The "Lake of Fire" Series Part 5

8/7/2019 The "Lake of Fire" Series Part 5

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CONTENTS

PART V: A SCRIPTURAL EXPLANATION OF THE LAKE OF FIRE..............1

“The Flesh Profits Nothing / My Words are Spirit”................................................3

Do You Love Your Enemies? ......................................................................................6

We Must Believe the Scriptures................................................................................7 Do You Believe the Scriptures?...............................................................................18

The Keys to Spiritual Interpretation......................................................................31

What Does “Spiritual” Mean?.................................................................................35

A Spiritual Match...................................................................................................36

Examining the Metaphors and Symbols of I Cor. 3 ...............................................37

We are God’s Garden ...............................................................................................37

We are God’s Building ............................................................................................38

Love is the Key to Dwelling with God .....................................................................38

Love Your Enemies ..................................................................................................39

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PART V:

A SCRIPTURAL EXPLANATION OF THE LAKE

OF FIRE

We will now delve into some spiritual matters—“yea, the DEEP things of God.”

How does the Church decide just what the lake of fire is, what happens there,

why, to whom, and for how long? Remember back about thirty pages where I showed

you that the Scriptures in Rev. 20 and 21 do not actually say what happens to a per-

son who is thrown into the lake of fire? It does not say they are burned or tortured.

It does not say if they are killed. It does not say how long they are in this fire (there

is an indication as to how long the beast, false prophet, and Satan are in this lake of

fire, however). So how then does the church decide that those who are thrown into

this lake of fire are tortured, in their physical flesh, by real fire, for all eternity? A

detractor recently emailed me and asked how I could say that a certain thing Jesus

said was “spiritual”? He told me, “Ray, these things that Jesus spoke of are REAL!”

Wow! As though “spiritual things” are NOT REAL?

I never thought about this before, but just maybe that is what scares people

about spiritual things—maybe they think spiritual things ARE NOT REAL! I assure

you that the lake of fire IS REAL. It is, in fact, MORE REAL being spiritual than if

it were physical, material, and literal!

Let me share a practice that I have seen applied to the explanation of Scriptures.

It is a common practice to compare physical things with physical things in an en-

deavor to prove that the thing in question is indeed physical and literal. Ironically,

those who practice such things believe that they have accomplished a spiritualun-

dertaking. God, on the other hand, tells us that even all the physical things in cre-

ation are signs of His spiritual divinity(Rom. 1:20). Contrary to human logic, phys-

ical things are not made out of solid matter. God says they are made out of things

[‘things’ not out of nothing] which “do not appear”—invisible things, things of God.

God is invisible and therefore “visible things” are made out of the invisible

1



2The “Lake of Fire” Series

Creator God (Heb. 11:2). Scientists know this for a fact. Physical, tangible, material

substances can be reduced down to atomic and subatomic invisible energy—SPIR-

ITUAL ENERGY,if you will!

Theologians say that“the lake of fire”is physical, material, and literal. They

compare this phrase with similar phrases in Scripture thinking that they have

proved that the lake of fire is literal. Here are a few examples that they believe

proves that the “lake of fire” is physical, material, and literal:

“…cast into everlasting fire…cast into hell fire,”(Matt. 18:89).

“…cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched”

(Mark. 9:4546).

“…cast into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnash-

ing of teeth”(Matt. 13:4243).

“Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart

from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the dev-

il and his angels,”(Matt. 25:41).

“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire

and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and

shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever,”(Rev.

20:10).

“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the

second death. And whosoever was not found written in thebook of life was cast into the lake of fire”(Rev. 20:1415) and

“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and

murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters,

and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with

fire and brimstone: which is the second death,”(Rev. 21:8).

I will add one more, not because it mentions either hell or fire, but because it is

often used to establish the length of punishment in hell.“And these shall go awayinto everlasting punishment…”(Matt. 25:46).

There are other verses and parables that mention “burning” and “fire,” but these

are the most frequently and strongest verses used to establish the Christian doc-



Part V: A Scriptural Explanation of the Lake of Fire3

trine of eternal torment by literal fire. The proof that these are all literal, however,

is found in the carnal mind, and not in the Scriptures. Some of these verses regard-

ing “fire” may sound like they can be taken literally, but that is not the test of

whether something is literal or figurative—whether it soundslike it could be literal.

Some of the parables of Jesus soundlike they could be literal, but NONE OF THEM

ARE LITERAL, they all have a higher spiritual truth than is ever conveyed in the

literal example or story.

Well, what about it? Do all of these verses combined establish that the lake of

fire is a literal fire that burns literal physical bodies as an eternal punishment for

unbelieving sinners? No, they do not. They in fact prove something quite opposite

from that of eternal torture in real fire. They have NOTHING to do with physical

bodies! They have NOTHING to do with physical torture! And they have NOTHING

to do with eternity! You have been lied to long enough: it is now time that you know

the TRUTH. I am now going to rock some boats!

“The Flesh Profits Nothing / My Words are Spirit”

When Jesus Christ said in John 6:63:

“It is the SPIRIT that quickens[gives life]; the FLESH PROFITSNOTHING: the words that I speak unto you, they are SPIRIT,

and they are life”

The Scripture then tells us in verse 66:

“From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked

no more with Him.”

Why did Christ’s words so offend His own disciples? Because they were carnaland unconverted, that’s why. They did not, could not, and would not understand

“spiritual things.” They could understand and believe physical, material, and literal

things. They could not understand “spiritual” things, and therefore they walked

with Christ NO MORE!

So what’s new? Has human nature changed over the past two thousand years? I

think not. After reading this next section, many of you may decide that you too have

had ENOUGH. You may feel that these things are getting just too “spiritual” for

your liking. Maybe you too will doubt the existence of spiritual things, and that ifyou can’t have things in their natural, physical, material, carnal and literal way,

then you will have none of it!

Jesus Christ asked in Luke 18:8,




“Nevertheless when the Son of man comes, shall He find

FAITH ON THE EARTH?”

Orthodoxy would answer, “Why YES, He will find lots of faith—no less than a

BILLION or two, filled with the faith of God.” Oh really? Does anyone believe that

Jesus would have asked such a profound question if He already knew and believed

that there would be no less than a BILLION or two believing Christians on the

earth waiting to prove their faith to Him? Many professing Christians do not believe

God; they do not believe Jesus Christ; and they do not believe the Scriptures! I didn’t

say they don’t believe there is a God or that there is a Christ or that there is a book

of Scripture; I said they don’t believe God or Christ—they don’t believe what They

have said in the Scriptures.

Don’t think that I am always trying to be hard on the Christian Church; I am

not. I am trying to get people to BELIEVE THE SCRIPTURES, BELIEVE GOD,

and BELIEVE JESUS CHRIST! I hear a lot of lip service, but I fear that all too

many have a heart that is far from God. We claim tobelievethe Scriptures, but do

we really? We may believe part of a Scripture, one word of a Scripture, someone’s in-

terpretation of a Scripture, our own interpretation of a Scripture, but do we believe

ALL THE SCRIPTURE? How am I to prove to someone that the lake of fire is not

God’s eternal version of a terrorist’s torture chamber, if they do not believe in the

credibility of Scriptures? If I give a Scripture and someone says, “Well, I don’t be-

lieve that! That’s YOUR interpretation,” how are we to ever establish the truth of

the Scriptures in such minds and attitudes?

