We come to Matthew 13, where Jesus is speaking to his discples in parables and explaining what they mean. Jesus tells a parable about a field that was sown with wheat but grew some weeds along with the wheat. At the time of the harvest, the weeds are pulled and tied into bundles to be burned. He explains this in verses 40-42. "As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The son of man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
In verses 47-50, Jesus tells his disciples "The kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into a lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets but threw the bad away. This is how it will be in the end of the age. the angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
These two parables seem pretty clear. The first part is the metaphor told in a parable, the second is the reality behind the metaphor. In both parables, the angels are throwing bad people into a fiery furnace. After the weed parable, Jesus himself sends out the angels. It's kind of amusing that my study bible says these parables show it's not the job of the servants of the kingdom to do the separating of good from bad, it's the owner's job. In other words, Jesus gets to decide who burns, not people.These parables are not found in the other gospels.
In Matthew 18, we find the parable of the unmerciful servant. A servant was forgiven of his debt to the master but did not extend forgiveness to his fellow servant. Jesus ends the story by saying, "In his anger his master turned him over to be tortured until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from the heart." The penalty for not forgiving a debt is torture. This parable is not found elsewhere.
In Matthew 22, Jesus tells the parable of the wedding banquet. The people who were originally invited to the banquet refused to come and killed the king's servants. The king destroyed them then had his servants invite people from the streets, good and bad. When the king came in to the banquet, he saw someone who was not wearing wedding clothes, so he had him bound and thrown out "into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." A pattern is developing. (This parable is also found in Luke 14, in a different setting and without casting anyone into outer darkness.)
In Matthew 24, Jesus tells an end times parable about a servant who abused the other servants while the master was away. He ends the parable by saying, " The master of the servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Hmm. This parable is not found elsewhere. (Correction: this parable is also found in Luke 12:42-48)
More to come.
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Jesus Burning part 1
In this segment, we will take a look at words of judgement and punishment spoken by Jesus, specifically referencing and/or implying punishment by death, negative judgement, a tortured afterlife, and/or burning. This should give us an idea of how loving and gracious Jesus was. I will ignore passages that merely say someone won't go to heaven. We are going to examine many passages we have not previously covered in this series, from the gospels and words in red. We will pass over some that we've already discussed.
The first passage I come to is Matthew 8:10-12. There Jesus is talking about a Roman Centurion. He says "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come frim the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside , into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." This sentiment is repeated in Luke 13:28-30. It obviously is a rebuke of the Jews not recognizing Jesus's authority. The word "subject" in this passage is actually "sons" in the Greek. Which brings me to an interesting question. What place did women have in this supposed kingdom of god, Jewish or Christian? The bible was written by men, for men. As far as I can tell, very few of Jesus's doctrinal teachings were directed to women, if any. As far as I can tell, no Old Testament teachings were either, even those that told stories about specific women. If women "defiled"men on earth, would they even be allowed in heaven?
The next passage I come to is Matthew 10:14-15. There Jesus is sending the twelve disciples out to preach. He tells them, "If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for that town." Luke 9:5 has the same scene but does not conclude with a curse of divine judgement. Remember that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire and brimstone. Many modern christians take this passage to be applicable to those who will not listen to their evangelistic efforts.
The passage in Matthew 10 continues on to verse 28, which tells the disciples, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both body and soul in hell (gehenna). This passage is not echoed elsewhere. It seems that maybe Luke was less concerned with judgement than Matthew. We shall investigate Luke deeper when we are through with Matthew. In the meantime, notice that the One who destroys body and soul in hell is capitalized. That means the people who translated and edited this version believe it is referring to god. God destroys bodies and souls in gehenna. This is an active statement about god. Many christians like to say that their god doesn't send people to hell, people send themselves. Baloney. Also, if the body and the soul is destroyed, what is left? Is that the end? I don't see any indication of an eternal torment.
In Matthew 10:20-24, Jesus curses some cities with the Sodom and Gomorrah curse when they wouldn't repent after he performed miracles.
In Matthew 12:36-37, Jesus says, "But I tell you that men (mankind) will have to give an account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken (whew! That will take a long time.) For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." Well. I don't imagine there are many, if any, people who haven't said something regrettable at some time. Also, this certainly flies in the face of a grace based, as opposed to works based, salvation. Some could say that he was talking to Jews, so it doesn't refer to christians. In that case, anything he said exclusively to Jews would not apply to christians. That would cut out a large chunk of Jesus's teachings.
