your pastor why he teaches that the "soul (nephesh)" of man is immortal, when God teaches us twice in 16 verses that the "soul [nephesh—the very part of man that is said to be immortal] dies," and therefore cannot possibly be immortal. Let me know what kind of answers you receive. Just tell them L. Ray Smith of bible-truths.com is conducting a survey using reader participation. THE RELIGION OF CONTRADICTIONS AND SQUARE CIRCLES I have said for many years that Christendom is a religion of contradictions and square circles. Do you think I jest? Jesus Himself acknowledged that He believed the Truth of these statements in Ezekiel 18 when He taught:
IMMORTAL SOUL? I am now going to show you how to be smarter and more knowledgeable than most theologians in the world—(at least in this one little point). Okay; follow very closely, for we are going to get really really technical for a few minutes: First: Can God "destroy the body?" Well, yes, of course He can, Jesus just said that He "is ABLE." So God "IS able to destroy the body." Now, I believe Jesus. I think that most of you believe Jesus. But, do orthodox pastors and theologians, believe Jesus? Yes, from all that I know, they do believe Jesus on this point. Next: Can God "destroy the soul?" Well, yes, of course He can, Jesus just said that He "is ABLE." So God "IS able to destroy the soul." Now, I believe Jesus. I think that (some of) you believe Jesus. But, do orthodox pastors and theologians, believe Jesus? No, of course not. How can a soul which they teach is immortal, ever be "destroyed?" Now let’s proceed to some more "technical stuff": God created humanity in two stages, not three (Gen. 2:7):
Well, there you have it: God’s abbreviated version of how He created humanity. Let me next draw your attention to something that few Christians have ever seen, even though it is right before their eyes in every Bible on earth. I said that God created man in two stages rather than three. I emphasize this because theology teaches that God made man in three stages. Here is their unscriptural version: First God formed the man of the ground, Second God breathed life into the man, and Third God put an immortal soul into the man. If you doubt that this is what they teach, ask your pastor. However, did we read of these fabled three stages of man’s creation in the Scripture quoted above? No, no we didn’t. We read of two things in man’s creation at the hands of God. First God formed the man of the ground, Second God breathed life into the man, and Third God…? God what? There ain’t no Third. "man became a living soul" is part of stage Two. There is no third stage. God did not "put an immortal soul into the man." Where do we read of such unscriptural nonsense? God didn’t need to do anything after He breathed into him the breathe of life. It was the breath of life from God that caused the man to become a living soul. God didn’t put a soul into Adam; Adam is a living soul. The spirit of man, which God gives to every human, is like a light switch—Switch it ‘on’ and the light glows: Switch it ‘off’ and the light is dark, gone, dead. Put the spirit in the man, and the man is a living soul: take the spirit out of the man, and the man is a dead soul. Do you think that even your children could understand this Scriptural Truth? Perhaps you should teach them, and then they could teach your pastor. The "body" of the deceased is gone forever. In resurrection to immortality, God gives everyone a new spiritual body. God can bring back the person in any "body" He desires. When God puts your "spirit" (not you soul) but your spirit (which has no consciousness) back into another body (as in a resurrection with a new spiritual body), the same real person/soul will live again. God can do this, but man can’t, so fear God. DR. STRONG’S USE OF CONTRADICTIONS AND SQUARE CIRCLES I personally use Dr. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. It is a most helpful book. However, when it comes to the major "damnable heresies" of Christendom, Dr. Strong plays the same game of contradictions and square circles, as do the pastors and theologians. Next, let’s study Strong’s definition of soul in the Hebrew and soul in the Greek: In the Hebrew Scriptures, soul is translated from, H5315 nephesh = neh'-fesh
Say, did you catch that one word Dr. Strong used to define the soul—nephesh? He used as a definition of "soul," the word "MORTALITY." How pray tell, can pastors, teachers, and theologians tell us that man’s soul is IMMORTAL, when the very definition of "soul—nephesh" is "MORTAL." Yes, of course, Godly men inspired by God’s Holy Spirit have always known that man is "mortal"—"Shall MORTAL man be more just than God…" (Job 4:17). And so, what kind of a "living soul" did Adam become? Why a "living [mortal] soul," of course. Maybe that’s why Jesus also stated that "souls" can be "destroyed." We cannot separate the man from his soul in two different parts, as though the soul were something that existed independently of the body. For this reason, when the Bible speaks of "people" dying or being destroyed, it sometimes refers to them as "souls," for the soul is the person. Adam himself was the "living soul." (See: Joshua 10:28,35,37,39). In the Greek Scriptures, soul is translated from, G5590 psucheŻ = psoo-khay'
Next notice this statement in Strong’s definition of psuche above: "G4151, which is the rational and IMMORTAL SOUL." Oh really? Just like that? Noticed how casually Dr. Strong just dropped that little gem into his definition of soul. First he confirms the fact that the soul of man is MORTAL, but then quickly asserts that there is, however, another, different Greek word, which really does mean immortal soul, and it is the Greek word # 4151—pnuma. Even though Dr. Strong knew the Hebrew word nephesh meant "mortal," and not "immortal" he nonetheless must be quick to inform us of his own personal heresy, and tell us that although the nephesh/soul of man is mortal, nevertheless man also possesses an "immortal" soul. And in so doing, we must conclude that that (‘mortal’ Job 4:17) man possesses two souls: one mortal and one immortal. Do Christians ever think about all these unscriptural heresies? Of course not. As we learned in the Army—"Ours is not to reason why; ours is but to do or die." So the Greek word #4151 = pnuma, is the "immortal soul?" I would have never guessed: I always thought pnuma meant "spirit." You all know, I hope, that in the King James Version, the words "spirit" and "ghost" are translated from the exact same Greek word "pnuma," don’t you? Well, now you do. Now, get this: pnuma is used in the Greek Scriptures approximately 360 times. And Dr. Strong tells us that this word pnuma IS the word for "immortal soul." So just how many times do you think this word is translated "immortal soul" out of the 360 verses which contain the Greek word pnuma?" Oh, go ahead—guess? Three hundred? Two hundred? Fifty? Ten? Three? One? Would you believe not even once? What about the "soul" by itself. How many times is pneuma translated "soul?" Three hundred? Two hundred? Fifty? Ten? Three? One? Would you believe none? That’s right, none. Not once is this word pnuma, which Dr. Strong tells us is the proper word for "immortal soul," actually translated "immortal soul." It is always translated "spirit" [sometimes, ‘ghost’], but never "immortal soul." Nor is it even translated "soul" even without the prefix, "immortal." NEW TESTAMENT JEWS BELIEVED OLD PAGAN DOCTRINES The pagan teaching of an "immortal soul," was believed by all nations immediately following the flood, even though there is not a word concerning immortal souls or suffering in death in all of the Hebrew Scriptures. Here are some of the things New Testament Jews believed long before there was a single New Testament Greek Scripture written: THE SIN OF A MAN BORN BLIND:
What? How, pray tell, could this blind man be responsible for his own blindness when we are plainly told that he was born blind? Not only did the disciples believe the pagan doctrine that the soul is immortal, but they believed that souls could transmigrate from one body to another body. The idea that the disciples are presenting to Jesus is the pagan doctrine known today as "The transmigration of souls." This doctrine teaches that souls do not just live on, as in "immortal" after death, in some fabled hellhole of eternal torture, or some heaven on a rock in outer space, but rather that at death, the immortal soul migrates to inhabit the body of another person about to born into the world. Many in the world today continue to believe in reincarnation and the transmigration of souls. There are some pagans who believe that the souls of the dead can also reappear in the life of a pig, snake, nor some other animal. Seriously, why would Christ’s disciples believe that a man could have sinned before he was ever born? But what is even more remarkable is the fact that Jesus did not correct them, but rather went along with and acquiesced to their pagan notions. Jesus did not demean their foolish statement or their foolish belief, but countered with:
Jesus spoke the truth, for truly this man had not sinned (however, Jesus did not inform them that it would have been impossible for him to sin before he was born). But Jesus did not expose this pagan heresy to His disciples at this time. For what possible reason would Jesus want to keep His own disciples deceived? BEELZEBUB—Lord of the Flies:
Did Jesus believe in this mythological god of the pagans? Notice how Jesus answered these Pharisees:
Some might think that Jesus is conceding that He indeed believed in this Beelzebub, Lord of the Flies. How foolish. Jesus did not believe that pagan gods were real. Notice what Strong’s says about Beelzebub:
The Hebrew #1176 is Baal-Zebub which means "Lord of the fly." And as flies gather around dung, the Jews sarcastically referred to this deity of the Ekronites as the "god of dung," or "the dung god." Did Jesus really believe that there is such a god as this Beelzebub, god of dung? Of course He didn’t, but neither did He expose this pagan heresy to the Pharisees either. REINCARNATION/TRANSMIGRATION OF SOULS: On another occasion:
Some even thought that He might be John the Baptist, which is really strange, seeing that Jesus was already the same age as John, when John was beheaded. Did Jesus Christ believe in reincarnation and the transmigration of immortal souls? Where did this teaching come from, and why does Jesus make reference to it? Why didn’t Jesus expose this pagan heresy to His disciples instead of going along with their false statements? PARABLES - THE RICH MAN IN HELL/HADES:
The Egyptians called their place of punishment in
the underworld, amenti. When the Greeks borrowed most of the Egyptian myths surrounding
this place called amenti, they called it by the name hades. Did Jesus believe that when people die, they are consciously alive and tormented in the pagan hell of the Greeks named after their pagan god, hades? Why would Jesus use pagan religious doctrines and beliefs to teach spiritual truths of God? Haven’t these things deceived the Church and caused the many different denominations of Christendom? Yes, of course they have, and so have all the parables which Jesus taught that virtually no Church understands. The Church does not even understand the few parables that Jesus explained! How many theologians believe and understand that all the parables are the same parable? Tis true:
All parables are the same parable. I know: it boggles the mind. It takes the Spirit of God to understand these spiritual teachings. And just as when Jesus said: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up," no one understands what He meant until it was fulfilled. Everyone thought he meant the literal physical stone temple rather than His own body. Likewise, only the "Chosen few" can understand the parables as they are fulfilled in their own lives, generation by generation, until the parables are fulfilled. The Jews of Jesus’ day learned these pagan teachings referred to above, plus many more, but from where did they learn them? For a fact they did not learn them from Moses, the Prophets, or Hebrew Scriptures. Who taught these pagan doctrines? Can we trace back such doctrines as "the immortality of the soul," "reincarnation," "consciousness and everlasting punishment after death?" Yes, we can. EGYPT—THE GRANDSON OF NOAH The Scriptural origin of Egypt is extremely easy to trace, though don’t expect many in the secular world to agree with this:
STRONG’S HEBREW DICTIONARY:
There it is: "Mizraim," Noah’s grandson through his son Ham is EGYPT. Egypt is mentioned from Genesis to Revelation--558 times (more than any other nation excepting Israel). This statistic alone should speak volumes to us regarding the importance of Egypt in God’s plan for humankind. It behooves us to learn more about the nation of Egypt, its history, its culture, and its religion. It has everything to do with understanding the many unscriptural doctrines of the Christian Church. BIBLICAL CHRONOLOGY In this Installment on hell, I want to take you back to the beginning of things as far as possible. The main object I have in mind is to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the teaching of life immediately following death, the immortality of the soul, and the teaching of a hell wherein the wicked are punished and/or tortured endlessly, are all inventions of the ancient pagans, centuries before the people of Israel began to believe and teach these doctrines, or even before Israel existed. Accurate chronology to date some of these developments is difficult for sure. That is not to say we cannot get the order of things in proper sequence even if we may be off on the actual dates. We do not know the exact date for creation, or for the flood, or for the birth of Abraham. Nonetheless, if we believe and have faith in the Scriptures: for sure we know that the Creation came first, then a couple of thousand years later came the flood, and