There really is simplicity in the Scriptures. But who believes them? We SAY, we

TALK, we AFFIRM, we SWEAR, we PRETEND, but do we really believe the Scrip-

tures? “GOD IS LOVE” (I John 4:8). How many believe it? Do YOU believe it? Not if

you also believe that God will torture the majority of mankind unmercifully in real

fire for all eternity, you don’t. The two thoughts are incompatible and incongruous.One cannot hate one’s enemies while claiming to love them. One cannot torture

someone while at the same time insisting that this is showing love. One cannot lie to

his children while claiming to be truthful. Little children understand these con-

cepts; why can’t adults?

Heb. 12:68,“For whom the Lord LOVESHe chastens, and

scourges every son whom He receives. If ye endure chastening,

God deals with you as with sons; for which son is he whom the

father chastens not? But if ye be without chastisement, where-

of all are partakers, then are ye BASTARDS, and not sons.”

There isn’t a theologian alive who can explain this Scripture if he also believes




that God will torture most of humanity in a literal lake of fire for all eternity. God

chastens EVERY son, but He does not torture him in literal fire for all eternity. If

we endure chastening, then we know that God is dealing with us as SONS!

But. . . .BUT, if any are“without chastisement”then they are“bastards, and

NOT sons.”Now then, does God LOVE all His sons whom He scourges and chas-

tises? Yes, of course He does, He says He does. But here’s the sixtyfour thousands

dollar question: “Does He also LOVE the bastards, or does He HATE the bastards

and enemies of the cross?” Don’t be too hasty to answer, as your answer has huge

and eternal consequences. Well, some may say, “Love,” while others may say, “Hate.”

Okay, let’s look at both:

1. If God “Loves” the bastards, then He will eventually HAVE TO CHASTEN

THEM, because….He chastens“EVERY son whom He loves.” And God

then “receives” all that He chastens. No exceptions here. So God can’t burn

any whom He “Loves” in a literal lake of fire for all eternity.

2. But if God “Hates” the bastards who are enemies of the cross…wait a

minute…God can’t“HATE His enemies!”Jesus Christ said we are to,“Be

ye therefore perfect EVEN AS your Father which is in Heaven is

perfect.” A great part of becoming perfect is to LOVE ONE’S ENEMIES!

Jesus said we are to,“LOVE YOU ENEMIES, BLESS them that curseyou, DO GOOD to them that hate you….”No exceptions here regarding

any enemies that we are allowed to hate. This is HOW ones becomes perfect

like the Father.“LOVE YOUR ENEMIES!”(Matt. 5:48 & 45)! And so God

can’t burn any of these enemies in a lake of fire for all eternity, either, and

still be Our PERFECT Father Who LOVES HIS ENEMIES, just as we are

to LOVE OUR ENEMIES!

Bastards are born bastards and did not create themselves or choose to be bas-

tards…”!!!

By the way, just what does God do with those who are“enemies of the cross”

(Phil. 3:18)?

“For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell

you even weeping, that they are the ENEMIES of the cross of

Christ: Whose end is DESTRUCTION…”

Need I remind you of the Scriptures we covered in the last installment on who

Christ came to SAVE: those who are “lost, perished, and destroyed”?

So by God’s Own Words He prevents Himself from hating or torturing enemies

for all eternity in a literal lake of fire. You see, GOD REALLY DOES LOVE HIS EN-

EMIES! But many of us do not, and so we make God into a carnalminded image of




ourselves, which is IDOLATRY! God has never said in His Word that He will torture

anyone in literal fire for all eternity—carnalminded theologians have come up with

such utter rank blasphemy! Let me get frank for a moment (as if I am not normally

frank). Not many people“LOVE their enemies.”No, they don’t. Don’t even try to

tell me that they do. A few do. Not many. I myself struggle with the command at

times.

Do You Love Your Enemies?

How many prayed for the seven POW’s held captive in Iraq? I myself prayed earn-

estly for them. I hate the thought of being tortured, and I had no idea how badly our

POW’s were being treated. Millions upon millions prayed for them. But how many

prayed for not only Jessica, but for her enemy captors who“cursed her, and hated

her, and despitefully used her, and persecuted her”?How many? That’s what

I thought. How many would like to see her captors BURN IN HELL? (That is,were

there such a place). I rest my case. We do NOT believe the Scriptures. We pretend!

We boast! We LIE! By the way,

“…and ALL LIARS [do you see any exceptions in that statement,

“ALL liars”?]shall have their part in the lake which BURNS

WITH FIRE AND BRIMSTONE: which is the second death”

(Rev. 21:8)!

How many still desire that this lake should be a LITERAL FIRE that tortures

the flesh for all eternity? So maybe you think you’re not“a murderer, or whore-

monger, or sorcerer;”maybe you are just anoccasional“liar who hates his en-

emies”?Think about it.

So you are one of those who “Believes the Scriptures,” are you? And you believethat billions upon billions of human beings“…shall have their part in the lake

which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death”?And do

you believe that they will be tortured there for ALL ETERNITY? Do you? Do you

really? Is this what you think the “lake of fire/second death” is? An eternal torture

chamber? Well, then you must also concede that if you or anyone you know is“fear-

ful”(same verse) (”fearful” in the Greek here is “timid”), or a“liar,”then you and

everyone you know who is either “timid” or a “liar” is going to burn and burn and

burn in literal fire in this lake of fire for ALL ETERNITY. Are you ever“timid”?Do

you ever tell a“lie”? Are you ready to go to Hell and be burned in real fire for all

eternity? Why does God lump such relatively minor character flaws such as “timid-

ity (fearful)” with “murderers” and “sorcerers”? Have you ever had the reason for

that explained to you? Ask your pastor, I am sure he will be able to explain it to you.




(On second thought scratch that last statement. I believe that statement is a“lie.”I

don’t believe your pastor can explain it to you, and I don’t want to burn in Hell for

all eternity for being a“liar”).

I can see it all now: Satan is standing at the Rusty Gates of Hell welcoming all

newcomers:

SATAN: “And why are you here, young man?”

YOUNG MAN: “In my life I was ABOMINABLE, committed

MURDERS, practiced SORCERY, and was an IDOLATER!”

SATAN: “Throw this young man into the burning lake of fire for all

eternity!”

SATAN: “And why are you here, young lady?”

YOUNG LADY: “I have never done anything abominable or committed

murder or practiced sorcery, nor was I an idolater. But when I heard

all those Hellfire and brimstone sermons on television by all those

worldly millionaire preachers of doom, I became a little“fearful”as Iam timid by nature.”

SATAN: “Throw this evil sinner into the burning lake of fire for all

eternity!”

