Lazarus and the Rich Man

LAZARUS AND THE RICH MAN
by Herbert W. Armstrong
1953, 1971, 1973 edition

Many have asked for the true explanation of the "rich man and Lazarus." Here is what the Bible really says!
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DO SAVED mothers up in heaven see the writhing and hear the shrieks of their own lost children down in hell?
Stop and think! Would you really want to spend eternity in a heaven where you would be forced to gaze constantly upon your own loved ones who were lost, hearing them frantically screaming to you for help you would be unable to give, watching incessantly their indescribable agony, as they are on fire -- burning to death -- yet never really burning up? Would you be happy?
Yet that is exactly the kind of "heaven" that is being pictured by many religionists. Many of them rely more on Jesus' account of Lazarus and the rich man than any other scripture to support their teaching that the "saved" go instantly, at death, to heaven while the lost leave their bodies and are plunged into an ever burning inferno of eternal torture.

What the Bible Says

Those who deny that anyone goes to heaven or to hell at the instant of death maintain the account of Lazarus and the rich man is merely a parable. But the "immortal soul" advocates insist this is not a parable. Jesus was stating facts that had happened, they argue.
So let's pretend this was not a parable. Let's take it literally.
Jesus surely meant exactly what He said. But even then He did not say what is popularly believed!
Jesus said, "There was a certain rich man." He said that this particular rich man "was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day." He really lived in luxury and splendor! (Luke 16:19.)
Also, Jesus said, "There was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores" (verses 20-21).
Yes, there were many such beggars in Judaea when Jesus lived there.
Next Jesus described what happened to them.
"And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried" (verse 22). They both died!
That is exactly what Jesus said. Now read that again. Did Jesus say the beggar went to heaven?
He certainly did not! He said the beggar "was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom."

Did the Beggar Go to Heaven?

Now what is a "bosom"? If you can find what a "bosom" is -- and in this case Abraham's bosom -- you will know where the beggar was taken.
Look in your dictionary. A "bosom" is the breast of a human being, with the arms as an enclosure; a loving embrace by the arms of one person about another; an intimate relationship.
So Lazarus was carried into an intimate relationship with Abraham.
Lazarus here is pictured as a person, perhaps even a Gentile, who received salvation. Do Gentiles, upon being converted and becoming Christ's, enter into any intimate relationship to Abraham?
They certainly do! To the Gentile born Galatians, the scriptures written by Paul say definitely: "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed [children], and heirs according to the promise" (Gal. 3:29).
Through Christ they become the children of Abraham. Through faith we all become "the children of Abraham" (Gal. 3:7). That is an intimate relationship with Abraham. That is being taken into Abraham's bosom! Now Abraham is an heir of God. God gave Abraham a promise. Notice (Gal. 3:29), those who through Christ become Abraham's children are heirs -- but heirs according to the promise God made to Abraham.

The Promise Was Not Heaven

Now what did God promise Abraham? To what promise was this beggar now an heir? Did God promise Abraham and his children heaven? Let's not put any interpretation upon the sacred Word of God. No scripture is of any private interpretation -- it is interpreted by other scriptures. It ought not to be interpreted by man.
To learn what God promised Abraham, we must turn back to Genesis 12.
"And Abram took Sarai his wife ... and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came .... And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land" (Gen. 12:5-7).
The land of Canaan is on this earth, not up in heaven. This beggar through Christ became "Abraham's seed" -- in the intimate
relationship of one of Abraham's children. Then God included this beggar when He said: "Unto thy seed will I give THIS LAND.
Again, later, God promised Abraham: "For all the LAND which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed FOREVER (Gen. 13:15).
Again, still later: "In the same day the Eternal made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates" (Gen. 15:18). Here God wrote into the agreement, or the title to the property, the very boundary line of the property. Of course the expression "thy seed" refers in particular to Christ, but since this beggar was Christ's, he also was "Abraham's seed, and heir according to the promise."
The promise was not heaven. The promise was the land of Canaan, on this earth. It was forever, so the promise included eternal life, and eternal inheritance (Hub. 9:15). The promise, then, was eternal life on this earth!

Only an Heir!

Now notice an important point. The beggar was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom -- that is, by Bible explanation, he became one of Abraham's children, and therefore he became an heir to the land on this earth and eternal life.
The next question is, when was this beggar to inherit -- to come into possession of -- eternal life in the promised land? Jesus, in telling about Lazarus and the rich man, did not cover that point.
He only told what happened, not when. We must find the answer, not in human imagination or the false teaching of man, but in the Bible!
The son who is heir to his father's property cannot come into possession of it before his father inherits it. This beggar, carried into the intimate relationship of a son of Abraham, could not inherit either eternal life, or this land, prior to the time his father Abraham received these promises.
When, then, did Abraham actually receive these promises? The startling answer of Scripture is -- he didn't! He has not, even yet in our day, inherited these promises!

WHEN We Inherit the Promises

Scripture reveals the answer through the inspired speech of the very first Christian martyr, Stephen, who was stoned to death for these very words. "And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham ... and said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans ... into this land, wherein ye now dwell. And he gave him none inheritance in it ... yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him"
(Acts 7:2-5). Again this amazing fact is stated in the faith chapter Hebrews 11: "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed .... By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise .... These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth" (Heb. 11:8-13).
Abraham died, but has not to this day inherited the promises!
Abraham died, and was still dead, at the time of Christ's earthly ministry. We read in John 8:52, "Abraham is dead." At that time -- centuries after he died -- Abraham was not living on earth or in heaven or anywhere! He is still dead today. When, then, is he to inherit the promises?
At the time of the resurrection of the just, of course! The Kingdom of God is the government to be set up at Jerusalem to rule all nations after the second coming of Christ.
"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven ... and the dead in Christ shall rise first" (I Thes. 4:16). Human mortals, in Christ, living and dead, receive eternal life-immortality -- the promises God made to Abraham -- at Christ's second coming. That is when they shall put on immortality. "Flesh and blood [human mortals] cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither death corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead [including Abraham and the beggar] shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality"
(I Cor. 15:50-53).
Again, notice when Abraham and all his children co-heirs are finally to inherit the promises -- the Kingdom of God, on this earth:
"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him" -- notice, this is the second coming of Christ -- "then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory .... Then" -- and not until then -- "shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:31-34).
Jesus said Abraham would receive the promises, including eternal life, through the resurrection: "But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by (God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living" (Matt. 22:31-32). Jesus did not say Abraham was then
living. Yet the things God has promised are so certain they may be counted as if already accomplished. Abraham, as shown above by Scripture, was and still is dead. But Jesus spoke this about Abraham "as touching the resurrection of the dead." Abraham will be resurrected.
Jesus told one particular group they would see Abraham in the Kingdom (Luke 13:28), because Abraham, now dead, will then be resurrected.

Carried by Angels

Now again let's get back to what Jesus said about Lazarus in Luke.
Jesus said this beggar died. So, like Abraham, he is still dead.
But after Lazarus died, Jesus said he "was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom." We now know that where he was carried was not up to heaven, but into the status of a son and heir of Abraham, to inherit the land on this earth and eternal life upon it at the time his father Abraham comes into his inheritance -- at the time of the resurrection.
But notice, Lazarus is to be carried there by the angels!
When do the angels come down from heaven? In Matthew 25:31, quoted above, we saw that it was at the second coming of Christ -- at the time of the resurrection.
Again, Scripture reveals: Christ shall "send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds" out of their graves in a resurrection (Matt. 24:31). The time when the angels carry Lazarus and the saints into sharing the inheritance with Abraham -- into Abraham's bosom -- is the time of the resurrection. Lazarus is to be resurrected and carried by the angels through the air to meet Christ at His return, and to be with Abraham in the intimate relationship of father and son! Yes, how plain! Lazarus will then enjoy the fond embrace of his father through Christ, Abraham -- both then resurrected and living forevermore in the promised land, then inherited!
There is no doubt as to how the Bible uses the word "bosom."
Turn to Isaiah 40:11. Here we find God will care for His people as a shepherd does his sheep, carrying them "in His bosom" Jesus was "in the bosom" of the Father (John 1:18), enjoying the Father's blessings and close relationship. Moses carried the children of Israel in his bosom (Num. 11:12). To be in one's bosom is to have that one's love and protection, and share his blessings and inheritance. So it will be at the resurrection.

The Fate of the Rich Man

Now let's see what happened to the rich man -- and when.
Jesus said of him: "... The rich man also died, and was buried" (Luke 16:22). Jesus did not say the rich man was taken immediately at that time to an eternally burning hell. He did not say the body was buried but that the rich man himself was plunged immediately into a burning hell. He said the rich man died -- and the rich man, himself, was buried.
Now one would hardly say that the act of throwing a person into that imaginary burning cauldron luridly described as hell was a burying of the person, would he? One is not buried unless he is covered up.
People are buried in a grave, and covered with earth. But the imaginary hell invented by some is never pictured as a place of burial. This rich man died and was buried. He himself was buried -- not a "house" he had lived in. Jesus said so -- read it in your Bible.

What Kind of Hell?

In the next verse, Jesus said: "And in hell he lift up his eyes" (verse 23).
So the rich man was in a place called "hell" after all, wasn't he? And in this hell he "lifted up his eyes." His eyes had been closed in death, and now there came a time when they opened -- he "lifted up his eyes."
What kind of "hell" is this?
Startling though it may be, the rich man was buried in the same kind of "hell" Jesus was buried in! Yes, Jesus died and was buried -- and in "hell"!
In the first inspired sermon preached by Peter on the day the New Testament Church started, Peter said: "He [David] seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left IN HELL, neither his flesh did see corruption" (Acts 2:31).
Jesus too died and was buried. And in "hell" He too lifted up His eyes -- when He was resurrected!
Now let me explain that, and make it plain!
The New Testament was written in the Greek language. Your Bible is a translation in the English language. The King James Version reads: "And in hell he lift up his eyes." However, in the original Greek in which the New Testament was written there are three different Greek words, each having a totally different meaning, but all three of which were translated into the King James Version by the English word "hell."
One of the Greek words is tartaros, which refers only to the present condition of darkness or perversion and of restraint of the fallen angels or demons. Another is gehenna, a place at the bottom of a high ledge at the south end of Jerusalem where garbage, refuse, and bodies of dead animals and the worst criminals were dumped over the ledge to be burned up. Down below, the fires were kept continually burning. They burned up, or consumed -- totally destroyed the bodies and refuse dumped there. This is the word Jesus used when He spoke of being finally destroyed in "hellfire."
But this rich man was not buried in that "hell." He was not in gehenna. The third, and most commonly used Greek word, was written here by Luke -- hades. And hades means "the grave" -- a place of burial in the ground!
When the King James translation of the Bible was made, Englishmen spoke commonly of "putting their potatoes in hell for the winter." They buried them in the ground!
This is the "hell" Jesus was buried in --the "hell" His soul was not left in -- the grave, or tomb, from which He was resurrected! And this hades was also the "hell" in which the rich man was buried.

