01.26 Heaven And Hell
XXVI. Heaven and Hell The Scriptures speak of two places, "Heaven" and "Hell," where the "righteous" and "wicked" respectively are to spend eternity. The one demands the other. There can be no Heaven without its counterpart Hell. If there is no Hell there is no Heaven, for the same Book speaks of both.
I. HEAVEN
Heaven is a "PLACE," it is not a state or condition. The New Jerusalem is not Heaven, though it is a city of Heaven. The Apostle John tells us that he saw it "coming down from God OUT OF HEAVEN." Revelation 21:2.
It is the "PLACE" that Jesus told His Disciples He was going away to prepare for them. John 14:2. It did not exist at the time Jesus was on earth. It was built between the time Jesus ascended in A. D. 30, and the time when John saw it in vision descend from Heaven in A. D. 96, or if not yet built, it will be built before the Rapture of the Church, for it is to be the Residence of the Bride, the Lamb’s Wife. Revelation 21:9-10. Of Abraham we read-"He looked for a City which hath foundations, whose ’builder’ and ’maker’ is GOD." Hebrews 11:10. The New Jerusalem is that City. The Apostle says-"Here we have no continuing city (permanent abiding place), but we seek one to come." Hebrews 13:14. The Scriptures speak of three Heavens. (1). The Heaven of the earth’s atmosphere. "God gave you rain from heaven." Acts 14:17. (2). The Heaven of the Stars. The "High Places" where the "Principalities and Powers" of evil have their abode. Ephesians 6:12. (3). The Heaven where God dwells. It was to this "Third Heaven" that the Apostle Paul was caught up, when at Lystra he was stoned and his spirit apparently left his body. Acts 14:19-20. Paul calls it both the "Third Heaven" and "Paradise." 2 Corinthians 12:1-4. The two then must be identical, or "Paradise" be a part of the "Third Heaven." It is to this "Paradise Section" of Heaven that the "Soul" and "Spirit" of the Righteous go since the Resurrection of Christ. See the Chapter on "The Spirit World," page 88. The word "Paradise" means a "garden" or "enclosed place." It must therefore be a most beautiful place of trees and flowers and fruits. There the "Spirits" of the Righteous in their "Soulish" bodies, conscious and happy, and in fellowship with loved ones and the saints of all Ages, await the First Resurrection, when, having received their glorified bodies, and been judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and married to the Lamb (Christ), they go to dwell in the New Jerusalem, the home of the Bride. See Chart, page 274. From this we see that we must distinguish between Heaven proper, and its suburb Paradise, and the New Jerusalem. But we must not forget, that while Paradise, the place where the Saints of God now dwell, is a glorious place, and the Saints are there in the enjoyment of Heavenly things, that they are under certain limitations. They have not as yet received their resurrection body with all its glorious powers, nor been judged so as to receive their reward, or crown, if they are entitled to any. The description of Heaven and the New Jerusalem as given in the Book of Revelation from the third chapter to the end of the Book, is still future, and the things there described will not come to pass until after the Rapture of the Church, so what is said of the New Jerusalem and its occupants does not apply until after the Judgment of Believers. See my book on Revelation. While the Saints were removed from the Paradise section of "The Underworld" when Christ rose from the dead, and taken to the Paradise of the "Third Heaven" to be near Christ, so that now to depart and be with Christ (Php 1:23) is most blessed, it does not follow that their state there is any more blissful than it was in The Underworld. It is well that we get this Scriptural view of the place and condition of the Saints between death and the resurrection of the body clearly in our mind, for there is so much unscriptural teaching as to the state of the dead between death and the resurrection.