To be continued.
The first passage I come to is Matthew 8:10-12. There Jesus is talking about a Roman Centurion. He says "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come frim the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside , into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." This sentiment is repeated in Luke 13:28-30. It obviously is a rebuke of the Jews not recognizing Jesus's authority. The word "subject" in this passage is actually "sons" in the Greek. Which brings me to an interesting question. What place did women have in this supposed kingdom of god, Jewish or Christian? The bible was written by men, for men. As far as I can tell, very few of Jesus's doctrinal teachings were directed to women, if any. As far as I can tell, no Old Testament teachings were either, even those that told stories about specific women. If women "defiled"men on earth, would they even be allowed in heaven?
The next passage I come to is Matthew 10:14-15. There Jesus is sending the twelve disciples out to preach. He tells them, "If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for that town." Luke 9:5 has the same scene but does not conclude with a curse of divine judgement. Remember that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire and brimstone. Many modern christians take this passage to be applicable to those who will not listen to their evangelistic efforts.
The passage in Matthew 10 continues on to verse 28, which tells the disciples, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both body and soul in hell (gehenna). This passage is not echoed elsewhere. It seems that maybe Luke was less concerned with judgement than Matthew. We shall investigate Luke deeper when we are through with Matthew. In the meantime, notice that the One who destroys body and soul in hell is capitalized. That means the people who translated and edited this version believe it is referring to god. God destroys bodies and souls in gehenna. This is an active statement about god. Many christians like to say that their god doesn't send people to hell, people send themselves. Baloney. Also, if the body and the soul is destroyed, what is left? Is that the end? I don't see any indication of an eternal torment.
In Matthew 10:20-24, Jesus curses some cities with the Sodom and Gomorrah curse when they wouldn't repent after he performed miracles.
In Matthew 12:36-37, Jesus says, "But I tell you that men (mankind) will have to give an account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken (whew! That will take a long time.) For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." Well. I don't imagine there are many, if any, people who haven't said something regrettable at some time. Also, this certainly flies in the face of a grace based, as opposed to works based, salvation. Some could say that he was talking to Jews, so it doesn't refer to christians. In that case, anything he said exclusively to Jews would not apply to christians. That would cut out a large chunk of Jesus's teachings.
To be continued.
Thursday, January 18, 2018
More Abaddon and Abyss, plus Tartarus
Here are some more passages that link abaddon with sheol:
Psalm 88:10-12 says to god: "Do you show your wonders to the dead? Do those who are dead rise up and praise you? (Hmm. The writer of the Psalm doesn't know about the judgement day?) Is your love declared in the grave (sheol) your faithfulness in destruction (abaddon)? Are your wonders known in the places of darkness, or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?" The land of oblivion...That doesn't sound like the christian hell, does it? If you read the whole of Psalm 88, you see that the author is afraid and feels like he is dead, " in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths." Those who lie in the grave are cut off from god's care and he forgets about them. Where is the concept of eternal life in this passage? We've covered verses about pits in this series of posts about hell and punishment after death. Those pits could be referring to abaddon.
Proverbs 15:11 says "Death (sheol) and destruction (abaddon) lie open before the lord, how much more the hearts of men." Proverbs 27:20 says "Death (sheol) and destruction (abaddon) are never satisfied and neither are the eyes of a man."
Going back to the word abyss, I find that, beside the book of Revelation, there are only two other appearances of the word abyss in the New Testament. One is found in Luke 8:31. This is the story of the demon possessed man who has many demons. "The demons begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the abyss." Jesus complies with the demons' request to be sent into some pigs. Then the pigs rush down a steep bank into the lake and are drowned. What happened to the demons then? Did they end up in the abyss anyway? Wasn't that kind of a dirty trick?
The other instance is in Romans 10:6-8, where the author says that righteousness based on faith does not ask who will bring christ down from heaven. Nor does it ask who will bring christ up from the abyss. Faith says that "the word" (christ) is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. In other words, people of faith don't focus on the physical location of jesus's body. They focus on faith and the statement of belief that god raised jesus from the dead. That will save them. From what? Not death. Everybody dies. Also, why would Jesus need to be raised from the abyss? Is that where Jesus went when he died? He wasn't raised directly from the tomb?
