Thursday, May 12, 2011

PROPHECY FEATURE: "HELL: Fighting fire with Fire" (GOT QUESTIONS 2)

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PROPHECY FEATURE

 

"HELL: Fighting fire with Fire"

"Due to a Rise in False Teaching on Hell we dedicate this series"

How is eternity in hell a fair punishment for sin?



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Question: "How is eternity in hell a fair punishment for sin?"

Answer: 
This is an issue that bothers many people who have an incomplete understanding of three things: the nature of God, the nature of man, and the nature of sin. As fallen, sinful human beings, the nature of God is a difficult concept for us to grasp. We tend to see God as a kind, merciful Being whose love for us overrides and overshadows all His other attributes. Of course God is loving, kind, and merciful, but He is first and foremost a holy and righteous God. So holy is He that He cannot tolerate sin. He is a God whose anger burns against the wicked and disobedient (Isaiah 5:25Hosea 8:5Zechariah 10:3). He is not only a loving God—He is love itself! But the Bible also tells us that He hates all manner of sin (Proverbs 6:16-19). And while He is merciful, there are limits to His mercy. “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon” (Isaiah 55:6-7).


Humanity is corrupted by sin, and that sin is always directly against God. When David sinned by committing adultery with Bathsheba and having Uriah murdered, he responded with an interesting prayer: “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight…” (Psalm 51:4). Since David had sinned against Bathsheba and Uriah, how could he claim to have only sinned against God? David understood that all sin is ultimately against God. God is an eternal and infinite Being (Psalm 90:2). As a result, all sin requires an eternal punishment. God’s holy, perfect, and infinite character has been offended by our sin. Although to our finite minds our sin is limited in time, to God—who is outside of time—the sin He hates goes on and on. Our sin is eternally before Him and must be eternally punished in order to satisfy His holy justice.

No one understands this better than someone in hell. A perfect example is the story of the rich man and Lazarus. Both died, and the rich man went to hell while Lazarus went to paradise (Luke 16). Of course, the rich man was aware that his sins were only committed during his lifetime. But, interestingly, he never says, “How did I end up here?” That question is never asked in hell. He does not say, “Did I really deserve this? Don't you think this is a little extreme? A little over the top?” He only asks that someone go to his brothers who are still alive and warn them against his fate. 

Like the rich man, every sinner in hell has a full realization that he deserves to be there. Each sinner has a fully informed, acutely aware, and sensitive conscience which, in hell, becomes his own tormenter. This is the experience of torture in hell—a person fully aware of his or her sin with a relentlessly accusing conscience, without relief for even one moment. The guilt of sin will produce shame and everlasting self-hatred. The rich man knew that eternal punishment for a lifetime of sins is justified and deserved. That is why he never protested or questioned being in hell.

The realities of eternal damnation, eternal hell, and eternal punishment are frightening and disturbing. But it is good that we might, indeed, be terrified. While this may sound grim, there is good news. God loves us (John 3:16) and wants us to be saved from hell (2 Peter 3:9). But because God is also just and righteous, He cannot allow our sin to go unpunished. Someone has to pay for it. In His great mercy and love, God provided His own payment for our sin. He sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay the penalty for our sins by dying on the cross for us. Jesus’ death was an infinite death because He is the infinite God/man, paying our infinite sin debt, so that we would not have to pay it in hell for eternity (2 Corinthians 5:21). If we confess our sin and place our faith in Christ, asking for God’s forgiveness based on Christ’s sacrifice, we are saved, forgiven, cleansed, and promised an eternal home in heaven. God loved us so much that He provided the means for our salvation, but if we reject His gift of eternal life, we will face the eternal consequences of that decision.

PROPHECY FEATURE: "HELL: Fighting fire with Fire" (CHUCK MISSLER)

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"HELL: Fighting fire with Fire"

"Due to a Rise in False Teaching on Hell we dedicate this series"


Your Ultimate Appointment:

What Happens When You Die?

by Chuck Missler
  


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We don't like to think about death. It's not a pleasant subject, and we avoid even discussing it seriously or giving it any diligent study. If our career plans involved a foreign assignment, our desk would be littered with brochures and travel folders as we would try learn all we could about our forthcoming destination. If we were scheduled for an exam that our lives depended upon, we would be studying in earnest. Yet the most certain event in our future is one we try our best to ignore and attempt to relegate to a comfortable distance.

I once suggested to a financial executive (who was about 50 years of age) whom I was traveling with that he probably had less than a thousand weekends left in his life. He was startled! "What do you mean?" he gasped.