a few hundred years later Abraham was born. Most chronologists and archaeologists place known historical events somewhat further back in time than can be accurately proved. Known historical events as the uniting of Upper and Lower Egypt at the founding of Memphis under Pharaoh Menes is placed around 3100 B.C. This may be a few hundred years too early. Ussher’s chronology would put the flood of Noah’s day at a little less than 2300 B.C. But this hardly fits the Secular date for Menes uniting Egypt eight hundred years earlier (earlier than the life of Ham and Mizriam, the ancestors of the Egyptians). However, if we were to adopt the chronology of the Septuagint, we would have possibly 1500 more years to work with (5500 Septuagint date minus 4004 Ussher’s date). Hence the date of 3100 B.C. for Menes uniting Egypt may be closer to the Biblical chronology than thought, plus allowing a few centuries for the settling and populating of Egypt previously under many local kings and rulers. Interestingly, the secular chronology of Egypt puts the development of hieroglyphic writing at 3400 B.C., which would put their early history within the range of the Septuagint chronology. These dates are all approximations at best. THE BEGINNING OF NATIONS AND THE SPREAD OF CIVILIZATION As we shall see, there are some vestiges of truth concerning God and creation found in the ancient religious beliefs of the Egyptians. For example, the teaching in every nation that the human race was saved on a boat during a flood. However, many strange and unscriptural doctrines regarding the origin of man and the afterlife also were birthed in these ancient civilizations. There is a Scripture given us by the Apostle Paul which precisely describes the process by which the different civilizations totally corrupted the Truths of God immediately following the flood (Rom. 1:18-23). We saw earlier that Egypt descended from Mizriam, son of Ham, son of Noah. Next let’s look at another descendant of Ham through his first son, Cush:
Concerning Babel, we read this:
Shinar was located in a portion of what became Babylonia in Mesopotamia. There they began to build a tower and there God:
Notice that Noah lived an additional 350 years after the flood (Gen. 9:28), and it was his grandson Nimrod who established a civilization in Shinar where they built a tower. And so the scattering of the people into different languages and different nations, occurred long before the death of Noah, just this side of the flood. Chapter 10 first gives us the names of the sons and grandsons of Ham, Shem, and Japheth, and then in chapter 11, it goes back in time and explains how all these nations received their different languages (See Gen 10:5), and how God scattered them abroad over the land. So the building of nations and civilizations began very shortly on this side of the flood in the very lifetime of Noah. There appears to be plenty of time for Egypt to be established into a powerful nation under the Pharaohs in the space of a few hundred years when we are once again reintroduced to her in the latter chapters of Genesis, and the book of Exodus where Egypt is a fully established as a powerful and civilized nation. There is no necessity to stretch the history of early Egypt out beyond the parameters of Genesis. If a site is desirable for a settlement, a lot can happen within a few centuries. Things developed much more quickly after the flood in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Europe, and the Mid-East, than historians portray it. This is partly due to the notion that everything came about through slow, drawn-out evolutionary processes. Truth be known, there was never a period in human history when the majority of humanity lived like savages. People made houses, wore fine clothing, had language and writing, farmed the land, and had sophisticated tools from the very dawn of human existence. Suggesting that the general population of the world lived like savages in caves, able only to communicate by grunting, while gathering wild berries and throwing rocks at animals for food, is preposterous. Adam and his immediate family, spoke in whole sentences, wore clothing, farmed the land by tilling the ground, domesticated animals, built houses, baked bread, made musical instruments, worked with both brass and iron, had writing, kept chronological and genealogical records, and recorded their history, CHRISTENDOM CONTINUES TO PERPETUATE SATAN’S FIRST RECORDED LIE As the early Egyptian settlers along the Nile lost virtually all truth they had before the flood and through their ancestral family of Noah, they replaced that lost knowledge with strange and fanciful myths. And, as they lost knowledge of the True God, which brought them safely through the flood, they began worshipping man-made gods. Although they lost sight of the True God and His teachings, they did not, however, loose sight of the world’s first giant lie. That first recorded lie in history survived the first couple of thousand years, survived the flood of Noah’s day, survived the expansion of civilization in Mesopotamia, through all the myriads of Egyptian mythology, the Exodus, the four world-ruling kingdoms of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome, survived the introduction of Christianity into the world, survived the Dark Ages, the Middle ages, the Renaissance, the Reformation, survived the modern translations of Scriptures, and is presented flourishing in a frenzy of Christian world evangelism. This "damnable heresy," is taught and believed with such vigor and enthusiasm, that to speak the Scriptural truth against it is to open oneself up to ridicule and persecution from the Christian community. Any outsider coming into the Christian faith would surely believe that it was God who said, "you shall NOT SURELY die," and that it was Satan who said, "you shall SURELY die" for that is what the Church believes and teaches, contrary to the hundreds of Scriptures which state otherwise. This lie is the very bedrock of not only orthodox Christian theology, but also that of virtually every pagan and heathen religion on the face of the earth, throughout the history of the world. (Although the pagans may tolerate what we are teaching at bible-truths.com, I guarantee you that the Church will not. There will come one day a reckoning with bible-truths.com, and you can take that to the bank. Even the "Church of Satan" will be tolerated, but the Truths of God will never be tolerated. When the Church leaders perceive that their pagan heresies are being exposed, and it begins to look as if their goose that is laying the golden eggs of tithes, may be getting ready to fly the coop, there will be hell to pay. The fear of the hereafter; the fear of being tortured in some hellhole of eternal fire, the fear of the clergy and the authority of the Church, this hideous, hideous fear, is the goose that lays the golden eggs. It is in fact, the money machine that keeps the wealth flowing into the Christian coffers). THE WORLD’S FIRST LIE IS STILL ALIVE AND WELL IN THE CHURCH