Finally, let's look at an interesting passage in 2 Peter 2:24 that says "God did not spare the angels when they sinned but cast them into hell, delivering them in chains to be held in gloomy darkness until their judgement." What makes this so interesting is the word translated into hell, in both the KJV and the NIV, is actually the greek word Tartarus. This is the only occurrance of the word in the whole bible. At the time 2 Peter was written, Tartarus had been part of Greek mythology for at least seven hundred years. There was a Greek tradition that Tartarus was a "deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the titans" (Wikipedia) Isn't it interesting that the beast of Revelation emerges from the abyss and satan gets chained up in it? Is that the same abyss as Tartarus? Isn't it also interesting that 2 Peter calls this abyss a holding place, like a prison, of gloomy darkness? No fire. Judgement comes later.
Apparently some christians have tried to get around this obviously Greek synchretism and have said that the Greeks got the idea of Tartarus from the Jews and stories of fallen angels being imprisoned. Which more likely came first, the Iliad or the Bible?
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
The Abyss or "bottomless pit"
Now let us look at the abyss in which Revelation 20 told us Satan was emprisoned for a thousand years. Upon further examination, I find the word abyss does not occur in the KJV. It uses the phrase "bottomless pit" in all the relevant Revelation passages. The greek word is abussos. Is a bottomless pit a real thing? Is that anything like a black hole?
In Revelation, the abyss is first found in chapter nine. There it is described in graphic detail. Let us bypass talk of angels, trumpets, and falling stars with keys. In this passage, the abyss is a locked shaft. When it is opened, so much smoke rises out of it that the sun and sky are darkened. (Sounds like a volcanic explosion) Out of the smoke comes stinging locusts. (Burning ash?) These locust's job is to torture those who do not have the name of god written on their foreheads, for five months. The torture will be so intense that people will wish they were dead.
These locusts are described as having human faces, women's hair, and teeth like lions. (I'm assuming women's hair means long hair, because hair is hair.) They have armor and sound like the thundering of horses and chariots in battle. Their tails have stings like scorpions. They have a king who is the angel of the abyss. His Hebrew name is Abaddon and his Greek name is Apollyon. As far as I can tell, the name Apollyon is not mentioned in Greeek literature and may be made up by the author of Revelation. He is definitely not the equivalent of Satan. Remember, Satan was imprisoned in the abyss in chapter 20. Now, who do you suppose created the abyss, Abaddon, and the torturing locusts? Ding, ding. Our friendly neighborhood deity, of course! If not him, who else? Which day of creation was that? Or did god need a torture chamber even before he produced human beings?
Revelation 11:7 talks about a beast (not Satan) coming up out of the abyss to wage war with some prophets and kill them. Rev. 17:8 also mentions this beast coming out of the abyss and going to his destruction. The word destruction in that verse is from the greek root apoleia. This word is found often in the New Testament and is translated in various versions as the words destruction, perdition, and damnation. These are all words that are used by Christians as synonymous with hell. Destruction (root apoleia) is where the wide path leads in Matthew 7:13.
Notice that the root word for destruction has a similar structure to the word Apollyon who is the king of the abyss. The author of Revelation tells us Apollyon is the Greek word for the Hebrew name Abaddon. If you have been reading the bible along with me, you might remember that we have encountered abaddon before, in the book of Job. The KJV and NIV translate abaddon in these passages as "destruction." You can find it in Job 26:6, 28:22, and 31:12. In Job, abaddon is also associated with sheol (translated as death). They are both underground. However, Sheol and Abaddon are not the same thing. Therefore, Hades and Abaddon are not the same thing either. Abaddon is never translated as hell. Clear as mud?
More to come.
In Revelation, the abyss is first found in chapter nine. There it is described in graphic detail. Let us bypass talk of angels, trumpets, and falling stars with keys. In this passage, the abyss is a locked shaft. When it is opened, so much smoke rises out of it that the sun and sky are darkened. (Sounds like a volcanic explosion) Out of the smoke comes stinging locusts. (Burning ash?) These locust's job is to torture those who do not have the name of god written on their foreheads, for five months. The torture will be so intense that people will wish they were dead.
