HELL Series by Chuck Criscopdf

New Heavens and New Earth, Hell?
WILL THE WORLD BE DESTROYED BY FIRE?
Chuck Crisco
December 19, 2014
A Whole New World: Wont the World Be Destroyed by Fire?
Dr. Chuck Crisco
We cant be living in the new heavens and new earth because the Bible teaches that the whole world
will be destroyed by fire first, right? Eh, thank God thats not true!
Let me explain. The Bible doesnt actually teach that there is an end of the world. Repeatedly we read
scriptures like:
Ephesians 3:21, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.
Amen.
God intends the church to glorify him through the ages of an unending world.
Isaiah 9:7, Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end
If there was an end of the world, how would his government and peace continue to increase?
Psalm 78:69, And He built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which He has established
forever.
Psalm 148:4-6, Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, And you waters above the heavens! Let them
praise the name of the Lord, For He commanded and they were created. He also established them
forever and ever; He made a decree which shall not pass away.
Ecclesiastes 1:4, One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides
forever.
When God speaks of the physical realm of the heavens and earth he says that they are decreed to be
established forever.
You may not know this, but God did not say he was going to destroy the entire planet by fire. In fact, the
judgment of fire was localized to the city of Jerusalem. More on that later.
Do we believe that God keeps his word? Im assuming that Im writing to people who already believe
that. This is an important realization: God promised to never destroy every living thing, therefore a
world-wide destruction of the earth by fire will never happen.
Genesis 8:21, And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, I will never again
curse the ground for mans sake, although the imagination of mans heart is evil from his youth; nor will
I again destroy every living thing as I have done.
This is Gods response after the Flood. It is the expression of his mercy, that even though there will still
be evil in the world and in the hearts of people in the future, he promises he will not curse the entire
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earth, nor destroy every creature in it again. As David Curtis suggests, this isnt a comparison between
methods of destruction. What kind of promise of mercy sounds like this: I will never flood the earth
again, but fire, yes, I will burn you up instead because of my great mercy for you!?
So where does this fire idea come from? Lets go verse by verse here in 2 Peter 3:
5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing
out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with
water.
Think carefully about what Peter just said. He said the world was destroyed in the flood. Yet here we are
and the world still exists. Apparently it wasnt the physical universe that was destroyed, right? Rather, it
was their world, the governing powers of that day. It was those in whom the only thoughts and
intentions of the heart were wickedness all the time, that were destroyed by the flood. It was their
world that perished, not the cosmos, not the physical matter of the planet.
7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until
the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
Remember in our previous study that the phrase heaven and earth beyond the creation account usually
referred to the old covenant that God made with Israel (Is 51:15,16) In the same way that the flood did
not destroy the literal earth, so too this fire was not going to destroy a literal heaven and earth, but the
old covenant heavens and earth. It was metaphor for Jerusalem and its government. Israels old world
was about to be destroyed.
In fact, this is exactly how it happened. After a 3 year siege of the city, Rome broke through, and as
they rushed to the temple a fire was started, even against the pleas of Titus, in the flurry and fury of
war, it began to blaze so hot that the gold melted off into the ground. Here is what Josephus records of
the terror:
While the Temple was ablaze, the attackers plundered it, and countless people who were caught by
them were slaughtered. There was no pity for age and no regard was accorded rank; children and old
men, laymen and priests, alike were butchered; every class was pursued and crushed in the grip of war,
whether they cried out for mercy or offered resistance.
Through the roar of the flames streaming far and wide, the groans of the falling victims were heard;
such was the height of the hill and the magnitude of the blazing pile that the entire city seemed to be
ablaze; and the noise - nothing more deafening and frightening could be imagined.
There were the war cries of the Roman legions as they swept onwards en masse, the yells of the rebels
encircled by fire and sword, the panic of the people who, cut off above, fled into the arms of the enemy,
and their shrieks as they met their fate. The cries on the hill blended with those of the multitudes in the
city below; and now many people who were exhausted and tongue-tied as a result of hunger, when they
beheld the Temple on fire, found strength once more to lament and wail. Peraea and the surrounding
hills, added their echoes to the deafening din. But more horrifying than the din were the sufferings.
The Temple Mount, everywhere enveloped in flames, seemed to be boiling over from its base; yet the
blood seemed more abundant than the flames and the numbers of the slain greater than those of the
slayers. The soldiers climbed over heaps of bodies as they chased the fugitives." (Josephus' account
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appears in: Cornfield, Gaalya ed., Josephus, The Jewish War (1982); Duruy, Victor, History of Rome vol. V
(1883).)
This was promised hundreds of years earlier by the prophet Malachi 4:
1 For behold, the day is coming, BURNING LIKE A FURNACE; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will
be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ABLAZE, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave
them neither root nor branch.
5 Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of
the Lord. 6 He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to
their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.
Who was this Elijah that would warn them once again? None other than John the Baptist who came in
the power and spirit of Elijah (Luke 1:17) in Mathew 3:
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them,
Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath soon to come?... 10 And even NOW the ax is
laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown
into the FIRE. 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is
mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and
FIRE. 12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and
gather His wheat into the barn; but He will BURN UP the chaff with unquenchable FIRE.
The fire is both imagery and literal and was to come upon apostate Jews as reaping what they had sown
in their violence as Jesus describes in Matthew 23:
31 Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the
prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers guilt.33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you
escape the condemnation of Gehenna?34 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and
scribes: some of them YOU WILL KILL AND CRUCIFY, and some of them you will scourge in your
synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on
the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you
murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Assuredly, I say to you, ALL these things will come upon
THIS generation.
Back to our text in 2 Peter 3:10, But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the
heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth
and the works that are in it will be burned up.
The thief in the night motif is one which Jesus (Matthew 24:43) and Paul (1 Thessalonians 5:2-5) both
remind us is in regard to the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem in their day, not ours. In
fact, both tell them to watch for the signs and be sober minded so that day doesn't catch the believers
by surprise.
But notice the word elements in this passage. We all tend to associate this word with the periodic
tables references to hydrogen or carbon. But this Greek word, stoicheia has nothing to do with such
things. It is a word that is used 7 times in the New Testament:
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Galatians 4:3, "Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:"
Galatians 4:9, "But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn
again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?
Colossians 2:8, "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception,
according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than
according to Christ. (NASB)
Colossians 2:20-22, If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if
you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,21 Do not handle, do not taste,
do not touch! 22 (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)in accordance with the
commandments and teachings of men? (NASB)
Hebrews 5:12, "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to
teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid
food."
In each case, the elements are described not as atoms, but as the basic principles of human religion, the
Law, or religious instruction. What was to burn up with fervent heat? The entire Old Covenant religious
system, the Law, the temple, the system of priesthood, the sacrifices everything that had to do with
the old covenant world melted with fervent heat that day.
Conclusion:
'13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which
righteousness dwells.
Peter, in his day, (present tense) in his lifetime, was looking for the new heavens and the new earth
based on the covenant of righteousness. He knew the promise was near to him. We get to look back on
this event, while Peter was looking forward to the removal of the persecuting Jewish religious system
being replaced with the new heavens and the new earth. It is the new covenant in fullness.
Will the earth be destroyed by fire? Never! This is Gods promise to us as we live in the new heavens and
new earth in the covenant of everlasting righteousness.
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Grace, General Eschatology, Hell?
ONLY A FEW WILL BE SAVED?
Chuck Crisco
April 10, 2015
Shocking perspective?!! Did Jesus lie when he said that the gospel was only for a very few?
Matthew 7:13-14, "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that
leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is
narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
There are few who find it? This passage seems to set a nearly hopeless tone for the future, dont you
think? A guy on Facebook recently said that there are only about 2% of the people in the world who are
really saved and that the scriptures confirm that we can only expect this since there are few who find
it.
Is this really what Jesus intended? Are we urged to reach the whole world, but at the same time to
expect meager results?
CONFLICTING SCRIPTURES?
Let the weight of these expansive, inclusive, extraordinary scriptures settle into your heart. Let them
speak for themselves:
Ps. 86:9, ALL nations whom you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall
glorify your name.
Ps. 65: 2, Oh, You that hears prayer, unto you shall ALL flesh come.
Ps. 22: 27, ALL the ends of the earth shall remember and TURN unto the Lord; and ALL the kindreds of
the nations shall worship before you.
Isa. 45:22-25, Look unto me and be you saved, ALL the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is
none else. I have SWORN by myself; the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not
return, that unto me EVERY knee shall bow, EVERY tongue shall swear, surely shall say: "In the Lord
have I RIGHTEOUSNESS and strength."
These scriptures indicate a dramatic difference in the words of Jesus. So which is it? Will there be
unprecedented bowed knees, allegiant families, and saved nations? Or will there only be a few people
over history that are saved? Did Jesus lie?
WHO ARE THE FEW WHO FIND IT?
So what did Jesus mean that there would only be few who find it? This saying has an historical-cultural
referent. Some tend to dismiss the Bible because of seeming shocking contradictions, but a closer
examination of the historical context will clarify this (and every) passage.
Jesus is referring to the remnant of Israel that would be saved before the final destruction of the city,
the temple, the priesthood and the entire Jewish system. In the overall picture only a few would find it
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compared to the nation as a whole. This was a promise of hope that in the midst of the final judgment of
the nation (Deut. 32) there would be a remnant (a few who would find the gospel, the narrow path, and
the small gate.)
There is a path of destruction that most of them would take in killing Jesus, his prophets, and his saints
(Mat. 23:34-36), but the destruction that would come on that generation wasnt without hope. A
remnant (a few) would be saved from that destruction by trusting in Christ and fleeing the city when the
Roman armies approached (Mat. 24:17-22).
This remnant was also called the first-fruits by James and John, while Paul quotes OT scriptures to
declare that those remnant scriptures were being fulfilled in his day. In fact, Romans 11 is devoted to
quoting remnant passages leading up to Pauls grand declaration that all Israel would be saved. In
what way? The context reveals that it is all the true Israel (Rom. 9:6-9), who were by faith trusting in
Christ (Gal. 3:7). The all Israel he is referring to are all of the promised remnant, not all of the entire
nation:
Isaiah 1:9, "Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small REMNANT, we should have been as
Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah."
Isaiah 37:31, "And the REMNANT that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root
downward, and bear fruit upward..."
Isaiah 37:32, "For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a REMNANT, and they that escape out of mount Zion:
the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this."
Pay particular attention to this one which is almost identical to the above passage in Isaiah and from
which Peter quotes and applies to his day on the Day of Pentecost: Joel 2:32, "And it shall come to pass,
that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in
Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the REMNANT whom the Lord shall call."
Isaiah 11:11, 16, It shall come to pass in that day That the Lord shall set His hand again the second
time To recover the REMNANT of His people who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and
Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the seaThere will be a highway for the
remnant of His people Who will be left from Assyria, As it was for Israel In the day that he came up
from the land of Egypt.
Romans 9:27-29, "Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel:

Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea,
THE REMNANT WILL BE SAVED.
For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness,
Because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth.
And as Isaiah said before:
Unless the LORD of Sabaoth had left us a seed [REMNANT],
We would have become like Sodom,
And we would have been made like Gomorrah.
Romans 11:5, Even so then, at this PRESENT TIME there is a REMNANT according to the election of
grace.
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As you can see, James calls them firstfruits from the remnant of the 12 tribes being saved in his
generation before the Day of the Lord in AD 70. There can only be one first-fruits therefore Revelations
144,000 from the 12 tribes is symbolic of the few who find it remnant as well.
James 1:1, 18, "James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the TWELVE TRIBES tribes
which are scattered abroad: Greetings...Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that
we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures."
Revelation 14:4, These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are
the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being
firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
CONCLUSION:
Therefore, Jesus words regarding the many who follow the path of destruction and the few who find
the narrow path and gate, is historically the remnant of the Old Covenant people who put their faith in
Christ before the destruction of the city and the entirety of the Old Covenant system.
The expectation of who can/will receive Christ is enormous! Preach, teach, and share the good news!
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General Eschatology, Hell?
MEN WHO STARE AT (SHEEP) AND GOATS: IS THIS JUDGMENT PAST?
Chuck Crisco
November 16, 2015
Sheep and goats are apparently in vogue again, if movie titles are any indication. Whether it is Shaun the
Sheep in his debut CG movie, or the horror movie, "Black Sheep: There are 40 Million Sheep in New
Zealand and They're Pissed Off!" sheep and goats are becoming center stage. Let's not forget George
Clooney's not-so-break-away hit, "Men Who Stare at Goats." Clooney's character is a psychic working for
the government who can causes goats to pass out by using his powers. And when I hear the common
interpretation of the Sheep and the Goats parable of Jesus, I want to pass out too.
No goats. No glory. Lol.
I realize that the sheep and goats images are deeply implanted into our Christian
culture, so all I ask is that you keep an open mind.
The common modern interpretation is that this story is Jesus' description of the
final judgment where all the world is brought before the throne for judgment
and some go to hell, while others go to heaven. But there are so many problems
with that view its just baaaad theology. (Sorry, lol)
CONTEXT IS KING
In the art of biblical interpretation, it is said that context is king. Actually Jesus is king and the entirety of
scripture should be viewed through his lens. Nevertheless, it is true that understanding the original
audience, and the context is paramount to interpreting the meaning. In the case of the sheep and the
goats it's no different. It's important to remember, then, that the Bible wasn't written TO us, it was
simply gathered and sustained as letters FOR us.
Jesus begins this sermon called the Olivet discourse in chapter 23 where he scolds the religious leaders
as the Great Prophet and predicts their demise for murdering the saints, and thereby, he says, incurring
the self-inflicted wrath of Rome.
Matthew 23:34, Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will
kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city,
35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel
to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
At the disciples request, he explains to them that the temple will be destroyed, that there will be
persecution which they must endure until the end when he comes in the clouds with judgment. He also
tells them what kind of signs will precede this event so that they can be fully aware and alert for this
event so as to flee the city when the Romans march toward it.
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One argument raised against Matthew 25's sheep and goats story is that it is a different event, but
remember there are no chapter headings. This is one unified sermon filled with various illustrations to
impact them regarding its fulfillment.
While many scholars admit that Matthew 24 is a description of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70,
Matthew 25 presents us with the language of delay, therefore we are told it is an end of the world
scenario instead. But the problem of delay is no problem at all actually. The bridegroom's delay isn't
eternal, nor is it 2000 years. Rather he came to THEM in the midnight hour. So too the servants who
were given the talents were confronted with the master returning after a long time, but it was to the
SAME servants, i.e., in their lifetime.
Forty years SEEMS like a long time (one generation). So much so that Peter (2 Peter 3:4) addresses this
because the scoffers in his day are saying "where is the promise of his coming?!" Therefore he urges
patience because God is not willing that any perish in the coming sufferings on the city and religious
system. Of special note is this: if his coming were to be 2000 years later all Peter needed to say
is "what do you mean? Didn't you know his coming is several thousand years in the future?" Words of
course that never came from his lips.
JUDGE FOR YOURSELF
Probably no teaching has seeped, like sepsis, into our culture more than the idea of a future judgment.
What a confusing idea to impose over this text.
1. Is this a corporate judgment where entire nations themselves are sent to heaven or hell?
2. Or is it that we wait as departed souls till the end of time in heaven as a believer and then emerge
from heaven's bliss to be judged and sent back, but this time with rewards?
3. Or the other version of this parable where the last generation of nations of people are judged based
on how they treated the Jews (or Christians depending on what version you have heard)?
So nations will be judged based on works? Yet nations are made up of people, so that would mean there
are two ways of salvation would it not? One by works based on our response to taking care of the poor
and then entering into the bliss of an eternal reward, and one based on faith in the righteousness of
Christ taught by Paul and affirmed by the Protestant Reformation?
Wouldn't it make more sense if he is speaking of the apostate Jews who instead of serving the least of
these "my brethren" the believing Jews, they were killing them and imprisoning them instead. This is
exactly what was happening in that day, Saul of Tarsus being one of the chief persecutors!
What if this judgment, often referred to as THE judgment, was based on covenant eschatology, i.e. the
end time of the old covenant, Judah's judgment? Wouldn't that make more sense? Peter was very
adamant to describe the timing of this event. He said, "they will give an account to Him who is READY
to judge the living and the dead...But the end of ALL THINGS is at hand...For the TIME has come for
THE judgment to begin at the house of God..." (2 Peter 4:5,7,17).
This was nothing new in terms of expectation. All eschatology is Jewish covenant eschatology. Plus, not
only did Jesus affirm it was coming in that generation (Mt 23), but it was a promise reaching all the way
back to Genesis 49:1,10 when Jacob prophesied what would happen to his children/seed "in the last
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days" when the scepter/kingdom would be removed from Judah! Indeed, it was the judgment of the
Law (Deut. 32).
Daniel prophesied the same event in chapter 12 as occurring for times, time and half a time (3 1/2 years-
the length of the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans) and when the power of the holy people were
shattered (the Law and city).
In order to make certain they understood the timing would be in THEIR LIFETIME, Jesus said, "For the
Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father, with his angels and reward each man according to his
deeds. Assuredly I say to you there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the
Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
He said some of them would still be alive at this judgment which is according to deeds (Law). But pay
particular attention to the elements of this event in that generation. Is this not the same as Matthew
25:31 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on
the throne of His glory." Anyone with an honest heart must acknowledge they are the same.
Too, we often forget the meaning of the word judgment. Typically we ascribe to it the meaning of
punishment, and while some form of self-inflicted punishment/justice often does happen (Romans 1),
the word itself, krino, means to separate.
What was being separated? The metaphors of the 10 virgins, the wheat and the tares, the sheep and the
goats... were all being separated as describing who were true Jews (of faith; Galatians 3:7), and who
were the apostate murderers of Jesus and the saints. Jesus described those apostates as a generation
worse than Sodom (Mt. 10:15), or Nineveh (Mt 12:41). Paul notes the wrath of God was nothing more
than simply handing them over to the Romans (Romans 1).
All this metaphor and apocalyptic language was common in the prophetic history of Israel and
was fulfilled in AD 66-70 when Rome came against the city ending in a complete, catastrophic
destruction of Jerusalem as a covenant city. Those who trusted Christ's words fled at the sight of the
approaching Romans and were saved from that wrath. Indeed Judah chose the Law's eye for an eye and
tooth for a tooth, rather than the mercy of God extended to everyone who would believe and escape!
WHO ARE THE NATIONS?
Wait a minute! Jesus said these are the "nations" being judged. Certainly this becomes prima facie
evidence that this was a world-wide event that he is describing right? Not really.
Consider this:
1. The separation metaphor throughout Matthew 23-25 was specific to the Jews. This is true in other
parables (Mt 13) as well as the words of John the Baptist himself (Mt. 3:12).
2. As I mentioned earlier, the apostate Jews are identified as having completely broken covenant and
now are no different than the pagan nations. They are called Egypt (Gal. 4, Rev. 11:8), Babylon (1 Peter
5:13), Sodom (Rev. 11:8), and Nineveh (Mt 12:41). That alone is significant and sufficient, but there is
scholarship that demonstrates how many of the "Jews" of Judah were Edomites as well.
It was the time in covenant history where the followers of Christ are already being called a "holy nation"
by comparison. Do you see?
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In addition, there are even several references where the Jews are included as a "nation", using the same
language usually associated with the pagan people groups in contrast to themselves. But in these
passages the word is applied to Jews: Luke 7:5, 23:2, John 11:48, 50-53; 18:35; Acts 10:22; Acts 24:2.
Imagine the shock on the faces of those who claimed to be the true sheep, only to discover they were
goats instead!
Jesus separating people at the Last Judgement, by Fra Angelico, 1432-1435.
TO HELL WITH THE DEVIL!
Ok, but that doesn't answer the more pertinent question. This seems like a heaven or hell passage
doesn't it? This trips people up more than anything else because we are unfamiliar with this eastern
language and we misunderstand the meaning of the kingdom by believing it to be a synonym for going
to heaven.
The kingdom belongs to an age in which Jesus would rule from righteousness. Jesus came announcing
the new era of the kingdom saying it was near, at hand and already present in seed form in the person
of Christ. By trusting the anointed king, they entered into relationship with him and his kingdom before
it had fully manifest. Daniel 7:14,27 says a period of history was coming in which the everlasting
kingdom would begin. Jesus said it began in his day being established in AD70 (Mt 16:27-28). One
without religious Law/righteousness clouding its governance. Isaiah 9:7 prophesied that it would be a
kingdom that would ever increase in its attendant peace for time without end. But the establishment of
that kingdom era would not begin until the end of the old covenant age in AD 70.
To enter the kingdom, was to enter into the new era of history, an eternal age of grace! Not heaven!
When Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you", if you look closely it means, "the kingdom of God
is among you" or "in your midst", i.e. in the person of Christ. Yes of course the converted heart who
receives Christ today experiences the kingdom, but don't get the two things confused.
Where debate is fierce is regarding the word aionios! There is not enough space to fully "vet" this word,
but please note the following facts:
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1. The word is not the equivalent to our English word, eternal (without beginning or end). It is often
used in the Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures (LXX) to translate "olam", a Hebrew word often
translated "forever". The problem is that the priesthood of Aaron was described as an eternal, olam,
aionios, priesthood. Yet that priesthood ended at the end of the Old Covenant age and the introduction
to Christ as the priest after the order of Melchizedek. (see Her Gates are Never Shut, by Brad Jersak)
2. Young's Literal Translation of the word aionios, is "age-enduring" because it has time limitations
depending on what it modifies. When it modifies God, it means what we think of as eternal. But
modifying all else it is of a limited duration.
In this case it joins the language of fire and speaks of the age-enduring fire at the end of the old
covenant age. Jerusalem, as we know from the testimony of history burned to the ground with all those
within her walls, then temple itself, and their bodies were burned in the valley of Hinnom (Ge-Henna).
But what about Jesus' words about it being "prepared for the devil and his angels"? To touch this is to
raise the ire of "dyed in the wool" (pun intended) sheep who cut their teeth on hell-fire and brimstone
preaching. They fear that to interpret these passages differently than they were taught is akin to
rejecting God himself and twisting the scriptures to our own destruction. They are understandably
extremely loyal to the images written on their hearts by the fiery preaching of prior generations. But the
nature of metaphor and apocalyptic language (sheep, goats, etc) is baptized in symbolism and
exaggerated language on purpose. To catch the attention of that generation not this!
The word "devil", diabollos, means slanderer, and accuser. While angels literally mean messengers,
which can be spiritual in form, or people who bring a message. Most of us fail to see the connection
between the Law and the devil. The Law was the accuser and had no power to make us holy according
to Paul, because it could only condemn us. Who were the angels/messengers of the Law? The Pharisees,
Sadducees, Zealots, and others.
The Law and its system of organized religion found expression beyond Jerusalem in the synagogues,
which Jesus called "synagogues of Satan" (Rev. 2:9, 3:9).
Just like Jesus looked at Peter and said, "Get thee behind me Satan", as Peter was speaking from the
realm of flesh, so too the devil and his angels are words to represent the Law and the religious system
and its leadership.
To make it even clearer, Jesus said that his ministry of casting out demons would be for naught, in that
those who rejected his work would be seven times worse off in THAT generation:
43 When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds
none. 44 Then he says, I will return to my house from which I came. And when he comes, he finds it
empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked
than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. SO
SHALL IT ALSO BE with THIS wicked generation.(Mt 12)
So Jerusalem was the place which was the epitome of man-made religion, that created accusation
instead of communion, and that place which would burn in an end of the age fire as a monument
"forever" of the fruit of religion. It would stand as an event testifying of the self-destructive power of
religion which only produces death and accusation.
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Here is an actual eye-witness, the historian Josephus. Notice the wailing in the terrible fire for those who
refused to listen to Jesus' words and flee the city when they saw the Roman armies approaching (Mt.
24). Josephus records,
men, laymen and priests, alike were butchered; every class was pursued and crushed in the grip of
war, whether they cried out for mercy or offered resistance.
such was the height of the hill and the magnitude of the blazing pile that the entire city seemed to be
ablaze; and the noise nothing more deafening and frightening could be imagined.
encircled by fire and sword, the panic of the people who, cut off above, fled into the arms of the
enemy, and their shrieks as they met their fate. The cries on the hill blended with those of the
multitudes in the city below; and now many people who were exhausted and tongue-tied as a result of
hunger, when they beheld the Temple on fire, found strength once more to lament and wail.
(1883).)
Again-
Among the tragic events that at this time occurred, the following is more particularly deserving of
notice: A false prophet, pretending to be a divine commission, said that if the people would flee to the
Temple, they should behold signs of their speedy deliverance. Accordingly, about six thousand people,
chiefly women and children, assembled in a gallery that was yet standing, on the outside of the
building. While they waited in anxious expectation of the promised miracle, the Romans, with the
most wanton barbarity, set fire to the gallery. Multitudes, rendered frantic by their horrible situation,
threw themselves from the gallery onto the ruins below and were killed by the fall. Meanwhile, awful
to relate, the rest, without a single exception, perished in the flames. (Welton, Jonathan (2013-11-01).
Raptureless: An Optimistic Guide to the End of the World - Revised Edition Including The Art of
Revelation (Kindle Locations 1380-1385). BookBaby. Kindle Edition.)
CONCLUSION:
Would you prayerfully, and honestly reflect on this passage, rather than reacting because it differs with
what you have been taught? This passage has nothing to do with "hell" or "final end time judgment".
You would have to find that somewhere else.
We live in a new era of history where the kingdom rules in increasing influence and measure. We look
back on the saints of that day honoring those who passed through the fires of persecution, avoided the
fires of Jerusalem, and entered into the single covenant age of the kingdom of God marked by the
delight of God. This is a kingdom that has been advancing ever so slightly for 2000 years. With turmoil in
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the world, what the world needs are sheep on fire with hope and confidence in an optimistic kingdom.
Will you be one of those?
Interested in more optimistic gospel teaching? SIGN UP for this blog and receive a FREE copy of Jesus'
Optimistic Kingdom Bible Study! Just look for the RED ARROW and the sign up. It will instantly appear as
a PDF download so watch for it.
Tagged: The Sheep and the Goats, eschatology, eschatology parables, Matthew 23:35-36, Matthew 25, 2
Peter 3:4, 2 Peter 4:5, 2 Peter 4:7, 2 Peter 4:17, The Judgment, Matthew 25:31, krino, who are the
nations, the devil, eternal life, eternal damnation, aionios, olam, Revelation 2:9, Revelation
3:9, Matthew 12:41-45, Josephus, fires of Jerusalem
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ABIDE IN THE VINE OR GO TO HELL?
Chuck Crisco
January 21, 2016
Did Jesus threaten to throw you into the fires of hell if you don't abide in the vine? Abide in the vine or
go to hell! Stay "in Christ" or burn?
Did you put yourself in Christ to begin with? 1 Corinthians 1:30 says, "It is because of him that you are
in Christ Jesus..."
Hell seems to be the implication of John 15:1-6 if we don't understand it. Many Christians and
unfortunately pastors too, have misinterpreted this passage and placed a weight of fear on believers
that they were never intended to carry.
I've also heard recently that "prophets" are saying that the Church in 2016 is going to be pruned by the
Lord (as if that is some "new" thing the Lord is doing this year... lol).
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He
takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are
already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the
branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for
without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is
withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
God Does Not Cut Off Branches... He Lifts Them Up by Grace!
For some sad reason translators stubbornly continue to give us a terrible translation as "Every branch
that does not bear fruit He takes away (or cuts off)". The Greek word here means to "raise up, take up,
lift." It is the same word used to describe taking up stones, taking up serpents, taking up ones bed to
walk, God bearing up Jesus, and many more.
This is not a threat, but a promise of grace! Do you remember when Peter was sinking after turning his
eyes away from Jesus while walking on water? He wasn't bearing much water-walking fruit. If Jesus was
going to cut him off, all he needed to do was let him drown. But he didn't. He reached out, took Peter by
the hand and lifted him up.
If you ever find yourself in a place that where all you have is a mustard seed of faith to cry out... "Lord
save me from this mess." God will lift you up!
In the vineyard, when a branch, like a bruised reed, fell to the ground, the vine-keeper would lift it up
and tie it to the whole so that it could bear fruit again.
God's Pruning is By Grace
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So many good things could be said about this that it would take a whole book. Remember he is speaking
to fruitful disciples that the Vine-dresser would prune them and they would bear more fruit.
There is nothing about this that involves God bringing hardship, pain or sickness into our lives in order to
teach us a lesson. Instead, pruning involves areas on the branches that are suckers. Those parts of the
branch that are drawing a lot of the sap, but not going to produce fruit.
It means that there are beliefs in our lives that are not producing fruit, and by grace he will remove
those false, limiting beliefs. How? Looking unto Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith. The Father,
the vine-dresser will put his hands on our face, look into our eyes and turn us to see who Jesus is and
who we are IN HIM. From that place, we are transformed from glory to glory by beholding the glory of
the Lord. Our heart beliefs change and consequently our lives change.
Remember it is called the fruit of the SPIRIT! Not yours.
It is those "high things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God" that God will remove by
revealing himself and the finished work of Christ to us. So the only pain of being pruned is the pain of
giving up old beliefs that aren't consistent with knowing God. While giving up old beliefs may hurt, it
never harms.
God Gave the Jews 40 Years of Grace Before the Fire
If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and
throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
Notice that the implication here is that they did not abide, and only then do they experience the fire.
There are several important questions to be answered here. One, is this passage for all time. Two, who
are the ones who did not abide? Three, what is the fire?
One of the most neglected truths in the pulpits today is the importance of the destruction of Jerusalem
in AD 70 as the interpretive key for passages like this. I asked our congregation once, "do we really think
that the Son of God would come who loves not only us, but those living in his day, and be completely
silent about his knowledge of the destructive, self-imposed end of the old covenant age where 1.3 million
people were going to die?" Can we imagine Jesus being silent about what would happen in exactly 40
years from his death on the cross? Of course not. The NC writers speak of it on nearly every page.
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Abiding in the vine meant staying a follower of Christ, instead of (uniquely those Jews) returning to the