WHEN Did He Open His Eyes?

Now once again, Jesus did not say when this rich man, "in hell," lifted up his eyes. Jesus pictured him as one of the wicked, or lost. We must look to other scriptures to tell us when the unjust will lift up their eyes in their graves.
Daniel speaks of the resurrection of the just, and of the unjust: "And many of them that sleep [their eyes closed] in the dust of the earth [their graves -- buried -- in hades shall awake [lift up their eyes], some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Dan. 12:2).
Jesus said: "... The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil [including the rich man], unto the resurrection of damnation [judgment]" (John 5:28-29).
Here Jesus speaks of two different, separate resurrections.
Quoted above are scriptures showing that the "dead in Christ" are to be resurrected at His second coming. In I Corinthians 15:22-24, we read that all are to be resurrected -- but in an order of different resurrections -- -Christ Himself, 1900 years ago; afterward, in a different resurrection, "they that are Christ's at his coming," and then "cometh the end" -- indicating the resurrection of the unjust later.
In Revelation 20:4 we read of the resurrection of those in Christ at His coming. But Revelation 20:5 says: "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished."
So the resurrection of the rich man and all the unjust or unsaved will take place after the Millennium! It is pictured and described in Revelation 20:11-13.
So, while Jesus in speaking about the rich man and Lazarus did not say when the rich man will open his eyes and be resurrected out of his grave, other scriptures do reveal that it will be after the Millennium.

Are the Dead Conscious?

Notice now, Lazarus, with Abraham and all the saints who are Abraham's children, is to be resurrected at the time of Christ's coming. They shall live through the Millennium. But the rest of the dead shall not live until the thousand years are past. The rich man, then, will not come back to life until a thousand years after Abraham, Lazarus, and all who are Christ's have been made alive.
Will this rich man be conscious of the great lapse of time?
Your Bible says, if you will believe it: "For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything ... for the memory of them is forgotten" (Eccl. 9:5) -- that is, they have no consciousness while dead. They are totally unconscious! Job speaks of a dead man and says: "His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them" (Job 14:21). Isaiah says our father Abraham knows nothing of us, today (Isa. 63:16). David was inspired to write: "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish" (Psalm 146:4).
The rich man, then, at the time of his resurrection after the Millennium will come to consciousness, open and lift up his eyes, knowing absolutely nothing of the hours, days, and years since he died. To him it will be the next fraction of a second from the time he died. It will seem to him as if he had gone immediately to this state or condition in which he finds himself rising up out of the grave.

What Is This Flame?

But when he is resurrected, he sees a flame which torments him.
What is this?
Now Jesus did, on other occasions, speak of perishing and being destroyed in gehenna fire. What is this? It is described in Revelation 20:14-15 as a lake of fire.
Scripture everywhere describes the final fate of the wicked as being burned up. Their punishment is death by fire! It is this "lake of fire" which is "the second death," from which there shall be no resurrection! They remain forever dead! This death is for all eternity -- eternal punishment -- but not eternal punishing!
Now, opening his eyes in his grave, this rich man sees Abraham, and Lazarus in his "bosom" -- his embrace! He also sees this awful flame of fire -- this lake of fire which is about to destroy him forever! He is terrified!
What happens when one is suddenly so paralyzed with fear? His mouth goes dry. His tongue sticks to his mouth and throat!
The rich man cries out in this mental agony: "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame."
Now if the rich man were in the kind of "hell" most people seem to believe, his whole body would be on fire. You would think he would have called for at least a bucket of water to put out the fire, wouldn't you?
Look at this!
How much water did he call for? He said to Abraham: "...
Send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water." Just a couple of drops that's all the water he requested! Doesn't that strike you as strange? Why did he call for water? To put out the fires of all "hell"? the kind of hell people would have you believe he was in? Ah, no!
He only wanted a mere couple of drops of water on Lazarus' finger.
Why? -- "to cool my tongue!" That's what the rich man said! Open your own Bible again, and read it!
The flame, he said, was "tormenting" him. This word "tormented," used in verses 24 and 25, is translated from the Greek word odunomai. This is defined in any Greek-English lexicon as "to cause pain, to pain, distress; pain of body, but also, pain of mind; grief, distress."
Why of course! This rich man opens his eyes in his grave in a resurrection. He is resurrected mortal, just as he was before he died -- not immortal like Lazarus. He sees this lake of fire. Now he knows the frightful, the awful doom he is to be thrust into -- to be burned up -- destroyed! He is suffering mental anguish such as he never experienced in his lifetime. His tongue is dry. He
breaks out in cold sweat. He cries for a little water on the tip of Lazarus' finger to cool his tongue! He is in a condition of weeping.

The Final Hellfire

Now once again read this in your Bible. Read exactly what Jesus said, not what the "hellfire" preachers say He said! Did Jesus say this rich man was going to suffer endlessly and forever -- always burning -- being on fire -- yet never burning up? Did He? Of course not!
There is not one word here about how long his anguish is to last.
Jesus was saying these things to those who would not repent.
What did He want to make them understand, when He gave this account about Lazarus and the rich man? Jesus answers this question for us in Luke 13:27, 28 when He said: "Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out." Yes, they are going to be in exactly the same position as this rich man! Jesus is using him as an illustration to show these individuals what is to befall them. They are to be thrust out -- into the lake of fire which shall consume them, leaving them neither root nor branch, as the Scriptures say.
The wicked are going to be cast into the lake of fire. When they lift up their eyes in their resurrection, they shall know that they are doomed, now to be cast into the lake of fire to be burned up.
This rich man cried out for help because of his mental and physical anguish -- knowing what was now to befall him! He knew he was guilty! When a man realizes he is guilty, and faces his just and terrible retribution, the very first part of the body to be affected is the tongue, which dries out -- seems to be on fire.

What Is the Great Gulf?

But Abraham and Lazarus were afar off and no water was brought. The rich man had to suffer mentally for his sins. He had had his reward, in the material things he sought, craved and acquired during his mortal lifetime.
There is a great gulf fixed between this doomed sinner and all the glorified saints in God's Kingdom.
What is that great gulf?
The gulf mentioned by Abraham which prevents the wicked from escaping death by hellfire, and which also keeps the righteous from being burned up, is immortality. Those who are immortal shall never die because they are born of God (Rev. 20:6). But human beings who have not been begotten and born of the Spirit of God are still flesh, subject to corruption and death. They can be burned by fire.
Don't forget, this is a literal fire and the rich man is a human being composed of flesh and blood. Only the saved possess immortality as the gift of God (Rom. 2:7), but the wicked reap anguish and wrath that shall devour the adversary -- fiery indignation (Heb. 10:27). What happens when a human body is being burned by a flame?
There is a period of torture during which the fire consumes the body before the person dies. Then what about this rich man? Jesus didn't say he was immortal, for if he were, he would be spirit and flames do not burn spirit. Fire is a physical process. It is combustion of matter. The rich man is a physical person just as you are.

Not Completed

And Jesus leaves us, in this account, with the rich man hearing the words of Abraham in his mind or conscience and tormented by the flames that are closing in around his body. A human body doesn't burn forever. It finally turns to ashes in a fire. Therefore we must go to other verses of the Bible to find out exactly what did happen after the short conversation recorded.
Matthew 13:30 speaks symbolically of the wicked being gathered into bundles to be burned. What happens to tares (weeds) when in fire? They burn up! Again in Matthew 3:12, John warned the Pharisees that they would be burned up as chaff if they didn't repent. They are to be burned with unquenchable fire -- a fire so hot that no amount of water could put it out, because the flames would turn the water to steam.
When God punishes the wicked the fire will be unquenchable!
But that doesn't say it won't burn itself out when it has nothing more to burn. An unquenchable fire can't be put out, but it can burn itself out when it has consumed everything.
Malachi 4:1, 3 speaks of this fire that will burn the rich man: "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch .... And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of
your feet in the day that I shall do this."
That is the end of the wicked! They shall perish and not he any more. "Into smoke shall they consume away" (Psalm 37:20).
The rich man then, being mortal flesh, is going to burn up after being tormented in the flame. He is going to die the second death (Rev. 20:14). The wages of sin is death, not endless torment (Rom. 6:23).

The Rich Man's Brothers

The rich man at last realized he was doomed! He now comprehended the gulf that existed between him and those who had been made immortal. Abraham had made clear the utter impossibility of the rich man crossing that gulf into immortality. He had had his chance during his lifetime. He had passed it up for this world's material riches and pleasures. There was no hope for him. He was now doomed to perish in this lake of fire.
His last thought flashed finally to his five brothers. He gave one last cry to Abraham, begging him to send Lazarus to his father's house to plead with his brothers, lest they come to his terrible fate. Abraham replied they had the writings of Moses and the prophets. But the rich man realized they would not hear these Scriptures.
"Nay, father Abraham," he screamed, "but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent"! (Verse 30.)
The rich man knew Lazarus was raised from the dead! This one statement indicates that the whole experience of Lazarus and the rich man was given by Jesus to show the truth of the resurrection -- not to teach any immediate going to "heaven" or "hell" at the instant of death. (Incidentally, many Bible scholars also believe that the story of Lazarus and the rich man teaches nothing about the state of the dead. Says The New Bible Dictionary:
"Probably the story of Dives and Lazarus (Lk. xvi), like the story of the unjust steward (Lk. xvi. 1-9), is a parable which made use of certain Jewish thinking and is not intended to teach anything about the state of the dead" [p. 388].)
Abraham replied: "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one ROSE from the dead" (verse 31).
There it is! In plain language! The experience of Lazarus and the rich man shows the resurrection from the dead -- not an instantaneous going to "heaven" or "hell." It is a resurrection from the dead -- not from life. It shows mortality which dies, and is dead -- not immortality which never loses consciousness and lives forever in an eternal punishing of the imaginary "hell." Jesus was showing a resurrection -- or bringing back to life of one who was dead of one who had no consciousness whatever of the lapse of centuries and millennia since his death. Far from illustrating immortality of the soul and the lurid
eternally burning torture of "hell," Jesus illustrates death -- total unconsciousness through the centuries -- and the resurrection from death and restoration of consciousness. Secondly, He illustrates the second death in the lake of fire that shall totally destroy the wicked, in which they perish and become ashes under the soles of the feet of the saved -- the eternal punishment of death, eternal death, the SECOND death!