These locusts are described as having human faces, women's hair, and teeth like lions. (I'm assuming women's hair means long hair, because hair is hair.) They have armor and sound like the thundering of horses and chariots in battle. Their tails have stings like scorpions. They have a king who is the angel of the abyss. His Hebrew name is Abaddon and his Greek name is Apollyon. As far as I can tell, the name Apollyon is not mentioned in Greeek literature and may be made up by the author of Revelation. He is definitely not the equivalent of Satan. Remember, Satan was imprisoned in the abyss in chapter 20. Now, who do you suppose created the abyss, Abaddon, and the torturing locusts? Ding, ding. Our friendly neighborhood deity, of course! If not him, who else? Which day of creation was that? Or did god need a torture chamber even before he produced human beings?
Revelation 11:7 talks about a beast (not Satan) coming up out of the abyss to wage war with some prophets and kill them. Rev. 17:8 also mentions this beast coming out of the abyss and going to his destruction. The word destruction in that verse is from the greek root apoleia. This word is found often in the New Testament and is translated in various versions as the words destruction, perdition, and damnation. These are all words that are used by Christians as synonymous with hell. Destruction (root apoleia) is where the wide path leads in Matthew 7:13.
Notice that the root word for destruction has a similar structure to the word Apollyon who is the king of the abyss. The author of Revelation tells us Apollyon is the Greek word for the Hebrew name Abaddon. If you have been reading the bible along with me, you might remember that we have encountered abaddon before, in the book of Job. The KJV and NIV translate abaddon in these passages as "destruction." You can find it in Job 26:6, 28:22, and 31:12. In Job, abaddon is also associated with sheol (translated as death). They are both underground. However, Sheol and Abaddon are not the same thing. Therefore, Hades and Abaddon are not the same thing either. Abaddon is never translated as hell. Clear as mud?
More to come.
Monday, January 15, 2018
Lakes of fire and burning sulfur or brimstone
Let's look at some of the terms associated with the wrath of god and punishment after death. First the lake of fire, aka the second death. This phenomenon is found exclusively in Revelation chapters 19, 20, and 21. The rest of the authors of the bible appear to be unaware of its existence. Wikipedia suggests that the lake of fire in Revelation is directly related to the fire of gehenna mentioned by Jesus. However, gehenna is not mentioned in Revelation and it does not have any history of being referred to as a lake.
Fire is mentioned as an instrument of god's wrath so many times in the Old Testament that I don't have the time and inclination to go over every instance. It is often paired with sulfur, which is called brimstone in the KJV. Brimstone or sulfur appears seven times in the Old Testament. 1. In Gen 19:24 it rains down on Sodom and Gomorrah. 2. Deut. 29:23 refers again to Sodom and gomorrah. 3. Job 18:15 talks of fire and sulfur at the home of a wicked man. 4. Psalm 11:6 says "on the wicked he (god) will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur. 5. Isaiah 30:33 says a place called Topheth has been prepared for the king with a large pile of firewood, ready to be set aflame by the breath of the lord, which is like a torrent of brimstone.
Pause there. Apparently Tophet is associated with the valley of Hinnom or Gehenna. I did not know that. Besides the mention in Isaiah, Jeremiah also refers to it a couple of times, in chapters 7 and 19, and says it is a place of foreign gods, or Baal, where innocent children were burned as sacrifices. 2nd Kings 23:10 says it was where children were sacrificed to Moloch.
Back to brimstone in the OT: 6. Isaiah 34:9 speaks of a day of god's vengeance when Edom's streams will be turned into pitch and the dust into burning sulfur. The fire will not be quenched night and day, its smoke will rise forever. This is in the midst of a quite bloody diatribe against all "the nations." 7. Ezekiel 38:22 says god will rain hail, and burning sulfur on the armies of Gog and many other nations. Apparently Gog isn't actually a real place or group of people. It may be a metaphor for enemies of god. The rain of sulfur must be metaphorical too. You can't rain real sulfur on a metaphor.
In the New Testament, the only sulfur/ brimstone not in Revelation is in Luke 17:29. Which is just referring to Sodom and Gomorrah.