Law. It is not staying "in Christ." Let me ask again, did you put yourself in Christ to begin with? 1
Corinthians 1:30 says, "It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus..."
This is particularly true when we understand the warnings about apostasy for the Jews in HIS DAY:
Matthew 24:10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound,
the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no
longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery
indignation which will devour the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has rejected Moses law dies without
mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you
suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of
the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we
know Him who said, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord. And again, The Lord will judge
His people. 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
This is written to Jews who were tempted to go back under the Law and commit the sin of apostasy. To
go back under the Law, was to go to a covenant in which there was no sacrifice for sins since Christ had
come. Yet, the full measure of the promises of the Law still had to be played out. He quotes directly
from the Law (Deuteronomy) to the Jews who wanted to go back UNDER the Law and warning them
that there was nothing but judgment... the destruction of the city of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70.
Why were there warnings? Because the destruction of the city would come with fire.
Isaiah 4:4 warned of the fire saying, "The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will
cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire." By the way, what
blood stains would Jerusalem be cleansed of? Jesus words in Matthew 23 are clear:
34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and
crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you
will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the
blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I
tell you, all this will come on THIS generation.
John the Baptist also spoke of the fires of 70 AD saying,
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said
to them: You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in
keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, We have Abraham as our
father. I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is ALREADY
AT THE ROOT of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and
thrown INTO THE FIRE. (Same type of language)...12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will
clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with
unquenchable FIRE.
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The branch thrown into the fire? That has nothing to do with "hell". It describes the final judgment that
came from the Law, one that caused Jesus to weep over Jerusalem.
After a 3 year siege of the city, Rome broke through, and as they rushed to the temple a fire was
started, even against the pleas of Titus, in the flurry and fury of war, it began to blaze so hot that the
gold melted off into the ground. Here is what Josephus records of the terror:
While the Temple was ablaze, the attackers plundered it, and countless people who were caught by them
were slaughtered. There was no pity for age and no regard was accorded rank; children and old men,
laymen and priests, alike were butchered; every class was pursued and crushed in the grip of war,
Through the roar of the flames streaming far and wide, the groans of the falling victims were heard; such
was the height of the hill and the magnitude of the blazing pile that the entire city seemed to be ablaze;
and the noise - nothing more deafening and frightening could be imagined.
encircled by fire and sword, the panic of the people who, cut off above, fled into the arms of the enemy,
and their shrieks as they met their fate. The cries on the hill blended with those of the multitudes in the
city below; and now many people who were exhausted and tongue-tied as a result of hunger, when they
beheld the Temple on fire, found strength once more to lament and wail. Peraea and the surrounding
hills, added their echoes to the deafening din. But more horrifying than the din were the sufferings.
(1883).)
If one doesn't see the historical and contextual evidence for what Jesus is saying, then the interpretation
of this passage is that unless you, by your own effort, stay connected to Christ, then you are doomed for
hell. This passage was never about "hell". It was about Jews going back into the very system that was
about to crash and burn.
Instead, God has laid hold of you so that ALL were included in Christ's work on the cross. As Young's
Literal Translation says, Romans 5:18, "So, then, as through one offence to ALL men [it is] to
condemnation, so also through one declaration of `Righteous' [it is] to ALL men to justification of
life." Through Adam all were brought into condemnation. But all were set right with God through the
one act of Christ.
Our job is to proclaim that good NEWS and allow the Holy Spirit to awaken FAITH in them. (For more on
this see my messages You Were Born Into Grace And Spiritual Myth-Busters: Separation from God?) I
also highly recommend Why "It is Finished" was Finished in AD 70.
Inevitably someone is going to ask, "What if a Christian today apostatizes from the faith?" That would
have to be addressed another time, but what we do know is that the Law doesn't exist anymore,
therefore I would suggest reading The Justice of God: Punishing or Restoring?
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EXPOSING THE "DEPART FROM ME" MYTH OF MATTHEW 7:21-23
Chuck Crisco
January 27, 2016
21 Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does
the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? 23
And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice
lawlessness! (Matthew 7)
This has to be one of the most confusing, fearful passages in the New Testament. It is used to scare the
"hell" out of saints, and used as a threat against charismatics of all kinds. Some have gone so far to say
that any gifts of the Spirit today would actually be demonic and rejected by God. But what does it really
mean? Is Jesus talking about going to heaven? Is he saying that only those who perfectly do God's will,
are permitted go to heaven? Is this a works salvation after all?
This article will expose the modern myth that this is a passage about hell or conditional work's salvation.
So call all your friends, grab the popcorn, put on your 3D imagination and let's get started...
The Myth of Entering Heaven:
I discussed this in my free Bible study download (look for the red arrow), but in case you missed it,
Matthew was written to a Jewish audience. It is packed with quotes from the Hebrew Bible and the
genealogy of Jesus is tied to Abraham and David. More importantly for this discussion, it uses the term
kingdom of "heaven" instead of kingdom of "God" which is found in the very same parallel verses of
other Gospels. It was Matthew's way of honoring Jewish thought in which they feared that saying the
name of God might violate the commandment to not take the name of the Lord in vain. Hence, kingdom
of heaven.
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Because of that confusion about one word, many uneducated hell-fire preachers taught this verse from
a very unbiblical and erroneous perspective, thereby making "going to heaven" conditional upon our
perfectly doing the will of God.
Jesus said, "only he who does the will of my Father in heaven." So what was the will of God? "Jesus
answered, 'What God wants you to do is to believe in the one he sent' (John 6:29-GNT).
So what did the Jews expect? What was the kingdom of God? It would be the time in history that God
would rule through his king Jesus from his throne forever. As the Christmas song says, "he rules the
world with truth and grace". It would be a never ending, always increasing kingdom (Is. 9:7). Yes, it was
already present in the person of Christ, but according to Jesus it would be rooted at the same time the
earthly kingdom of Judah was removed (Genesis 49), after the cross, and yet while some of the disciples
were still alive (AD 70- see Matthew 16:27-28).
So depart from me, has nothing to do with heaven or hell. It has everything to do with the day of
judgment in AD 70. Some would enter the age of the kingdom, while those who rejected Christ would
stay in the city of Jerusalem, ignore the words of Jesus, refuse to trust him, and end up in that horrible
destruction.
The truth is that heaven is not your home (yes we are citizens of heaven), but home is in a family, where
you were brought to sit in Christ among Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Yes there is a heavenly realm, but
the gospel was never about going to heaven when we die. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life... no
one comes to the FATHER except through me. It has always been he is the way to the Father and that
relationship. Entering the kingdom was always about entering the kingdom age, which was unique to
that era before AD 70, not about "heaven".
Who is Jesus Speaking To?
Here is the major controversy in the NT. It runs through just about every page. Who were the true sons
of God... those under the Law covenant or those under this New Covenant of grace? That is the real
issue because those under the Law who were without faith claimed that covenant was the only true
one, while Jesus was saying seek first the kingdom of God and HIS righteousness. During that 40 year
overlap between the end of the old and the establishment of the kingdom in AD 70 was an invitation to
separate themselves from a covenant in which God was bringing to its final destination.
Jesus called those who were not trusting in what the Law pointed to (Jesus) as the sons of the devil
(John 8:44). Paul calls them "sons of disobedience" (Eph. 5:6). And in Revelation 3:9-10 Jesus
says, "Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie-
indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you." They
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say they are Jews but are not. They are part of what Jesus now calls synagogues of Satan. And Jesus was
going to reveal who the true Jews were.
Who were the true Jews? Here is what Paul said,
Romans 4:12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who
also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.
Romans 4:16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be
sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of
Abraham, who is the father of us all
Galatians 3:7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.
Israel claimed to be the exclusive people of God, appealing to the covenant, the promises, circumcision,
Jerusalem the holy city, and Moses. While Jesus comes along and includes everyone, Jew and Gentile,
slave and free, male and female in Christ. Paul said the true Jews were those who were of faith... they
were true to the faith of Abraham, whose city was the Jerusalem above, whose circumcision was of the
heart. Many Jews were clinging to being sons of the Law instead of true sons of God by faith in Christ.
It was Jesus who said, "The sons of the kingdom will be cast out" and "the kingdom will be given to
another nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." (Mat. 8:11f; 21:43)
That is why 1 Peter 4:17 said, "For the time HAS COME for THE (Greek) judgment to begin at the house
of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of
God?" Notice it is time for THE judgment to begin in the house of God. The word judgment means
separation or distinguishing between the house of God. The house of God wasn't a church building, but
which covenant was the "family"... the Law or Grace, the sons of flesh, or the work of Christ in the
Spirit.
Paul, in fact, was waiting for the remnant to be revealed. Those would be the promised remnant that
God would save before the destruction of the city. Paul said, "For the creation waits in eager
expectation for the children of God to be revealed" (Rom. 8:19). (For more on the new creation)
So while the work of Christ brought them ALL into the family... the Jews had to decide if they would
remain as sons of the Law and be ruined by the destruction of Jerusalem and its old covenant. Or would
the remnant Jews by faith manifest their sonship in the New.
Lawless Miracle Workers?
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Those who practice lawlessness also operated in miracles, but ... this can never be future because the
Law ceased to exist by AD 70. Lawlessness is a technical term that can only apply to those under the
covenant of Law (Israel-Judah). (We Gentiles were never even a part of that covenant). When the Law
covenant met its demise in AD 70, there has not technically been a lawless person regarding covenant
since that time.
But did you know that there were Jews who did miracles, and prophesied before the coming of Christ?
There are many recorded stories, but let me just quickly point to a few. When we read the opening
chapters of Luke 2:36-38 we find a woman named Anna, who was already known as a prophetess
BEFORE the Christ was born (The whole idea of there being no miracles in the inter-testamental period
isn't true.)
Then, "John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we
tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us." But Jesus said to him, "Do not hinder
him; for he who is not against you is for you." (Luke 9:49-50)
And of course there was this incident in Acts 19:
3 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord
Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches. 14
Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered
and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?
While I don't have the space to deal with this particular one, remember Jesus said, "If you deny me
before men, I will deny you." That means they were already accepted first. The inevitable truth is that
ALL were included in the work of the cross. In fact, how could their names be blotted out, if they weren't
there to begin with. Yet, he says he never knew them... seems like quite the paradox right? That
generation of Law-Jews were given for 40 years to believe in their identity and let go of the Law, but
many continued to "practice lawlessness".
Therefore, nothing about this passage applies to us today. He was warning THEM that a storm was
coming and if they built their house on the rock of what he was teaching them about himself, then the
storm of AD 70 would not destroy their lives.
My friends, DO NOT FEAR. The will of God is for you to believe in the Son, in the age of the increasing
kingdom that we live in, in hope for the world, and the good news of the gospel.
If you haven't read any of my other articles, I encourage you to check these out in particular:
Men Who Stare at Sheep (and Goats): Is This Judgment Past?
You Were Born Into Grace
Why "It is Finished" was Finished in AD 70
How the Law Created God in Our Image
Spiritual MythBusters: Separation from God?
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Hell?
HELL NO, WE WON'T GO! THE PARABLE OF THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS
Chuck Crisco
October 5, 2016
Hell No, We Wont Go!
Luke 16:19-3122"Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom;
and the rich man also died and was buried. 23"In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and
saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. 24"And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham,
have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my
tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.'"
Introduction: Is This Story About Hell?
It talks about a great gulf between heaven and hell right, which no one can cross? The rich man is in a
place of torment where the flames seem to burn him. Certainly this is a story that God torments people
for eternity with flames of fire right?
Except that there are elements around this story that teach us that this story has zero to do with an
idea called hell. Not one thing in the story is about eternal conscious torment of sinners because if this is
a story about hell, then it means salvation has nothing to do with Jesus, the cross, the death, burial and
resurrection of Christ (the same with Mt 25, Sheep and Goats did you visit those in prison, clothe the
naked?) or any such thing. It would mean that people go to heaven by giving to the poor, and they go to
hell because they didnt give a big enough offering to a mission in Africa. That is the absolute implication
if we are to take this as a literal story.
In fact, God isn't even in the story itself at all!
Plus, if this was literal then do we think that when we get to heaven that everyone is going to lay on
the chest of Abraham instead of Jesus? Bosom buddies with Abraham, not Jesus? (see Putting Hell Back
in the Basket, by Brazen Church)
And do we think that we will SEE our loved ones in hell and talk to them, yet we are going to call that
heaven? You're going to eternally see your mom or grandmother or a child that died at 16 years old in a
car wreck and be filled with joy?
And if Hades has been destroyed in AD 70, as we preterists believe, then it wouldnt apply to us
anyway!
II. A Parable of the Kingdom:
In reality, this is a parable. So then what is this story really about? This is a story about role reversals,
about the age of the kingdom that Jesus was ushering in, and about the Pharisees. It's a story about
INCLUSION.
So first of all Abrahams bosom. Can anyone tell me another scripture where this phrase is used? You
wont be able to because there are none. This is the only place in the entirety of the Old and New
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testament scriptures where this phrase is used. So churches have built entire doctrines on a phrase that
neither Jesus, nor any apostle ever mentions again.
Remember it is a parable, using THEIR cultural images to teach a lesson. The idea of Abrahams bosom
came from something they picked up while in captivity in Babylon and is found in the Babylonian
Talmud. In the same way that Paul quoted the Greek Philosophers to the Greeks, and the same way
Jude and Peter quote from the book of Enoch, and the same way we use the word mother nature
even when we dont believe in that pagan idea.
II. The Inheritance of the Kingdom:
Secondly, Lazarus is not the Lazarus that was raised from the dead. This is a parable, using Abrahams
bosom and Lazarus. Those names go together. Lazarus is a shortened Hellenized form of Eliezer and his
name means, Whom God helps. This is the name of the Gentile slave of Abraham. Abraham
complained to God that he didnt have a child, no one to leave an inheritance to and so he was going
to have to leave his inheritance to his Gentile slave from Damascus. (Gen. 5:2-3)
God did give Abraham a child, so the inheritance didnt go to Eliezer. But God made a promise to
Abraham that through his seed, all the nations (families) of the earth would be blessed. All means all,
means not just the physical descendants of Abraham, but the Gentiles too.
Lazarus is leaning on the bosom of Abraham. Just like John leaned against the bosom-chest of Jesus, so it
is a figure of speech of one reclining at a banquet with Abraham and what he represents: the age of the
kingdom after AD 70. It never speaks of it as some compartment of the underworld, rather it presents a
picture of the banquet of the kingdom of God.
I think it was Jeff Turner in Saints in the Arms of a Happy God who wrote, Jesus was not threatening the
wealth loving Pharisees with hell fire in the context, but was warning them that the poor, the crippled,
the blind and the lame- Lazarus's of the world- were going to recline on the bosom of Abraham in the
spiritual feast of the kingdom of God, while they who worshiped their wealth, positions and possessions
would find themselves on the outside. "
Mat. 21:43, Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God (natural) will be taken away from you and
given to a people who will produce its fruit (spiritual).
The context of this story is Jesus talking to the Pharisees about Mammon. Jesus was telling the Pharisees
that just because they were natural descendants of Abraham, did not mean they were going to get the
spiritual inheritance of the kingdom. Their abuse of money (in the same context) could be seen in how
they were putting away their wives (not divorcing them) to avoid giving up the dowry. By leaving them
destitute, if they remarried, it caused them to commit adultery. (see one of my most popular blogs
called Spiritual Myth-Busters: God Hates Divorce?) So now they could no longer say, "We have Abraham
as our father" because, "I can raise up out of these stones children for Abraham"! (Mt 3:9)
Jesus was speaking of the great role reversal which would soon take place when the scepter was
taken out of the hands of Judah and officially belonging to Jesus alone (Gen. 49:10). This happened in
AD 70 when the natural kingdom was taken away and the kingdom of God became spiritual in that
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Christ is ruling from heaven, not physical Jerusalem. The unbelieving Jews who rejected their Messiah
would end up as outsiders literally weeping and gnashing their teeth in the fires of Jerusalem. They
would end up, in this life, in outer darkness where if they rejected Jesus' truth about God, when they
were the ones through whom the Messiah would come then how dark is that darkness!
This is the same thing James warned of in James 5:1-3, come now you rich, weep and howl for your
miseries that are coming upon you you have heaped up treasures in the last days!
III. The Chasm is Too Wide!
This chasm is symbolic of the great cultural divide between Jew and Gentile. It is the social and
economic division between Jews and Samaritans and Jews and Romans, and Jews and any non-Jews.
Most likely it is a reference to the Jordan Rift Valley where the land Abraham was promised was
separated from the Gentile lands. One day, the wold and the lamb would lie down together (Jew and
Gentile... not lion and the lamb, btw).
Brad Jersak wrote that
Lazarus is said to beg outside the rich mans gate (v. 19). He longs to eat even the rich mans table
scraps. This is reminiscent of the Gospel story in which Jesus reserved his healing ministry for the lost
sheep of Israel but a Canaanite woman appealed: Even dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their
masters table. Note the multiple allusions with Lazarus, who longed to eat what fell from the rich
mans table and Even the dogs came and licked his sores (v. 21).
Uncircumcised Gentile proselytes of Judaism were referred to as gate proselytes or strangers inside
the gate. They enjoyed certain rights and privileges under the Mosaic Law. Is the parable
condemning the rich man for leaving Lazarus outside when the Law obligated Jews to provide for
foreigners inside?
The great role reversal was coming. In fact, the Greek text indicates that it doesnt say the dogs licked
his sores. It says the other dogs licked his sores. In other words, Jesus was saying that the Rich man
inside the house was just as much a dog, an outsider, a Gentile, as the dogs outside! Those outside the
gates with no inheritance were going to participate in the kingdom of God! While the supposed sons
of Abraham who abused the poor were going to be put out of this new era.
Gentiles means nations. All the nations would be included not just the Jews!
This is a parable about racial division and about the way that the rich treat the poor. Its not about
heaven and hell, words that arent even mentioned in these passages. And it is a parable that everybody
is included in the circle now. Not just the Jews, but ALL. All Gentiles! Because of Jesus death burial and
resurrection he includes ALL!
This story is Luke 16 right? What was Luke 15? The story of the lost coin, the lost sheep, and the lost
son all teaching that ALL already belonged to him. The coin always belonged, along with the sheep and
the son. There was never a time when they didnt belong. The elder son was the Jews and the prodigal
were the gentiles. So this parable in Luke 16 is teaching the inclusive nature of GODs love! Rich Jews
have become like the older brother in the prodigal son story!
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IV. Flames of Hell?
So what about these flames? Are the figurative? Are they literal?
Is it both? Lets look at just a few passages: Isaiah 4:4, When the
Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and
purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of
judgment and by the spirit of burning
Malachi 4:1, For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an

oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be
stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up, Says the Lord of hosts, That will leave
them neither root nor branch.
John the Baptist, Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his
baptism, he said to them, Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath (about to) come?
8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 9 and do not think to say to yourselves, We have
Abraham as our father. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these
stones. (who is he talking to?) 10 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every
tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 I indeed baptize you with
water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not
worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fan is in His hand,
and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will
burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
The fire not being quenched doesnt mean it burns forever. It means you cant stop it, or put it out until
it finishes the job. No fire department is coming to the rescue. It wont rain that day. It doesnt mean
eternal/forever.
The reason that Jesus uses death in this parable to teach a lesson is that once the city was surrounded
there was no turning back, it was over, there was no coming back from that decision to reject their
Messiah!
Notice the uses of the word Ge-henna. Ge-henna is a literal valley in Jerusalem known for as a place of
judgment because it was there that Israel offered sacrifices of children to the false god Molech. So as
the apostate Jews murdered their believing brothers, the day would come where they themselves would
suffer at the hands of Rome and end up burned in the city's destruction and thrown into the valley
below. History records that this is exactly what happened.
Matthew 23:15Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV) 15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him
twofold more the child of hell (Ge-henna) than yourselves. When Jesus called the Pharisees, not the
sinners, children of the devil, it wasnt literal. It was the same figure of speech here where he calls them
a child of Gehenna. Were they all literal children who were born in the valley? Of course not.
Matthew 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever
shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his
brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother,
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Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell
(Ge-Henna) fire.
Wikipedia says, "The word Raca is original to the Greek manuscript; however, it is not a Greek word. The
most common view is that it is a reference to the Aramaic word reka, which literally means "empty
one", but probably meant "empty headed," or "foolish."
When the unbelieving Jews scornfully rejected the wisdom of the believing Jews they were setting
themselves up for the judgment of Ge-henna.
Mark 9: 42 But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be
better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea. 43 If your
hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two
hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched 44 where Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.
Where is Jesus quoting from? Isaiah 66:24 And they shall go forth and look Upon the corpses of the
men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, And their fire is not quenched.
They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh. This scripture is in the context of the new covenant and the
fall of the city of Jerusalem.
Historical References:
Josephus records,
such was the height of the hill and the magnitude of the blazing pile that the entire city seemed to
be ablaze; and the noise nothing more deafening and frightening could be imagined.
There were the war cries of the Roman legions as they swept onwards en masse, the yells of the
rebels encircled by fire and sword, the panic of the people who, cut off above, fled into the arms of the
enemy, and their shrieks as they met their fate. The cries on the hill blended with those of the multitudes
in the city below; and now many people who were exhausted and tongue-tied as a result of hunger,
when they beheld the Temple on fire, found strength once more to lament and wail.
(1883).)
Among the tragic events that at this time occurred, the following is more particularly deserving of notice:
A false prophet, pretending to be a divine commission, said that if the people would flee to the Temple,
they should behold signs of their speedy deliverance. Accordingly, about six thousand people, chiefly
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women and children, assembled in a gallery that was yet standing, on the outside of the building. While
they waited in anxious expectation of the promised miracle, the Romans, with the most wanton
barbarity, set fire to the gallery. Multitudes, rendered frantic by their horrible situation, threw
themselves from the gallery onto the ruins below and were killed by the fall. Meanwhile, awful to relate,
the rest, without a single exception, perished in the flames. (Welton, Jonathan (2013-11-01).
Raptureless: An Optimistic Guide to the End of the World - Revised Edition Including The Art of Revelation
(Kindle Locations 1380-1385). BookBaby. Kindle Edition.)
"Now the seditious [Jews warring against Rome] at first gave orders that the dead should be buried out
of the public treasury, as not enduring the stench of their dead bodies. But afterwords, when they could
not do that, they had them cast down from the walls into the valleys beneath. However, when Titus
[the Roman general besieging Jerusalem], in going his rounds along those valleys, saw them full of dead
bodies, and the thick putrefaction running about them, he gave a groan; and, spreading out his hands to
heaven, called God to witness that this was not his doing; and such was the sad case of the city itself."
(War of the Jews V 12.3-4)
"Manneus, the son of Lazarus, came running to Titus at this very time, and told him that there had
been carried out through that one gate, which was entrusted to his care, no fewer than a hundred and
fifteen thousand eight hundred and eighty dead bodies, in the interval between the fourteenth day of
the month Xanthieus, when the Romans pitched their camp by the city, and the first day of the month
Panemus. This was itself a prodigious multitude; and though this man was not himself set as a governor
at that gate, yet was he appointed to pay the public stipend for carrying these bodies out, and so was
obliged of necessity to number them, while the rest were buried by their relations; though all their burial
was but this, to bring them away, and cast them out of the city. After this man there ran away to Titus
many of the eminent citizens, and told him the entire number of the poor that were dead, and that no
fewer than six hundred thousand were thrown out at the gates, though still the number of the rest
could not be discovered; " (War of the Jews, V 13,7)
So this is a parable a tale using cultural images and characters harking back to Abraham. It's about the
torment and literal destruction of Jerusalem that the rich Pharisees would go through as they hated the
Gentiles, refused to take care of the poor. There was going to be a great role reversal!
All were going to get the inheritance, not just Jews. But those apostate Jews were going to find
themselves trapped in the city completely separated from any hope at the fall of Jerusalem. IF THEY
DIDN'T trust in the death, burial, resurrection of Christ, or EVEN if they didnt trust what MOSES said
would happen then they would be destroyed by the fires of Rome.
For further study see:
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/abrahams_bosom.html
Her Gates Will Never Be Shut, Brad Jersak,
Putting Hell Back in the Basket, by Brazen Church
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Hell?, Grace
IF YOU ARE ASHAMED OF JESUS, WILL YOU GO TO HELL?
Chuck Crisco
October 24, 2016
That passage. You know, the one that you read when you were younger, or a preacher pounded the
pulpit while his words were pounded into your heart. Many of us have a few of those which trip us up,
instill fear, and limit our experience of the goodness of God. I actually love to find those passages now,
because I know that context and history always shed a different light on them, and light always drives
out darkness.
If you are old enough to remember the rapture movies with the threat of guillotines unless they denied
Christ, then you have probably been etched with fear. If you deny him, he will deny your access to
heaven and you will be lost forever. That gets applied to things like, "if you don't stand up for Jesus, and
instead you are ashamed of him, he will say he never knew you and you lose your salvation and go to
hell!" I bet you've heard something like that. Right? Well... that really isn't what those passages were
trying to communicate. In fact, they have nothing to do with going to heaven at all.
One of those passages is Mark 8:35-38
35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the
gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37
Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in
this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his
Fathers glory with the holy angels.
Be Brave for Christ or Go to Hell?
In order to understand this passage, lets look first at the context and timing of when this event was
going to occur.
First of all, he is speaking to a very specific generation. He says, "...THIS adulterous and sinful
generation..." That alone disqualifies the application of this passage to any generation beyond the one
that Jesus was living in 2000 years ago.
It was THIS generation that Jesus said would be the most demonized generation ever after he cleaned
and swept the house, but because they didn't fill the house with truth and receive the kingdom it would
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be worse than when he was there. Matthew 12:45, "Then he goes and takes with him seven other
spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is
WORSE than the first. So shall it also be with THIS wicked generation.
First he says to the Scribes and Pharisees that a judgment was coming on them, and then said in
Matthew 23:36, "Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon THIS generation." After the
disciples ask WHEN these things would happen and what the signs would be, Jesus explains and teaches
them and ends by saying in Matthew 24:34, "Assuredly, I say to you, THIS generation will by no means
pass away till all these things take place."
But there is even more clear evidence of WHEN this would happen. Not only does Jesus say it would
happen in the generation that he was living in, he gave us some more clues. He said it would be WHEN
he comes in the glory of his Father with his angels. Now look at Matthew 16:27-28, "For the son of man
will come in the glory of his Father with his angels and reward each man according to his deeds.
Assuredly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the Son of
Man coming in his kingdom." Same thing right? It had to be an event that happened while some of
those disciples were still alive.
Notice in Mark 9:1, same context he says, And he said to them, Truly I tell you, some who are standing
here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power. This is the
parallel context to Matthew 16:27-28. So here he says some of those disciples will still be alive and be
able to LOOK BACK and see that the kingdom had COME.
By the way, the coming on clouds motif is found throughout scripture as judgment on a city-state. For
instance:
See, the LORD RIDES ON A SWIFT CLOUD AND IS COMING to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before
him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt with fear (Isaiah 19: 1).
Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the
day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand a day of darkness and gloom, A DAY OF CLOUDS and
blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never
was in ancient times nor ever will be in ages to come (Joel 2: 1-2).
The great day of the LORD is near near and coming quickly. The cry on the day of the LORD is bitter;
the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry. That day will be a day of wrath a day of distress and
anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day OF CLOUDS and blackness
(Zephaniah 1: 14-15).
The LORD is slow to anger but great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way
is in the whirlwind and the storm, and CLOUDS ARE THE DUST OF HIS FEET (Nahum 1: 3).
Let's look in the same gospel of Mark at what Jesus said TO THE HIGH PRIEST...in HIS GENERATION, that
same WICKED generation:
Mark 14:61-63, "But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.Again the high priest asked him, Are
you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One? I am, said Jesus. And YOU (PRIESTS) will see the Son
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of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN. The
high priest tore his clothes. Why do we need any more witnesses? he asked.
So who was it that was ashamed of Jesus and his words? Who was it that was going to deny that they
knew him? It was the religious elite and those who followed them.
Jesus is saying the same thing in Matthew 10:32-34, Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him
I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will
also deny before My Father who is in heaven."
In particular, Jesus wasn't eternally disowning anybody... but he WAS NOT taking OWNERSHIP of the
LAW system nor would he acknowledge their faith in that Law. He was separating the sheep (Jewish
believers) from the goats (Jewish apostate unbelievers). He denied that he was aligned with that Law
covenant and he refused to accept IT. The entire system was destroyed including temple, priesthood
system, etc.
What Was it to Lose The Soul?
So what does this mean? "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it,
but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What
good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or
what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?"
The word for "life" is also used for "soul", but not in every context. In
Matthew 2:20 the same word is used, Arise, take the young Child and His
mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Childs
LIFE are dead. They weren't seeking to kill Jesus' soul, but literally kill him.
Yet in Matthew 11:29 he uses it to mean the inner life saying, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from
Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
So which is it? Both.
It is a play on words. Whoever wants to save their physical life (by not trusting in Jesus' words) will lose
their soul (their dreams, emotions, their hopes of religious Jewish nationalism based on the Law). But
whoever loses their soul, (their their dreams, emotions, their hopes of religious Jewish nationalism
based on the Law) for the sake of Jesus and the gospel will save it (physical and emotional inner life).
This is confirmed by the way that Jesus uses the word ashamed here as an internal soul experience. He
says the ones who are ashamed are the same ones who forfeit their soul (the inner life, dreams and
plans). Notice the Greek definition of ashamed:
1870 epaisxnomai (from epi, "on, fitting" intensifying 153/aisxyn,