While the state of the Righteous dead is incomplete, it is most blissful and happy, but more a state of rest and waiting than a state of activity or service. Revelation 14:13,Revelation 6:9-11. The Saints in Paradise will be free from sin and temptation, from sorrow, sickness and death. Their environment will be conducive to holy living, and the atmosphere of the place will be that of love. They will enjoy the society of holy men of old, as Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Isaiah, Daniel, Peter, John and Paul. They shall meet and know their loved ones, and the mysteries of this life will all be solved. They will have a "New Song," and delight in ascribing their salvation to the Lamb. But after they get their resurrection body, and are rewarded for their works, they will be assigned to tasks for which they are best qualified, and for which their earth life fitted them. For instance David will be a King or Prince, Daniel a Statesman, Moses a Lawgiver, Paul a Missionary, for during the Millennial Reign of Christ the saints will be coworkers with Him. Moses and Elijah came back to earth as God’s witnesses, and why shall not we? The angels work and the redeemed shall work. But with all our service we shall never grow old, nor tired, nor weary, and we shall pass the whole of eternity with our Lord as "joint heir" with Him of an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that shall not fade away, reserved in Heaven for us. 1 Peter 1:3-5. Heaven then is our "Father’s House," it is a HOME, and a place of "many Mansions." John 14:2. It will be delightful to go there. Some people live in fear of death (Hebrews 2:15), and cannot bear to think of it, but those of us who know that Heaven is to be our Eternal Home ought not to fear "Death," for it is "Death" that opens the door for our "Exodus" from earth to glory.
FIRST EXPERIENCES AFTER DEATH Did you ever stop to think of what happens to the Righteous Soul during the first five minutes after death? Before the funeral has been held, and the body laid away in the cemetery, nay, before the undertaker has been sent for, or the neighbors and relatives notified, or the shades drawn, or the silent watchers at the bedside have realized that you are dead you have been FIVE MINUTES out of the body and reached Paradise and know where you are to spend eternity. Now what will be our experiences in those first five minutes? (1). Our first experience will be that death was so easy. That it was like falling asleep and awaking in a beautiful world. That there was no "Valley of Death," with its hobgoblins, satyrs, and demons, to traverse, no "dark river" to cross, but that "Ministering Angels" were waiting to convoy us to Paradise as they carried Lazarus. Luke 16:22. Hebrews 1:13-14. What a delight it will be to meet our "Guardian Angel," who has watched over us in our "earth life," and who will not desert us in that supreme moment when we shall need a guide to conduct us to our Heavenly Home. (2). Our second experience will be the consciousness that we have left behind our earthly body with all its weaknesses, sufferings, and limitations, and have a body that is absolutely well and fitted in every way for the spiritual realm in which it is to dwell. (3). Our third experience will be that we are being transported swiftly upward through the ethereal space toward a beautiful country whose radiance is brighter than the sun, and as we approach it see coming out to meet us and escort us home, groups of angels who sing-"Blessed are they that do His Commandments, that they may have right to the Tree of Life, and may enter in through the gates of the city." Revelation 22:14. (4). Our fourth experience will be that we are in a new environment whose atmosphere is LOVE. That there is no discord, or lack of harmony in our new home, and that its chief characteristic is HOLINESS. (5). Our fifth experience will be the feeling that we are near Jesus. If we do not actually see Him, we shall have the consciousness of His nearness. (6). Our sixth experience will be that of meeting our loved ones. While the writer does not believe that our loved ones have any direct knowledge of what is going on on this earth, yet he believes that our "Guardian Angel" may communicate with our loved ones and inform them of our coming, and that they will be waiting to receive us. (7). Our seventh experience will be the meeting with the saints who have preceded us to glory, such as the patriarchs, prophets, apostles and Christian leaders of our own day. The experiences named may not all happen in the first five minutes after death, but they doubtless will happen before our funeral service is over and our body laid to rest in the tomb.