"Ye shall not surely die" is the world’s first recorded lie. Most of the population of the world including all of orthodox Christianity continues to cling to this original lie of Satan. God said: "you shall surely die" (Gen. 2:17). But Adam and Eve did not literally physically die on the day that they ate the forbidden fruit, did they? No, and that is not exactly what God said. The phrase "you shall sure die" is translated from two Hebrew words: tmuth & muth. The first tmuth is translated in Hebrew interlinears as "you shall die," and muth is translated "to die," or together, "to die, you shall die." Here are a couple of translations who follow the Hebrew very closely:
And so clearly, the Hebrew shows that on the very day that Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, they would not literally and physically die immediately, but that the process OF DYING would begin and would occur eventually. Now then, who told the Truth—the serpent or God? The answer is as simple as 1, 2, 3, 4: [1] God told Adam if he sinned, he would die: "And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, AND HE DIED" (Gen. 5:5). [2] Does everyone sin? "For ALL have sinned…" (Rom. 3:23). [3] What does sin bring? "For the wages of sin is DEATH…" (Rom. 6:23). [4] Will all born of Adam, die? "For as in Adam ALL DIE…" (I Cor. 15:22). DO BELIEVERS IN CHRIST NEVER DIE? But is this what the Christian Church teaches regarding sin and death? No, no it isn’t. They have in fact, translated some Scriptures to say the diametric opposite of what God has told us. Notice how the King James and many modern Bibles translate the following verse:
Wait a minute; wait a minute; wait a minute! What, pray tell, is going on here? God told Adam that if he sinned then he would be dying until he ultimately died. And we have Scripture on that. Paul informs us that all mankind has sinned, and that the wages of sin is death. Furthermore we are told by inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit that ALL in Adam will die. Then we read a verse in the King James Bible which boldly states that those who believe in Christ (even though they too have sinned), "…will NEVER DIE." God told Adam, "you shall SURELY DIE." The Serpent then said to Eve, "you shall NOT SURELY DIE." Does everyone agree that the serpent contradicted God? Does the serpent’s statement agree or disagree with the statement of God? The serpent contradicts God, doesn’t he? Yes, of course he does. This is extremely elementary. But… BUT, John 11:26 states in the King James, that whosoever believes in Jesus, "shall NEVER DIE." Now then, to whose statement does "shall NEVER DIE agree? Does it agree with God’s statement "shall SURELY DIE," or with the serpent’s statement, "shall NOT SURELY DIE?" Houston, we have a problem. Did Jesus say one thing to Adam back in the Garden and then contradict Himself in His teaching of John 11:26? Does Jesus "change?" No. "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and for ever" (Heb. 13:8). Not only does the serpent’s statement contradict God’s statement, but according to the King James, even Jesus Christ contradicts God’s statement. Surely this cannot be. Remember all those statements of God regarding "adding to or taking from" the words of God? Well, I’m afraid the King James has done it again. Let’s take a look at this phrase "shall never die" from John 11:26 in a Greek Interlinear: If you have e-Sword, you can see that the word translated "never" is the translation of three Greek words, not just one. Does it really take three Greek words to represent our English word "never?" No it doesn’t. The Greek word oudeic means "not ever, none, nought" as in when Peter said to Jesus, "I will NEVER [#3762--oudeic] be offended" (Matt. 26:33). This word is translated "never" dozens of times in Scripture. However, in John 11:26 where we read "shall NEVER die," the word "never" is the singular word translation of three Greek words, not one of them being #3762, oudeic." So what," you say? So maybe it behooves us to see just what Greek words God used in this verse, that’s what. This is one of those huge translation errors. This verse as recorded in the King James flat out contradicts God’s statement back in the Garden, that’s why. The word "never" in John 11:26 is translated from: #3364 = oume, "a double negative; not at all, neither, never, nor ever." #1519 = ice, "to, into, throughout, for." #165 = aion, "age." BELIEVERS DO NOT DIE FOR THE EON Notice how more responsible translators have rendered this verse: "…should by NO means BE DYING for the EON." (Concorant Literal New Testament). There is no phrase, "shall NEVER die." "…NOT ever shall DIE to THE AGE." (Jay P. Green: Interlinear Greek-English New Testament—from the Interlinear, not the translation). There is no phrase, "shall NEVER die." "…NO one living and believing in Me, shall DIE to the AGE." (Emphatic Diaglott). There is no phrase, "shall NEVER die." "…shall in ANYWISE DIE unto times AGE-abiding." (Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible). There is no phrase, "shall NEVER die." For sure, "All have sinned… the wages of sin is death… in Adam all die." However, those "in Christ… should by no means be dying for the eon." And the reason is simple and Scriptural:
And that:
Yes, we shall all die, but not for or through the eon. We will be raised and reign with Christ through the coming millennial eon (and beyond—"Know you not that we shall judge the world" (I Cor. 6:2). And so it should be clear to all, that there is no word "never" in this Greek verse. And oh how the translators hate to deal with this powerful little word aion in this verse, but they completely leave out. As anyone can plainly see, there are times when the translators just pretend that this little word, aion, isn’t even there. Theologians and preachers really hate when I expose things like this. No, I mean they really, really hate it. This verse in John 11:26 is one of their major "proof texts" by which they try to substantiate and legitimize their unscriptural pagan doctrine of the immortality of the soul, thus contradicting God’s own statement in Gen. 2:17, "you shall surely die." In verse
50 below, the phrase “…that a man may eat thereof, and NOT DIE,” needs
to be addressed, as this KJV translation sounds as though believers will not die, or maybe
not EVER die. This assuredly is not the case.
These faulty translations "contradict sound doctrine" (Titus 1:9). Many may feel that verse 50 teaches clearly that a Believer will "not [ever] die." But are these verses really teaching that if we believe in Jesus and eat of Him, that we will never ever die? No, of course not. Bear with me for a few minutes, as what you are about to learn is of paramount importance. The Jews insisted that, "…as it is written, He [God] gave them bread from heaven to eat" (John 6:31). But how did Jesus respond to their statement and quotation from the Hebrew Scriptures?