"disgrace") properly, disgraced, like someone "singled out" because
they misplaced their confidence or support ("believed the big lie"); to be
ashamed (personally humiliated).
In sum, 1870/epaisxynomai ("dishonor") refers to being disgraced, bringing

on "fitting" shame that matches the error of wrongly identifying (aligning)
with something.
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They had to be willing to give up the "world" with its hopes and dreams. When you see Jerusalem being
surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to
the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the
time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. (Luke 21:20-22, NIV)
So when the Romans came in AD 66 in siege against the city, believers are the ones who trusted Christ,
and left their houses, and lands, and mothers and fathers, for the sake of Jesus and the gospel. They
gave up their "world". That is why Jesus said about THEIR WORLD, in Matthew 19:29-30, "And everyone
who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My
names sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit [aionios-age enduring] life."
Conclusion:
So this passage is all about trusting Christ and fleeing the city when the Romans arrived. It was about the
"coming of the Lord" in the city judgment of Jerusalem. It was about giving up their soulish dreams
about their world as a Jewish religious Law system, and exchanging it for good news. It is not about a
future event.
Can we apply that on a micro-level? Yes, of course. But it is more about us giving up our dreams of
legalistic religion so that Christ can continually give us more revelation. It is a lesson about trusting the
leadership of God in our lives. But it is not about God eternally denying you access to heaven.
Of course we need to grow in boldness and courage... Paul even asked if the church would pray that he
be more bold. But let's not confuse that, with the meaning of this passage.
Don't forget... Peter denied Jesus three times. Jesus did what needed to be done to restore his heart,
three times. Jesus prays over you, the same thing he prayed for Peter, "Peter, I've prayed for you that
your faith fail not." Then he set about to make sure it ultimately didn't.
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Hell?
THE HEALING OF HADES AND THE END OF THE LAKE OF FIRE!
Chuck Crisco
December 6, 2016
We are going to tackle a topic that is deeply rooted in our American theology, and it is the idea of the
Lake of Fire and the idea of hell. There isnt a person alive today who doesnt have at least a basic idea
of a place called hell where people who are bad go, or people who are also good but dont believe in
Jesus go. It is an idea that has permeated our entire culture and ideas about justice mainly because we
become like the god we serve and believe in.
For most Christians, hell is an unquestioned doctrine. Their system fits God is just, he must punish sin,
therefore hell is the punishment for sin. Simple. But it isnt as simple as that when we look more closely
at history and at what the bible teaches. So because we have a heart-image of what we think hell is
from devils with pitchforks and pointed tails, to the idea of God burning people in torment forever and
ever it requires a huge dose of humility to allow God to paint a different picture. In fact, most of those
pictures come from Dantes Inferno, not the Bible.
For others they have not been able to reconcile the idea of hell and the goodness of God. AND just so
you know, there is no scripture in the bible that says a person must believe in hell in order to go to
heaven. Not one. So a persons belief in hell has absolutely nothing to do with salvation. Wouldn't you
agree?
For those who have been with us on this journey through the book of Revelation, you know that the
book of Revelation was written prior to the fall of Jerusalem as attested by the text itself and attested by
an early copy of the book of Revelation.
I. PRELIMINARY THOUGHTS AND QUESTIONS
Dont you think its curious that not once in the book of Acts is hell ever preached by any apostle. If it
was as vital as vital and important as we are told today, dont you think the record of the early church
and acts of the apostles and the Holy Spirit would have said at least something about it.
In fact the word hell is not used in the bible anywhere in the original languages. Heaven 644 times;
Father 944 mentions. The word hell is not mentioned once in Greek or Hebrew.
So for those who are reading for the first time, we already tackled the story of Abrahams bosom and I
encourage you to go back and check it out on the website called Hell No, We Wont Go. We saw it was a
parable using the cultural idioms, and ideas of their day that isnt in the bible anywhere else. The idea
came from their years in Babylon from the Babylonian Talmud not the Hebrew scriptures.
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II. MISTRANSLATED SCRIPTURES ABOUT HELL
So then let's review a few words that sometimes get translated hell. We already in that same message
talked about Gehenna, that in every reference to it, is translated hell, but it is literally the valley of
Hinnom. It never describes a place called hell in an afterlife. It describes the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70
where the bodies of hundreds of thousands died and were burned within the city walls and were thrown
into the valley below where the worms ate their flesh. We read Josephus' account of fires of destruction
of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the horror that it was. We saw how the fire wasnt quenched in the sense that
they couldnt stop it from completely burning the temple and many in the city. It is not hell. (See
Appendix below)
There is another word Tartarus used only one time in the bible by Peter and it comes from
Greek/Roman/Egyptian mythology. In Greek mythology it was the deepest place in which the gods of
Olympus locked up the Titans as punishment. Peter mentions it as a place where evil spirits were bound.
It is not hell. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell (tartarus) and
committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment..." (2 Peter 2:4)
That only leaves Hades/Sheol which is the abode of the dead and the Lake of Fire. Ill come back to
Hades at the end, so lets tackle a few things here.
Revelation 21 says that Hades was thrown into the lake of fire, so Hades cant be hell. That leaves only
the Lake of Fire. That means the only possible mention of hell in the bible is the Lake of Fire. That means
that it is never mentioned from creation to the time of Jesus. It is never mentioned in Acts and neither
the word hell or Lake of Fire is ever used in the teachings of Paul as a place of afterlife punishment
forever. (Did Paul Promise Everlasting Punishment From the Presence of the Lord)
That means that the entire doctrine about God and how he treats people after death is only found in
one book that is by nature apocalyptic and was written not even to all the churches, but to the churches
in Asia Minor. Yet, it is one of the most accepted doctrines in America. Do we really think that something
so important as eternal conscious torment from God is only mentioned at the end of one book?
We know from our studies that the Lake of Fire is something that was going to happen at the fall of
Jerusalem. How?
1. According to Daniel 12, which is the same context, same books opened in Revelation 20, an angel says
it was ALL going to happen by the time the power of the holy people was shattered in the period of "the
time, times and half a time" (3.5 years). The angel says the temple would be destroyed in a 3 year
period which was in AD 66-AD 70. For 3.5 years Rome attacked and destroyed Jerusalem. Revelation 20
is the fulfillment of that promise in their future, not ours.
2. Remember that Revelation is interpreted according to Jesus in the first 3 verses as apocalyptic
language and signs that point to things that happened in the past to give them insight to what was
about to happen to them. (See the Revelation Series in the Media section).
So do we have a record of the idea of a lake of fire in the bible? Yes. The lake of fire was a symbol of
judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. Do you know where Sodom was located. By the Dead Sea. It was
the giant lake region that was filled with fire and brimstone and sulfur, and was known in both the
secular world and Israels world as the symbol of judgement:
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Isaiah 1:7-10, Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire like a city under siege unless
the Lord Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been
like Gomorrah.
In Deuteronomy 29:22-27, when he talked about Israels last days in the Law he said, The whole land
will be like a burning waste of salt and sulfur, nothing planted , nothing sprouting, no vegetation
growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
What do we find in the book of Revelation? Chapter 11 says that the city which is spiritually called Egypt
and Sodom, the place where the Lord was crucified is Jerusalem.
The Lake of Fire is a metaphor for the place of the judgment and burning of Jerusalem in AD 70. It is the
place like Sodom at the Dead Sea which burned with fire and brimstone and sulfur and salt. It was a
symbol meaning just like Sodom, Jerusalem was going to be destroyed in a cauldron of inescapable fire.
Which we know is exactly what happened in history as they wept and gnashed their teeth as the fires
ravaged the city and hundreds of thousands died. (See appendix below).
Ok, but what about some of those passages that seem to indicate that their torment was forever, and
that kind of language?
There just isnt space here to really do this justice. But a quick answer is simply this: Youngs Literal
Translation of the word aion is the word age. Aionios is usually translated literally as age
enduring. Not forever, but a period of time
Josephus tells us that the Pharisees DID believe in "eternal punishment", aionios timoria. But when it
refers to the words of Jesus, he uses the phrase aionios kolasis, which is a word that means a discipline
to correct something rather than punish.
In other words, in Greek, those phrases dont mean eternal punishment. They literally mean age
enduring corrective discipline. The fires of Jerusalem were descriptive of the end of the Old Covenant
age, enduring until AD 70 and were at most corrective under the law, not punishment and not forever.
Remember what the scriptures say about God? His mercy endures forever. It never says anywhere in
the Bible that his judgment or his justice endures forever. In fact, James says, "mercy triumphs over
judgment." So how can one say God will punish people in hell forever when it is only his mercy that
endures forever and his mercy is greater?
In fact, did you know that both in the culture of Greece and Rome and in the lives of some of the church
fathers, they practiced the doctrine of reserve. That means that they held back the truth, they held it in
reserve, because they were afraid if they didnt teach a place of torment after death, then the people
would run wild and without restraint. For example early church father Origin said,
all that might be said on this theme (of eternal punishment) is not expedient to explain now, or to all.
For the mass need no further teaching on account of those who hardly through the fear of eternal
punishment restrain their recklessness.
It was agreed it was in the best interest to not tell people the truth because apparently they were afraid
the gospel wasnt powerful enough to empower them to live good lives.
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III. WHY WAS HADES CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE?
So then, if the Lake of Fire, is actually another phrase to describe the fires that destroyed Jerusalem in
AD 70, then why is Hades cast into the Lake of Fire? Im glad you asked. This is the part Ive been waiting
for.
Acts 2:24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He
should be held by it. 25 For David says concerning Him:
I saw the LORD always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. 26
Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. 27 For
You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. 28 You have
made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.
This passage tells us that Jesus was in Hades, the abode of the dead, for 3 days. According to the Greek
scholar Thayer, death is metaphorically, "the misery of soul arising from sin, which begins on earth but
lasts and increases after the death of the body" In the widest sense, death comprises all the miseries
arising from sin, as well physical death as the loss of a life consecrated to God and blessed in him on
earth. (Thayer)
Hebrews 2:9 says Jesus was tasting death for every man. You see from this passage and the definition of
death that it was his soul that was tasting death. That is very important. He was not loosed from the
pains of death, UNTIL his resurrection (Acts 2:24). He is tasting the misery of death, of darkness, of every
confusion, of every loss, of every persons fears, hurts, questions, sadness, everything!
But according to David and Peter, Jesus was doing something in the face of all those billowing waves
that were crashing over Jesus. Jesus fixed his eyes on the Father and began to speak with a glad tongue,
and with rejoicing.
I still didnt get it until the other day driving over to Memphis. Ive been praying for more insight into
this passage and then it hit me. Early church father St Gregory, and Im told Athanasius said, God can
only heal what he can assume. In his incarnation, he came to heal the darkness and death that was
introduced in the Garden. He became part of his creation so he could heal creation. He became a man
so he could heal mankind.
Every pain, every confusion, every struggle, is rooted in one thing. Not knowing God. It is not seeing
Gods goodness that causes us to see evil everywhere. It is not seeing hope in God that causes us
depression and hopelessless. It is not seeing God's faithfulness that leads a man to steal. It doesnt
matter what is going on in a persons soul, the reason is because there is something they cant see about
the truth of who God is that is causing it. The moment one believes the truth about Gods love, then fear
can disappear. Everything we struggle with in our soul is caused by the darkness of our own hearts and
what we believe.
So imagine with me for a moment. From Adam until Jesus, every human being went into Hades/Sheol,
the abode of the dead: the righteous, the unrighteous, everyone. Remember what Jesus said in John
1:18, NO ONE has seen the Father at any time except the Son. That place of darkness, of confusion, of
soul death, of misery no one there could find their way out because they were blind, they could not
find God because it was their darkness to who God was that kept them in that state of being. No one
had seen the Father, so no one could come out of that soul darkness in Hades.
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But in another place, Matthew 11:27, All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one
knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the
Son chooses to reveal him. What was Jesus doing for three days? Yes he was tasting death for every
man, but he was counteracting every billowing wave of soul darkness, with a declaration of the truth of
the Father. He was proclaiming the gospel. That is why he had a glad tongue, a happy tongue. Because
for every single place of darkness that any human has ever experienced, he set his face toward the
Father and spoke the opposite truth, the HEALING truth of who God is. Jesus isnt just enduring the
pains of death it was impossible for the pains of death to hold him because every wave was overcome
by a corresponding, counteracting truth of who the Father was!
Why was Jesus 3 days in Hades? Because he isnt just preaching the good news to himself. He is
preaching who the Father is to every single person who ever lived who was in Hades until then. The
entirety of human beings from the beginning of time, ALL are hearing. They arent simply hearing if you
believe in Jesus you can go to heaven one day. They are ALL hearing the truth, the light, the healing
reality of the Father, counteracting their darkness. They are hearing the answer to every soul pain they
ever had. They are hearing the reason they did what they did, no matter what they did, so that they
could be healed and cleansed of every bit of darkness.
THINK ABOUT Jesus on the cross talking about people who were KILLING the SON OF GOD! He said
Father forgive them, they know not what they DO. People do what they do because they dont know
REALLY why they are doing it. The darkness of heart leads to dark behaviors.
Jesus went to Hades, not to offer a cure, because how can souls that were in darkness and confusion,
and anxiety and stress, have the capacity to choose. They didnt. Jesus went to Hades, not to offer a
cure, but to give the cure. He injected the cure for the disease into Hades itself to heal every
separation lie, every lie that kept them in darkness.
People say that God doesnt send people to hell, they choose hell. But what person in their right mind
walks into a burning building because they WANT to? Im not talking about sacrifice to save someone, I
mean just to burn alive. No one! But the gospel is that Jesus went INTO HADES and CURED everyone
who was not in their right mind, who could not see God.
He was raised from the dead physically but he overcame death, the darkness of Hades, THAT soul death
that Adam introduced in the garden.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put
to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in
prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of
Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through
water (1 Peter 3:1820).
Some teach that he is speaking about the spirits of fallen angels, but the problem is that he says it
included the people who were not saved in the flood so most likely he called those people spirits. We
know in Hebrews 12 the author speaks of the New Jerusalem as the place of where the spirits of just
men are made perfect, as if spirits are people. So it may be that Peter uses different language to say the
same thing that Jesus preached to the spirits in prison.
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Still not convinced? Peter also said this, "They will give an account to Him who is READY to judge the
living and the dead. For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they
might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." (1 Peter 4:5-6)
Did you get that?!!! He said Jesus preached to those who were dead... people who were in Hades. So he
says that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, ie, being in Hades, but that those same
men would LIVE according to God in the Spirit!
Just so you know this isnt some personal interpretation I came up with, about 100 years after the death
of the apostle John a book called the Gospel of Nicodemus said, When Jesus arrived in Hades, the
gates burst open, and taking Adam by the hand Jesus said, Come with me, as many as have died
through the tree which he touched, for behold I raise you all up through the tree of the cross.
But that isn't all! Psalm 22:22,29, "I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the
assembly I will praise You. (Some scholars believe he is speaking of when he was in Hades declaring the
name of God to all his brothers/sisters, of which he is not ashamed to call them.) All those who go down
to the dust Shall bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep himself alive. (As Isaiah and Paul said,
"every knee with bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord" including AFTER DEATH).
Jesus proved the words of David, "if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!" (Psalm 139:8).
So why was Hades cast into the Lake of Fire?
1. Because it served no purpose anymore. Christ has filled all things everywhere with his healing
presence.
2. Also because it ended at the resurrection of those out of Hades in AD 70. It was empty, because the
one who heals the broken hearted came and spoke the healing truths of the Father that set their souls
free from the bondage of that darkness. Hades was cast into the lake of fire with death not physical
death, but the soul death of Hades that Adam introduced in the garden.
Do you know that that means for you and me? It means hell is not found in the bible anywhere. It means
that Christ knows how to heal every single pain, confusion, darkness, frustration, stress, anxiety,
everything we go through. He knows how to heal it not by giving us a new 5 step program to disciple our
way into new habits. He knows exactly what the wounds are in our souls. He knows the truth about the
Father that will heal that wound.
And he didnt just crawl into the darkness of Hades he crawled into OUR darkness. Into OUR hearts so
that from the inside out from now until we get to heaven, he is trying to reveal the Father to us, to
heal our brokenness. And he wont stop in this life because if you dont get it here, you will get it when
you see him. John said, when we see him we will become like him for we will see him as he is.
So if someone says, I dont want to go to heaven if Hitler is there. I understand. But the Hitler that set
in motion all those horrible things is not the same Hitler standing in the presence of God healed of the
root causes in his soul that made him do the things he did.
Jeff Turner said on a Facebook post recently, no one goes to heaven if anyone goes to hell. He then
went on to explain how can anyone who is in heaven be happy who also has a loved one being burned
and tormented in hell? So how could that be heaven knowing that?
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So in the old view, God must change those in heaven in order to keep them from seeing, or knowing or
remembering their burning loved ones. But if God can change a person in heaven to forget those in
hell, then why cant he change those in hell to be fit for heaven?
Heaven is not a reward for good behavior. It is the ultimate healing of every soul.
CONCLUSION:
Some will say "I trust him because I know he will make things right, I'll see justice for the horrible things
that have been done to me." Ok. But do you think Gods justice is the same as an eye for an eye and
tooth for a tooth, or is it possible that the justice of God is to restore what was lost, to heal what was
broken, to change us and set us free? The reason hell continues to be in our theology is because we still
think God is the eye for an eye tooth for a tooth god. He isnt. He is the healing God!
See the reason that people have a hard time trusting God is because of the god they were taught to
trust. They were told that God has somewhat of a dark side. With people we trust them when we can
trust they will always do good, or that they are faithful and honest. Yet we have this idea that God is
good, but he has a behind the scenes dark personality in which he will send sinners into hell forever and
torment them as he laughs with delight because God is holy and just. We are told that because God is
God then he can do those things and it is right and good and fair but the God in me and the conscience
in me and you KNOWS something isnt right about it.
The good news is that Christ reached into the darkness of Hades, emptied it because of the gospel he
preached there, healing every soul darkness and every soul wound, and then cast it into the Lake of Fire,
figuratively speaking, meaning Hades and religion died together in the fires of Jerusalem. The good news
is that Christ has filled all things everywhere with himself so that he will take you on the same healing
journeyeven into heaven itself.
Similar articles:
If You Are Ashamed of Jesus You will Go to Hell?