II. HELL. To have a correct view of the other world, and of "Hell," it is necessary that we have a Scriptural understanding of-: THE UNDERWORLD. The Hebrew word "SHEOL" is found 65 times in the Old Testament. It is translated 31 times, "HELL;" 31 times, "GRAVE;" 3 times, "THE PIT." The corresponding word in the Greek of the New Testament is "HADES." It is translated 10 times "HELL." "Sheol" and "Hades" mean "The Unseen State," or the place to which the "Soul" and "Spirit" of the dead go between the death and the resurrection of the body. The "bodies" of the dead go into the "Grave," the word for which in the Hebrew is "GEBER," and in the Greek "MNEMEION." Neither "Sheol" nor "Hades" denote the "Hell" of final punishment of the wicked. That is called in the Hebrew of the Old Testament "TOPHET," and in the Greek of the New Testament "GEHENNA." Neither do they denote "THE BOTTOMLESS PIT" (Revelation 20:1-3), that is "ABUSSOS," nor the "prison house" of the "Fallen Angels" (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 1:6), that is "TARTARUS." Their general meaning is-"THE UNDERWORLD." That we may the better understand the relation of the places mentioned above to each other let us turn to the Chart, "The Heavens," page 274. The word "Sheol" means a "hollow subterranean place," therefore "Hades" must mean the same. It has "gates," for Jesus said that the "Gates of Hell" (Hades), should not prevail against the Church. Matthew 16:18. And Jesus after His return from "The Underworld," said-"I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the ’KEYS’ (of the Gates) of hell (Hades) and of death (the Grave)." Revelation 1:18. To get these "Keys" Jesus had to descend into the "lower parts of the earth." Ephesians 4:9. The Apostolic Creed says that Jesus descended into "Hell" (Hades). Therefore Hades, or "The Underworld," must be in the "heart of the earth," and is so pictured on the Chart. Jesus said to the penitent Thief "TODAY shalt thou be with me in ’Paradise.’" Luke 23:43. And as Jesus "that day" descended into "The Underworld" or "Hades," "Paradise" must have been in Christ’s day in "Hades." But as it had been prophesied of Jesus that His "SOUL" (for His body was in Joseph’s Tomb on the surface of the earth) should not remain in "Hell" (Hades), (Psalms 16:10, Acts 2:27), therefore, before His body could see corruption, Jesus came back from "Hades." But He did not come back alone. He seized the "Keys of Hades," unlocked the Gates of the Paradise Section (P) in which He was confined, and emptied it of its captives, and when He ascended on high He took them to the Paradise section of the "Third Heaven" (E), where they now are, and since then the Paradise Section of "The Underworld" has been empty. Ephesians 4:8-10. In the account of the experience of the "Rich Man" and "Lazarus" in the other world (Luke 16:19-31), Jesus gives us a description of "The Underworld" as it was in His day. According to the narrative, for it is not a parable, for parables do not give proper names as Abraham and Lazarus, both the "Rich Man" and Lazarus had died and their bodies had been buried, and what happened to them in the "Underworld," was descriptive of what happened to them in their "disembodied state." In that state they were conscious, could see, hear, speak, and recognized each other. The difference was that Lazarus was in the "Paradise" section of the "Underworld" (P), typified by Abraham’s "bosom," while the "Rich Man" was in the "Hell" section (H), not the final Hell, which is "Gehenna" (Lake of Fire), but in the section of the "Underworld" where the "souls" of the "Wicked" dead go, and remain until the resurrection of the "Wicked" dead. Between the "Paradise" (P) section, and the "Hell" (H) section of the "Underworld" there is an "Impassable Gulf" (K), (Luke 16:26), which reveals the fact that there is no possibility of the "Wicked" dead ever getting out of "Hell" into "Paradise." On the Chart this "Impassable Gulf" is represented as the entrance to the "Bottomless Pit," or "ABYSS" (A),.the "prison house" of the "Demons" (Revelation 9:1-21), and where Satan is to be bound for 1000 years. Revelation 20:1-3; Revelation 20:7-8. The Old Testament speaks of a place in "The Underworld" called in the Hebrew "ABADDON," and in the Greek "APOLEIA." The word is translated in the Old Testament, "DESTRUCTION" (Proverbs 27:20. Job 26:6, Job 28:22, Job 31:12. Psalms 88:11. Proverbs 15:11), and the same in the New Testament (Matthew 7:13. Romans 9:22. Php 3:19. 