The Warning for YOU!

Finally, what is the real lesson?
Jesus was preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God -- the New Testament gospel. He was showing salvation, the resurrection to eternal life as the gift of God -- inheritance of the Kingdom of God on this earth.
The apostle Paul plainly tells us that the New Testament Church of God is built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:20).
Jesus said: "I will build my church." Paul reveals it was built on the foundation of the prophets as well as the apostles!
Jesus here teaches you that if you refuse to hear Moses and the prophets -- and Moses was one of the prophets -- you have no hope of salvation! The Scriptures (Old Testament as well as New), according to II Timothy 3:15, are able to make us wise unto salvation. We are to take the whole Bible, not the New Testament only.
Those who teach that the commandments of God are done away teach a message of doom! Those who teach the pagan doctrine of the immortality of the soul -- going off to "heaven" at death, or eternal punishing -- teach contrary to what Jesus said!
May you take heed, and hear all the Word of God!

Germany gains control of EU Commission by default

LATEST FROM FREENATIONS


EU PROPAGANDA BOOSTED BY GERMAN PR AGENCY

INTRODUCTION The EU Commission is handing over the development of its new media strategy to a German firm closely linked to the German Foreign Office and the Bundeswehr. The aim of the plan is to weaken the resistance by the population to the policies of the European Union. The firm offers so-called "integrated communications campaigns" in which content provided by the client is blended into editorial programmes in the media.........so they are no longer recognisable as the opinions and assertions of the client.This German PR firm sees journalists as “multipliers”. It is a disgraceful comment on the supine nature of so much journalism that this new Goebbels-like propaganda machine regards journalists as useful idiots and their employers as cost saving relayers of propaganda! With the help of the British Government this new Goebbels will be targeting British schools - despite that being illegal under the 1946 Education Act.

READ THE ARTICLE from the German journalists of german-foreign-policy.com translated by Edward Spalton at FREENATIONS

Germany's Fourth Reich Spreads Its Wings Over the World

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Shimon Peres

Born Again and Heaven and Hell

If you're not born again before you die, you'll spend eternity in hell.

Who hasn't heard that "sermon" or something like it before? That one statement contains four religious lies and proves such a preacher apparently doesn't know God, Jesus Christ or the Bible well enough to know differently! Nothing wrong with that, of and by itself, except an error becomes a lie when folks persist in it after it's been exposed (Matt. 3:19-21).

First, Yeshua said that which is born of the flesh is flesh (like we are now in this life), but that which is born of the Spirit IS SPIRIT. He also said you can't even see or enter into that Kingdom of God unless you're born again, which nobody has been but Yeshua by a resurrection from the dead and transformation from human to divine, from flesh and blood to SPIRIT. Those who are born again have SPIRIT BODIES.

Paul confirms and clarifies this awesome truth:

1 Corinthians 15:45-57

45So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being" [flesh]; the last Adam, a life-giving SPIRIT...

47The first man was of the dust of the earth [flesh], the second man from Heaven [SPIRIT].

48As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth [that which is born of flesh is flesh]; and as is the man from heaven[Spirit], so also are those who are of [not in] heaven [that which is born of SPIRIT IS SPIRIT].

49And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man [flesh], so SHALL we bear the likeness of the man from heaven [SPIRIT].

50I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God [just like Yeshua clearly stated that unless you're born again, a SPIRIT BEING, you can see or enter the Kingdom-Family of God], nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable [yet those who bleat they're already born again say they can - let God be true and every man a liar].

51Listen, I tell you a mystery [remains a mystery to most]: We will not all sleep [not go to "Heaven or Hell" at death], but we will all be changed--

52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, AT THE LAST TRUMP. (not in this life or at death) For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed [born again].

53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality [YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN].

54When the perishable has been clothed [with our heavenly bodies - not bodies in heaven] with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."

55"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"

56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

This clearly shows Adam was flesh and blood, mortal, corruptible and we're just like him - but the good news is we can become exactly like the Second Adam and be transformed - BORN AGAIN - at the resurrection into brilliant God-beings, composed of divine nature and holy composition: BORN AGAIN SPIRIT BEINGS!

Further proof nobody is born again is Yeshua is yet to return and establish the Kingdom of God on Earth, and the glorified saints are yet to rule with but under Him as divine Priest-Kings, SPIRIT-BEINGS (having truly been born again).

Those who understood what it means to be born again, and just what the Kingdom of God really constitutes, agree with these very clear Scriptures:

Daniel 2:44

44 And in the days of these [10 kings/EU nations] kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

Daniel 7:27

27 Then the kingdom and dominion,
And the greatness of the kingdoms UNDER the whole heaven [not in Heaven],
Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High [then born again].
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.'

Revelation 20:6

6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

The King of the Jews, the King of Israel, is yet to return and establish the Kingdom of God on Earth, smashing all opposition. The faithful still pray, "Thy Kingdom Come" and it certainly will in God's good time!

This is the Kingdom-Family of God that will administer the one world government of God that you can't even enter UNTIL you've become born again as a divine SPIRIT-BEING, just like Yeshua said and Paul taught: two witnesses to this truth.

This is the Kingdom of God (not some pretty platitude, sanctimonious feeling or spiritualized stupor or experience), the GOOD NEWS Yeshua preached and the true Church of God announces is coming soon! May all REPENT and believe the gospel, so help us God.

The Church of God is the Kingdom of God in embryo, as Herbert W. Armstrong taught. We're begotten now, are converted and being converted, but we'll be born again at the return of Christ and first resurrection. We can celebrate that the Kingdom of God is coming soon in power and great glory: the Lord Yeshua with all the glorified, transformed saints then divine SPIRIT-BEINGS.

The righteous are not in Heaven and sinners are not in "Hell."

Scriptures clearly reveal all the saints are dead and buried, asleep, awaiting their resurrection at the return and reign of Yeshua. The dead in Christ (they're dead - not alive in Heaven) haven't received their inheritance YET and won't until we all do so together:

Hebrews 11:39-40

39These [all those listed in the chapter of Faith] were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised [which was never Heaven anyway]. 40God had planned something better for us so that only TOGETHER WITH US would they be made perfect [at the seventh trumpet, at the return of Christ, at our resurrection and transformation].

The Scriptures cannot be broken and are consistent - something idolatrous traditions clearly aren't.
Remember, immortality, eternal life is a GIFT from God, but the wages of sin is death. Eternal life or eternal death, plain and simple, thus said the Lord (yet some insist on twisting parables out of context, rejecting the clear black and white Scriptures).

God is not the sadist that traditional Christianity misrepresents Him to be. Those who submit to the Word of God rather than fall for Roman wolves in sheep's clothing (with their Babylonish beliefs and pagan myths), know the unrepentant will be put out of their misery, destroyed in the Lake of Fire, having suffered the second death.

The meek shall inherit the Earth and the wicked will be history! So says YOUR Bible. Why not believe it over idolatrous traditions of men?

"For evildoers shall be cut off; but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. But the wicked shall perish [John 3:16], and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away. For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off! The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever" (Ps. 37:9-12,20,22,29).<

And notice Psalm 104:35: "Let the sinners he consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more.

Notice the great contrast: eternal life or eternal death; inherit the Earth or be destroyed from off the face of the Earth.

Isaiah 66:22-24

22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. [But the wicked will be history, although during the Millennium...]
23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath [the Sabbath wasn't done away with!] to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

Do you believe in immortal worms? Realize this speaks of the far future - the new heavens and the new earth, and then goes back to the initial thousand year reign of Yeshua when just outside of Jerusalem the Valley of Hinnom will be kept burning as a warning to all of what happens to the wicked - they're burnt up, but their maggots turn into flies and continue to live. Time setting is everything as well as rightly dividing the Scriptures - not falling into the traditional ditch of darkness.

Revelation 22:12-15

12 "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me [it was reserved in Heaven, but it's not Heaven!], to give to every one according to his work. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."
14 Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city [New Jerusalem, a building/city eternal]. 15 But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

ASHES OUTSIDE THE GATES OF JERUSALEM. Eternal life vs. eternal death.

Revelation 21:8

8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second DEATH."

Malachi 4:1-3

1 "For behold, the day is coming [yet future],
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 [eternal DEATH].
2 But to you who fear My name
The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings [eternal LIFE];
And you shall go out
And grow fat like stall-fed calves.
3 You shall trample the wicked,
For they shall be ASHES under the soles of your feet [outside Jerusalem]
On the day that I do this,"
Says the LORD of hosts.

That's what happens to something that gets burnt up: nothing is left but ashes. How plain. How logical. How merciful!

Jude 1:5

5Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. [God didn't torture them].

Why do folks refuse to believe God for vain traditions? The wicked will be completely destroyed, nothing left of them, ashes, but the meek shall inherit the Earth, even as the wicked are cut off forever. Eternal life or eternal death.

The real Hell fire doesn't even exist yet!

Traditional Christianity doesn't believe Yeshua when He said God is able to destroy both body and soul in Gehenna fire; that God so loved the world that whosoever believes in Him should not PERISH but have everlasting LIFE; that immortality alone belongs to God and those whom He offers it as a GIFT; that the wicked will be utterly destroyed and become ashes under the soles of the feet of those who inherit the Earth; that we know no murderer has eternal life in him.