Exposing the Depart from Me Myth of Mat 7:21-23
Abide in the Vine or Go to Hell?
APPENDIX: JERUSALEM'S HELL
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(1883).)
fewer than six hundred thousand were thrown out at the gates,though still the number of the rest
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Hell?
WILL GOD DESTROY ONE'S SOUL IN HELL?
Chuck Crisco
December 12, 2016
Sometimes we don't know the difference between a bunny rabbit fairy-tale, and the gospel. Once you
hear good news, it starts to uproot every poor interpretation of scripture that was passed down to you.
God destroying the soul in hell is one of those fairy-tales... more like a night-mare on Elm St really.
Matthew 10:27-29, Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear,
preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather
fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper
coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Fathers will."
This enigmatic statement by Jesus is used as a proof text that God is the author of destroying people's
souls in hell. In fact today on Facebook a guy who is so twisted into religion he refuses to see straight
said, "The bible says that Jesus said, 'Do not fear them that can kill you. Fear Him who can after ending
your life put your soul into hell!' I don't think anyone can imagine a love that can do that. But Jesus
can!" What?!
The same Jesus who said "love your enemies" and the same one John said, "God is love" we are
supposed to believe we should be terrified of because his love is so strong and so above our
comprehension, He can end your life and put your soul in hell?
When one appeals beyond common sense logic and instead says "God's ways are higher" they are in the
end simply justifying their interpretation. Common sense tells us that if a mother has affection for her
child, God does so infinitely more. No, you can't imagine that unpredictable god, because he doesn't
exist. Otherwise how can you trust a God that you can't be sure of his character?
So let's break down this passage a bit and join me as we discover the goodness of God. In order to do so,
we are going to need to recover some definitions as we go. Anytime I find a passage that seems
inconsistent with the nature of God (God is love), it is an invitation to dig in and discover what it really
says. That includes comparing scriptures and looking into the Greek of each passage. Hang on. I think
you'll like it!
WHO WERE THE PERSECUTORS?
Let's start with context. Jesus is sending his disciples on a mission:Whatever I tell you in the dark,
speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. It is a risky one in that
generation, because they are sent into the midst of legalistic wolves.
Paul first said that the Law was the veil blinding the Jews in his day, but then he goes on to say in 2
Corinthians 4:4, "whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the
gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them." The god of that old
covenant age which was obsolete and fading away, was the Law. They made the Law their god so any
revelation of God as love met with a crushing violent response.
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Those killing the followers of Christ between the cross and the fall of Jerusalem were the unbelieving
Jews according to both Jesus and Paul. Jesus spoke to the religious leaders in Mat. 23:31-36, "Therefore
you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. FILL UP,
then, the measure of your fathers guilt. Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the
condemnation of GEHENNA? Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of
them YOU WILL KILL and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute
from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of
righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple
and the altar. Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon THIS generation."
Paul said in 1 Thess. 2:14-16, "For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in
Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they
did from the Judeans, who KILLED both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted
us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that
they may be saved, so as always to FILL UP up the measure of their sins; but wrath is about to come
upon them to the uttermost."
WHO WERE THEY TO FEAR?
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to
destroy both soul and body in hell.
Interesting question. People have assumed that they were to fear God because he could destroy the
soul and body in hell. There are several problems with making God the "Him" in this passage through.
The Greek is ambiguous and can simply mean, "the one". So he describes a group of "ones" and then the
"one". Who or what is he referring to?
First of all the word "hell" is Ge-henna, and was literally the Valley of Hinnom where hundreds of
thousands of bodies were tossed when Rome attacked Jerusalem in AD 66-70. It is the place where the
the worms literally ate their bodies after having been burned in the city of Jerusalem. It is not a symbol
for a place of eternal torment. It is a literal place one can visit today.
It's abhorrence dates back to the time when Israel offered human child sacrifices to Molech in the fire in
the same valley, followed by a previous judgment on the city. This isn't a description of hell at all, but
rather an historical description of the judgment of Jerusalem along with a warning of impending doom
for the city again. (see Appendix: Jerusalem's Hell, below)
Secondly, it was the unbelieving apostate Jews who could kill the body, but it was the Romans who
would destroy the soul.
What do I mean? Some assume the soul simply dies at physical death. We know from Acts 2 that Jesus'
soul was in Hades, alive, and aware for three days, feeling, rejoicing, thinking, and believing. Notice the
definitions of soul:
Strongs 5590 psyx (from psyx, "to breathe, blow" which is the root of the English words "psyche,"
"psychology") soul (psyche); a person's distinct identity (unique personhood), i.e. individual personality.
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Thayer: [can be] the soul (Latinanimus), a. the seat of the feelings, desires, affections, aversions (our
soul, heart, etc. (R. V. almost uniformly soul); for examples from Greek writings see Passow, under the
word, 2, vol. ii., p. 2589b; (Liddell and Scott, under the word, II.
In other words, soul, can mean the inner life, the hopes, dreams, thoughts desires, and plans of a
person. For instance, notice how it is used to describe Mary's experience of being the mother of Jesus. In
Luke 2:35, it was prophesied to her, "(yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the
thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. It meant her heart would be broken, her soul wounded, the
plans for her son would seem to be dashed.
Notice too, in Acts 14:2, 21-22 it was the unbelieving Jews who stirred up trouble for the believing Jews
and so they needed their hopes strengthened, "But the THE UNBELIEVING JEWS STIRRED UP THE
GENTILES and poisoned their minds against the brethren... And when they had preached the gospel to
that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, STRENGTHENED THE
SOULS of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, We must through many
tribulations enter the kingdom of God.
Let's see one more definition here. Destroy. Does it mean to annihilate? Does it mean the soul would
cease to exist? Does it mean continuous torment? No! Look at the other ways this word is used.
Mark 4:38 V-PIM-1P