"Do the math," I suggested. With an actuarial expectation of about 20 years left in his life, and with nominally 50 weeks/year, that leaves him with about a thousand weekends. (When we say "twenty years," that sounds remote, academic, intangible. When we think of "weekends," it tends to confront us with a more graspable reality!)

Our appointment with death is an absolute certainty - probably our only certainty. It may come sooner than we expect: a car crash, a stray bullet, an unforeseen stroke. We all know of personal examples where death has come suddenly, without warning, without any preparations. When it finally does come, what do we expect it to be like?

Shedding Our Misconceptions

One of the penalties of our casual - or reluctant - attitude about death and dying is that most people are steeped in myths and misconceptions. Almost every commonly held belief is erroneous, misleading, and contrary to what we do know about the subject.

There are numerous books that have been published about "near-death experiences," which at best are less than reliable sources, no matter how well intended. But there are several incidences that we can trust as reliable. Stephen, as he was being stoned, gave us a glimpse:

But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. - Acts 7:55,56

So this notion that being greeted by the Lord Himself - at least in his case - is not fanciful. As serious Christians, we can take significant comfort from Stephen's experience. Paul also speaks of a "near-death" type of experience in which he was caught up to paradise. 1 Since this happened 14 years before writing about it to the Corinthians, some scholars believe it may have coincided with his experience at Lystra where he was stoned and dragged out of the city and left for dead. 2 (Whether this was a "near-death" experience or an actual death-and-return, we'll have to wait until we can ask him.)

Messages From the Dark Side

What makes this subject so difficult to research is that most information is not only unreliable, it is the specific focus of deceit by the ultimate Deceiver himself. One of the first mistakes is to look for answers in the wrong places. Channeling, necromancy (attempted communication with the dead), and all forms of commerce with demonic activity are expressly prohibited in the Scripture.3 Even such ostensibly harmless things such as a Ouija board or role-playing parlor games can prove extremely dangerous and are not to be taken lightly.

Satan's deceptions are designed to eliminate any awareness of a coming judgment and accountability, and to promote the perceptions that all roads lead to the same place. (Remember, he is the "prince of this world," and the "prince of the power of the air."4) Don't be among the nave or impressionable: this is very dangerous territory:

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. - 2 Corinthians 11:13, 14

Also, Jesus warned us to: 

Enter ye in at the strait [narrow] gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. - Matthew 7:13-15

If the gate you're relying on is wide, with a large majority taking advantage of it, you've got the wrong gate ! And for many, the truth about death should be terrifying. They will be in for a shocking surprise.

Heaven and Hell

This subject also squarely confronts the issues of Heaven and Hell. Unpleasant. Controversial. And clearly the subject of fanciful folklore in all directions and dimensions.

The HebrewSheol, and the GreekHades, are not the grave. The grave is where the body goes. Sheol andHades is where the departed spirits go. (For this brief discussion, we'll regard them as equivalent.)

Gehenna,however, is their final disposition. Hades is cast into Gehenna at the end.5 (In fact, their topology appears to be opposites: Hades is presented as geocentric; Gehenna is in "the outer darkness.")

It is significant that Jesus spoke much more about "Hell" than He did about Heaven.6 The very concept of the need for a Savior presupposes the avoidance of the otherwise certain destiny of desolation and eternal punishment. The good news is that you and I are the beneficiaries of a love letter: a letter written in blood on a wooden cross erected in Judea about two thousand years ago and which is the fulcrum of all history and the entire universe. The crucifixion was not a tragedy: it was a crowning achievement. His achievement makes it possible to avoid an otherwise certain destiny.

The Physics of Immortality

There are many in the secular world who do not even take the existence of the "afterlife" seriously. There are many who do, however. Frank J. Tipler, Professor of Mathematical Physics at Tulane University, is a major theoretician in the field of global general relativity, that rarefied branch of physics created by Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose. In pursuing a mathematical model involving the end of the universe, Tipler (a professed atheist) came to two conclusions (one obvious, and one stunning):

1) Using the most advanced and sophisticated methods of modern physics, and relying solely on the rigorous procedures of logic that science demands, he discovered a proof of the existence of God. (You're thinking, "No kidding, Dick Tracy!")

2) He also now believes that every human being who ever lived will be resurrected from the dead.

He claims to have arrived at these conclusions about God and immortality "in exactly the same way physicists calculate the properties of an electron." (While I personally disagree with much of his published book, this turnabout for a professed atheist is interesting.7 You can learn more about the resurrection from the most important chapter in the Bible: 1 Corinthians 15.)