Regardless of traditional disbelief or religious rebellion, the Bible clearly teaches that after God has purified this Earth by fire, making it new, renewing the surface of the Earth as He once did with water, the wicked will be history and ashes under the soles of the feet of those given the gift of immortality - you're not an immortal soul - and all suffering will be a thing of the past. The new heavens and Earth will be filled with righteousness - there won't be any room for evil, no polluted part, no forbidden zone or mythological "hell" to taint the new heavens and the new Earth - if you believe the Bible over idolatrous traditions (Rev. 20:14).

The real Hell fire doesn't even exist yet! So how can anybody be in it? The Lake of Fire that will engulf the entire surface of the Earth is future. Read it for yourself and believe it over misguided men:

2 Peter 3:5-7, 10-12

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 [Earth was purified by water]. 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 [even as water once purified the Earth of wicked men, soon fire will do the same - in the future!]...

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 [this is the real "hell" fire the Bible teaches - much hotter than the pagan myths teach - and it's yet future, not "down there" or any other place in men's twisted imaginations, but the whole surface of the Earth will be consumed and purified by fire]. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Revelation 21:1-4

1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea [the fire that purified the earth evaporated it]. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, COMING DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." [This alone proves the Bible teaches eternal punishment - not eternal punishing].

I encourage all to read the rest of the chapter without traditional blinders and be amazed to discover that the pearly gates and streets of gold are going to be right here ON EARTH!

Heaven isn't the Reward of the Saved!

2 Corinthians 5:1

1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

Yeshua clearly said: "THE MEEK SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH". The Scripture above nowhere says we're to "go to Heaven" - in fact, it speaks of the heavenS, the universe (which ultimately we'll inherit but remain based on Earth with the New Jerusalem that will come down from Heaven to be established on Earth: "Heaven on Earth").

When properly understood, we know that our heavenly bodies, our new spirit-composed bodies that we'll receive (when we're born again) occurs at the return of Yeshua and our resurrection. Yeshua promises to bring our reward with Him from Heaven - He doesn't take us to receive it in Heaven! There's a big difference.

Verse 3 that clearly proves we'll be clothed with our new "house" FROM Heaven. Those born again will have SPIRIT BODIES.

2 Corinthians 5:2

2 For in this we groan [why groan if we're already born again? - if we're already delivered?], earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is FROM heaven [not in it!].

Revelation 22:12

12 "And behold, I am coming quickly [the Second Coming of Christ TO EARTH], and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

Remember Yeshua said in His Father's House [Temple] are many mansions/rooms/offices/positions? Those positions will be filled in His Kingdom-Family that is established when He returns! We're to help administer the government of God.

What about 2 Corinthians 5:8?

8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

Nowhere does that Scripture mention Heaven. However, when Yeshua returns, bringing our reward with Him from Heaven - having been reserved in Heaven - (and later the New Jerusalem itself comes down from Heaven with the Father), we will be absent from these bodies of flesh when we're transformed, when we receive our heavenly bodies, our SPIRIT BODIES as those who are truly born again, but it all takes place right here on God's good Earth.


Shimon Peres


David Ben-Ariel is a Christian-Zionist writer and author of Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall. With a focus on the Middle East and Jerusalem, his analytical articles help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Check out the Beyond Babylon blog.

Racist Pig Mugabe Breaks Pledge to White Farmers

White Farmers Receive Eviction Notices Despite Mugabe Pledge, Telegraph (UK)

Zimbabwe moves to push out the remaining whites—and last productive farmers.
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May God bless Rhodesia and South Africa to be restored to their proper British-Israelite owners.

I'm glad to have been blessed to visit both countries.

South Africa in Prophecy

Warning the World about the German-Jesuit EU

The North American Union, modeled after the European Union (created by Nazis) is all part of the GRAND DESIGN:

Germany's Fourth Reich Spreads It Wings Over the World

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Israeli Sheeple & Nazi-Muslims
By David Ben-Ariel

An exchange between an Israeli who voted for the defeatist Kadima party of fools, and a staunch American Christian-Zionist.

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The Economist Assaults Jerusalem
By David Ben-Ariel

Doesn't the Economist know that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel? Doesn't the Economist know that Israel is the Jewish homeland? Doesn't it stand to reason, then, that the capital of the Jewish homeland should be a large Jewish city?

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Kadima Wins, Israel loses!
By David Ben-Ariel

Kadima is a bought and paid for political party serving foreign interests, alien powers out to dismantle the Jewish homeland and destroy Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem.

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Europe Misses the Mark - Will It Return as the Sign of the Cross?
By David Ben-Ariel

Europe needs a figurehead and symbols to rally around. Will the pope soon present them with both?

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Europe to take out Iran for Jerusalem
By David Ben-Ariel

Jerusalem is in danger of becoming the capital of Europe's Crusader Kingdom. The German-Jesuit EU will defeat Iran for Jerusalem. "Woe to Ariel, Ariel, the City where David dwelt!"

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Ariel Sharon: From Zionist to Traitor
By David Ben-Ariel

Ariel Sharon sold out to foreign interests and brutally betrayed those who brought him to power.

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Israel's Chief Rabbi Invites Foreign Occupation
By David Ben-Ariel

Israel's Chief Rabbi petitions representatives of the world's religions to establish a United Nations in Jerusalem, representing religions instead of nations, like the UN currently based in New York.

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Europe Swings Both Ways
By David Ben-Ariel

Europe swings. Hard core proof: the EU overwhelmingly passed a resolution last month against "Homophobia in Europe."

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Robert Novak: Useful Idiot for Catholic Schemes?
By David Ben-Ariel

This is just another opportunity for the bloody Roman Catholic Church to get involved and exploit feigned interest for traditional "Christians" to further demand UN/EU occupation of the Jewish homeland.

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Will the Atlantic Times Address the German threat?
By David Ben-Ariel

Germany is destined to lead the European Union against the American, British and Jewish peoples.

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EU to Conquer Anglo-Saxons and Jews
By David Ben-Ariel

Israeli leaders have often sold out their land and people to foreign interests, bloating their personal bank accounts at Israel's expense, encouraged by America, and both will fall before the European Union.

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Germany Behind the Mask: Monster or Marshmallow?
By David Ben-Ariel

"So long as we wear the mask, we remain hidden and continue to conceal the situation from ourselves.”

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Vatican Linked to the Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin
By David Ben-Ariel

Will Israel expose the connection between the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and the Vatican's drive to possess Jerusalem?

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Mt. Zion Under Siege: Who Will Be King of the Mountain?
By David Ben-Ariel

The German-built Dormition Abbey on Mt. Zion (next to the yeshiva) is an exact replica of the German Church that crowned emperors: Charlemagne's Aachen Cathedral.

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The Intelligence Summit Misses the Mark: the German-Jesuit Threat to World Peace
By David Ben-Ariel

While the international intelligence community focuses on Islamofascist threats, the hard core EU Catholics prepare to take the whole world by surprise.

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The Secret Nazis Covet the Temple Mount
By David Ben-Ariel

The Nazis merely went underground and put on suits and ties. Why are most Americans ignorant of a declassified US document that exposes German plans to try again?

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Paint Israel Black: Jews to Lose Jerusalem!
By David Ben-Ariel

With Israel's rejection of their 1967 miracle, how can God continue to bless them with freedom? Have Israeli leaders sold out to EU interests? Will Jerusalem be forcibly divided?

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UN Resolution 181: Blueprint of the Beast?
By David Ben-Ariel

Could the groundwork have been laid decades ago for the dreadful appearance of the biblical BEAST? Isn't the "Anti-Christ" going to wield both political and spiritual powers? Could a gentle but firm person deceive the nations into imposing his peace plan upon the Middle East to save the whole world from nuclear catastrophe?

To Hell and Back

To Hell and Back
By Herbert W. Armstrong
19** edition

Is God an angry judge who tortures helpless sinners ages without end? If hell does exist, where is it - and can those who are there ever get out? Read here about the true biblical hell - from one who has been there!

Read here about the true biblical hell-from one who has been there!

by Keith W. Stump

ON SUNDAY, July 12, I went to hell. On that day Jerusalem's sun stood directly overhead as I paused to recheck my map. If my bearings were correct, hell's very threshold lay before me! I had just left the Old City of Jerusalem through the Dung Gate, one or the eight gates in the old Turkish wall. I had headed west on the road paralleling the wall, then around the area known today as Mount Zion. From there I began my descent into the Lower Regions.

The "House of Hades"

The notion that a mortal might actually visit hell and return-has been a source or fascination to people of almost every age. Since ancient times, the abode of the dead has been viewed as lying deep underground, with various en-trances on the earth's surface-through caverns, volcanoes, underground rivers and the like. Ancient peoples-Greeks and Romans especially reveled in fanciful accounts of heroes who dared pass through these fearful portals and into the Dark Realm.

One of the earliest accounts of such a journey is found in The Odyssey. It is an ancient epic poem by the Greek poet Homer (8th century B.C.). Homer writes of the Greek hero Odysseus (Ulysses), the lost king of Ithaca, who wandered the seas in search of his home for 10 years following the fall of Troy. In desperation, Odysseus reputedly found his way into the "abode of departed spirits" to learn from the ghost of a famous seer how he might find his home.

The underworld described by Homer was a shadowy place of dreary darkness lying beneath the secret places of the earth. Though a place of gloom, it was not pictured as one of punishment and torture as is the traditional Christian or Oriental hell.

Homer called the place of the dead the "House of Hades." Hades (the Romans called him Pluto) was the Greek king of the underworld, god of death. Eventually, Hades became the common name for the underworld itself.

The ancient classicists believed that five rivers flowed through the underworld. The principal one was the Styx, across which the aged boatman Charon ferried the souls of the dead. (The Styx was an actual stream that disappeared underground in Arcadia in Greece.)

In the Aeneid, an epic by the Roman poet Virgil, the Trojan hero Aeneas, fleeing the burning ruins of Troy after the Greek victory, successfully besought the ferryman Claron for passage into the infernal region to consult his dead father. (Virgil preferred the name Tartarus to Hades for the fabled infernal region.) Aeneas entered the underworld through a cavern at a foul-smelling lake near Naples in Italy. Descending on a road wrapped in shadows, he encountered numerous horrors and frightful terrors.