2 Peter 2:1, 2 Peter 3:16). In Proverbs 27:20 it says-"Hell (Hades) and ’Destruction’ (Abaddon) are never full," thus connecting "Abaddon" with "Hades" (Sheol). The inference is that "Abaddon" is a part of "The Underworld," and when we turn to Revelation 9:1-3; Revelation 9:11, this inference becomes a certainty, for there we read that the "King" of the "Bottomless Pit" is called in the Hebrew tongue "ABADDON," but in the Greek tongue his name is "APOLLYON," that is, the King of the * "Bottomless Pit" is named after the Hebrew and Greek words that are translated-"DESTRUCTION." Now the word translated "Bottomless Pit" is "ABUSSOS," or "ABYSS." Nine times do we read of this "Abyss" in the New Testament. Romans 10:7. Revelation 9:1-2,Revelation 9:11,Revelation 11:7,Revelation 17:8,Revelation 20:1-3. It is the place into which the Demons besought Christ not to send them. Luke 8:31. The "Bottomless Pit" or "Abyss" (A) then is a deeper compartment in "The Underworld" than "Paradise" (P). or "Hell" (H), and is the place where the "Demons" and baser spirits are temporarily confined until they are finally consigned to the "Lake of Fire" to spend eternity with their Master, Satan. To the left of the "Bottomless Pit" is "TARTARUS" (T), the "prison house" of the "Fallen Angels." 2 Peter 2:4. Jude 1:6. These "Angels" are not Satan’s angels, for they are at liberty. These "Fallen Angels" confined in "Tartarus" are the "Sons of God" who married the "Daughters of Men," and whose abnormal sin caused the Flood. See Chapter two, pages 21 and 22. They are to remain in their "prison house" until the "Great White Throne" Judgment, when they with the "Wicked Dead" are to be judged. Jude 1:6. To the right of the "Bottomless Pit" is "GEHENNA" (G). This is the "Final Hell" or "LAKE OF FIRE" prepared for the Devil and his angels, into which the "Wicked," after the "Great White Throne" Judgment, will be cast to spend eternity. Matthew 25:41. Revelation 20:12-15. It is called "TOPHET" in the Old Testament Hebrew (2 Kings 23:10. Isaiah 30:33. Jeremiah 7:31-32,Jeremiah 19:6,Jeremiah 19:11-14), and in the New Testament Greek it is twelve times called "GEHENNA" (Matthew 5:22,Matthew 5:29-30, Matthew 10:28, Matthew 18:9, Matthew 23:15, Matthew 23:33. Mark 9:43; Mark 9:45-47. Luke 12:5. James 3:6), and five times the "LAKE OF FIRE." It is as yet unoccupied. The first persons to get into it are the "Beast" and the "False Prophet" (Revelation 19:20), then "SATAN" and his Angels a 1000 years later (Revelation 20:10), and then after the "Great White Throne" Judgment the "Fallen Angels," now confined in Tartarus, and all the wicked whose names are not found written in the "Book of Life." Revelation 20:12-15. On the south side of Jerusalem was the "Valley of Hinnom." At a high place in this valley called "Tophet," in the times of Isaiah and Jeremiah, parents made their children to pass through the fire to Moloch. 2 Kings 23:10. This fire was kindled with brimstone. Isaiah 30:33. The locality afterward became a place for the burning of garbage from the City of Jerusalem. The fires were kept up perpetually, and the decaying matter as yet unconsumed bred worms. Jesus took this valley called "Ge-Hinnom," corrupted into "GEHENNA," and made it a type of "Hell" or the "Lake of Fire," where "their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." Mark 9:43-48. At the upper part of the Chart "Heaven" is shown. It includes the present "Paradise" (E), and the "New Jerusalem" (J). And also gives the relative location of the "Judgment Seat of Christ" (C), and the "Great White Throne" (W). The "Arrow" marked lines give the course and destiny of the "Righteous" and "Wicked" dead.
There are those who claim that "Sheol" (Hades) and the "Grave" are identical, and as there is no "knowledge" in the grave (Ecclesiastes 9:5; Ecclesiastes 9:10), therefore the soul "sleeps" until the resurrection of the body. But as it is only the "body" that goes into the "grave," it is only the "body" that "sleeps" or "has no knowledge. The "Soul" and "Spirit" of a man goes to "Sheol," not to the "Grave." In Genesis 37:35 we read-"And all his (Jacob’s) sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, ’For I will go down into the GRAVE unto my son mourning.’" The Revised Version substitutes for "Grave" the word "SHEOL," and the American Revision has in the margin-"Sheol, abode of the dead," and the American Baptist Publication Society edition, "The Underworld." So we see that Jacob did not mean that he would go "unto my son" in the "GRAVE," for he did not believe that his son Joseph was in the "grave," "but that he had been eaten by a "wild beast" (Genesis 37:33). What Jacob meant was that he would "go down" into SHEOL, "The Underworld," and there he would meet Joseph, for it would be no comfort to go to a place (the grave) where he would know no one. In Genesis 25:8 we read-"Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years, and was ’GATHERED TO HIS PEOPLE.’" The expression "Gathered to his people" has no reference to the "Grave" or "Family Burial Place," for that was over in Chaldea, but it means that Abraham went to "The Underworld" where the souls of his ancestors had gone, and where he would be reunited to them. The same statement is made of Isaac (Genesis 35:29) with the additional statement, "and his sons BURIED HIM," thus showing that while his "soul" was "gathered to his people" in "The Underworld," his "body" was buried in the "grave."