A far more insightful book is by Erwin Lutzer, One Minute After You Die. He is a truly delightful friend, has pastored the Moody Church in Chicago for over twenty years, and we used his popular book as our point of departure for our current briefing package on this subject. We also explore the intrinsic architecture of man, why he is immortal (saved or not), and we attempt to repair some of the misconceptions aboutSheolHades and Gehenna, and the real nature of our present physical reality, as well as some of the more problematic issues involved in the "afterlife."

 

Prophecy Article Today: "Rapture Mania?"- Jack Kelley

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Rapture Mania

For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. (2 Timothy 4:3)

 

Commentary by Jack Kelley

For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. (2 Timothy 4:3)

As a management consultant I was often asked how much employees should know about the workings of their company, especially in financial matters. My advice was always the same. If you don’t tell them the truth, they’ll make up their own version and it will be detrimental to the company’s profits.

For example, after taxes your neighborhood super market may only get to keep as little as 1/2 of one penny for every dollar’s worth of sales. That means it takes $200 in sales to net them one dollar of profit. Admittedly, this is one of the lowest returns on sales in the business world. The average is 3-5 cents on the dollar. But according to surveys, the public thinks the average business makes a 35% profit on sales. They think it would only take $3 in sales to generate one dollar of profit. So would an employee be more concerned about wasting (or stealing) a dollar’s worth of inventory or supplies if he believed it only took $3 in sales to make up for it, or if he knew that it takes $200?

“People can’t tolerate a vacuum of information” I said, “Better they should know the truth than be susceptible to fantasy.”

History Written In Advance

“I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.” (Isaiah 42:8-9)

The Lord has always used advance disclosure to validate Himself. We call it prophecy. Knowing the end from the beginning, He told His people things that hadn’t happened, so that when they did, they would know that He is Who He claims to be. Since we know the truth about Him, we’re not susceptible to fantasy.

But there’s one area where the Lord has not been crystal clear where End Times events are concerned and that’s the timing of the Rapture. For this reason the most outlandish formulas surface whenever world events take a significant turn for the worse, as people look for reasons to believe our time here is nearly up. Many of these formulas can be easily debunked with only a tiny bit of knowledge and discernment, but for some reason they gain traction in the Christian community because of our desire to believe what our itching ears want to hear. Not knowing the truth about the timing of the Rapture, we’re susceptible to fantasy.

I’ll ignore the dates arrived at by the cults and kooks and focus only on things taught by believers. Probably the most notorious of these was the booklet entitled “88 Reasons Why The Rapture Will Be In 1988″ by Edgar C. Whisenant, but the latest example I’ve run across has to do with Noah and the Flood. It goes like this.

Genesis 7:11 says that Noah and his family went into the Ark on the 17th day of the 2nd month. Using Rosh Hashannah as the beginning of the Jewish year, someone calculated that the 17th day of the 2nd month would correspond to November 8th of this year. They also determined that Noah died 2006 years after Adam and declared that because the Rapture of the Church would be “as in the days of Noah” the Church would be raptured on Nov. 8, 2006. It didn’t happen.

Do Your Homework

Anyone willing to do a little studying could have predicted the outcome. In the first place,Matt. 24:37-39 says, “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”

From beginning to end, the context of Matt. 24 in general and this portion in particular is the second coming, not the rapture.

Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. (Matt. 24:40-41)

As we’ve demonstrated before, the word that’s translated taken here actually means received, and the one translated left means to put away. In the Rapture, some are received, to be sure, but none are put away. Those not received unto the Lord are simply left in place to endure the end times judgments. Verses 40 and 41 describe tribulation survivors left standing when the Lord returns. The believers are received into the Kingdom and the unbelievers are put away into the place of judgment.

The really mind boggling thing about the Nov. 8 concoction is that because of the context, only those who see the Rapture and the 2nd Coming as simultaneous events can justify interpreting verses 40 and 41 as rapture verses, and even they have to overlook the primary meanings of the Greek words there. But the Nov. 8 proponents apparently used this passage to justify a pre-trib Rapture. What were they thinking?

As It Was In The Days Of Noah

Jesus said that the day of His coming would resemble the events of Noah’s flood. Before the flood, He said, people were going about their lives right up to the day Noah entered the Ark. Then the flood came and took them all away. All means everyone. Noah and His family were taken away in the Ark and emerged in a new world. The flood took the rest away to their judgment.

Before the Lord’s return, people will be going about their lives right up to the day of His return. Then He’ll judge them and send them all away. Again, all means everyone. Believing Tribulation survivors, having entered into the “Ark of our Salvation” will be received into the Kingdom. The rest will be put away for judgment.