Tartarus (or Tartaros) was a name used by the later classical writers such as Virgil as another name for Hades. Homer, on the other hand, described Tartarus as a different place, lying as far beneath Hades as Hades is beneath the earth. It was in this bottomless pit of Tartarus, according to classical mythology, that the Greek god Zeus confined those who had resisted him.

Another hero of ancient Greece, the legendary Hercules, also reputedly traveled to the lower world. One of his famous Twelve Labors was to fetch up from Hades the triple-headed, dragon-tailed dog Cerberus, the feared guardian of Hades' gates.

Many other ancients are said to have made the fearsome journey into Hades, including Theseus of Athens, Orpheus the musician, the princess Psyche and the twin Pollux, in search of his dead brother Castor.

The Inferno

Possibly the best-known "journey" of all is that of Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), the medieval Italian poet. His travels among the damned are recorded in The Inferno. It is the first part of his three-part Divine Comedy, an account of his imaginary journeys through hell, purgatory and heaven.

Dante is conducted through hell by the spirit of the Roman poet Virgil. The trip begins on Good Friday, A.D. 1300, in a wooded area near Jerusalem. Over the gate of hell the two travelers find a fearful and now famous inscription, in today's words: ABANDON EVERY HOPE, YOU WHO ENTER HERE.

Dante then witnesses in his imagination the eternal torments of the wicked. He describes hell as being divided into various levels, descending conically into the earth. Souls suffer punishments appropriate to their sins. Hypocrites, for example, wear gowns brilliant outwardly, but made of heavy lead instead of cloth. They must bear the weight of them forever. Gluttons are doomed to forever lie like pigs in a foul-smelling sty under a cold, eternal rain. Dante's descriptions are vivid--and frightening.

Though Dante's primary purpose in writing the poem was to satirize persons and circumstances of his day, the theology of his work is based firmly on the system of Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), Italian theologian and philosopher. The Divine Comedy is a relatively accurate dramatization of medieval Christian theology. Some simpleminded of Dante's day actually believed Dante had really visited hell! His work had a tremendous impression and influence on popular Christian thought.

Concentration Camp?

Dante's medieval picture of hell as a gigantic concentration camp-a nightmarish place of eternal torment, horrible beyond imagination, presided over by Satan and his demons-largely represents the thinking of significant groups of professing Christians to this day.

The concept of a "hell" can be found in one form or another among all the world's principal faiths. Multiple billions around the world have lived and died over the millennia believing in - and in fear of - a place of eternal torment and punishment. Many today continue to wonder,

"Is there really a hell?" and "Will I end up there?" Many are curious about just what hell might be like. It was with questions such as these in mind that I set out to investigate the subject - and to make an attempt to actually visit hell!

Three hells!

The starting point for such an investigation can be none other than the very book from which Christians profess to derive their doctrine of hell - the Bible! By scrutinizing its pages, one can strip away the theological trappings of ancient and medieval myth and fabrication and discover the true teaching on the subject.

One's first surprise is that the Bible speaks of not one but of three different "hells"! In the widely used King James Version, three totally different Greek words - words with totally different meanings-are translated by the one English word hell. The three words are hades, tartaros and gehenna.

In biblical usage, the Greek word hades - used only 11 times in the New Testament - is roughly equivalent to the Old Testament Hebrew word sheol, meaning grave or pit (compare Acts 2:27 with Psalm 16:10). Hades may be likened to a hole in the ground. In the Bible it has nothing to do with fire.

Most modern biblical translators admit that the use of the English word hell to translate hades and sheol is an unfortunate and misleading practice.

Why?

Because in seeing the word hell, many readers impute to it the traditional connotation of an ever-burning inferno - when this was never remotely intended in the Greek language or in Old English!

In its true biblical usage, hades does indeed refer to the state or abode of the dead - but not in the sense of spirits walking around in some sort of "shadowy realm." Hades is simply the abode we call the grave. All the dead go to this hell.

The Second Hell

The second hell of the Bible, tartaros, is mentioned only once in scripture - in II Peter 2:4: "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell [tartaroo], and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment.

Following their rebellion to unseat God from His throne (Isa. 14:12-14; Rev. 12:4), the archangel Lucifer (now Satan) and a third of the created angels (demons) were ejected from heaven (Luke 10:18). They were cast down to tartaros, a place or condition of restraint that God has imposed on the mutinous angels as they await ultimate judgment (Jude 6; I Cor. 6:3).

Tartaros, then, is a "hell" that applies only to evil, rebellious angels or demons. It is interesting that the ancient Greeks used this word to describe the place in which Zeus confined the rebellious Titans. Nowhere in the Bible is there any mention of men being put into this particular "hell."

The Third Hell

So far, we have seen that the first hell of the Bible - hades - is simply the grave. The second hell - tartaros - a place or condition of restraint for demons. What, then, is the third hell of the Bible?

Surely, it must be the old fashioned Bible "hell"- the literal ever-burning inferno, the place of eternal torment of the damned!

Or is it?

Did you ever notice that the Greek word used by the writers of the New Testament for this third hell is gehenna? It comes from the Hebrew Gai Hinnom, meaning "valley of Hinnom." Hinnom is a deep, narrow ravine located to the south and southwest of Jerusalem. It is to this hell that I recently traveled. But what does this valley have to do with the traditional Christian concept of "hell"? The answer may surprise you!

Lunch in Hell

Gehenna - the valley of Hinnom - is today a relatively pleasant place. In recent years, grass and even some flowers have taken over portions of the valley floor, and there are plenty of trees to provide shade from the scorching sun (see photos on these pages - {Editor's note: Sorry, pictures not included.}).

I descended into the valley by means of a rocky dirt path. A small dog - no three-headed Cerberus! - barked briefly, then returned to scavenging in a small cave near the path. Further on down the valley two boys were kicking a soccer ball between them.

I sought refuge from the heat of the noon sun under a large tree, and took out my lunch. A few birds came by for a handout. The surroundings were not unlike those of a typical city park.

After enjoying a leisurely lunch, I headed up out of the valley and proceeded unimpeded toward the Jaffa Gate. My memory of the valley is one of a pleasant and relaxing haven in the midst of a hot and tiring walking tour of Jerusalem.

Gehenna, in short, is a far cry from the hell of Dante or from what this valley was like in Jesus day!

The valley was not always such a pleasant place. In the Old Testament it was a place of abominable pagan rites, including infant sacrifice. It was there that the apostate kings Ahaz and Manasseh made their children "pass through the fire" to the god Molech. The rites were specifically celebrated in Tophet, the "place of abhorrence," one of the chief groves in the valley

King Josiah of ancient Judah finally put an end to these abominations. He defiled the valley, rendering it ceremonially unclean (2 Kings 23:10). Later the valley became the cesspool and city dump of Jerusalem - a repository for sewage, refuse and animal carcasses. The bodies of despised criminals were also burned there along with the rubbish. Fires burned continuously, feeding on a constant supply of garbage and refuse.

Aceldama, the "field of blood", purchased with the money Judas received for the betrayal of Christ (Matt. 27:8) was also in part of the valley of Hinnom.

Gehenna-and the Lake of Fire

What, then, does this valley called gehenna have to do with hell?

Notice. At the end of this age, at the crisis at the end of this world's civilization, the prophesied Beast of the book of Revelation - a Satan-inspired political dictator and a miracle-working religious figure, the False Prophet, working with him will resist the re-establishment of the government of God by fighting against Jesus Christ at His Second Coming. Their fate is revealed by the apostle John: "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet.... These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone" (Rev. 19:20).

Where will this temporary lake of fire - this "hell" - be?

The prophet Isaiah wrote of this lake of fire prepared for the Beast: "For Tophet [in the valley of Hinnom] is ordained of old, yea, for the king it is prepared, he hath made it deep and large, the pile thereof is fire and wood, the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it" (Isa. 30:33).

One thousand years later, Satan himself will be cast into this rekindled fiery lake where the Beast and False Prophet were cast! (See Revelation 20:10.)

But what of the wicked who have died over the many millennia? Does the Bible say that they are now suffering fiery punishment for their sins in a lake of fire?

Absolutely not!

In the sequence of Revelation 20 - read it for yourself - the incorrigibly wicked are resurrected to be thrown into the lake of fire after Satan is cast there! Read it, in Revelation 20:15.

What, then, will become of these wicked? Will they writhe in flames for eternity?

No!

The wicked will be burned up in the intense heat of the coming gehenna fire on earth. They will be consumed, annihilated, destroyed!

This punishment will be everlasting - permanent and final. The Bible calls it the "second death" (Rev. 20:14; 21:8) - from which there is no possibility of a further resurrection.

The Bible does teach eternal punishment, but not eternal punishing.

The prophet Malachi provides a graphic description. "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble, and the day that cometh shall burn them up…(4:1). To the righteous, God says that the wicked shall be "ashes under the soles of your feet . (Mal. 4:3).



IS THERE A HELL?

If hell does exist, where is it-and can those who are there ever get out?
by Herbert W Armstrong

WILL THOSE in hell leave hell at the time of the resurrection-or are they confined eternally to hell, so that they shall be UNABLE to take part in the resurrection?

What did Jesus mean when he said in John 5:28-29:

"... the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth ... those who have done evil, to the RESURRECTION OF JUDGMENT" (RSV)

If "those who have done EVIL" - the Unsaved - shall come forth in the RESURRECTION OF JUDGMENT, what is the connection between that resurrection of the UNsaved, and their being in an eternal hellfire?

It's about time we took this question out of hiding, and took a good look at it! What is the TRUTH?

Common Idea of Hell

First, what is the generally accepted common belief in our Western world about hell? Here's the terse and brief summation of this popular belief, which I quote from the Encyclopedia Americana:

"… As generally understood, hell is the abode of evil spirits; the infernal regions . . . whither lost and condemned souls go after death to suffer indescribable torments and eternal punish . . . Some have thought of it as the place created by the Deity, where He punishes with inconceivable severity, and through all eternity, the souls of those who through unbelief or through the worship of false gods have angered Him. It is the place of divine revenge, untempered, never ending."

Now where, and how, did this popular belief about hell originate?