SATAN: “Demon Scribe, how many fearful and timid young ladies

have we thrown into the lake of fire thus far?”

DEMON SCRIBE: “Your Unholy Corruptness: that last one makes

four billion, six hundred and eightynine million, five hundred and

seventyeight thousand, nine hundred and ninetynine!”

SATAN: “Very good! Next…..”

We Must Believe the Scriptures

Here is another verse that will test your faith in the Scriptures:

“That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and

shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the




dead, you shall be saved”(Rom. 10:9).

Is not this Scripture so absolutely fundamental to our faith that every Christianon earth believes every word of this Scripture? Let us see. Test yourself: First we

must “confess Jesus.” Not just saying the name of Jesus as a real historical Figure,

but EVERYTHING THAT HIS NAME STANDS FOR! Jesus means “JehovahSa-

viour.” Saviour of what? Saviour of whom? Here’s a Scriptural answer:

“And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son

[Jesus—Jehovah – SAVIOUR]TO BE THE SAVIOUR OF THE

WORLD”(I John 4:14)!

Do you know of a verse anywhere in the Bible that says Jesus will FAIL at being

“The SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD”?Do you then completely believe Rom. 10:9 as

the infallible Word of God? Do you believe that Jesus IS what His name SAYS He is

—Saviour of THE WORLD? Do you believe that His Father gave Him a commission

that could only be hoped for, but never accomplished? Do you believe that Jesus

Christ will FAIL TO LIVE UP TO HIS NAME? Well, then, if you believe that Jesus

IS the Saviour of the world, then you certainly cannot believe that He will NOT save

most of the world but rather torture most of the world for all eternity in a lake of

fire.

Jesus gave a parable about a father who commissioned one of his sons to do a

job. The son said he would do what his father commissioned. However, he lied and

did not do what his father commissioned. Jesus told those Pharisees that harlots

would enter the kingdom before someone with an attitude like that, (Matt. 21:28

31)! Are we to believe that the very Son of God Himself is no better than this failing

servant in Christ’s own parable?

What will it take before we really BELIEVE THE SCRIPTURES? We hear agreat deal these days about “THE GREAT COMMISSION,” (as though those talking

about it have a clue as to what it is). Teaching the gospel is certainly commanded by

our Lord, but the greatest thing about the gospel is never taught by most evangel-

ists. That Jesus Christ died to save a small fraction of sinners is only a small frac-

tion of the gospel. And the gospel is not the Great Commission. Would you like to

know what The Great Commission really is? Okay, here it is:“And we have seen

and do testify that the Father sent[Gk:apostello,to send out on a mission—

commission]TO BE THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD”(I John 4:14)! See Second

Witness in John 3:17. Now if anyone knows of a GREATER mission or commission

than this, I am sure we would all like to know what it is?

Now it would only be fitting that such a Dignitary ought to have a name that ex-

emplifies so great a commission:




“Wherefore God also has highly EXALTED HIM, and given Him

A NAME WHICH IS ABOVE EVERY NAME: That at THE NAME

OF JESUS[JehovahSAVIOUR]…”(Phil. 2:9). See Second Witness inEph. 1:21.

Okay then, we have the “commission,” and we have “a name” befitting that com-

mission, but do we have a Son Who will do the works of that commission or will He

fail?

“…the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the

same works that I DO, bear witness of Me….”(John 5:36).

A second witness: Did Jesus take the works (”to be the SAVIOUR OF THE

WORLD”) seriously?

“ I MUST WORK THE WORKS [SAVE THE WORLD]OF HIM

THAT SENT ME….”(John 9:4)!!!

What power might Jesuslackthat could disable or frustrate this august commis-

sion of His Father?

“ ALL POWER IS GIVEN UNTO ME in heaven and in earth”

(Matt. 28:18)!

See Second Witness in Dan. 7:14.

Has Jesus already proven that He has enough power to overcome all the “free

wills” of the world?“Be of good cheer; I have OVERCOME THE WORLD”

(John 16:33).

See Second Witness in I John 4:4.

Maybe God doesn’t want the whole world to be saved?

“Who WILL have all men to be saved”(I Tim. 2:4).

Second witness:

“For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we

trust in the living God, Who is the Saviour of ALL MEN, espe-

cially[but not exclusively]of those who believe”(I Tim. 4:10).

Doesn’t God will that most of humanity will eternally perish in the lake of fire?

“The Lord…is NOT WILLING that ANY should perish[eternally]




…”(II Peter. 3:9).

Second witness:

“And I, if I be lifted up[on the cross]from the earth, will draw

ALL MEN UNTO ME” (John 12:32).

But doesn’t the whole world need first to have their sins atoned for?

“And He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only,

but also for THE SINS OF THE WHOLE WORLD”(I John 2:2).

Second witness:

“The next day John sees Jesus coming unto him, and says, Be-

hold the Lamb of God, which TAKES AWAY THE SIN OF THE

WORLD”(John 1:29).

Hasn’t the Church proven by their interpretation of the “lake of fire” that it is

“impossible” to save all mankind?

“Who then CAN be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said

unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God ALL

THINGS ARE POSSIBLE”(Matt. 19:2526).

See Second Witness in Job 42:2.

Isn’t it up to each individual to “CHOOSE CHIRST” in order to be saved?

“You have NOT CHOSEN ME, but I have CHOSEN YOU…”

(John 15:16).

But didn’t Billy Graham say at one of his crusades that “we must come to Christ

all on our own”? To not even pray for those making that decision, because that de-

cision to “come to Christ” must be theirs and THEIRS ALONE?

“NO MAN CAN COME TO ME[by his own free will choice]except

the Father which has sent me DRAW HIM [Greek: DRAG HIM]

and IWILLraise him up at the last day”(John 6:44).

See Second Witness in Verse 65.

Are you telling me that I never did seek God ON MY OWN?

“There is NONE that seeks after God”(Rom. 3:11b).




See Second Witness in Psalm 14:2.

But what if I believe that I can and I do WILL to serve God on my own.

“For it is GOD which works IN you both TO WILL and TO DO

of His good pleasure”(Phil. 2:13).

See Second Witness in I Cor. 15:10.

Well I know for a fact that it says in Heb. 11:6 that without faith it is impossible

to please God, so surely we must work up our OWN FAITH in order to please God?

“For by grace are ye saved through FAITH; and that[that

‘FAITH’]is NOT OF YOURSELVES[well where does it come from

then, if not from US?]; it is the GIFT OF GOD”(Eph. 2:8).

Second Witness:

“…and what have you that you did not RECEIVE….?”(I Cor.

4:7).

But surely everyone will have to acknowledge the RISEN Jesus Christ as their

Lord and their Jesus [JehovahSAVIOUR] before they can ever be saved, so when

does that happen?

“That at the name of Jesus[JehovahSaviour—THEIR Saviour]

EVERY knee should bow, in heaven, and in earth, and under

the earth; and that EVERY tongue should confess[‘That if

thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt

believe in thine heart that God has raised Him from the dead,

THOU SHALT BE SAVED,Rom. 10:9)]that Jesus Christ[The

Christ that God ‘raised from the dead.’ Christ was already ‘RISEN’

when this was written in Phil. 2:11]is Lord[‘Lord’ means ‘master’—

acknowledging Christ as Master of their lives], to the glory of God

the Father”(Phil. 2:1011).