Among those who teach that the "Soul" at death goes to "The Underworld," are those who claim that the "souls" of those who are not as yet fully fit for Heaven go to a place called
PURGATORY. The word "Purgatory" is not found in the Bible. The word means a "PLACE OF PURIFICATION." The
"Doctrine of Purgatory" was not known in the first century, and was not promulgated as a doctrine until 600 years after Christ. It had its origin in the belief that the souls of men when they die are not fit to go immediately to Heaven, and so an "Intermediate Place" was invented where they might wait for a while and be purged of their sin. The instrument of purification is physical suffering. The Doctrine further teaches that the soul in Purgatory can do nothing towards its own deliverance, and is dependent upon "prayers" and "masses" said by the living. The purpose of the Doctrine was to secure revenue for the Church by so working on the sympathy of loved ones, that they would pay for "Masses" to deliver the souls of their relatives and friends from the torments of Purgatory. The "Doctrine of Purgatory" is unscriptural. There is no "INTERMEDIATE PLACE" to be seen on the Chart between "Paradise" and "Hell," and the "Impassible Gulf declares that there is no possibility of the occupants of "Hell" ever passing over into "Paradise." This nullifies the "Doctrine of Purgatory," and also the RESTORATION THEORY. The "Restoration Theory" is that after the "Wicked" have suffered in Hell for a time, and been sufficiently punished for their sins, that they will be restored and transferred to Heaven. The "Theory" includes Satan and his angels and all the "Evil Powers" of the Universe, and the final wiping out of Hell. The Scripture the advocates of this "Theory" use is-
"Whom (Christ) the Heaven must receive until the ’Times of Restitution of ALL THINGS, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His Holy Prophets since the world began." Acts 3:21. The claim is that the "ALL THINGS" embrace everything in the Universe, and that therefore at the "Times of Restitution" (Restoration), "All Things" will be restored to their original glory and place. But there is a qualifying clause in the text which limits the "All Things" to what "God hath spoken by the mouth of all His Holy Prophets since the world began." Now we must not forget that these words were spoken on the "Day of Pentecost" to the JEWS, and were to show the Jews that Christ would not return until they repented and were converted (Acts 3:19), and then He would restore to them the things that the Prophets had foretold He would.
What were those things? (1). Their restoration to the land of Palestine. Amos 9:14-15. (2). The restoration of the Fertility of the Land. Joel 2:24-26. (3). The restoration of the Kingdom. Daniel 7:13-14. (4). The restoration of Edenic harmony in the brute creation. Isaiah 11:6-9. (5). The restoration of Patriarchal years. Zechariah 8:4. (6). The restoration of the earth to its Original condition before the Fall. Revelation 21:1. Nowhere in the Bible through the Prophets does God promise the restoration of the "Wicked," or the "Evil Powers" of the Universe, but clearly and distinctly states that they are to be punished FOREVER AND FOREVER, or unto the "Ages of the Ages." Revelation 20:10. Matthew 25:46. The "Restoration Theory" is based on the Doctrine of a "SECOND CHANCE." That is, that the "Wicked" in the "Hell Section" of the "Underworld" shall be given another opportunity to accept Salvation. But how is this second offer to be made? Some claim that when Jesus descended into "Hades" He preached to the "Lost Spirits" confined there, and they base their argument on the words of Peter.