The Encyclopedia Americana states further: "The main features of hell as conceived by Hindu, Persian, Egyptian, Grecian and Christian theologians are essentially the same. The Western religious leaders from Roman times through the Middle Ages borrowed the doctrine of eternal torture from the pagan philosophers. Certain writers of the Middle Ages had such tremendous influence on the Christian-professing world, that their writings and teachings came to be generally accepted and believed, until it became the doctrine of the Christian-professing world. Among these influential writers were Augustine and Dante Alighieri.

Some years ago, I ran across a book in a large library, titled Dante and His Influence. It summed up the history of the Christian-professing doctrine of hell. This factual history is rather amazing! Dante lived A.D 1265 to 1321. Dante, remember, wrote a tremendously popular book, titled Divine Comedy, in three parts-"Hell," "Purgatory" and "Paradise."

From the Pagans

Now I quote from the aforementioned book of history: "Of all poets of modern times, Dante Alighieri was, perhaps, the greatest educator. He possibly had a greater influence on the course of civilization than any other one man since his day. [He] wrote, in incomprehensible verse, an imaginative and lurid account of a dismal journey through a lurid hell - a long poem containing certain phrases which have caught the attention of the world, such as,

'All hope abandon, Ye, who enter here.' " This had a tremendous impression and influence on the popular Christian thought and teaching. His Inferno was based on Virgil and Plato.

Dante is reported to have been so fascinated and enraptured by the ideas and philosophies of Plato and Virgil, pagan philosophers, that he believed they were divinely inspired. Here is a comment on Virgil, from the Americana: "VIRGIL, pagan Roman poet, 70-19 B.C. Belonged to the national school of pagan Roman thought, influenced by the Greek writers. Christians of the Middle Ages, including Dante, believed he had received some measure of divine inspiration."

Plato was a pagan Greek philosopher, born in Athens, 427 B.C., a student of Socrates. He wrote the famous book Phaedo, on the immortality of the soul, and this book is the real origin of the modern belief in the immortality of the soul.

There is the general statement of the popular belief about hell, and where that belief came from - actually from the imaginations of pagans who knew not God!

What About the Millions of Heathen?

In spite of missionaries from the West, actually more than half of all the people on this earth have never so much asHEARD the ONLY name by which men may be SAVED - the name of Jesus CHRIST! Now is there some other way by which men may be saved? The Bible says there is NOT!

That means that thousands of millions of people on this earth have lived, and DIED, without ever having known anything about Christian salvation - without SAVING KNOWLEDGE - never having heard the ONLY name by which men may be saved! Now think what that means! IF all unsaved go immediately to hell at death - the hell commonly believed in - then more than HALF of the people who have lived on this earth have been consigned there - and they are there, now, without ever having been given so much as a CHANCE to escape it!

Ask yourself candidly, do you believe THAT is the plan by which an all - wise, all - merciful, loving God is working out his purpose here below?

Now what is the TRUTH?

We face this alternative: Either the Holy Bible is the inspired Word of God, BY WHICH THE CREATOR reveals the TRUTH on the subject, or else we must fling up our hands and confess WE JUST DON'T KNOW - we are ignorant on the question - because no one has ever COME BACK from such an ever-burning hell to tell us about it, and SCIENCE knows nothing about it. We must believe what the BIBLE says, or we can believe nothing, if we are rational and honest!

Hell Fire in the Bible

Jesus said in a passage very often quoted: "And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt" (Mark 9:47-49).

Now exactly what is this hell fire? This word hell is an English word. Mark wrote, originally, in the Greek language. The word originally inspired, which Mark actually wrote, was the Greek word gehenna, which certainly does refer to FIRE.

But in most passages in the New Testament where the English word hell is found in our English translations, the original Greek word was a different word, hades-which does NOT refer to FIRE at all, but has an altogether different meaning.

Incorrectly Translated "Hell"

Remember we merely read a translation of the Bible from its original languages. A leading Bible dictionary, called A Dictionary of the Bible, edited by James Hastings, says this:

"In our Authorized Version the word 'hell' is unfortunately used as the rendering of three distinct words, with different meanings. It represents, (1) the 'sheol' of the Hebrew Old Testament, and the. 'hades' of …the New Testament... It is now an entirely misleading rendering. especially in the New Testament passages. The English revisers, therefore, have substituted the original Greek word 'hades' for 'hell' in the New Testament. In the American revision the word 'hell' is entirely discarded in this connection. . . . The word 'hell' is translated (2) as the equivalent of the Greek word tartaros, (2 Peter 2:4; compare with Jude 6), and, (3) as the equivalent of the Greek word 'gehenna.'"

Hell is an old English word, and 370 years ago, when the Authorized Version was translated, the people of England commonly talked about putting their potatoes in HELL for the winter - a good way of preserving potatoes - for the word then meant merely a hole in the ground that was covered up - a dark and silent place - a GRAVE.

And now the Greek word gehenna. I quote from Hastings:

"Gehenna: the word occurs twelve times in the New Testament. This term 'gehenna' represents 'the Valley of Hinnom' (Nehemiah 11:30, II Kings 23:10, etc.). The place was . . . a deep narrow gorge in the vicinity of Jerusalem, understood to be on the south side.

It is repeatedly mentioned in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 19:6, etc.). It became an object of horror to the Jews, and is said to have been made the receptacle for bones, the bodies of beasts and criminals, refuse and all unclean things. The terrible associations of the place . . . the fires said to have been kept burning in it in order to consume the foul and corrupt objects that were thrown into it, made it a natural and unmistakable symbol of dire evil, . . . ABSOLUTE RUIN. So it came to designate the place of future punishment."

Hell-a Place of Destruction

Gehenna was a place of DESTRUCTION and DEATH - not a place of living torture! Jesus was talking to Jews who understood all about this Gehenna or Valley of Hinnom. Utter DESTRUCTION by fire was complete. NOTHING was left, but ashes!

Every text in the Bible translated from this Greek word gehenna means complete destruction - not living torture - NOT eternal LIFE in torment! THE BIBLE says, in Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is DEATH" - not ETERNAL LIFE in torture. The PUNISHMENT revealed in the BIBLE is DEATH - the cessation of life. Eternal life is the GIFT or GOD!

Then WHY have we been believing that PUNISHMENT is ETERNAL LIFE in fire? And WHY have we been believing we already have eternal life and don't NEED to come to God through Christ to receive it as HIS GIFT?

The PUNISHMENT is DEATH. It is the second death, from which there shall be no resurrection! The PUNISHMENT is for ETERNITY - DEATH for eternity - ETERNAL punishment - but NO where does THE BIBLE say anything about the PAGAN teaching of eternal punishING. It's eternal punishMENT, not eternal punishING!

When Jesus spoke of being cast into "gehenna FIRE," he was using this expression as an illustration of the LAKE OF FIRE, which THE BIBLE reveals is to be THE PLACE of this final punishment - this second DEATH. He referred to Revelation 20:14: "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." THAT fire will be much hotter than Dante's imaginary HELL!

What happens to "Hell"?

Do people go at DEATH to the fictitious hell of Dante's imagination to be TORTURED by flames of fire forever - and then are they to be brought OUT, to go into a JUDGMENT, to see if God had made a mistake in having punished them so long in this "hell"?

Notice Revelation 20:13-15: "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book or life was cast into the lake of fire." The LAKE OF FIRE which JESUS referred to is a place of DEATH, not of eternal life - the SECOND DEATH - ETERNAL punishment!

Notice what Jesus said in Matthew 10:28: ". . . fear him which is able to DESTROY both soul and body in [GEHENNA]." Here in plain language JESUS said the SOUL could be destroyed - and that it would be DESTROYED in the GEHENNA that has been falsely translated by the English word hell! Gehenna is a place of DESTRUCTION!

Again Jesus used this word gehenna as quoted in Matthew 23:33: "Ye serpents," he said to the Pharisees, " . . . how can ye escape the damnation of [GEHENNA] ?'' - the second DEATH - eternal PUNISHMENT!

The ancient rebellious cities Sodom and Gomorrah suffered, as we read in Jude 7, the vengeance of ETERNAL FIRE. But they are not still burning. They were burned up FOREVER - eternal DESTRUCTION!

Now what happens in this "hell" - derived from the Greek word gehenna? Let the Holy Word of God answer: "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts" (Mal. 4:1-3).

God Is Love - and Justice!

God is a God of LOVE - or MERCY, as well as a God of ABSOLUTE JUSTICE! If he were the vain, angry, unjust god pictured by the pagans who invented this popular conception of heaven and hell, then, according to the common belief of the illustration of Lazarus and the Rich Man, saved mothers up in heaven are hearing the shrieks, seeing the indescribable AGONY, writhing, of their own lost children down in hell - actually able to carry on a conversation with them - yet UNABLE to help them. Would THAT be the heavenly BLISS it is generally represented? Psalm 37 OUGHT to make plain to us this matter of heaven and hell. Notice! "For evildoers shall be cut off; but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away. For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off! The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever" (Ps. 37:9-12, 20, 22, 29). And notice Psalm 104:35: "Let the sinners he consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. And now, Isaiah 66:24: "And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh."

Never to Be Quenched?

"Neither shall their fire be QUENCHED." Does that mean burning forever and never burning up? Try this test: Put a piece of paper in a pan. Light it with a match. Now, don't QUENCH that fire! Don't put it out - for that's what "quench" means. Very soon the paper will burn up. Then put it down on the floor and step on it! Now it's merely ashes under the sole of your feet - precisely as THE BIBLE plainly says the wicked shall be! In Jeremiah 17:27, God warned the Jews that Jerusalem would be burned, and the fire would not be quenched - unless they repented. In Jeremiah 52:13, you read the account of the burning of Jerusalem. That fire was NOT QUENCHED! It is NOT still burning! Do you know that THE BIBLE teaches the resurrection of all who die? The apostle Paul said his HOPE was the hope of the RESURRECTION! As the resurrection is true doctrine, then the pagan myth of an eternal TORTURE, beginning at death, is as deceptive as Satan himself! If all Unsaved - even all who never heard the ONLY name Jesus Christ - are roasting, screaming, in such a hell, and can never get out, HOW can there be a RESURRECTION? Thank God! - there is to be a resurrection to JUDGMENT, as well as a resurrection to eternal life of the dead IN Christ! Yes, thank GOD, he so LOVED the world - we NEED not perish, but through Christ we may have EVERLASTING LIFE!