Those who eat of Christ, "the bread of life," have life. What kind of life? Verse 54 in the King James says "eternal life." But the Greek knows nothing of "eternal" life, but rather "eonian" life. Eonian life is a gift:
But has any saint since Pentecost actually been given eonian life without ever dying first? No. What saith the Scriptures: "For in Adam all die…" (I Cor. 15:22). What then is the only hope of ALL believers who die in Adam? Why the resurrection from the dead, of course. Pathetically and ironically, what most Christians consider a totally useless doctrine, Paul tells us is our only hope of ever living again after we die. So do we enter eternal life upon death, as Christendom teaches? NO, let’s read it:
Not a quickening PHYSICAL body. Notice that we are first made a "natural body." Adam (and all of his children—that’s US), did not have an "immortal soul," did he? His body was a "natural" body. Only Jesus was made a "living SPIRIT." It says so right here. Can the natural man with a natural body of flesh and blood ever enter into the Kingdom of God? "…flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God" (Ver. 50). Does the orthodox Christian Church teach that we will have PHYSICAL BODIES in the Kingdom of God? Yes, yes they do—but then again, none of their doctrines are from the Scriptures. "It is raised [from the dead] a SPIRITUAL BODY" (Ver. 44). Do these verses contradict the verses we have been reading in John 6? No, of course not. But didn’t John 6:50 say, "…that a man may eat thereof [of Christ], and NOT DIE?" The Believing Elect of God will not die as did the fathers in the wilderness who ate NOT of that true Bread from heaven. The answer is that we will "not die FOR THE EON" (John 11:26), because we have "eternal [eonian] life in us" (John 6:54). DO BELIEVERS ALREADY POSSESS EONIAN LIFE? How much eonian life do we have in us? Will we not ever die since we have "eonian life" abiding in us at present? Do we have Scripture on that? No we don’t. But do we have a Scripture that says the amount of "life" which we do have in us is a sure promise that we WILL LIVE with Jesus throughout the coming eons? Yes we do:
Well there it is, UNTIL the redemption of the purchased possession." And when do we get that? We were already reading about it in I Cor. 15. Let’s read this entire section of Scripture as it is the whole plan of God from the creation of Adam down to the "redemption of the purchased possession" of the Few Chosen Elect Saints of God:
This is the reason we continue to live after the eons are over. Not because we were promised something called "eternal or everlasting life," but because at the resurrection we will be given "incorruption and immortality," which means "death-less-ness".
When? When will death be "swallowed up in victory?" When we die? Do people really die and go to heaven? Where do the Scriptures teach any such pagan doctrine? It is at "the resurrection of the dead" that death is swallowed up in victory, and not one second earlier. Then, we will literally "be saved" as all the Scriptures teach. "O death, where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory?" Excuse me… ‘Oh grave?’ Oh really? Ten times the Holy Spirit inspired the Greek word "hades" to be used, and nine of those ten times the King James translates hades as "hell." But in this only solitary verse of I Cor. 15:55, they translated it "grave." Do you know why? I’ll tell you why. Because theologians wanted to protect their pagan doctrine of eternal punishment in hades at all cost, even if that meant fraudulently being inconsistent with the Greek word "hades." The translators did not want the people to know that there is "victory" over their unscriptural pagan hell, that’s why! Read it:
The Greek "hades" is the Christian hell. But God is telling the whole world in this verse that hades will have no victory over the dead. The saints are redeemed from hades, as did David also attest:
There is REDEMPTION from sheol/hades, and there will be NO VICTORY for sheol/hades, and this is no small part of the "Good News Gospel" which the Church of Babylon has hid from the eyes of all Christendom. You are now learning the Truth of God’s Scriptures, not the evil pagan fantasies of Christendom. Now then, back to John 6 once more. Do all these Scriptures we just read in I Corinthians 15 (which totally contradict the "die and go to heaven" myth of Christendom) agree with what we were reading about "NOT DIE" and "by no means should be DYING FOR THE EON" in John 6:50 and 11:26? Absolutely. There is a phrase in John 6 that Jesus repeats several times. A phrase that Christian theologians and preachers and teachers seem to be oblivious to, and yet, that phrase pin-points the exact time WHEN our "eonian life" will begin, and it agrees word for word with I Corinthians 15 and the rest of the Bible. Notice the verses of Scripture leading up to John 11:26 already discussed. What do the Scriptures tell us will happen "at the last day?" Verse 24 answers it
The "last day" is the "the resurrection" from the dead. Next notice how Jesus answered her:
Now if everyone reading this in the King James does not see a blatant contradiction, then they must be blind. Notice what the King James says: [1] If someone believes in Christ and then dies, yet shall he live, contradicts: [2] If someone believes in Christ, he will never die. Am I going to fast for any one? I apologize for the length of these rather technical sections on the Scriptures, but I am trying to make it as simple as I can. We are now really getting down to the nuts and bolts; the nitty and the gritty of True Scriptural Doctrine. The Scriptures tell us that the Kingdom of the Heavens is like a treasure hid in a field. This parable tells us that the spiritual treasures of God’s Word must be sought after with great diligence. People don’t let treasures lying around in open fields for all to take at their leisure. And remember it is God Who has hidden these spiritual treasures. The Church does not believe that these treasures are hidden at all. That is why they are deceived by their unscriptural belief that the Bible is to be taken "literally," and that everything is only understood in "context, context, context." They refuse to believe that Jesus spoke in parables to hide the meaning of His teachings. They refuse to believe that it is God Himself who deceives the false prophets:
Stay with it. Don’t give up, thinking that this is too complicated. Read it over and over and over again, and it will begin to show crystal clear. PAUL KNEW THAT DECEASED BELIEVERS ARE DEAD Let’s be clear that the believing saints of Paul’s day who had previously passed away, were absolutely dead when Paul speaks of them.
And just when is this "resurrection of the dead" for the saints who "are Christ’s?" We read it above. Martha said it: "at the last day." And so the phrase "at the last day," and "at His coming," are one and the same event. Where do we read in Scripture that at death or in death we "shall put on immortality?" Or that at death or in death we will, "be like Him?" Or where do we read that "to be absent from the body IS to be present with the lord" There is no such Scripture. That Scripture is virtually always misquoted. These things do not happen at death or in death or immediately after death. Yes, it is true that, "We have this treasure in earthen vessels…," but it is not the fullness of what we shall be. We already read that:
The word "until" is a time word meaning "indicating the point reached"—Strong’s Greek Dictionary. Well when do the Scriptures clearly tell us this "point is reached?" Certainly not at death, in death, or shortly after death. No, here is the clear Scriptural truth as to when our indicated point of redemption is reached and we will finally be fully "like Him," not as an earnest or down payment, but rather paid in full.
There is our answer. So much for the pagan theory about immortal souls flying off to heaven at death. Now back to John 6 once more. So when then are those who are said to "have eternal [Gk: ‘eonian’] life," really given eonian life in full? When they die, at their death, as orthodoxy teaches? The reason John could give us the answer in I John 3:2 is because John heard it first hand himself directly from Jesus Christ Himself. In fact, Jesus told them when this event would be four separate times.