A sulfur passage in Revelation we did not cover yet is found in chapter 14. There we find the lamb, presumably jesus, standing on mount zion with 144,000 people who had his name and god's on their foreheads. Then there is a kind of heavenly musical concert which only the 144,000 can hear. These people are special. They are men who have never "defiled" themselves with women, which made them pure. (Good grief!) I guess saint Peter won't be one of them, since he was married. They had never lied and were blameless. 144,000 perfect men? Excuse me while I laugh. These perfect men were purchased and offered as firstfruits to god and the lamb. Hmm. Sounds like human sacrifice to me. Revelation chapter seven tells us that the 144,000 are twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Next in chapter 14, an angel flies around the earth proclaiming the hour of judgement has come. A second angel yells that Babylon the great has fallen. A third angel says that anyone who has worshipped "the beast", who is not Satan, will drink the wine of god's fury and will be tormented with burning sulfur IN THE PRESENCE OF THE HOLY ANGELS AND THE LAMB! "And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever." There will be no rest for them. Lovely imagery, huh?
Fire is mentioned as an instrument of god's wrath so many times in the Old Testament that I don't have the time and inclination to go over every instance. It is often paired with sulfur, which is called brimstone in the KJV. Brimstone or sulfur appears seven times in the Old Testament. 1. In Gen 19:24 it rains down on Sodom and Gomorrah. 2. Deut. 29:23 refers again to Sodom and gomorrah. 3. Job 18:15 talks of fire and sulfur at the home of a wicked man. 4. Psalm 11:6 says "on the wicked he (god) will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur. 5. Isaiah 30:33 says a place called Topheth has been prepared for the king with a large pile of firewood, ready to be set aflame by the breath of the lord, which is like a torrent of brimstone.
Pause there. Apparently Tophet is associated with the valley of Hinnom or Gehenna. I did not know that. Besides the mention in Isaiah, Jeremiah also refers to it a couple of times, in chapters 7 and 19, and says it is a place of foreign gods, or Baal, where innocent children were burned as sacrifices. 2nd Kings 23:10 says it was where children were sacrificed to Moloch.
Back to brimstone in the OT: 6. Isaiah 34:9 speaks of a day of god's vengeance when Edom's streams will be turned into pitch and the dust into burning sulfur. The fire will not be quenched night and day, its smoke will rise forever. This is in the midst of a quite bloody diatribe against all "the nations." 7. Ezekiel 38:22 says god will rain hail, and burning sulfur on the armies of Gog and many other nations. Apparently Gog isn't actually a real place or group of people. It may be a metaphor for enemies of god. The rain of sulfur must be metaphorical too. You can't rain real sulfur on a metaphor.
In the New Testament, the only sulfur/ brimstone not in Revelation is in Luke 17:29. Which is just referring to Sodom and Gomorrah.
A sulfur passage in Revelation we did not cover yet is found in chapter 14. There we find the lamb, presumably jesus, standing on mount zion with 144,000 people who had his name and god's on their foreheads. Then there is a kind of heavenly musical concert which only the 144,000 can hear. These people are special. They are men who have never "defiled" themselves with women, which made them pure. (Good grief!) I guess saint Peter won't be one of them, since he was married. They had never lied and were blameless. 144,000 perfect men? Excuse me while I laugh. These perfect men were purchased and offered as firstfruits to god and the lamb. Hmm. Sounds like human sacrifice to me. Revelation chapter seven tells us that the 144,000 are twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Next in chapter 14, an angel flies around the earth proclaiming the hour of judgement has come. A second angel yells that Babylon the great has fallen. A third angel says that anyone who has worshipped "the beast", who is not Satan, will drink the wine of god's fury and will be tormented with burning sulfur IN THE PRESENCE OF THE HOLY ANGELS AND THE LAMB! "And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever." There will be no rest for them. Lovely imagery, huh?
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Hell part 7
As I promised, we will have a closer look at the first paragraphs of Revelation chapter 20. The unknown John is having a vision and in it he sees an angel come down out of heaven. So heaven must be up. Up where? The angel is holding a key to "the abyss" and a chain. He binds up Satan, who is also called the dragon, that ancient serpent, and the devil. Then Satan is thrown into the abyss and it is locked and sealed over him, to keep him from causing mischief, for one thousand years. The abyss here is not hell, gehenna, hades, or the lake of fire. It is a separate place, possibly in hades. In other scriptures, the abyss appears a kind of holding cell for the most despicable of the dead. So, apparently, the earth will enjoy a millenium without old scratch. After that, he will be set free for a short time.
Next, John sees thrones of judges. Then he sees the souls of those beheaded because of their faithfulness to Jesus. They come to life and get to reign with christ for one thousand years. Two questions: Is this the same thousand years that the devil is locked up? And, do they get their heads back? John says this is the first resurrection. All those who get to be in the first resurrection, do not need to worry about the second death. They will be priests of God and Christ and reign with him for a thousand years. Is this reign in heaven or on earth?