HELL - MAN IDEA VS. THE BIBLE

Is God an "angry Judge" - who tortures helpless sinners ages without end?
by Roderick C. Meredith

YOU HAVE probably never heard where your ideas about "hell" came from. So open your mind to some startling truth you may not have understood before!

You probably have heard of the idea of a horrifying, nightmarish place of never-ending torture for lost sinners. Atheists say religious people use this concept of "hell" as a means of playing upon the emotions of people who are sincerely trying to find God's will.

But where did they - and where did you - learn these ideas?

God's Purpose

The primary reason so many men and organizations of men have a false conception of hell is that they view it just as an isolated doctrine. God created man in his own image and likeness (Gen. 1:26). In the garden of Eden, he told man the way that would lead to eternal life. Then he told man that going the wrong way - the way of selfishness and greed - would lead to DEATH (Gen. 2:17). But Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44), told the woman, Ye shall not surely die" (Gen. 3:4). "You have an immortal soul." Man has been believing that lie about the immortal soul ever since!

God's purpose is to develop holy, righteous character in man. God gave ancient Israel his Ten Commandments, "that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever" (Deut. 5:29).

God's decrees are always for man's good. They are not designed as arbitrary decrees that God uses as an excuse for plunging men into flames of fire! Notice that God offered Adam and Eve life on the one hand, and death on the other. Adam and Eve would not have been offered LIFE if they already were immortal souls. Man was created mortal and in need of eternal life from God through his Spirit.

If man rebelled against God and made himself miserable through sin, then the kindest thing that God could do would be to let man die. Then, stubborn, sinning man would be unable to bring any further misery on himself or others by his wrong ways. He would just cease to exist, and would thus not interfere with the happiness of others who sought eternal life. That is why we read that the SOUL that sins shall die (Ezek. 18:4).

But men have disagreed with God and his Word, and have come to believe in an entirely different reward for the wicked. So, where do men get their ideas of "hell"?

What Is "Hell"?

You will be surprised to learn that Jesus Christ himself went to "hell" when he died! In Peter's inspired sermon on the day of Pentecost, he said, "He [David] seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption" (Acts 2:31).

So - according to your Bible - Jesus went to hell!

The "hell" where Jesus was for three days and three nights (Matt. 12:40) after his crucifixion is translated from the Greek word hades. Hades simply means "pit" or "grave." When the Authorized Version of the Bible was made, Englishmen commonly understood that "hell" could mean a grave, pit or hole in the ground. They often spoke of burying their potatoes in hell for the winter. The "hell" where Jesus went was simply the grave - the rock hewn sepulcher where he was buried. Unless you live until Christ comes and are changed from mortal to immortal (I Cor. 15:53), you will go to this same "hell."

The second Greek word translated "hell" is tartaros. It is used only once in the Bible (II Pet. 2:4) and refers to the condition of restraint of the fallen angels. It never refers to men.

Gehenna is the third Greek word translated "hell." Gehenna, or the Valley of Hinnom, was located out-side of Jerusalem. It was a place where trash, filth and the dead bodies of animals and despised criminals were thrown. It was like some of our city dumps today. Ordinarily, everything thrown in this valley was destroyed by fire - completely burned up.

In Jewish thought, this burning, smoking Valley of Hinnom was associated with the future punishment of the wicked. So it was natural for Jesus and the apostles to use the word gehenna - derived from the Valley of Hinnom - when referring to the lake of fire, which will be the fate of the wicked. This lake of fire is described in Revelation 20:14-15.

These, then, are the three Greek words that are translated into the word "hell" in our Bibles. In the Hebrew there is only one word that is translated "hell." That word is sheol. It corresponds to the Greek word hades, meaning the grave, or pit.

Worms In Hell?

A familiar passage is found in Mark 9:43-48. Jesus was showing that it was better to rid ourselves of anything - even a job, an association or a habit that we loved as much as our right arm - than to let it cause us to disobey God and thus be cast into hell (gehenna), "into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."

The "hell" to which Jesus referred was gehenna - deriving its name from the Valley of Hinnom. There were ledges along the edge of this valley.

Smith's Bible Dictionary gives a description of this valley. If anything, especially a dead body, landed on a ledge above the fires, it would be devoured by many worms or maggots that were kept alive by the animal and vegetable substances deposited there.

It was to these worms that Christ was referring when he said, "Their worm dieth not." But Christ didn't mean that each individual worm continued to live forever! He wasn't teaching the immortality of worms!

Actually, these worms, or maggots, are the larvae that develop from eggs deposited by flies. They continue for only a few days in this larva form, then pupate and finally emerge as flies, later dying.

The Greek word that was inspired and translated into the English word "worm" in this passage simply means a grub or maggot. It is a collective expression for all the worms that devour dead matter. These worms do not die, but pupate and become flies. Later, these flies like all other animals will return to the dust from which they come. "All are of the dust, and all turn to dust again" (Eccl. 3:20).

The "fire that never shall be quenched" is a description showing that God will permit nothing to put out or quench this fire. It will simply burn up the bodies of the wicked. Naturally, those who preach "hell fire" use this passage to frighten unthinking people into believing that sinners will suffer eternal torment in hell fire - evidently with worms chewing on them at the same time!

Whom Do You Fear?

Instead of fearing what some misguided preacher may tell us about hell, let us see what Jesus said to fear. "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him [God] which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell [gehenna]" (Matt. 10:28). Here we find the clear statement that God can destroy both our body and soul in Gehenna, or the lake of fire. There is no mention made of burning forever and ever, and yet never quite burning up. But it does speak of destruction.

Recall that God told Adam and Eve that if they disobeyed him, they would surely DIE. Their lives would be cut off - destroyed. Jesus told his disciples: ". . . wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction [not eternal life in "hell fire"], and many there be which go in thereat" (Matt. 7:13). Then he said, "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire" (verse 19). What happens to a tree when it is cast into the fire? Why, it is burned up - destroyed.

Speaking of the harvest of the righteous and wicked, Jesus said he would tell the reapers, "Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn" (Matt. 13:30). The tares, of course, refer to the wicked, and the wheat to the righteous. When literal tares are burned, they are BURNED UP. What about these types of sinners that are burned up? Was Jesus using wrong examples, or did he mean what he said?

The obvious answer is Jesus meant exactly what he said. The fate of the wicked will be Gehenna, or the lake of fire that the Bible mentions. But this fire is a lot hotter than most people think!

The wicked are human, mortal beings. Flesh and blood is subject to burning up. When the wicked are cast into the lake of fire, they will be burned up - destroyed!

From Genesis to Revelation, life and death are set as the two opposites - the fate of the righteous and the wicked respectively. God told Adam, ". . . dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Gen. 3:19). No mention here of being plunged immediately into "hell fire." The reward for disobedience was death.

Later, David wrote of the wicked, ". . . into smoke shall they consume away" (Ps. 37:20).

Still later, Malachi speaks of the fire that will burn the wicked: "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall BURN THEM UP, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch . . . . And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this . . ." (Mal. 4:1, 3).

Can anything be plainer than that the wicked are to be burned up - completely destroyed? That is why Jesus said, ". . . fear him which is able to DESTROY both soul and body in hell" (Matt. 10:28).

Wages of Sin

The apostle Paul summed up the whole matter of man's reward for sin when he wrote, "For the wages of sin is DEATH; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Rom. 6:23). If you believe this scripture means what it says, then you know the truth. But, unfortunately, theologians often fail to understand what Paul said.

Could anything be more clear than this scripture? The wages, or reward, of sin is shown to be death, and eternal life is stated to be a gift from God - not something we already have.

Death means just that - the cessation of life and consciousness - total oblivion! In spite of the vain attempt of many preachers to make death mean separation from God, you cannot reconcile this with Scripture. Neither does death mean eternal life in nightmarish torments of an imagined "hell."

This "hell-fire" doctrine that is used to frighten so many ignorant human beings is a LIE. Its author is the father of lies - Satan the devil! If you are one who has gullibly swallowed that doctrine and suffered mental agonies from the fear of a man-made "hell-fire," God help you to study all the scriptures on this subject and find his truth.

But remember that the penalty of death will be caused by fire. Paul warns in Hebrews 10:26-27:

"For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for judgment and fiery indignation, which shall DEVOUR the adversaries."

This is a FEARFUL WARNING to those who know God's truth and still refuse to obey it! This is not an unreasoned fear of a harsh, stern God who delights in punishing sinners. Rather, it is the sober realization that unless we surrender to God's will and his way of love, and refuse to let anything turn us aside, God will take away the life he has given us.

Yet this same passage shows God's infinite LOVE. He will not take away people's lives because of ignorance or weakness, but because they willfully and knowingly refuse to obey their Creator. This rebellious attitude in itself would bring them, and those about them, nothing but eternal trouble and misery if they were allowed to live forever. So God in his mercy and supreme wisdom has decreed the penalty of DEATH for such people.

The Lake of Fire

When the Bible says, "The wages of sin is death," it is not referring to the death we see around us every day. This death is referred to in I Corinthians 15:22, which says, "In Adam all die," and in Hebrews 9:27, which says, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." These passages describe the first death - a death caused by a person wearing out physically and from which he can be resurrected.

Revelation 20 shows the time of later resurrections, and when the wicked are cast into the lake of fire. Study it carefully. The first three verses describe Satan being bound for a thousand years, and the resurrected saints, who are in the first resurrection, ruling the world under Christ.

So according to your Bible - Jesus went to hell! . . . where Jesus
went was simply the grave - the rock hewn sepulcher where he was buried.

The first part of verse 5 is an inserted thought that tells us, "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." So the heathen, the atheists and all who were not called to a full knowledge of God's truth, are not resurrected until after the thousand-year reign of Christ. This is the second resurrection. For them the book of life is opened for the first time (Rev. 20:11-12).

But just before then, at the end of the thousand years of peace in the world tomorrow, the devil will go forth to deceive the nations who were not imbued with God's Holy Spirit. He will be overcome and "cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever" (verse 10). Notice that the word are is in italics in the Authorized Version. It is an inserted word to complete the meaning, and should be rendered "were cast" - because the beast and the false prophet are human beings who will be burned up when they are cast into the lake of fire just before the thousand years begin (Rev. 19:20).