But doesn’t this sound like ALL that we do to be saved is OF GOD, and not of

ourselves?

“God is operating ALL in all”(I Cor. 12:6)

“Yet ALL is of God”(II Cor. 5:18)

“For OF Him, and THROUGH Him, and TO Him, ARE ALL




THINGS: to Whom be glory for ever. Amen”(Rom. 11:34)

“…being predestinated according to the purpose of Him Whoworks ALL THINGS after the counsel of His OWN WILL”(Eph.

1:11).

This almost sounds like we can do absolutely NOTHING on our own to bring

about our own salvation.

“I am the vine, you are the branches … for without me you can

do NOTHING”(John 15:5).

All these Scriptures make it sound as if the Church has many worship practices

that are nothing but the philosophies, commandments, and traditions of men rather

than Scripture.

“Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines

the commandments of men…Full well you reject the command-

ments of God,[like: ‘LOVE YOUR ENEMIES’]that you may keep

your OWN TRADITION”(Mark 7:7 & 9).

Am I failing to find even a single Scriptural excuse for Christ to FAIL in His

Great Commission? I hope so! Perhaps your pastor knows of a Scripture that will

justify the Christian concept that Jesus Christ will FAIL to fulfill His commission. If

anyone finds such a Scripture, be sure to email me immediately.

Maybe your pastor will say that I am being too negative and expecting too much

of our Saviour. Shouldn’t I be content that Jesus saves at least a few? The small

flock? The narrow gate? The firstfruit? Is not a FIVE PERCENT success rate some-

thing to be praised and awarded even if NINETYFIVE PERCENT of humanity are

to be lost and eternally tortured in a lake of fire? Is FIVE PERCENT considered a

GOOD RETURN on His investment according to our Heavenly Father? Jesus gave

another parable about a Lord [God] who gave five, two, and one talents to each of

his servants (“But made Himself[Jesus]of no reputation, and took upon Him

the form of aSERVANT….,”Phil. 2:7), and later reckoned with them about how

well they did with their talents. The two servants with five and two talents were

praised and rewarded. The one with one talent (TWENTY PERCENT as much as

the one with five talents) gave his Lord back his one talent to which the Lord com-manded:

“And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness;

there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth”(Matt. 25:1430).




The servant gave back to his Lord ALL that He had given him. Did the Lord con-

sider that something to be praised and rewarded? DO YOU SUPPOSE THAT GOD

THE FATHER EXPECTS NO MORE THAN THIS FROM HIS OWN SON, JESUS

[JEHOVAHSAVIOUR]THE SAVIOUR OF THE WHOLE WORLD? God the Father

commissioned HIS OWN SON to do a job, which His Son agreed to DO.

How many of you parents would be content with your children if they achieved

the SAME PERCENTAGE OF SUCCESS, as the Church attributes to Jesus Christ

in saving the world? Are five or ten percent test scores from your children in school

acceptable to you as parents? What about if they get FIFTY percent? If they always

achieve at least a fifty percent grade on their papers, will you consider that AC-

CEPTABLE? Fifty percent is considerably higher and better than what is attributed

to Jesus Christ for the work God has set before Him! Do you think that if Jesus

saves FIFTY percent of humanity that it will be “good and acceptable” to His Fath-

er?

NO! NO! A thousands times, NO! I’ll show you what percentage is “good and ac-

ceptable” to God the Father:

“ForTHISis GOOD AND ACCEPTABLE in the sight of God our

Saviour; Who will have ALLmen[What percentage? Five percent?

Fifty percent?] … ALLmen to be saved...”(I Tim. 2:34).

Jesus DIED FOR THE SINS OF THE WORLD. That part of the commission is

finished (”IT IS FINISHED”Jn. 19:30). The sins of the whole world are already

forgiven,

“And He[JesusSAVIOUR]is the propitiation for our sins and

not for ours only, but also for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD”

(I John 2:2)

And,

“To wit that God was in Christ, reconciling THE WORLD unto

Himself, NOT imputing[reckoning]THEIR TRESPASSES[SINS]

AGAINST THEM”(II Cor. 5:19).

Why then is not the whole world saved, NOW? Because “dying for the sins of the

world” is not the total commission. Well what pray tell could still be remaining? An-

swer: JUDGMENT and KNOWLEDGE!

“And as it is appointed unto[all]men once to die, but after this

the JUDGMENT”(Heb. 9:27)




“Who will have all men to be saved, and to come into the

KNOWLEDGE of the truth”(I Tim. 2:4).

“For the EARTH shall be FILLED with the KNOWLEDGE of

the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea”(Habakkuk

2:14).

“For when Thy[God’s]JUDGMENTS are in the earth, the in-

habitants of the world will LEARN[that’s KNOWLEDGE]right-

eousness”(Isaiah 26:9).

Rest assured that Jesus [JehovahSAVIOUR] will not fail to fulfill His commis-

sion and become an unprofitable Servant to His Father. And don’t let anyone tell

you that Jesus is only the “potential” Saviour of the world and that actually getting

saved is up to man! One cannot even be the “potential Saviour of the world,” and yet

NOT save the world, because that would be proof that the “potential” was not really

there in the first place?

One cannot be the “SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD,” and yet, NOT SAVE THE

WORLD!

Am I going too fast for anyone?

All that we covered here is the meaning of the name itself, “Jesus=Jehovah Sa-

viour.” Believing in the name of Jesus also means believing the dozens and dozens of

godly character traits of our Lord. We could certainly spend many pages going

through all of the qualities of character, virtue, godliness, and love, contained in the

person of “Jesus.” But hopefully many of my readers are beginning to see the light.

Why should I have to spend paragraph after paragraph trying to persuade

people that Rom. 10:9 and I John 4:14, and I Tim. 2:4 and dozens and dozens of

Scripture just like these, really are TRUE? Why? Because many Christians DO NOT

BELIEVE THESE SCRIPTURES, THAT’S WHY!

Back to our Scripture, second part of Rom. 10:9,“…that God has raised Him

from the DEAD”?Do you believe that? Do you really? Or do you believe as ortho-

doxy does that Jesus (Himself) NEVER DIED! That’s right. Jesus Christ (the REAL

Jesus) Himself, is said to have never died. Theologians teach that only His body

died. That Jesus Himself wasnot DEAD,but was rather on a preaching mission,

somewhere in a place called Hell, during the time He was supposed to be dead, and

was supposed to be in the heart of the earth, and was supposed to be fulfilling the

sign of Jonah, and was supposed to be paying for the sins of the world by suffering

death, and supposed to be fulfilling prophecy, all in accord with what His Father or-




dained for Him to do. Do you believe “JESUS” died or that only His “body” died?