John was fully aware of the true facts regarding their own death and when and what event they would be raised from the dead. Did John himself believe that he would "never die" as the translators pervert God’s Word in the very gospel account attributed to John in Chapter 11:26? No. Let’s read Johns own account of his own death.
Did not Peter believe in Christ so that according to the King James wording in John 11:26 he "…shall never die?" NO. Notice that Jesus Himself signified "…by what death he [Peter] should glorify God." Continuing…
Here then we have a verse that plainly states that Jesus never said that John would not die. And if John, Christ’s favorite Apostle, would die, then who pray tell would be those so highly qualified in John 11:26, who would "never die?" Everyone dies, but the Elect will not die [into, for, or through the eon]. Did John in fact live until Jesus would "come?" Why yes He did. Many years later, in the spirit, John did indeed see Jesus come:
John indeed, did tarry till he saw Jesus come. Any questions? God doesn’t lie; the Scriptures don’t lie; but sometimes the translators do make mistakes. Jesus never said to anyone ever that they "shall never die." Listen to what God says through Ezekiel:
Can we not see that God contrasts life with death, not life with ETERNAL TORTURE IN FIRE? Why would God be so concerned over them "dying," if what in reality was going to happen to them was that they would "be tortured eternally in a hell fire?" Is there anyone out there who has his brain in gear while I am giving you all of these hundreds of Scriptural truths? HERESY OF HERESIES God said: "to die, you shall surely be dying," (Gen. 2:17) and "Adam… DIED" (Gen. 5:5). Paul said that "For ALL have sinned," and that "The wages of sin is DEATH…" And therefore: "…in Adam ALL DIE…" (I Cor. 15:22). What theologian calling himself a Christian would deny these profound Scriptural statements of Truth? Well, now that you asked, I’ll give you one such example. Recently I turned the channel to TBN, while Jack Van Impe was on. I thought I heard the statement, "we never die." I thought maybe I didn’t hear it correctly so I spent the twenty bucks for the DVD to be sure of what I heard. Sure enough, in this DVD entitled "BEYOND THE GRAVE," here is the statement: "Once we are born we NEVER DIE." Followed by this statement: "That soul, that spirit goes on to live forever." What can I say to that unscriptural nonsense except, Oh really? By the way, although Jack claims to have tens of thousands of Scripture Verses memorized, not one verse was quoted to back up either of these quotations from his program. And how is it even possible that the "soul and spirit" can be confused as to be one and the same thing. Let me give you a Scripture verse on that:
Clearly, the soul and the spirit are two different things which can be separated one from the other. I’ll bet that Jack even has this verse memorized. But of what value is it to memorize these verses and not teach or believe what they say? God said to Adam: : "you shall SURELY die" (Gen. 2:17) But: The serpent said: "you shall NOT surely die" (Gen. 3:4). Theologians say: "you shall NOT surely die." Christianity says: "you shall NOT surely die." King James says: "you shall NEVER die" (John 11:26). Van Impe says: "Once we are born we NEVER die." So who ya gonna believe? The whole orthodox Christian Church teaches that man’s soul is, "immortal." Albeit God contradicts the whole Christian World by saying: "you shall surely die." Man is not immortal. Man has no immortal soul. God only, and "only He has immortality" (I Tim. 6:16). I will now put the final Scriptural nail in the coffin of the "immortal soul" doctrine. I will now give you a Scripture that states that there was no such thing as an "immortal" soul, or an immortal anything concerning man in the Old Testament Scriptures. Certainly there is such a thing as "immortality," but it assuredly is not something that any man save Jesus has ever possessed:
There it is. It is ONLY through the teaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that the knowledge of a coming "immortality" for mankind was made known, and even then, it is something that is yet future; something that must be "put on" at the time of the resurrection of the dead (I Cor. 15:53), not something that any sinning human has ever possessed. We read in II Cor. 11:3 that the serpent beguiled or deceived Eve in the garden. How did he do this? Did the serpent merely state, "you shall not surely die," and Eve said, "Okay Mr. Serpent, I’m deceived, really, really deceived, so let me eat an apple now"? No, Paul says that the serpent beguiled her by his "subtlety," that is his craftiness, his trickery. The serpent made Eve think that she already possessed immortality within herself, and therefore told her, "you shall NOT surely die," whereas God plainly told them, that eating of the tree of knowledge would cause them to die. THE UNSCRIPTURAL APOSTLES’ CREED People ask if I have a "creed"? I tell them, no, and that I have never read a creed or statement of faith which was Scripturally true. The most famous of all creeds is "The Apostles Creed." Actually, all of the Apostles would turn over in their graves if they knew what unscriptural trash is being attributed to them. The second to the last line reads: "I believe… in the resurrection of THE BODY." Well, I don’t. The Scriptures don’t. The Apostles didn’t. Jesus didn’t. In Scripture we read of, "the resurrection OF THE DEAD" fifteen times. We read of "the resurrection… of the just and unjust," "resurrection of life," "resurrection of judgment," "the resurrection of Christ," but we never ever read of "the resurrection of the BODY." So why doesn’t the "Apostles Creed" say, "I believe…in the resurrection OF THE DEAD" instead of the body? Because the orthodox Christian Church doesn’t believe that we EVER DIE, that’s why: "And the serpent [Satan the devil] said unto the woman, You shall not surely die" (Gen. 3:4). Who would ever believe the devil’s lie over the Truth of God: "…you shall surely die" (Gen. 2:`7)? Who? Who, you ask? Who would be so incredibly foolish as to believe Satan over God? Why the entire worldwide orthodox Christian Church, that’s who. Yes, the world’s first recorded lie is still believed by the majority of the human race including the world of Christendom. What about you— what are you now going to believe? You now have a choice between truth or tradition—which will you choose? It is far more fearful for most to leave the bosom of the Babylonian Whore than it is to turn their backs on their God and Saviour! When most are faced with Scriptural Truth of Pagan Tradition, most are quick to choose ungodly, unholy, unscriptural pagan tradition. We will now continue tracing the history of this Satanic lie regarding man’s condition and `whereabouts after death. The very bedrock of Christian doctrine regarding the fate and condition of the dead is traced back to the nation whose very name is synonymous with SIN:
And the first of these three was Egypt. THE ORIGIN OF ALL THINGS ACCORDING TO THE EGYPTIANS Here is one Egyptian version of the origin of the universe: "From the beginning there was nothing but a water chaos called Nun, and from that came the god Atum, who had created himself. He made the earth god Geb, and his sister (and wife) Nut, goddess of the sky. To hold up and fill the sky they had two children, the boy Shu, the god of the air, and a girl Tefnut, goddess of moisture and rain. This family four was the very foundation upon which the world existed as they represented: earth, water, air and the sky" (Egyptian gods, By Ottar Vendel, p. 7) There is an element of truth in this Egyptian creation theory. Notice that in the beginning there was nothing but Nun which is described as a "water chaos." Notice how the Concordant Version translated Gen. 1:2,
Interesting that the Egyptians also start with a "watery CHAOS." And what of the Greeks and Romans? They too subscribed to this Chaos as the first thing that existed, which they called "The Womb of Darkness" from which sprang the first "Cosmic Egg." Only in Greece, they made an actual god out of this chaos. In the Genesis account God creates the heavens and the earth, the earth is in chaos, God summons the light, forms the firmament, and raises the dry earth out of the waters. Egyptian mythology preserves hints of this truth. They start with the watery chaos, and then have the land rise up out of the chaos, which was the first spot, which the light from heaven shone on. They called this first piece of land, the Benben stone. And yes, it was in the shape of a pyramid. It was this pyramid-shaped Benben stone that would become prominent in Egyptians architecture being placed at the top of all obelisks which many historians and Egyptologists will clearly tell you is but a stylized erect phallus symbol. The womb, the phallus, eggs, sex and fertility were at the very core of all ancient religions. And virtually all of these symbols have been passed on down through the Christian Church via the architecture of her temples and churches, her holy days and festival, her symbols and mythology, and her doctrines. In the place of the Creator God, the Egyptians placed man himself, "Atum," their first real god Atum united with the rising sun god Ra and together they later were joined to form Atum-Ra, who gave birth to the god Shu who, according to the Egyptians, supported the sky. In Greece he was known as Atlas who supported the whole earth on his shoulders. Shu’s wife and sister was Tefnut who to the Greeks was Ephnis. Atum created Geb the earth god. To the Greeks he was Gaia the earth god. Geb’s wife and sister was Nut who was Rhea of the Greeks. Geb and Nut gave birth to Nephthys who was Apharodite to the Greeks. Their second child was Osiris, the Dionysus and Hades of the Greeks. Osiris was the god of the Egyptian netherworld. Hades was the Greek god of the underworld. Virtually all of the great gods of Egypt became the great gods of Greece and Rome. They invented a few characters of their own, but the main characters of Greek mythology come straight out of Egypt. And all of this is a matter of reams of documented history. The lowest and worst part of hades is called "Tartarus" in Greek.
Tartaroo is the Greek tartarus. But tartarus is not from the Greek, it is EGYPTIAN. Tartarus comes from the Egyptian word "tartar," which had to do with the lamenting at Egyptian funerals when a loved one was forbidden burial across the lake. The paradise of the Egyptians was called Elisout or Elisaeus, or the Fields of Reeds. When copied by the Greeks and Romans these areas of paradise were called the Elysian Fields. All of the major gods and goblins of the Egyptian netherworld were copied and reintroduced into Greek mythology. From there they were copied by the Romans, and then allowed to remain as part of the Roman Catholic Church, even though the theologians knew these practices and beliefs were pagan to the core. God has sternly warned:
And just why does God say they should NOT do such a thing? Here’s why:
But SURELY the world of Christendom today would never, ever, ever have such an "ABOMINATION… which God HATES," in their arsenal of foundational, bedrock, fundamental doctrines, would they? Maybe it is time that we grow up and get our heads out of the sand. OF COURSE Christendom has these abominations which God hates in their most basic and necessary doctrines, but with one difference. They have taken this doctrine of the Canaanites burning their sons and daughters in fire to their gods to a level of total insanity. What are we clearly told by Paul concerning the apostatized church of our day? Paul said:
These are those which Paul says:
One cannot turn away from the truth, unless they once had the truth. This is speaking of the Church. But how has today’s Church gotten worse and worse than burning their sons and daughter in fire? By teaching that their sons and daughters will not be burned up in fire, as the Canaanites did, but by teaching that their sons and daughters will BURN IN FIRE FOR EVER! Here is but one proof of such "damnable heresy" (II Pet. 2:1) in today’s Church:
John Hagee says of this eternal torture for boys and girls with Jesus Christ in fire, that, "IT’S JUSTICE." I have been accused of being a "Calvinist." Let me now personally and publicly denounce his damnable theology as rank, unscriptural heresy. Calvin had the same doctrine of children, apparently, as John Hagee and others:
Read the following quotation from Thayer’s Paper, and weep:
Whereas Calvin himself calls this damning of the children "a horrible decree," modern follower of Calvinism, Dr. James Kennedy, has euphemized Calvin’s "horrible decree" down to "Hell is FAIR." I am not sure how any modern followers of Calvin can euphemize his burning of Christian believers at the stake. What hideously evil men John Calvin and Martin Luther were. And Christians by the thousands ask who I think I am that I should be judging such prominent theologians? I don’t judge them, I just expose their damnable heresies as I have just done one more time. THE EVOLUTION OF EGYPT’S DOCTRINES The earliest Egyptian myths concerning creation range from the fanciful and bizarre to hints of the actual Biblical record. Different regions of the Nile Valley had their own individual gods of creation. Here are a few: ATUM is said to have created everything including himself (figure that one—I will not, however, tell you how he supposedly did it, as it is rather disgusting). He then was said to create woman from some flesh off of his own hand. THOTH was the creator according to a myth from Upper Egypt. He first created four frogs and four snakes. PTAH the god from Lower Egypt made the world by simply speaking the words, and the land rose up from the sea. Notice how close this really is to the Biblical account in Genesis. KHEPER is said to have made all the gods from out of his own body. KHNUM from Aswan in the south is said to have made the world and its first people on a potter’s wheel, by taking mud from the Nile. Once again, we have a few hints of the truth in this myth. AMON like Atum created everything including himself at the beginning of time. RE from Heliopolis is said to have created the world by using a tear from his eye. No Egyptian myth suggests that any of their gods always existed. Each supposedly came into existence at some time in the remote past. Understand that virtually all Egyptian myths are fanciful, exaggerated, contradicting, convoluted, and