At this point, you may be thinking about the parable of Lazarus and the rich man - and wondering if the rich man wasn't pictured as being forever in eternal torment. He definitely was not! But he was in mental torment as the fire of Gehenna was about to end his life. For the full and interesting proof of this, write immediately for our free booklet titled Lazarus and the Rich Man.

Now continuing in Revelation 20, notice in verse 13 that the remaining dead are raised in a third resurrection and are judged "according to their works." These are the wicked who were called in this life and who rebelled. Verse 14 continues, "And death and hell [hades, the grave] were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." Here is a plain statement revealing that Gehenna, or the lake of fire, IS the SECOND DEATH.

Truth Makes Free

The Bible reveals a very different God from the one so often preached today.

It seems that men either try to do away with God's power altogether by preaching as though God had gone "way off' and left man to work things out according to human reason, or they go to the opposite extreme and look upon God as an "angry Judge" who is just waiting for an opportunity to punish helpless sinners throughout all eternity.

The Creator of heaven and earth is now permitting man to sin and suffer in order to learn certain lessons. If man will accept God's truth as it is revealed, learn these lessons God intended, he will be given eternal life in God's kingdom. But if he stubbornly persists in going the way that leads to wretchedness and misery for himself and others, God in his mercy will cut off his life by casting him into the lake of fire - which is the second death.

Untold suffering and mental anguish have been caused by the false doctrine of an angry God plunging everyone who did not follow certain denominational teachings into a terrifying "hell fire" of everlasting torments.

Most people have been bound by denominational teachings, and too few have been willing to study all the scriptures on the subject to see what the Bible really says. But Jesus said of those who were willing to continue in his word, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).

Fascist EU Pimps Peace Now

Foreign Governments Are Key Backers of Peace Now
16:42 Jun 20, '06 / 24 Sivan 5766
by Scott Shiloh


Peace Now, a far-left Israeli-based organization promoting Israeli withdrawal to pre-1967 borders and removal of all Jewish communities in Judea/Samaria, is largely funded by foreign governments.
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Shimon Peres has sold out Israel to Euro-Nazis for a long time, following other kapos of compromise like Ariel Sharon. Remember the bloody vulture Shimon Peres came to power over the dead body of Yitzhak Rabin and now circles over Israeli sovereignty with the Vatican in view.

Germany's Fourth Reich Spreads its Wings

Those who strongly disagree with the "European Union" forging ahead, the Euro-skeptics, state sovereignty is under attack and that the EU is going backwards, descending into the darkness of fascism, not advancing democratic ideals but sacrificing them with impunity.

Rodney Atkinson, author of three books on the subject of Fascist Europe Rising (his most recent), led the charge, sounded the alarm, from a strictly secular point of view that interestingly matched what theologian Herbert W. Armstrong was warning about from a purely biblical perspective: the revival of the unholy Roman Empire is well underway and most remain oblivious to its inherent dangers.

Both the Bible and history serve as two witnesses that testify against the German-Jesuit dominated drive to control the European continent and then the world, enforcing a Pax Romana of sordid sorts.

Do you really think such a grand design would limit itself to Europa or restrain itself to remain a regional power? Truth is stranger than fiction.

Calls are increasing for the destruction of the European monster in the making, to abort the beast while it is still possible, due to legitimate concerns ranging from the fascist tendencies of the EU, its Nazi role model starkly laid out and exposed, and fears it will ultimately implode and impede Europe for years and drag the whole world down with it.

In Abolish The European Union, Robert Locke considers "The EU is a mortal threat to the civil liberties of those who live under it.... The EU is quite plausibly the nucleus of an aspiring soft-totalitarian world state; it is in fact far more likely to fulfill this role than the justly-despised UN. I apologize if this sounds alarmist, but history clearly teaches us to think ahead to the logical implications of things that are just beginning... there are signs that Europe is awakening to the monster in its midst."

Even Former Soviet Dissident Warns For EU Dictatorship" -

"In a speech he delivered in Brussels Mr Vladimir Bukovsky called the EU a "monster" that must be destroyed, the sooner the better, before it develops into a fullfledged totalitarian state."

Notice the reoccurring use of the word "monster" in reference to the rising beast in Europe. Germany is the head of the monster even though The Atlantic Times, among others, looks the other way and refuses to question: Germany Behind the Mask: Monster or Marshmallow? Even though Johannes Gross revealed his countrymen wear a mask. 'But the day may come when someone lifts the mask," he wrote. "... So long as we wear the mask, we remain hidden and continue to conceal the situation from ourselves.'"

Others fear the colossal failure of the European Union and its tragic consequences.

Why the EU Needs to be Destroyed, and Soon laments "The EU wants to recreate the Roman Empire and ends up creating the second fall of Rome."

Christopher Booker and Richard North, co-authors of The Great Deception: Can the European Union Survive? believe the EU is destined to fail and would "leave a terrible devastation behind it, a wasteland from which it would take many years for the peoples of Europe to emerge" and conclude: "... the project Monnet had set on its way was a vast, ramshackle, self-deluding monster: partly suffocating in its own bureaucracy; partly a corrupt racket, providing endless opportunities for individuals and collectives to outwit and exploit their fellow men; partly a mighty engine for promoting the national interests of those countries who knew how to 'work the system'... The one thing above all the project could never be, because by definition it had never been intended to be, was in the remotest sense democratic."

However, biblical prophecy shows that the European Union will be highly successful, rich and powerful enough to enforce their economic, political and religious views upon the rest of the world, insisting all receive their mark of approval or else (Revelation 13:16-18; 17; 18).

"Corporatism is of course the basic building brick of all fascist systems," Rodney Atkinson notes in CORPORATISM - THE EUROPEAN DISEASE IS CATCHING.

Apparently, Mr. Atkinson is right again as Jerome Corsi has been exposing how our Southern border blurs for global trade, in accordance to treacherous plans well underway to create the "North American Union" that merges Mexico, the United States and Canada, complete with the "Amero," all under "...the Strategic and Prosperity Partnership of North America, or SPP. The SPP agreement was reached between President Bush, President Vicente Fox and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin during their March 2005 summit meeting in Waco, Texas. The Bush administration plan is to create a North American Union along the model of the European Union...." (emphasis mine).

Corresponding with Mr. Corsi about these developments by design at home and abroad, he responded:

"Common markets and free trade zones are forming across the globe. The North American Union is further along than we think. This is a fight we have to take on, otherwise the USA is gone."

That's the whole purpose of the globalists! No wonder President Bush doesn't give a hoot (remember the Bohemian grove?) about borders with Mexico. Many leaders have sold their souls, betrayed their people and backstabbed their countries.

Reuters Arthur Spiegelman, wrote on May 10, 1996: "Realizing they were losing the war in 1944, Nazi leaders met top German industrialists to plan a secret post-war international network to restore them to power, according to a newly declassified U.S. intelligence document. The document...says an SS general and a representative of the German armaments ministry told such companies as Krupp and Rohling that they must be prepared to finance the Nazi Party...when it went underground."

We are now witnessing the beast beginning to rear its ugly head again and come out from its exile, having taken firm root throughout the world. Germany's Fourth Reich is forming with partnerships around the globe, its Assyrian eagle looking both East and West as its talons are determined to clutch countries as prey and enslave all to their system.

The secret Nazis are getting more brazen and will soon shed their corporate, political, educational and religious cloaks to openly promote their new emperor to oversee this international enterprise of elitists called BABYLON.

David Ben-Ariel is a Christian-Zionist writer and author of Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall. With a focus on the Middle East and Jerusalem, his analytical articles help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Check out the Beyond Babylon blog.

The Plain Truth about Herbert W. Armstrong & the Worldwide Church of God

I think I said earlier that you sounded as if you may be of the WWCG.

A Higher Calling: Quest for the Kingdom of God mentions how God called me into His Church during the days when Herbert W. Armstrong was courageously teaching the plain truth around the world, announcing the good news of the Wonderful World Tomorrow, the Kingdom of God that will soon be established with the return and reign of Christ.

The present WWCG doesn't claim them as their own doctrine any more.

Rather, God doesn't claim the WCG as His Church any more, as that apostate organization has returned to the traditional vomit of Babylon that many had escaped. It is now part of the Synagogue of Satan. God isn't associated with it in any manner, shape or form.

He did not teach the plain truth of the Bible.

Then you've never read the Bible without your traditional blinders. Try it, so help you God.

He taught that God is a family...

The Bible teaches that God is a family. Why don't you believe the Bible? Herbert W. Armstrong taught the plain truth of the Bible.

Ephes. 3:14-15
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole FAMILY in heaven and earth is named...

Don't you know what a Kingdom is but a Royal Family that rules over a specific territory, administering specific laws? Yeshua came preaching the Kingdom-Family of God that will soon administer the Law of God, the government of God, over the Earth and throughout the universe. Won't you repent and believe the good news that we can be born again into the Kingdom-Family of God at the resurrection at Christ's return?

"...that Jesus did not exist before His birth in Bethlehem"

That's a lie. Why do you repeat such nonsense?

Here is one of many examples of how Herbert W. Armstrong clearly taught that Yeshua was the Word with God in Heaven before he was divested of divine glory to become human so we could become divine:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:1-4)...

So here we find revealed originally two Personages. One is God. And with God in that prehistoric time was another Personage who also was God—one who later was begotten and born as Jesus Christ. But these two Personages were spirit, which is invisible to human eyes unless supernaturally manifested. Yet at the time described in verse one Jesus was not the Son of God and God was not his Father.

Who and What Is God?


"...that water baptism is essential for salvation"

The Scripture says repent and be baptized. Why don't you believe the Bible?

"...that we must work to earn Heaven"

Herbert W. Armstrong believed the Bible and taught "the meek shall inherit the Earth" - just like Jesus. Why don't you believe the Bible? Why fall for the traditional lie about "going to Heaven?" Herbert W. Armstrong knows we are saved by grace alone, that we are pardoned and empowered, that Christ is to live in us as we exercise faith and works:

Ephesians 2:10
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.


May you repent of spreading lies about God's faithful servant, Herbert W. Armstrong; repent of misrepresenting God, Jesus Christ and Christianity with your traditional Babylonian Mystery religious error; repent and believe the Gospel and be saved, so help you God.

Plea to Diehard Catholics & Protestants to Repent