But some will protest: “How can GOD die?” God can die IN THE FORM OF A

MORTAL MAN! Jesus emptied Himself, lowered Himself, gave up His glory to BE-COME A MAN for the express purpose of DYING!

“But we see Jesus, Who was made a little lower than the angels

for the SUFFERING OF DEATH…”(Heb. 2:9).

Remember that just as we have a spirit in us that gives us life and at death pre-

serves who we are, Jesus likewise had a spirit that He gave up to His Father when

He died. The life of Jesus was preserved in that spirit even though He, Himself, was

unconscious and DEAD for three days.

Please understand that what I am saying does in no way negate the faith of

those who believe that Christ DIED for them, but do not as yet understand that Je-

sus Himself died, and not just His shell, His housing, His clothing of a physical

body. It is essential that one believe the Gospel, that Christ died for them and that

God raised Him again from the dead in order to be saved. This is the gospel, of

course, and one doesn’t have to “understand” a thousand and one other facts sur-

rounding the gospel in order to be saved. But let’s also understand that the faith to

believe and the faith to be saved is as much a GIFT from God as is the very GRACEby which we are saved. It isn’t that we provide one (faith) and then God will provide

the other (saving grace). No. God provides BOTH (Eph. 2:8). Here is what we must

believe in order to be saved:

“That if thou shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus,

and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from

the dead, YOU SHALL BE SAVED”(Rom. 10:9).

“Sirs[Paul and Silas]what must I do to be saved? And they said,

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and YOU SHALL BE

SAVED…”(Acts 16:31).

“We believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we

SHALL BE SAVED…”(Acts 15:11).

“…whereby you and all your house SHALL BE SAVED ... God

gave them the like gift as He did unto us, who believed on the

Lord Jesus Christ…”(Acts 11:14 & 17).

“…that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye cru-




cified, Whom God raised from the dead…Neither is there salva-

tion in any other: for there is none other name under heaven

given among men, whereby we MUST BE SAVED”(acts 4:10 &12).

“I[Jesus the Christ]am the door: by ME if any man enter in, HE

SHALL BE SAVED...”(John 10:9).

“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the

name of the Lord SHALL BE SAVED”(Acts 2:21).

And, of course, EVERYONE in heaven and earth will ultimately believe this gos-

pel:

“That at the name of Jesus everyknee should bow, in heaven,

and in earth, and under the earth; and that everytongue

should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God

the Father.”

Ask a hundred pastors or theologians if your mother, let’s say, were to bow herknees in the name of Jesus [JehovahSaviour] Christ and confess that Jesus Christ

is Lord, will she be saved? I am pretty sure all one hundred would say, “YES, OF

COURSE!” Next ask the same one hundred whether all those in heaven and earth

who will also bow and confess Jesus as Lord will be saved, and I am pretty sure all

one hundred would say, “NO, OF COURSE NOT!” See the difference? Me neither!

Ever consider how the thief on the cross was saved? It doesn’t say whether he

was Jew and circumcised, or Gentile and baptized—all it says is that he was a sin-

ner and he acknowledged it, (remember that it was for just such sinners that Jesuswas commissioned by God to come into the world in the first place). Did the thief on

the cross believe on the name of Jesus Christ? Did he acknowledge Christ as his

Lord and Master? Did he believe that God would raise Him from the dead? Yes, he

did:

“But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Do you not fear

God, seeing you art in the same condemnation? And we indeed

justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this

man has done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, re-member me when you come into your kingdom”(Luke 22:4043.)

The thief believed that Jesus was the Christ and the Saviour (this Man has done

nothing amiss). He acknowledged Him as his Lord and Master (calling Him Lord).




He knew that in order for Jesus to “come into” His kingdom, God would have to re-

surrect Him from the dead, for soon they would all be dead. Simple, isn’t it? I will

give you my shortest possible statement as to how one is saved: “BELIEVE THE SA-

VIOUR!” That’s it.

I don’t want anyone to draw false assumptions from the things that I teach. I

firmly believe that God will save ALL. But I have never said that anyone HAS to be-

lieve that the salvation of all order to be saved, anymore than one must believe that

his faith to believe God in the first place came from God and not himself. Again, the

Scripture says we must “believe,” but does not say that we must know “where” that

faith came from in the first place. I believe that we areallin for lots of surprises

when God reveals all. My papers are trying to show people the wonderful Truths of

God and His plan for the salvation of the entire human race, and the entire heav-

enly host. God sent and commissioned His Son Jesus [JehovahSaviour] to save the

whole world. Do you believe the following Scriptures:

“For God sent NOT his Son into the world to condemn the

world; but that THE WORLD through Him [JehovahSAVIOUR]

might be SAVED” (John 3:17)!

“…the Lamb of God[JehovahSAVIOUR], which takes away thesin of THE WORLD”(John 1:29)!

“And He[JehovahSAVIOUR]is the propitiation for our sins[sat-

isfactorily covered all sin]and not for ours only, but also for the

sins of THE WHOLE WORLD”(I John 2:2)!

“And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son

[JehovahSAVIOUR]to be the SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD”(I John

4:14)!

“…for when Thy[JehovahSAVIOUR] judgments are in the earth,

the inhabitants of THE WORLD will learn righteousness”(Isai-

ah 26:9)!

“…for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is in-

deed the Christ,[JehovahSAVIOUR], the Saviour of THE

WORLD”(John 4:42)!

“To wit that God was in Christ[JehovahSAVIOUR], reconciling

THE WORLD unto Himself, NOT imputing their trespasses




unto them…”(II Cor. 5:19)!

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation[will youaccept it?]that Christ Jesus[JehovahSAVIOUR]came into

THE WORLD to SAVE SINNERS…”(I Tim. 1:15)!

“And if any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge Him

not, for I[JehovahSAVIOUR]came not to judge the world, but

to SAVE THE WORLD”(John 12:47)!

How then can one believe all of these Scriptures and yet believe that Jesus [Je-

hovahSAVIOUR] will NOT SAVE, but will eternally torture in the lake of fire, most

of THE WORLD? My prayer is that many of you will, for the first time in your lives,

repent of your stubbornness, and start believingthese marvelous Scriptures.

Now it is no secret that I firmly believe that there are a dozen or two Scriptures

in the King James and other modern English Bibles that are not translated cor-

rectly, and that those dozen or two Scriptures are of such paramount importance

that many false doctrines can be attributed to them. I also know that there are a

dozen or so English translations that DO translate those dozen or two Scriptures

correctly. However, setting those few Scriptures aside for the moment, let me say

this: When I present the really powerful and spiritual Scriptures to orthodox Chris-

tians, they invariably will either disagree with the verse or try to contradict it with

another Scripture! I present a Scripture to prove a vital point, my opposer then

presents another verse, which he says proves my Scripture wrong. In other words,

he thinks he has found a Scripture that contradicts my Scripture, which only proves

that this person believes the Bible is a book of CONTRADICTING SCRIPTURES!

Unbelievable!

Do You Believe the Scriptures?