bizarre. One can go nuts trying to sort it all out or trying to put things into some kind of chronological order. Here’s another widely accepted Egyptian myth concerning the beginning of creation: The sky goddess Nut is pictured as a female figure in blue, covered with stars. Her toes are touching one horizon, with her body arched forward and her fingers touching the other horizon. Her body thus produces the arched starry sky of heaven. Her arched torso is held up by her son Shu, (god of the air), who stands on his prone father Geb, who is the god of earth. Each morning Shu turns into a pig and she eats up all the stars. Each evening she rebirths all the starts back into the heavens again. This she does ever morning and evening. The sun god Ra ruled the day. He is pictured as a man with the head of a bird with a red disc representing the sun, on his head, with a cobra’s head poking out. Ra was maybe the main god of Egypt from the fifth dynasty until the end of the dynasties. While in other parts of Egypt such gods as Aman ruled supreme. Later on these two gods would be united and worshipped as Aman-Ra. What, you might ask, has this pagan Egyptian nonsense to do with the Christian teaching of "endless punishment?" Everything—this fantastic, comical, absurd pagan religion of the Egyptians is the bedrock foundation for the most basic of Christian doctrines and heresies. This stupid religion is the basis for fundamental Christian teachings. The [1] immortal soul, [2] judgment at death, [3] entrance into a paradise for some, and [4] never-ending punishments for others, were the fundamental elements of Egyptian paganism, and they are likewise the fundamental elements of Christian doctrine. THE FIRST EGYPTIAN KING Look a little further into the pagan Egyptian religion, and maybe you will begin to see why the Christian religion is one of absurd and evil contradictions, unscriptural practices, and square circles. Recall that Geb and Nut gave birth to Osiris. We will stick with Osiris for a bit, as he figures prominently in the death/heaven/hell scenario. The Osiris myth claims that Orisis was the first King of Egypt. His goddess queen, Isis, was also his sister (there could even be a hint of truth preserved here, in that Adam’s sons and daughters of necessity would have had to marry sisters and brothers). Osiris taught the Egyptians how to worship the gods and how to live. Osiris had a brother named, Set. Although Osiris had a human body and a human head, as did Isis, his sister/queen, Set on the other hand, had a human body but the head of an unknown animal (slightly similar to a jackal). Now I know that some of you are going to start wondering just where this whole thing is going and why am I taking you there. Simple: I want to shows you where the Christian doctrine of the immortality of the soul, and judgment at death, and two destinies of either heaven or hell upon death, came from. And I want to impress you with the utter stupidity involved in the formulation of these doctrines by the very worst of the ancient pagans, the very nation whose name is synonymous with SIN—EGYPT. One day Osiris held a feast and his son Set brought a beautiful coffin that he had made. Set promised to give the coffin to the person whose body fit into it the best. Osiris tried first (as in fact Set crafted the coffin so as to fit Osiris perfectly). When Osiris got in, Set and his servants quickly closed the lid and nailed it shut. They then threw it into the Nile. Later, Osiris’ grieving wife Isis, heard of a marvelous tree that sprung on the shores on the Eastern Mediterranean, that a king used to build a palace. Isis heard that this was the spot where her husband Osiris came ashore in his coffin. She traveled there and got a job as hairdresser for the queen. Having access to the palace, she searched until she found the coffin. By night she managed to get the coffin on a boat headed for Egypt. Upon arrival she hid it in the marshes of the Nile delta. She opened the coffin for one farewell evening with her husband, but Set was hiding and watching. When Isis went to sleep for the night, Set took his brother’s Osiris’ body and cut it into fourteen pieces and spread them all over Egypt. Isis enlisted the help of her son Anubis and her sister Nephthys to find the fourteen pieces of her husband. After many years they found all the pieces but one (yes, that one), which was eaten by a fish, so Isis made one out of wood, and then put the whole body back together again. She also "erected" (yes, that is the proper word) stone phyllus symbols all over Egypt as a reminder to everyone what part of Osiris was missing and which they were to be on the lookout for. More of that in Part D. Isis then asked the sun god Ra to bring him back to life for just one night of love making, which he did. The next day Osiris died again and was embalmed by Anubis becoming the world’s first mummy. Later Isis gave birth to a son named HORUS. Set turned himself into a snake and nearly killed Horus. So Isis and her son hid in the marshes until he was grown, whereupon Set once more tried to kill him. They fought for three days when Troth (the god of wisdom and all that good stuff) stopped the fight and took them both to the Underworld to the Court of Law. There it was found that Set was a liar and was sentenced to pulling "The Boat of Millions of Years" across the watery heavens forever. (I guess to the Egyptians, millions of years were equal to forever). Horus then ruled as king of Egypt. I have already shown you several versions as to how the first humans were made. Next I will try and pull all of these gods together and show how they all figure into the Underworld and what happens when humans go there at death. THE EGYPTIAN FUNERAL There were different places in Egypt that had "sacred lakes." Lake Acherusia near Memphis may have been the model for this custom. According to Diodorus there were judges or assessors who would determine the character of the deceased persons, and to determine the day of burial. This judgment took place on the shore of such a lake (the burial tombs being on the other side). Forty-two judges were appointed for this task. Anyone could then bring charges against the deceased person. If the judges deemed the person to be evil, he would be denied the journey across the lake for burial. If the accusations could not be substantiated, or if there were no witnesses against the deceased, then the relatives could eulogize their loved-one with praise, prayer and supplications to the gods of the underworld so as to have him received into the society of the blessed. The multitude assembled acclaimed him of excellent character and asked that he be joined into the regions of Amenti (the Hades of the Greeks). They would then put him into a boat and ferry him across the lake to his burial site or sepulcher. Should he be found guilty of evils in his life, however, he would be refused immediate transfer across the lake and would be taken to the home of the deceased and propped against the wall for a period of time during which prayers were offered (and of course a little money under the table for the priests to shorten this purgatory period). This, unfortunately, was not their only judgment. No, there’s more. Upon entering the Unde |