GRK:
NAS: do You not care that we are PERISHING?
KJV: not that we PERISHING?
INT: to you that we PERISH
The word "destroy" is used above to describe the threat of perishing, i.e. physically dying in the storm.
Matthew 18:11 V-RPA-ANS

GRK:
KJV: that which was LOST.
INT: to save that which has been LOST
The word destroy is also used to describe the mission of Jesus to seek and save that which was LOST.
They were still alive but their souls lost their way. Their souls were not annihilated, but they could not
perceive. Their souls were in darkness where fear, confusion, unbelief, depression, and hopelessness
kept them blind! Yet this is the same word as destroy.
Matthew 15:24 V-RPA-ANP

GRK:
NAS: only to the LOST sheep
KJV: but unto the LOST sheep of the house
INT: sheep LOST of [the] house of Israel
Jesus even describes the LOST sheep, who were still alive, whose souls had not vanished, nor were they
utterly beyond hope. Yet this is the same word as destroy.
What does all this mean? It means that the unbelieving Jews had hopes and dreams and plans of
throwing off the Roman rule from their nation. They had expectations in their souls that God would
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rescue them from Rome. When in fact Jesus warned them to flee the coming wrath of Rome instead
(Matthew 24).
They would lose their houses, lands, wealth, friends, family, and even their lives. But he warns their
soul's dream of God's deliverance while staying in the system of Law really would be destroyed. Their
dream of throwing off Roman occupation would perish. Their only deliverance would be to trust Christ,
leave the Old Covenant System and flee when they saw the Roman armies approaching with their eagle
war banners waving in the wind (Matthew 24:28, "For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be
gathered together.")
GOD'S ROLE IN ALL OF THIS?
So what was God's role, his encouragement in all of this? Jesus is contrasting the Father with Rome and
the unbelieving Jews. The unbelieving Jews would kill the body (Mat. 23). The Romans would kill the
body and their soul would lose it's Jewish hopes. God in contrast would be their strength, their hope,
and their encouragement.
Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your
Fathers WILL.
How interesting! Did you know that the word "will" is not in the Greek. Instead it says, "not one of them
will fall to the ground apart from the Father."
The idea is not that God somehow wills that one of the sparrows fall to the ground at some point, and so
he wills for some of them/us to be persecuted to death. Rather it is the idea that even two sparrows
that are valued so cheaply by men, will never fall to the ground alone, but with the Father's presence
always with them. How much more then, will he be with his sons and daughters, if something were to
happen to them. He is "with them". He is "with us" strengthening, helping, encouraging, and
empowering with his present tense love.
Throughout scripture is the admonition to "fear not for I am with you" (Isaiah 41:10). It is God's loving
presence for us that will cast out all fear (1 John 4:18). You will never be alone!
CONCLUSION
Cognate: 5399 phob to fear, withdraw (flee) from, avoid
He sent them out as sheep among wolves. While they were to trust God, they were to flee from Rome,
the one who could destroy their Jewish dreams. In addition, they were to know that some of them may
even be put to death by the unbelieving Jews. Do not fear the ones who can kill the body (unbelieving
Jews) but fear the one who can ruin their soul's hopes and dreams in the Valley of Gehenna in AD 66-
70... Rome. If they aligned with the unbelieving Jews that was exactly what would and did happen.
In the midst of this know that God will never leave you. "If his eye is on the sparrow, I know he watches
me."
Am I sure about this? Yes! The next verse tells them NOT to fear in their relationship with GOD... "Do
not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."
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Other Great Blogs about Hell:
Men Who Stare at (Sheep) and Goats: Is This Judgment Past?
Exposing the "Depart From Me" Myth of Matthew 7:21-23
If You Are Ashamed of Jesus, Will You Go to Hell?
Hell No, We Won't Go! The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
The Healing of Hades and the End of the Lake of Fire!
WANT MORE OF THESE AWESOME GRACE FILLED BLOGS? SIGN UP TODAY WHERE YOU SEE THE RED
ARROW AND ALSO GET AN INSTANT DOWNLOAD BIBLE STUDY FOR FREE!
APPENDIX: JERUSALEM'S HELL
(1883).)
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fewer than six hundred thousand were thrown out at the gates,though still the number of the rest
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Grace, Hell?, Destiny
DOES GOD GIVE SECOND CHANCES AFTER DEATH?
Chuck Crisco
December 15, 2016
Does God give "second chances" after death?
That is a great question. Many Christians assume they already know the
answer because they were never taught any other view. Many times in these
blogs I like it that you have some self-discovery as we go, but today I am going
to make a statement about the resurrection and the judgment which go
together in the scripture, and what I believe it means, THEN we will see if it
fleshes out.
In order to answer your question, we need to look at the resurrection and the
judgment. In AD 70 was THE judgement not a judgment. It was the judgment
of the living and the dead. The living, in that the judgment of the Law ended
the old covenant system, and was a natural, this life, in-their-physical-bodies-
kind-of judgment. For the judgment of the dead, it was a raising out of Hades,
the abode of the dead, and into heaven.
Which leads to the answer to the question. How many were raised out of Hades in AD 70 into heaven?
All.
All? Yes. It looks like God gives "second chances" after all... even after death. Most Christians actually
believe this too because they believe babies and people in the jungles of Africa who have never heard
the gospel will somehow get a second chance. Right?
Before you tag me a heretic, and comment on Facebook why not see if the evidence holds up. Lets see
if that plays out in scripture ok?
I. WHEN WAS THE RESURRECTION AND THE JUDGMENT GOING TO TAKE PLACE?
Paul uses this word tense mll, which means "ABOUT TO, ON THE VERGE OF", in 2 Timothy 4:1, "I
charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who (is about to) judge the living and the
dead at His appearing and His kingdom."
Again in a similar context in Mt. 16:27-28, "For the Son of Man is [about] to come in the glory of His
Father with His angels and reward each man according to his deeds. Assuredly I say to you there are
some standing here who WILL NOT TASTE death until they see the Son of Man coming in his
kingdom.
Notice what Paul teaches: He has fixed a day in which He is about to judge the world in
righteousness. (Acts 17: 31) Romans 14:10-12 says, For we will all stand before Gods judgment
seatso then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. But in the previous chapter, Romans
13, he tells us when that judgment was going to take place It is already the hour for you to awaken
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from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the
day is at hand. (Romans 13: 11-12)
(Acts 24: 15) having hope toward God, which they themselves also wait for, that there is about to be a
rising again of the dead, both of righteous and unrighteous; (YLT)
Even the Governor Felix knew about It: As he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the
judgment about to come. (Acts 24: 25)
1 Peter 4:17, "For the time is come that THE judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first
begin at US, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
So this resurrection was something to take place AFTER the resurrection of Christ, but it was to take
place sometime in their NEAR future. Not 2000 years later.
II. WHAT WAS THE NATURE OF THAT JUDGMENT?
According to Paul in Corinthians the judgment was going to take place in the body, i.e. based on what
they did physically in the here and now. So if they were still alive, it would mean in their physical bodies.
Allow the simplicity of that to sweep away the clouds of confusion. This is of course played out in history
when THE judgment of Jerusalem and the Old Covenant system took place.
Remember judgment can mean separation, and not necessarily punishment. God separated the wheat
from the tares, the sheep from the goats, and the wheat from the chaff by giving them a choice to trust
Christ and leave the OC system, or stay in the city and they would die in the fires of Jerusalem by the
hand of Rome.
The ones who trusted Christ avoided that wrath while they were alive. But that isn't all. They were
promised a reward, not in heaven when they die where God gives out some kind of spiritual trophies for
good behavior, but the reward of a 100 fold return on everything they lost.
Mark 10:29-30, "And Jesus answering said, `Verily I say to you, there is no one who left house, or
brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or fields, for my sake, and for the good
news',
who may not receive an HUNDREDFOLD NOW in this time, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and
mothers, and children, and fields, WITH PERSECUTION, and in the age that is coming, life age-during
[the life of the kingdom age];" (YLT)
Their "reward" was to recieve back all that was lost, and to be able to ENTER the AGE of the KINGDOM
after AD 70.
What was the nature of the judgement of the dead? Please read my article The Healing of Hades and the
End of the Lake of Fire. We saw that Jesus was in Hades preaching the gospel, and the Fathers nature to
everyone there. He was faced with the pains of deaththe soul-death experiences of all humanity, but
he spoke the truth to their death, the truth of the Fathers heart.
So what was the judgment of the dead? It was in their day, as Peter saw it was at hand and God was
ready, on the verge. "They will give an account to Him who is READY to judge the living and the dead.
For this reason THE GOSPEL WAS PREACHED also to THOSE WHO ARE DEAD, that they might be judged
according to men in the flesh, BUT LIVE according to God in the spirit. For the end of all things is at
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hand." (1 Peter 4:5-7). Was Jesus preaching the gospel to people who were dead? Yes. Is that not a
"second chance"?
There is more...
III. WHAT WAS THE NATURE OF THE RESURRECTION?
The clearest teaching on the resurrection is found in 1 Cor. 15. I have a more extensive article if you
want more info called What's Your View of the Resurrection? This section could get real deep, real fast.
So I'll try to be brief.
First of all I need you to see that 1 Corinthians is about raising the dead out of Hades in their day, not
ours. Paul finishes by saying,
54 So WHEN this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, THEN
shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O Death,
where is your sting? O HADES, where is your victory?
Now Paul gives us another TIME statement, when this exchange happens at the resurrection in AD 70
from corruptible, mortal bodies, to immortality, then will be the fulfillment of Isaiah 25:8, and Hosea
13:14:
Isaiah 25:8, He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces;
The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken.
The context of Isaiah 25 is the destruction of Jerusalem, when God would turn over the city to strangers
(vs 1-3). Chapter 27 reveals that it would be when the altar would be turned into chalk stone (27:9),
fulfilled in the fires of AD 70. Is. 25 is also the time in history when the Law would be removed. Paul
called the Law a veil that hindered people from perceiving who God really was in Christ. Isaiah
prophesied, And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, Even the
veil which is stretched over all nations.
In addition he quotes Hosea 13:14, I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem
them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave [Hades-Sheol], I will be your destruction!
Pity is hidden from My eyes. Hades-Sheol, the abode of the dead, would be emptied and destroyed.
Never again would there be a separation or an intermediate state of any kind.
Now back to the main text of the resurrection out of Hades...
1 Cor. 15:35 But someone will say, HOW ARE THE DEAD RAISED UP? AND WITH WHAT BODY DO THEY
COME?...So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in
incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a
spiritual body. (1 Cor. 15)
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So Paul said their bodies were sown into the ground as a terrestrial body, one that is earthly. But just
like there is a difference between an earthy glory and the glory of a star, so there is a difference
between the physical body and the spiritual one. The physical body is sown in corruption, in other words
it dies and is eaten by worms and turns to dust. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. It is sown as a natural body
in weakness and dishonor, but it is raised in glory and in a spiritual body.
Please have intellectually honestly here since these words are plain. Our hearts have an image of what
that body should be like, but Paul tells us exactly what it would be. Those in Hades were brought out
with this body...
SPIRITUAL: Original Word: , , ; Transliteration: pneumatikos; Definition: spiritual. Helps