"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit (Holy Spirit) ; by which also He went and PREACHED TO THE ’SPIRITS IN PRISON’; which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited (120 years) in the days of Noah, while the Ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." 1 Peter 3:18-20. But Jesus when He descended into the "Underworld"’ did not go into the "Hell Section," but into the "Paradise ’Section," therefore He did not preach to the "Wicked Dead." Again the Scripture quoted above says He preached to the "Spirits in Prison." Now the "Spirits in Prison," as we have seen, are not the "Wicked Dead," but the Angels who lost their first estate by cohabiting with the Daughters of Men at the time of the Flood, and they are confined in "Tartarus," and Jesus did not visit "Tartarus" when He descended into the "Underworld." And Jesus did not preach to them Himself, He preached to them by the Holy Spirit, who through Noah preached for 120 years to those "Fallen Angels" while they were still on the earth, and before they were banished to "Tartarus."
If the Wicked are to have a "Second Chance" in the next world who is to proclaim it? If the things that are used by God in this life to lead men to Himself, such as providence, the Bible, the preaching of the Gospel, the striving of the Holy Spirit have no avail here, what is to lead men to God in Hell where those things are absent and their environment wholly evil? Character determines destiny. When character becomes fixed, condition is settled beyond change. "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still." Revelation 22:11. These words of revelation declare the "FIXEDNESS OF CHARACTER" at death. But you say the sufferings of the Wicked, and the memories of the lost opportunities of this life will lead to repentance. It is doubtless true that they will be sorry for their sin, but it will not be "godly sorrow," for there will be no Holy Spirit there to lead them to "godly repentance," and without Him they cannot be saved. If punishment will turn men to God, then the Gospel is superfluous, and it would be better to punish men than to preach the Gospel to them. The fact is that punishment hardens criminals. The "Rich Man" in Hell (Luke 16:23-28) showed no repentance, he did not beg for mercy, nor express a desire to be out of his place of torment and be where Lazarus was. He simply wanted relief for his parched tongue. The whole teaching of the Scripture is that punishment hardens the wicked. In the Book of Revelation we read how those who suffered under the Plagues of the Book instead of repenting and calling on God, called on the rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of Him that sitteth upon the Throne. Revelation 6:16-17. They also blasphemed God on account of the "Plague of Hail" (Revelation 16:21), and even Satan after a 1000 years of banishment in the "Bottomless Pit" comes out as bad as ever. Revelation 20:7-8. If men deliberately choose evil rather than righteousness in this world, they cannot keep Hell out of themselves, or themselves out of Hell. Men cannot sink so low in the moral scale but what they can sink lower, and the sad fact is that death will not retard their sinful development but will accelerate it, until it is beyond human conception to what depth the wicked will descend in Hell. But I think I hear someone say, Is it not possible for God to devise some way to save the Wicked in the next world? Does not the Bible say that God "Will have all men to be saved" (1 Timothy 2:4) ; that he has "No pleasure in the death of the Wicked" (Ezekiel 33:11); and that Christ "Tasted death for every man." Hebrews 2:9? Yes it says all this and much more. But it also says-"Behold, NOW is the accepted time . . . NOW is the Day of Salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2. I say it reverently, when God devised the "Plan of Salvation" through the death of His Son on the Cross, He went to the limit. If there had been any other way He would have provided it, rather than the Lord Jesus should suffer. But you ask does it not say in Php 2:10-11, "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in ’Heaven,’ and things in ’Earth,’ and things ’UNDER THE EARTH’ (in The Underworld) ; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord?" And does not John in the Book of Revelation describe that day when he says-"And every creature which is in ’Heaven,’ and on the ’Earth,’ and ’UNDER THE EARTH,’ and such as are ’in the sea,’ and ALL that are* in them, heard I saying, blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever?" Revelation 5:13. Yes, the Bible says all this, but confession is not REPENTANCE. A conquered foe will admit the supremacy of the conqueror by virtue of necessity, but that does not imply a changed heart. Satan and his angels and all the "Powers of Evil," in Heaven, Earth, and Hell, will confess that Jesus Christ is not only Lord, but King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but that will not restore them to Heavenly Glory. We must not forget that the issues of Eternity are settled in Time. Men and women are to be judged for what they do "IN THE BODY" (2 Corinthians 5:10), that is on this side of the grave, and not for what they do on the other side. Jesus said-"I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go YE CANNOT COME." John 8:21. This shows that if men die impenitent they can never go where Jesus is. The "Doctrine of Purgatory" is the result of A DEFECTIVE VIEW OF THE WORK OF CHRIST ON THE CROSS.