The “Days of Noah” can also be interpreted in a broader sense as a model of the End Times. In the Days of Noah there was the unbelieving world that perished in the Flood, Noah and his family who were preserved through the Flood, and Enoch who was taken live into Heaven before the Flood. At the End of the Age the unbelieving world will perish as a result of the Tribulation judgments. The remnant of Israel will be preserved through these judgments, and the Church will be taken live into heaven before they begin.

But this is a wider view than can be supported by Matt. 24:37-41 alone. There the Lord was referring specifically to the Day of His Return.

What’s Your Point?

My point in all this to remind us that we shouldn’t take anything any Bible teacher says at face value, no matter how credentialed he or she might be, and no matter how much we’d like to believe what’s being said. Wishing won’t make it so. Like the Bereans, we should receive the message with great eagerness but examine the Scriptures every day to see if what’s being said is true. (Acts 17:11)

The more we learn about what enduring the End times judgments will entail, and the closer we get to the time of their coming, the scarier things can be for us. But here’s where faith comes into play. The Lord has promised to rescue us from their time and place and from any relation to them (1 Thes. 1:10) and we have to be content with that.

He admonished us to be aware of the general times in which we live, and to avoid being taken off guard, but also told us that we wouldn’t know the exact time of our deliverance. When we get caught up in bad doctrine, no matter how well intended, we demonstrate the weakness of our faith, not its strength. Our even weaker brothers and sisters get discouraged and lose heart, and the unbelieving world laughs us to scorn when our incorrectly selected time comes and goes.

What Time Is It?

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. (Romans 11:25)

The Greek word translated full number in this verse is a nautical term and was used to describe the number of sailors and soldiers required to operate a ship. Until he had a crew of sufficient size the captain couldn’t leave port, so he had to recruit the “full number” of crewmen. The Greek word translated into the phrase “come in” refers to a destination.

I believe their use in Romans 11:25 means that the Church has a pre-determined membership, the “full number”, and when that number is reached we’ll depart for our destination. If so, that means that the Rapture is a number specific event, not a date specific one. This may be the simplest reason of all why we can’t know the exact day or hour. Maybe there isn’t one.

The idea of variable timing isn’t without precedent in Scripture. When Jesus warned the Jews living in Israel at the end of the age to flee when they see the abomination that causes desolation, He told them to pray that their flight wouldn’t be in winter or on the Sabbath. (Matt. 24:20) Does that mean that although the event is certain to happen, the date is not fixed? Would the Lord have them pray for something so important in vain? Remember, Jews can only take 1000 steps on the Sabbath, and then they have to stop or risk breaking the Law. And Judean winters can be miserable. (I was there for the worst one in 150 years on my first trip to Israel in 1994.)

If that’s the case, and we do have some say over the timing, then the best way to hasten our departure is to help the “captain” by recruiting more “crewmen”. If each one of us brought one with us, we could double the size of the Church almost overnight. Then maybe the Rapture would come next week. And if it didn’t, at least we’d have a bunch of excited new believers around instead of having discouraged some more of the ones we already have with another failed rapture date. Isn’t that a better strategy than falling for one more “sure-fire” formula for the date of the Rapture? Selah 11-18-06

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Prophecy Today Q&A: "Removing Our Memories" -Jack Kelley

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Jack Kelley


What Did The Crown Of Thorns Mean?

Q. Someone discussing how Jesus has paid for our healing quoted Isaiah 53, “by His stripes we are healed”, but said it was also by the crown of thorns that Jesus wore.  I know that stripes refers to the marks of the whips on His back, but this man was insisting that the crown of thorns was payment also.  I haven’t heard much over the years about the significance of the crown of thorns.   Could it be possible that it also was payment for our healing?

A. I believe the crown of thorns the soldiers placed on the Lord’s head symbolizes the fact that when He went to the cross, Jesus also bore the curse that God placed upon the creation.  Because of Adam’s sin, God introduced thorns and thistles into the plant life, and the thorn bush was the first one mentioned (Genesis 3:18). Over time the thorn bush became a symbol of the curse, and one of the blessings the Lord’s death brought is that at the 2nd Coming the creation will be freed from this curse.

In Romans 8:19-21 Paul said the Creation will also be liberated from its bondage to decay, which leads some to believe that the Law of Entropy was introduced at the fall and will be removed at the time of the 2nd Coming.  Simply stated, entropy means that left on its own everything falls from order into chaos.  For example, if you don’t tend your garden it will turn into a field of weeds. Everything around us is subject to that law, even our own bodies.

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