What happens at the end of the thousand years? According to verse five, the rest of the dead are resurrected. That must be the second resurrection. According to verse seven, Satan is released from his prison. He gathers an army and marches against the camp of god's people, the city he loves, maybe Jerusalem? Wait a minute. By the time of the writing of this book, Jerusalem has been destroyed by the Romans. Is this fictional alternative history? In this story, fire comes down from heaven and devours the army of Satan. Then the devil gets thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet have already been thrown. Since we haven't read the previous chapters of Revelation together yet, I have no comment on these other beings. Obviously they are not Satan. However, verse ten ends by saying that in that lake of burning sulfur, they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. As if forever is not enough. This appears to be the same lake of fire that is called the second death later in this chapter and the next. You know, where the unbelievers like me will be thrown, along with the murderers, idolaters and liars.
There you have it. We see that the ideas about Hell that modern Christianity has popularized don't exactly match up with what the bible says. We have examined gehenna, hades, and the lake of fire. Which one is actually hell? Does hell even exist in the bible? Or is it a conglomeration of all the various uncomfortable and scary metaphorical words about death, the grave, and the "second death" for those who dare to cross God in some way. Where is the reality behind all the talk? I can't find it. Can you?
Next, John sees thrones of judges. Then he sees the souls of those beheaded because of their faithfulness to Jesus. They come to life and get to reign with christ for one thousand years. Two questions: Is this the same thousand years that the devil is locked up? And, do they get their heads back? John says this is the first resurrection. All those who get to be in the first resurrection, do not need to worry about the second death. They will be priests of God and Christ and reign with him for a thousand years. Is this reign in heaven or on earth?
What happens at the end of the thousand years? According to verse five, the rest of the dead are resurrected. That must be the second resurrection. According to verse seven, Satan is released from his prison. He gathers an army and marches against the camp of god's people, the city he loves, maybe Jerusalem? Wait a minute. By the time of the writing of this book, Jerusalem has been destroyed by the Romans. Is this fictional alternative history? In this story, fire comes down from heaven and devours the army of Satan. Then the devil gets thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet have already been thrown. Since we haven't read the previous chapters of Revelation together yet, I have no comment on these other beings. Obviously they are not Satan. However, verse ten ends by saying that in that lake of burning sulfur, they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. As if forever is not enough. This appears to be the same lake of fire that is called the second death later in this chapter and the next. You know, where the unbelievers like me will be thrown, along with the murderers, idolaters and liars.
There you have it. We see that the ideas about Hell that modern Christianity has popularized don't exactly match up with what the bible says. We have examined gehenna, hades, and the lake of fire. Which one is actually hell? Does hell even exist in the bible? Or is it a conglomeration of all the various uncomfortable and scary metaphorical words about death, the grave, and the "second death" for those who dare to cross God in some way. Where is the reality behind all the talk? I can't find it. Can you?
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Hell part 6
Now we come to the word Hell/hades as found in The book of Revelation. Revelation is the youngest book of the bible and written in almost purely metaphorical/symbolical apocalyptic imagery. The author is simply "John." Noone is quite sure which John he is. The book's place in the biblical canon, as well as its purpose and meaning, has been disputed throughout the centuries. We will not go into much of that here today.
The passages with hades translated to hell in the KJV:
*Rev. 1:18-Here the author sees a vision of a fantastical person who calls himself "The Alpha and the Omega"(the first and the last), "The Living One" (because he was dead but now he is alive forever and ever! Two evers make it longer.) He goes on to say he holds the keys of death and hades. This being is presumed to be Jesus. His words are in red in my NIV study bible. In Matthew 16:18 we saw Jesus say the gates of hades would not prevail, now we see his resurrected self saying he has the keys to hades. Does hell/hades actually have a gate with keys to unlock it? Job 38:17 also talks about gates of death.
*Rev. 6:8- In this passage, the author is telling about his revealed vision. There is scroll with seven seals (magical number!) being opened by a Lamb that looked like it had been slain. (Jesus, duh.) As each seal is opened something incredible happens. Seals one through four produce four horsemen. The first is a conquering king on a white horse. The second represents the violence of war on a red horse. The third represents inflation and scarcity on a black horse. The forth seal is opened and the author says he saw a pale horse and its rider was Death; Hades/hell was trailing behind him. These four horsemen were given power over 1/4 of the earth to kill by the sword, famine, plague, and wild beasts. Interesting note: the pale horse that Death rode on was actually a sickly green color. The greek word here is chloros.