Test yourself now with another classic prophetic verse that I firmly believe, but that

I have had many Christians tell me will never be fulfilled. The verse I am referen-

cing is correctly translated; it is profoundly and simply stated; and yet is believed by

virtually NO ONE! Most Christians don’t believe it because THEY DON’T WANT

TO BELIEVE IT. If I were to show you a Scripture that says God will NOT torture

most of humanity in an eternal lake of fire, would you believe it? What if I showedyou a dozen such Scriptures? What about two dozen? Let’s just try one and see how

serious you are about believing the Scriptures. We cannot believe that God will save

ALL mankind while, at the same time, torturing most of the mankind in an eternal

lake of fire, now can we? Here then is just one profound and beautiful statement of




Good News from God that virtually none of the Christian world teaches or believes:

“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Sa-

viour: Who WILL HAVE ALL MEN TO BE SAVED, and to come

unto the knowledge of the truth”(I Tim. 2:4).

Now I don’t mean to be continually picking on the World of Christendom, but un-

derstand that it is ONLY Christians (lead by Christian theologians, clergymen, pas-

tors, and teachers) that teach the whole world that Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the

Whole World (I Jn. 4:14), WILL NOT SAVE THE WHOLE WORLD. It is only THEY,

who teach the world that this prophecy in I Tim. 2:4 will NEVER COME TO PASS.

And so in being obedient to Titus 1:9, I expose them for their heresy. If atheists andpagans and heathens had a billiondollar campaign to tell the world that I Tim. 2:4

will never come to pass, then I would expose them as well!

Understanding the colossal and farreaching implications of such a verse, many

translators have tried to water down this Scripture. People have told me personally

many times that this verse doesn’t mean that God really “will” save all men, but

that He only “desires,” “wants” “longs” and “wishes” that if only He could save all

mankind, it would “please” Him. And I have four translations that use the words,

“desires, wants, longs, and wishes” in this verse! NONE of which are a correct trans-lation of this verse.

Consider for a moment if this verse had said in the original Greek manuscripts

that,“God our Saviour Who desires and pleases that all men be saved.”

Would such a translation open the door to possible failure as most contend? Is there

a verse of Scripture somewhere that declares that God can’t have or bring about

things for which He only desires or pleases? IS THERE? WHERE? SHOW ME? Be-

fore we can believe that God will actually and factually DO WHAT HE SAYS, is it

necessary and mandatory that He say something like this: “I swear on a stack ofBibles that I absolutely, positively will do, accomplish, and carry out 100%, totally

and completely……such and such.” So why make such unscriptural and stupid state-

ments that if God only “desires or pleases” for something He can’t always have what

He wants? After all, HE’S ONLY GOD!!!

Let’s now look at a few verses where “thelo” has to mean something that abso-

lutely is going to be, rather than only wished for:

1. “I will[thelo]not send them away fasting...”(Matt. 15:28).

Jesus not only “desired” to not send them away, HE absolutely was not go-

ing to send them away famished.

2. “To whom our fathers would[thelo]not obey...”(Acts 7:39).




Is anyone so silly as to assert that Israel only “DESIRED” to disobey God,

but maybe they really wouldn’t disobey?

3. “What will[thelo]this babbler[Paul]say?”(Acts 17:18).

Where these Greeks only interested in what Paul “desired” to say? If Paul

would not actually say anything, but only “desire” to say something, then

the Greeks would have to be mindreaders to know what Paul only “de-

sired” to say, but maybe wouldn’t actually say audibly. No, they wanted to

hear what Paul “would” say, not what maybe Paul “desired” to say.

4. “For I will[thelo]not see you now...”(I Cor. 16:7).

Was Paul really telling them that he had no “desire” to see them now? Ofcourse not, he had a very strong desire to see them, but it just was not pos-

sible to see them now. Paul was clearly stating a physical hindrance to see-

ing them now rather than that he had NO EMOTIONAL DESIRE to see

them now.

5. “For it is GOD which works in you both to will[thelo]and TO DO...”

(Phil. 2:13).

When God’s Word adds “to DO” to the word “will/thelo,” it becomes a con-

tradiction to say that the “will” part does not have to come to fruition. The

“and TO DO” makes the “thelo/will” an absolute necessity rather than a

mere wish.

6. “If any would[thelo]not work, either should he eat”(II Thes. 3:10).

Imagine Paul stating that if anyone has a ‘desire not to work” then he

shouldn’t eat? Why that would include just about everyone, even those who

do work. Most people in the world have no “DESIRE” to work when the

alarm clock goes off, but they go to work anyway, because they know that isthe only way they “will eat.”

7. “Yea, and shall that will[thelo]live godly in Christ Jesus SHALL

suffer persecution”(II Tim. 3:12).

Can we even imagine Paul telling us that if we don’t actually, but only de-

sire, to live godly in Jesus, we will, nevertheless, suffer persecution? Do

people suffer persecution for what they “think or desire in their heart,” but

don’t actually live out in their Christian walk? Absurd. “Thelo” will be ful-

filled just as “thelemo” will be fulfilled.

Well, that’s seven, a good number to stop.

God is not obligated to even state whether he “wills” or “desires” something or




not; all He has to do is SPEAK IT! God“SPOKE IT”in I Tim. 2:4; that’s all that is

necessary for it to be accomplished. Are we so blind that we cannot see that it is

blasphemy for mere mortals to diminish, disparage, degrade, and derogate the de-

sires of VERY GOD into watereddown, wishwashy, unattainable, weak wishes?

The SAME GOD Who created the entirety of the universe with its TWO HUNDRED

BILLION GALAXIES EACH HAVING TWO HUNDRED BILLION STARS? And pi-

ous, carnalminded theologians tell us that God WILL NOT accomplish His Own de-

sires?!

Must we assume that if God had said: “I will [Gk:thelema] that there be light,”

that then there WOULD be light? But had He said: “I will [Gk:telo] that there be

light,” that then there WOULD NOT be light? It is foolish and demeaning to try to

relegate a POSITIVE statement of intent by God into a NEGATIVE and unattain-

able reality. All God had to say was: “LET there be light and there WAS light”! God

is not obligated to preface everything that He says He plans do with such words as, I

will…, I wish…, I desire…, It pleases me to…, etc. Has not the Lord also “spoken it”

in I Tim. 2:4? All God has to do is SPEAK THE WORDS AND ITWILLSURELY

COME TO PASS. Now then, are there any who doubt that I Tim. 2:4 ARE THE

WORDS OF GOD? Then why do so many insist that it will NEVER HAPPEN? They

have not a love of the Truth. They do not believe God. They do not believe Jesus

Christ. They do not believe the Scriptures!

They are traitors of the Truth.

More proof: We have shown that God doesn’t need to use a strong word such as

“WILL” in order for His word to be fulfilled. But on those occasions when God uses a

word such as “pleases,” “desires,” or “wills,” does not that word then contain within

its meaning the possibility of negating God’s whole statement? No, absolutely NOT.

