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=> Email to Ray => Topic started by: Craig on February 11, 2007, 12:33:32 PM
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Dear Jan:
Whenever I receive an email that starts off with, "I am ONLY 12 years old...13 years old...14 years old...15 years old..., etc. I immediately know that here is a person who is telling me how absolutely super intelligent and wise they think they are for being "ONLY 13 years old...." NOT. And sometimes 'me thinks' that it is not really the 12 year old that is addressing me, but the PARENTS of this 12 year old who think they will make me look like a Scriptural fool by a child. I may have been born at night, but NOT LAST NIGHT.
I will make a few COMMENTS in your email, although it is entirely too long, as I receive tens of thousands of emails:
I’m only thirteen and I happened to see a post for your site when doing bible work for school. Now please sir if you have any true Facts that hell is not real please e-mail me.( ) But also I have a question for you… If, as you say, hell is not real; why does the Bible worn us about it so much? Why does Jesus mention it so many of his parables? Why do you doubt the Word of God and question that it is wrong?
COMMENT: When you say "THE Bible" you mean your King James Bible or the NIV or some other Bible in the King James Family of Bibles, I am assuming? There are more than 2 or 3, 10 or 20, or even a hundred Bible Translations, and many of them do not use the word "hell" even once. Why do you think that is? It is because "hell" is a poor choice of words to translate many words that do not mean a "hell" at all.. Such words as sheol, hades, tartarus, and gehenna, are all translated into the one word "hell." But then sometimes these same words are translated, GeHenna, grave, and pit. Do you understand why this is. I do. Do you know all of the 65 places in the Old Tesament that sheol appears and why half are translated hell and half are translated grave? No, of course you don't, but you will prove me wrong on all of these things in just one email?
‘O you of little faith!’
“Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done.” Mathew 21:20-22
COMMENT: How is your faith doing, Jan? How many mountains and mountain ranges have YOU moved lately with YOUR faith?
I also read this;
Well, if there is no such thing as Hell, what does God SAVE us from? God saves us from sickness, disease.(I think a lot of godly people get sick and have disease. Hospitals and doctors wouldn’t be very busy if not.) He saves us from pain and suffering.(yet, family members die, there is pain and sorrow in sickness and disease) He saves us from stupidity and ignorance.(I’m sorry sir but I think he might have forgotten you.) He saves us from criminals and enemies.(War, Mugging, murders, abuse, thieves, a man from my church got mugged last week.) He saves us from famine and poverty.(there are so many families struggling with money, and so many countries struggling for food) He saves us from SIN AND DEATH! Have you NEVER read your Bible??(Have you!?!?!?!?!?!...”for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”!!!) Show me one Scripture that says God "saves us from hell" and I will send you a paper bag full of money! "For the wages of sin is DEATH (you for got a little bit of that verse. I’ll finish it for you… ”But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now why would that be considered a gift? Oh, because he’s saving us from hell so we can live in heaven with him! I see now! Do you?) (Rom. 6:23)--"DEATH"--not an eternity of torture in fire (If that’s all you think hell is than you don’t know half of it! It’s more like an everlasting death, a death that kills you everyday, and torturous death, the worst things possible! Being separated from your family and friends and loved ones!!! And wors t of all, you are separated from God!!!!!! That’s just about enough to die for. Hell is…well hell, not just torture in fire)!
COMMENT: You totally missed that one, Jan. We are not talking about what God saves us from IN THIS LIFE, but what He saves us from FOR ALL ETERNITY.
And found it very disturbing what you said! God does save us from an eternity in hell! Why would he have died such a painful death for us not to die when here we are dying anyway!?! You said he saved us from death..?
COMMENT: Yes, of course: "The last enemy destroyed [Gk: being abolished] IS DEATH" (I Cor. 15:26). Do you have problem with this verse?
Plus why would Revelation 20:15 Say that, “If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” If there is no hell?
COMMENT: No, the "lake of fire" is NOT HELL. The Lake of fire is Judgment, and "When Thy JUDGMENTS are in the earth, the inhabitants of THE WORLD WILL LEARN RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Isa. 26:9). I'll bet that that verse has never been quoted in the history of Sunday Schools.
You haven’t said that heaven doesn’t exist, right? So we’ll say heaven exists, I’m sure the Bible talks about that a lot (just as much a hell I would assume).
COMMENT: True, heaven is mentioned a lot, but NOWHERE is there one word about anyone ever "GOING to heaven." People do not "GO" to heaven when they die. When people die (get ready for a real revelation of Scriptures)
...when people die, THEY ARE DEAD. And the only way they will live again is in the "resurrection from THE DEAD."
But wait if there is a heaven for all the…godly people… where do all the other people go? They obviously die too but they wouldn’t be rewarded for their ungodliness with an eternity in paradise; that wouldn’t be right. So where do they go...? Hell?
COMMENT: According to the Scriptures DEAD PEOPLE DON'T "GO" ANYWHERE.
No, you have already said that there is no hell. But wait psalm 9:17 says,”The wicked shall be turned into hell, And all the nations that forget God.” Do you not see that I have a whole lot more evidence than you have about hell not being real…if you would like more…
COMMENT: No, Jan, remember that thing I told you above about, you now knowing anything about these words translated "hell" in the Old Testament. They are assuredly NOT turned into "hell," but they are turned into "sheol" which is the state of the dead, and that state is DEATH, not life at some other geographical location.
Matthew 5:22
Luke 16:23
Mark 9:45
Matthew 5:29
2 Peter 2:4
Matthew 5:30
Matthew 10:28
Luke 12:5
Matthew 25:41
Matthew 18:8
Revelation 20:14
If that is not enough please let me know. I only took a few that a found and about half them a already knew by heart.
COMMENT: No, Jan, that is not enough to prove that "hell" is an eternal pit of torture in fire. Sorry, not one of those Scriptures proves any such thing. Be sure to read my upcoming Installment on "HELL" Part D to be posted in my 'Lake of Fire' series. How long did it take your parents to find all of those Scripture verses?
God be with you,
Ray
And if you do happen to find any Facts of hell not existing please give a scriptural reference too (I’d like to know where I can find it.)
Please e-mail back sir. I hope you have a nice day! J