It implies that the "Death of Christ" was not sufficient, for if it was sufficient then those who die in the faith have no need to spend any time in a "Purgatory," but should go at once to "Paradise." The fact that "MASSES" are offered for the dead shows a misconception of the purpose of the "Lord’s Supper." The "Lord’s Supper" is not a "Sacrament." There is nothing saving in it. It is simply a "MEMORIAL" that looks back to the "Cross," and forward to the "Coming." 1 Corinthians 11:26. Between the "Fall in Eden" and "Calvary" there is the "ALTAR," between "Calvary" and the "Second Coming" there is the "TABLE," and between the "Second Coming" and the "New Heaven and Earth" there is the "THRONE." See the Chart on the "Threefold Work of Christ," Page 250. What right then has any one to set up between "Calvary" and the "Second Coming" an "ALTAR," where Christ has placed a "TABLE?" To call the "Table" an "ALTAR" is to make that which is offered upon it a "SACRIFICE," and if the "Bread" and "Wine" represent the REAL BODY AND BLOOD of Christ, as those who teach the Doctrine of "TRANSUBSTANTIATION" claim, then every time a "MASS" is offered Christ is "SACRIFICED," and the partaker of the "Mass" is a "GOD-EATER," and also a "CANNIBAL" for feasting on the FLESH AND BLOOD of a human being.
We must not forget the circumstances under which the "Lord’s Supper" was instituted. It was after the "Passover Supper." Jesus was about to shed His blood on the Cross as the "Lamb of God," which the Passover typified, and as the Disciples had just eaten of the "Passover Lamb," whose blood had been previously shed, Jesus wished to show them that they must feed upon Him by faith as the "Lamb of God." So He took the "Bread" and said-"This is (represents) my Body which was broken for you, this do in remembrance of me." 1 Corinthians 11:24. "After the same manner also He took the ’Cup,’ when He had supped, saying, ’This "Cup" (the Fruit of the Vine in it) is the New Testament (Covenant) in My Blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.’ " 1 Corinthians 11:25. When Jesus offered His Disciples the "Cup" saying of its contents this is "MY BLOOD," did He open a vein and let His life blood flow into the Cup? Did the Disciples that night actually eat the FLESH and drink the BLOOD of Jesus? To ask the question is to answer it. What Jesus meant was that the "Bread" symbolized His Body about to be broken on the Cross, and the "Cup" symbolized His Blood about to be shed. What He desired to set before His Disciples was the fact that His death on the Cross would fulfil what the "Passover Lamb" typified, and that they would be reminded every time they partook of the Lord’s Supper that all animal sacrifices had been done away with, and that the offering of Himself was "once for all," and that there is to be "no more offering for sin." Hebrews 10:12-18.
ANNIHILATIONISM
Annihilationism is the Doctrine that the wicked are to be destroyed at death, or later after Judgment. The Doctrine is based on a false view of Death, and a wrong interpretation of the word "Destruction." If the wicked are destroyed at death then there is no such thing as the resurrection of the wicked dead and their judgment after resurrection, both of which the Scriptures clearly teach. John 5:28-29. Revelation 20:12-15. We know from Luke 16:19-31, that the wicked "Rich Man" was alive in Hell, though as to his body he had died, and it had been buried on the earth. Judas died as to his body, but his soul went to its own place. Acts 1:25. Again we are told that "endless punishment" awaits the wicked, but "Annihilation" would not be "endless punishment" or any punishment at all. The "Fallen Angels" were not annihilated, they are now in "Tartarus," and are yet to be judged. Jude 1:6. There is no such thing as "Annihilation" in nature. Things pass into another form or condition, but are not destroyed. The word "Destruction" as used in the Bible never means annihilation or the blotting out of existence. It simply denotes "loss" or "ruin," and that the thing "destroyed" is no longer fit for the purpose for which it was made or intended, and that the "form of its existence" is changed. To illustrate, the servants of Pharaoh said to him-"Knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed." Exodus 10:7. But Egypt exists today. And Jesus said-"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." John 2:18-22. He meant the "Temple of His Body," and though they destroyed it by "Crucifixion," He raised it up on the third day.