If it merely “pleases” God to do something, it will be done just as assuredly as if He

had “WILLED” it,

“So shall my WORD be that goes forth OUT OF MY MOUTH

[just as in I Tim. 2:4 and everywhere else]it shall NOT return into

me void, but it SHALL ACCOMPLISH THAT WHICH I PLEASE,

and it SHALL PROSPER IN THE THING WHERETO I SENT

IT”(Isaiah 55:11).

Here then is an opportunity for everyone to stand up and be counted. Is Isaiah

55:11 TRUE or is it FALSE or is it only sometimes true and sometimes false? Theonly negative in that verse is:“it shall NOT return into me void.”That is the

only thing that can NOT happen in this verse. Notice God’s Word,“SHALL go

forth…,” “SHALL accomplish that which I please…” and it “SHALL prosper

in the thing whereto I sent it.”This is not rocket science. This is 1, 2, 3, element-




ary deduction:

1. “ALL Scripture is given by inspiration[Greek: Godbreathed—out of

His mouth]of GOD…”(II Tim. 3:16).

2. I Timothy 2:4 IS“SCRIPTURE”!

3. Therefore what God has inspired (breathed) in I Tim. 2:4,“SHALL go

forth…,”It is has gone forth for nearly two thousand years and is going

forth over the whole internet on this very printed page that you are read-

ing. It also“SHALL accomplish that which I please…,”Is the word

“will” weaker than the word “please”? And finally, it“SHALL prosper in

the thing whereto I sent it.”

So here we have just one more Scripture that says God,SHALL, SHALL,

SHALL,while at the same time Traitors of the Truth tell us that God,shall NOT,

shall NOT, shall NOT!

So again I ask, if God only “pleases” that something prosper in the word that He

sent fort to accomplish, shall it “prosper” or shall it not “prosper”? Theologians say if

God only “pleases” that all men be saved, then THEY WILL NOT ALL BE SAVED,

but God says if He “pleases” to do something,“…IT SHALL PROSPER in the

thing whereto I sent it.”Who ya gonna believe: men or GOD?

More proof: I Tim. 2:4 says that God “wills” that all mankind be saved. What de-

termines God’s will? Answer:

“In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predes-

tinated according to the purpose of Him Who works[operates]

ALL THINGS after theCOUNSELof his own WILL”(Eph. 1:11).

Now then, will God’s “counsel” stand? Answer:

“There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the

COUNSELof the LORD, that SHALL STAND”(Prov. 19:21).

Will God’s “will” be done both in the heavens and on the earth? YES:

“Our Father Who art in the heavens, hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come. THYWILL BE DONEin earth, as it is in

heaven”(Matt. 6:10).

More proof: When God speaks something, is He so weak and incapable as mortal

men who make great boasts and are unable to accomplish their boast?




“God is NOT a man, that He should LIE[do we think God LIES

when He says that He WILL save all mankind in I Tim. 2:4?];neither

the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shallHe not DO IT? Or has He spoken[as in I Tim. 2:4 and many other

places],and shall He not MAKE IT GOOD?”(Numbers 23:19).

Well? Those of you who contend with your Maker: “Hath God SAID” in I Tim. 2:4

that He“WILL have all men to be saved”?Well then,“SHALL HE NOT DO

IT?”(Num. 23:19). Has“He[God]SPOKEN”in I Tim. 2:4 and many other places,

that He“…WILL have all men to be saved”?Well then,“…shall He NOT

MAKE IT GOOD?”(Num. 23:19).

More proof:

“…Let God be TRUE[Who says He“WILL save ALL MANKIND”],

but every man a LIAR[who says He WILL NOT“save ALL MAN-

KIND”]!

More proof:

“Remember the former things of old: for I am GOD, and thereis none else; I am GOD, and there is none like Me. Declaring

the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things

that are not yet done, saying, My counsel SHALL STAND, and

WILL DO ALL MY PLEASURE[as in I Tim. 2:4 and everywhere

else]:

“Calling a ravenous bird from the east[Cyrus?], the man that

executes my counsel[just as the king of Assyria]from a far coun-

try: yea, I have SPOKEN IT[as in I Tim. 2:4 and everywhere else]I

WILL ALSO BRING IT TO PASS[as also in saving all mankind]; I

have PURPOSED IT[as also in saving all mankind]I WILL ALSO

DO IT”(Isaiah 46:911).

God says,“I WILL DO IT,”and He will also do EVERYTHING ELSE that He

has,said, declared, spoken, desired, counseled, willed, decreed, or pleased

in His Word!

By the way, God NEVER, EVER “wishes” or “hopes” for ANYTHING! He “de-

sires” things that absolutely are certain to come about, but God never wishes or

hopes for things that may or may not come about! The very thought of God “hoping”

for something, blasphemes His sovereignty!




Now then, how many of my readers still believe that God will NOT save all man-

kind as He says He “WILLS” in I Tim. 2:4? It is foolish and stupid to insist that God

will not perform and fulfill and do His Own WILL in I Tim. 2:4. I have PROVEN it

by the Scriptures. I have given you the absolute proof from both the etymology of

words and the many Scriptures regarding the fulfillment of God’s will, pleasures,

word, desires, etc., etc., etc. Anyone who denies that I Tim. 2:4 will be fulfilled also

must deny HUNDREDS of other Scriptures as well. But yet I sense in my spirit a

dozen carnal minds out there in computerland that are anguishing over a new ap-

proach to prove that I Tim. 2:4 will never be accomplished and that this verse is at

best a nevertobefulfilled pipe dream of our Great Creator God and Saviour.

Consider this: Suppose I Tim. 2:34 did not say what is in our Bibles, but sup-

pose it said the following:“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God

our Saviour; Who will NOT have all men to be saved, and to come unto the

knowledge of the truth.”

Would not every single detractor who teaches that God will NOT save all human-

ity then use this Scripture to PROVE THAT GOD WILL NOT SAVE ALL MEN?

YES OF COURSE THEY WOULD; YOU KNOW THEY WOULD! They would be de-

lighted to show from the Scriptures a statement saying that God “WILL NOT” save

all men? And this Scripture would then be the one most profound statements in all

Scripture to back up their doctrine that all men will NOT be saved. This would be

their “proof text” that God most assuredly WILL NOT (pardon my redundancy here,

but I am attempting to make a point of major consequence) save all men.

Now then, the ONLY difference between the fabricated verse above and the real

verse found in all Bibles in I Tim. 2:34 is the addition of the word “not.” So if the

addition of the word “NOT” would prove that God will not save all men, then the de-

letion of the word “NOT” would have to prove that God WILL save all men—this is

axiomatic! So if this verse had said that God “WILL NOT” save all men, then it

would definitely mean that all men will NOT be saved. I don’t think there is a theo-

logian alive who would deny that! But here is the unbelievable irony of their teach-

ing: since it says that God“WILL have all men to be saved”(according to theolo-

gians), this phrase also MEANS THAT GOD WILL NOT SAVE ALL MEN! Excuse

me, but am I missing something here?

When Christians don’t want to believe that God will save all humanity, it doesn’t

matter what God says. They will believe what they want, not what the Bible says.