*Rev. 20:13,14- This is in a famous passage about the supposed day of judgement. We read about all the dead standing before a great white throne. There were open books which held records of what the dead had done. The sea, death, and Hades/hell gave up all their dead and each person was judged according to what he had done. (Not according to what he believed?!!) Then, Death and Hades/hell were thrown into the lake of fire! What? Hades/Hell is not actually the lake of fire itself? It looks like hell/hades was just the holding place for the dead, just like Sheol. Ah, but we are not done. The lake of fire is "the second death." There was also a special book among the record books, the book of life. If anyone's name was not found in the book of life, they were thrown into the lake of fire!
What is this book of life, and who will not be in it? Ex. 32:32 Yahweh tells Moses "Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book." Daniel 12:1 talks about a book which has names written in it, but it is unclear if it the same book. Malachi 3:16 speaks of a "scroll of remembrance" in which was written the names of those who feared Yahweh and honored his name. Is that the same thing?
Who will be thrown into the lake of fire? Rev. 21:8 says it is "the cowardly, the unbelieving (uh oh), the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars." Their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur- the second death. "He who overcomes" will not be hurt by the second death." (Rev. 2:11) But what does it mean, to overcome? We find clues in the first paragraphs of Rev. 20. Let's look at them next time. There are no more passages with the word hell/hades, but there is plenty of descriptive stuff about afterlife punishments. It seems that this "second death" is what we should really fear, not hell.
The passages with hades translated to hell in the KJV:
*Rev. 1:18-Here the author sees a vision of a fantastical person who calls himself "The Alpha and the Omega"(the first and the last), "The Living One" (because he was dead but now he is alive forever and ever! Two evers make it longer.) He goes on to say he holds the keys of death and hades. This being is presumed to be Jesus. His words are in red in my NIV study bible. In Matthew 16:18 we saw Jesus say the gates of hades would not prevail, now we see his resurrected self saying he has the keys to hades. Does hell/hades actually have a gate with keys to unlock it? Job 38:17 also talks about gates of death.
*Rev. 6:8- In this passage, the author is telling about his revealed vision. There is scroll with seven seals (magical number!) being opened by a Lamb that looked like it had been slain. (Jesus, duh.) As each seal is opened something incredible happens. Seals one through four produce four horsemen. The first is a conquering king on a white horse. The second represents the violence of war on a red horse. The third represents inflation and scarcity on a black horse. The forth seal is opened and the author says he saw a pale horse and its rider was Death; Hades/hell was trailing behind him. These four horsemen were given power over 1/4 of the earth to kill by the sword, famine, plague, and wild beasts. Interesting note: the pale horse that Death rode on was actually a sickly green color. The greek word here is chloros.
*Rev. 20:13,14- This is in a famous passage about the supposed day of judgement. We read about all the dead standing before a great white throne. There were open books which held records of what the dead had done. The sea, death, and Hades/hell gave up all their dead and each person was judged according to what he had done. (Not according to what he believed?!!) Then, Death and Hades/hell were thrown into the lake of fire! What? Hades/Hell is not actually the lake of fire itself? It looks like hell/hades was just the holding place for the dead, just like Sheol. Ah, but we are not done. The lake of fire is "the second death." There was also a special book among the record books, the book of life. If anyone's name was not found in the book of life, they were thrown into the lake of fire!
What is this book of life, and who will not be in it? Ex. 32:32 Yahweh tells Moses "Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book." Daniel 12:1 talks about a book which has names written in it, but it is unclear if it the same book. Malachi 3:16 speaks of a "scroll of remembrance" in which was written the names of those who feared Yahweh and honored his name. Is that the same thing?
Who will be thrown into the lake of fire? Rev. 21:8 says it is "the cowardly, the unbelieving (uh oh), the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars." Their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur- the second death. "He who overcomes" will not be hurt by the second death." (Rev. 2:11) But what does it mean, to overcome? We find clues in the first paragraphs of Rev. 20. Let's look at them next time. There are no more passages with the word hell/hades, but there is plenty of descriptive stuff about afterlife punishments. It seems that this "second death" is what we should really fear, not hell.
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