FUTURE PUNISHMENT ETERNAL In Matthew 25:46 we read-"And these (the Wicked) shall go away into ’EVERLASTING PUNISHMENT;’ but the Righteous into LIFE ETERNAL." Primarily these words are spoken of "The Nations" (Matthew 25:31-32), but they apply to individuals. The words in this passage "Everlasting," and "Eternal," are both the same Greek word "AIONIOS," and should both be translated "ETERNAL." The word "Aionios" comes from the Greek word "aion," which is the same as the English word "aeon," or AGE. It has been said that the word means "Age-long," that is, a "definite period" with a beginning and an ending, and not necessarily eternal in duration. The word "Eternal" is from the Latin word "aetas," or "Age." Now a year is a definite time. It has a beginning and ending. If we know its beginning we know that in exactly 365 days it will end. But an "Age" is an indefinite time. Of past "Ages" we know of their beginning and ending, though we may not be able to tell how long they were, for instance the "Creative Age." But of Future Ages we do not know when they will begin or end. So the word "Age" is the only word we have to express "indefinite time," and the phrase "Ages of the Ages" is the only way we have of expressing "Endless Duration," or "ETERNITY." The lifetime of the "Lord God Almighty" is said to be "For Ever and Ever." Revelation 4:9-10,Revelation 5:14, Revelation 10:6, Revelation 15:7. And means for the "Ages of the Ages." And that is the time given for the punishment of the "Satanic Trinity" (Revelation 20:10), and the reign of the "Righteous." Revelation 22:5. And as the "Wicked" are to exist as long as the "Righteous" they are to exist for the "Ages of the Ages" or for all "ETERNITY." So we see if "Hell" is to be blotted out, "Heaven" will be blotted out, the Universe will become extinct, Eternity will end, and God be no more, a thought which is inconceivable. THE SECOND DEATH
It is said of the "Righteous Dead" that after their resurrection they can "DIE NO MORE." Luke 20:36. But it is said of the "Wicked Dead" after their resurrection and Judgment that they shall "DIE AGAIN." Revelation 20:12-15. What is this "SECOND DEATH?" What was their "First Death?" It was the separation of their "Soul" and "Spirit" from their "Body," so that their "Soul" and "Spirit" could exist in the flames of the "Hell Section" of "The Underworld" as did the "Soul" and "Spirit" of the "Rich Man." Luke 16:24. But as the Wicked after Judgment are consigned to the "LAKE OF FIRE" where a physical body would be consumed, it is necessary that they "DIE AGAIN," that is, lose their resurrection body, and go only "Soul" and "Spirit" into the "Lake of Fire," for "Soul" and "Spirit" can exist in flames. This explanation permits the "Lake of Fire" to be a Lake of LITERAL FIRE, and is in harmony with Christ’s teaching to that effect.
It is a noteworthy fact that the "Doctrine of Hell" was mainly taught by Jesus Himself. It was He who said that the wicked shall be cast into the "Lake of Fire," and that there should be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13:49-50. Matthew 25:41. He also taught that the fire was quenchless, and their worm would never die. Mark 9:43-48. And as the Book of Revelation is the "Revelation of JESUS CHRIST," Revelation 1:1, then whatever it teaches of the final doom of the Wicked, is the teaching of Jesus Christ. The Ethical value of the "Doctrine of Hell" and of "Endless Punishment" is beyond computation. Preach the doctrine of a "Second Probation" after death, that men and women after a life of sin here can get out of Hell and into Heaven by repentance and accepting the Gospel Plan of Salvation, and they will throw the reins of self-control on the neck of passion and ride at breakneck speed to perdition. It is the spread of such pernicious teaching that is the cause of the increase of lawlessness in the world. If there were more preaching of Hell in the pulpit there would be less of hell in the world. But why do men want to go to Heaven via Hell when they can go to Heaven direct? God is love, but God is JUST. He must preserve the Righteous from the Wicked. This demands that they be separated for all eternity. Therefore, O reader! if you are not a child of God, I beseech you to fly from the Wrath to come by accepting God’s overtures of mercy ere it be too late.