Word-Studies: 4152 pneumatiks (an adjective, derived from 4151 /pnema, "spirit") spiritual; relating
to the realm of spirit, i.e. the invisible sphere in which the Holy Spirit imparts faith, reveals Christ, etc.
This is the INVISIBLE body, just like the Holy Spirit is invisible. He is real, a person, but he cannot be seen
with the naked eye! Just like angels, who are real, but they are invisible, and have a spiritual body. Your
resurrection body is spiritual, invisible, and real but not some hybrid mix of spiritual and resurrected
flesh.
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam became a living being. The last Adam became a life-
giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47 The
first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man Is the Lord from heaven. 48 As was the man
of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are
heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the
heavenly Man.
NATURAL FIRST, THEN THE SPIRITUAL: The order of this again is very clear. It is not natural, then
spiritual, then a hybrid natural/spiritual body later. He mentions only two a natural body first, and
then a spiritual body last. No intermediate state of any kind! This is unavoidably clear.
This is nothing new as it is seen in many other passages revealing shadow and reality. There is the
natural Jerusalem, and the Jerusalem which is above (Gal. 4:26 ). Christ came in the flesh, but his second
coming was to be spiritual-in the clouds (Mt. 16:27-28). There was Elijah and then the spirit of Elijah
(Luke 1:16-18). The natural first, and then the spiritual. Our lives? The natural body first, then the
spiritual.
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As we have borne the image of Adam and his physical nature, so we shall bear the image of the
HEAVENLY man. Remember we are speaking of resurrection here. The resurrection we are to bear
resembles the one who is from heaven.
The heavenly image we are to experience? The word heaven is epouranios: which means of heaven or
fit for heaven. Original Word: , ; Transliteration: epouranios; Phonetic Spelling: (ep-oo-
ran'-ee-os) Definition: heavenly, celestial, in the heavenly sphere, the sphere of spiritual activities; met:
divine, spiritual.
HELPS Word-studies: 2032 epournios (an adjective, derived from 1909 /ep, "on, fitting," which
intensifies 3772 /ourans, "heaven") [The prefix (epi) shows this always "fits" from the standpoint of
heaven.]
I hear people suggest that "evil" people (based on their standard) would not be "fit" for heaven. But do
you see it? The ones raised out of Hades were raised with an invisible spiritual body fit for heaven like
was glimpsed in Jesus at the Transfiguration when the light within Jesus shone gloriously bright! (Mt.
17:1-2) Perfect people don't go to heaven. Imperfect people are made "fit" for the heavenly realm.
According to Paul, God "justifies the ungodly" (Rom 4:5).
IV. HOW MANY WERE RAISED FROM THE DEAD INTO HEAVEN?
The portion you have all been waiting for! This is the same chapter, 1 Corinthians 15:21-22, (NLT), So
you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has
begun through another man.
It had already begun because Christ was raised from the dead and ascended to the Father, and when he
was raised we were ALL raised together with him, spiritually or in a representative sense (See Eph. 2).
Notice he is still talking about resurrection in the next verse
22, For as indeed in Adam ALL die, so also in Christ ALL will be made alive. (Berean Literal Bible)
For just as by Adam ALL people die, IN THIS WAY ALSO by The Messiah they ALL LIVE. (Aramaic Bible
in Plain English)
As EVERYONE dies because of Adam, so also EVERYONE will be made alive because of Christ. (Gods
Word Translation)
Everyone was in ADAM. Everyone experienced his soul-death-separation. But ALL were also in Christ,
because in the incarnation he represents ALL humanity. Certainly you don't think the failure of Adam is
greater than the victory of Christ? Everyone would be transformed, transfigured into the same glorious
spiritual invisible body that Christ has on his throne! They were all made "fit" for heaven. The same form
that we saw on the mount of transfiguration.
How many? Everybody!!!! That means that even if you dismiss everything else in this blog, you are still
stuck with the plain truths of this section.
Just so we arent taking that from one single verse: Notice again what Peter says about that
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They will give an account to Him who is READY to judge the living and the dead. For this reason THE
GOSPEL WAS PREACHED also to THOSE WHO ARE DEAD, that they might be judged according to men
in the flesh, BUT LIVE according to God in the spirit. For the end of all things is at hand." (1 Peter 4:5-7)
For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be
judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the
spirit. (NIV)
That is why the Good News was preached to those who are now dead--SO ALTHOUGH THEY WERE
DESTINED TO DIE LIKE ALL PEOPLE, they NOW LIVE FOREVER with God in the Spirit. (NLT)
The whole idea that no one could have a second chance after death is not found in the bible. The
opposite is true he healed the darkness of every person in Hades. Paul said ALL would be raised and ALL
who were dead in Hades in that day were made alive to/with God. For more please read the article The
Healing of Hades and the End of the Lake of Fire.
CONCLUSION: WHAT ABOUT US TODAY?
As the masterful theologian Karl Barth recognized our brotherhood because of reconciliation, we
already all belong to him. (See Is God the Father of Us All) The whole idea of a "second chance" isn't
really a legitimate question anyway because as Jesus said, "You did not chose me, I chose you." In his
death, burial and resurrection he already reconciled the whole world to himself. Even if some don't
know it yet. We preach this good news so that others can know God and experience the reconciliation
that he already accomplished!
1. Humanity was reconciled while still acting like an enemy (Romans 5:10) therefore it was not
based on our actions or will.
2. All were reconciled by God not counting the sins of the cosmos against them (2 Cor 5:19), a fact
that hasn't changed, and a fact to be believed. Believing doesn't make it true. It is already true.
3. All this is God's work who reconciled us to Himself through Christ (2 Cor 5:18). You played no
part at all.
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4. He made peace by reconciling all groups of Jew and Gentile into one person, in the incarnation
of Christ (Eph 2:16). There are no walls between us except imaginary ones we create.
5. He reconciled everything (all things) in heaven and earth (Colossians 1:20). That leaves out no
one and includes everyone.
6. Even those who thought they were enemies in their own minds were reconciled (Col 1:21). Your
thinking cannot create or destroy it.
7. We are ambassadors to announce this truth that has already been accomplished (2 Cor 5:19).
8. Our only role is to receive in our hearts the message that is already true, to live as if it is true, to
"be" reconciled (2 Cor 5:20). Being is not doing.
So what happens to us when WE die?
The dead in Christ will rose first (out of Hades in their day). Who was in Christ? ALL! How many lived
with God who were dead in Hades? All according to what we just read of Peter. And then Paul goes on in
1 Thess. 5:17 Then we who are alive and remain...
That small word, "then" has huge implications. In fact, it destroys the rapture idea altogether!
There are two Greek words for "then": Strongs 1534, , eita. Strongs #1899, , epeita
Eita, "then" means immediately following a sequence of events. It means right after.
Epeita is eita with a prefix giving it the idea of "then afterwords". It means some period of time later. For
example: Galatians 1:18, "THEN (epeita) after 3 years..." Galatians 2:1, "THEN (epeita)14 years later..."
Paul says that after the dead in Christ rise (spiritually from Hades) first, THEN (epeita) IN SOME
INDEFINITE PERIOD IN THE FUTURE... we who are alive and remain will be caught up together.
This, without question, places a definite unknown time gap between the two. This is decidedly not an
end of the world passage. Keep reading and it will all come together.
Then We...Will be CAUGHT UP together with them...
The Greek word that some call rapture, is Strongs #726 harpz properly, seize by force; snatch up,
suddenly and decisively like someone seizing bounty (spoil, a prize). When you die, God will lay hold of
you as his precious prize!
Remember the language: first is clouds and second is meet in the the air. The cloud language is imagery
for the glory cloud of God in the temple. It is the cloud that was in the natural temple through the
burning of incense by the priests. It was the cloud that came at the dedication of the temple under
Solomon. It is the same temple cloud into which Jesus ascended in Acts 1. "Air" is the same word used to
describe the "prince of the power of the air", undoubtedly not the natural but spiritual atmosphere. This
definitively defines it as a spiritual event.
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AND SO SHALL WE EVER BE WITH THE LORD
You are not coming back in a different form but caught up in the cloud JUST like Jesus was as he
entered the heavenly realm! To FOREVER be in heaven where in his presence there is fullness of joy and
at his right hand pleasures evermore. (For more on the Rapture click here)
Conccerned about the justice of this view?
Check out: The Justice of God: Punishing You or Restoring You?
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New Heavens and New Earth, Hell?

WILL THE WORLD BE DESTROYED BY FIRE?

December 19, 2014

A Whole New World: Wont the World Be Destroyed by Fire?

Dr. Chuck Crisco

This was promised hundreds of years earlier by the prophet Malachi 4:

ONLY A FEW WILL BE SAVED?

April 10, 2015

WHO ARE THE FEW WHO FIND IT?

Romans 9:27-29, "Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel:

MEN WHO STARE AT (SHEEP) AND GOATS: IS THIS JUDGMENT PAST?

November 16, 2015

No goats. No glory. Lol.

JUDGE FOR YOURSELF

WHO ARE THE NATIONS?

Jesus separating people at the Last Judgement, by Fra Angelico, 1432-1435.

TO HELL WITH THE DEVIL!

ABIDE IN THE VINE OR GO TO HELL?

January 21, 2016

God Does Not Cut Off Branches... He Lifts Them Up by Grace!

God's Pruning is By Grace

Remember it is called the fruit of the SPIRIT! Not yours.

God Gave the Jews 40 Years of Grace Before the Fire

John the Baptist also spoke of the fires of 70 AD saying,

EXPOSING THE "DEPART FROM ME" MYTH OF MATTHEW 7:21-23

January 27, 2016

The Myth of Entering Heaven:

Who is Jesus Speaking To?

Who were the true Jews? Here is what Paul said,

Lawless Miracle Workers?

And of course there was this incident in Acts 19:

Men Who Stare at Sheep (and Goats): Is This Judgment Past?

You Were Born Into Grace

Why "It is Finished" was Finished in AD 70

How the Law Created God in Our Image

Spiritual MythBusters: Separation from God?

Hell No, We Wont Go!

Introduction: Is This Story About Hell?

In fact, God isn't even in the story itself at all!

II. A Parable of the Kingdom:

II. The Inheritance of the Kingdom:

III. The Chasm is Too Wide!

Brad Jersak wrote that

Malachi 4:1, For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an

For further study see:

Her Gates Will Never Be Shut, Brad Jersak,

Putting Hell Back in the Basket, by Brazen Church

IF YOU ARE ASHAMED OF JESUS, WILL YOU GO TO HELL?

October 24, 2016

One of those passages is Mark 8:35-38

Be Brave for Christ or Go to Hell?

What Was it to Lose The Soul?

So which is it? Both.

1870 epaisxnomai (from epi, "on, fitting" intensifying 153/aisxyn,

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THE HEALING OF HADES AND THE END OF THE LAKE OF FIRE!

I. PRELIMINARY THOUGHTS AND QUESTIONS

So why was Hades cast into the Lake of Fire?

If You Are Ashamed of Jesus You will Go to Hell?

Abide in the Vine or Go to Hell?

APPENDIX: JERUSALEM'S HELL

WILL GOD DESTROY ONE'S SOUL IN HELL?

December 12, 2016

WHO WERE THE PERSECUTORS?