If anyone believes that God’s statement that He“will”save all mankind reallymeans that He “will NOT” save all mankind, then maybe they had better click off

this site and listen to some Jack Van Impe tapes prophesying that according to his

newly revealed knowledge of the length of a Biblical generation, Jesus Christ will re-

turn to set up His kingdom in the year 1996! Yes, you saw that correctly, I said




NINETEEN NINETYSIX! In 1990, when I heard Jack say that, I PROPHESIED

that Jack didn’t have a clue as to what he was talking about. It is now, 2003! I’ll say

this, however, Mr. Van Impe certainly has a lot of Scripture verses memorized—now

if he only he knew their meaning. (Excuse my little diversion—just trying to relax

your intense concentration for a moment with a little humor).

Imagine if I Tim. 2:34 really did say that “God will NOT save all men,” and then

I would try to argue (using the same stupid scholarship as theologians use) that this

verse doesn’t really mean that God will NOT save all men, but that it means He

only “DESIRES” that all men “NOT” be saved when in reality they WILL all be

saved, even if God were to say He “will NOT” save all men. Would not my detractors

try to laugh me to scorn over such inane reasoning? OF COURSE THEY WOULD!

YOU KNOW THEY WOULD. EVEN THEY KNOW THEY WOULD. Well, guess

what? The word “NOT” is NOT in this verse. So God really “WILL save ALL men!”

Here then is true Christian scholarship: If God will NOT save all men, then He

will NOT save all men, and if God WILL save all men, then He also will NOT save

all men!! Do you see now why it has become popular to say that: “You can prove

ANYTHING from the Bible”? And HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of Christians do not

see a problem with kind of inane and insane reasoning! Does anyone think that the

word “HYPOCRISY” is too strong to describe the way God’s word is slanderously

perverted to maintain such evil doctrines as eternal torment in a lake of fire for

those whom theologians say God won’t save even though God says He WILL save

them?

Do you still believe that the “lake of fire” contradicts I Tim. 2:4, and that when

God says He WILL save all men, what He really means is that He will NOT save all

men, but will rather torture MOST men for all eternity in a lake of real fire? Is that

what you still believe?

Let’s not neglect the first part of the sentence which begins in verse 3 of I Tim. 2:

“For this is GOOD and ACCEPTABLE in the sight of God our

Saviour…”

That God will“have ALL men to be saved”is both GOOD and ACCEPTABLE

in God’s sight. These verses do NOT say: “For this is GOOD and ACCEPTABLE in

the sight of God our Saviour; WhoWILL NOThave all men to be saved, andWILL

NOThave all men come unto the knowledge of the truth” now does it? Theologians

tell us that the reality of this Scripture is that all men WILL NOT come into aknowledge of the truth and that all men WILL NOT be saved. THAT they tell us is

the reality and truth of the Scriptures.

Now then, if the reality is that all men WILL NOT BE SAVED, but rather most




men will be tortured in a literal lake of fire for all eternity, I ask: Is this“GOOD

and ACCEPTABLE in the sight of God our SAVIOUR? Again I ask: Is it

“GOOD and ACCEPTABLE”that most of humanity be tortured for all eternity? Ifit is “GOOD and ACCEPTABLE” that God DOES save all mankind, then itCAN-

NOTalso be “GOOD and ACCEPTABLE” that God DOES NOTsave all mankind!

Am I going too fast for anyone?

I believe that our Christian friends have been once more painted into their little

theological corner from which the only way out is repentance!

God says in I Tim. 2:3 that it is “good and acceptable” that all men come to a

knowledge of the truth and that all men be saved. This is a fact. This is not debat-

able. We know for sure the answer to that question. However, theologians tell usthat most men (and women and teens) will be tortured in a lake of fire for all etern-

ity, so they will NOT all be saved. Hence my next question: Is it“good and accept-

able”in the sight of God our Saviour that most of humanity be tortured in a literal

lake of fire for all eternity?

If we say: “Yes,” we blaspheme!

If we say: “No,” then God is compelled to do what IS “good and acceptable”!

Does anyone have a third alternative to this question? Do we really believe theScriptures?

I can give you much more proof on this one verse, but more proof is not what we

need. What we need is FAITH! FAITH to believe God; FAITH to believe Christ;

FAITH to believe the Word!

So that was my little “test verse” to see how many truly believe the Word of God

and have a love of the Truth. If you will not and can not believe I Tim. 2:4, then

what need have I to show you more verses that you ALSO WILL NOT BELIEVE? If

you still believe that I Tim. 2:4 will NEVER be fulfilled, then you have just proven to

yourself conclusively that you will NEVER accept ANY VERSE OF SCRIPTURE

THAT DOES NOT AGREE WITH YOUR OWN PRECONCEIVED PERSONAL

AND CARNAL DOCTRINES!

There are only two options for those who claim that I Tim. 2:4 will NEVER come

to pass: (1) You must prove that this verse is WRONGLY TRANSLATED and has a

different meaning from what is stated, or (2) You must confess that YOU REALLY

DON’T BELIEVE that the Scriptures are the divinely inspired Words of God. You

have now been painted into your own little theological corner, and the only way out

is REPENTANCE! There is NO WAY AROUND this verse in I Tim. 2:4 (and a dozen

just like it). I have bookended this verse so that no one can Scripturally contradict

it. Anyone who attempts to do so is a LIAR and attempts to make God a LIAR! Now




then, with that said:

“…and ALL LIARS, shall have their part in the lake which bur-

neth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death”(Rev.21:8)!

But know this: all liars enter the lake of fire, but after going through it, they

emerge honest as the day is long! I will prove that! For those of you who still have a

love of the Truth, let’s continue:

Now for all of those who insist that all of God’s Word must be taken literally, I

have another problem verse for you. Jesus Christ said in John 6:63b:

“…the words that I speak unto you, THEY ARESPIRIT and

they are life.”

Even this simple statement is a metaphor! Condensed, it says this: “[my] words

are spirit.” That’s notliteral; that’s figurative.Here’s the proof: If all the words that

Jesus spoke were “literally” “spirit,” then no one could ever READ THEM. You could

never see them on a printed page because THEY WOULD BE INVISIBLE! SPIRIT

IS INVISIBLE! GOD IS INVISIBLE!

Maybe here is the place that I should explain what I believe a metaphor repres-

ents. I have heard many and complicated theories as to what the components of a

metaphor are and represent. Here are a few:

“The lake of fire, which, by virtue of being its cause, thus,represents

the second death.”

Not true.

“In the interpretation of a metaphor, the goal is to take note of the es-

sential way in which the SYMBOLIC subject is like the LITERAL pre-

dicate.”

Not true.

“Indeed, if in the presence of a symbolic, subjectexpression, the mean-

ing of the predicateexpression were itself unknowable—which would

be the case if the predicate expression were a figure of speech—it

would be IMPOSSIBLE to note thelikenessbetween the two.” (All

CAPS are mine).




Not true.

“Meaningful, metaphorical usage entails a literal, predicate nominat-

ive.”

Not true.

Not one of the above definitions of a metaphor is true.

Interestingly, the same person who says that the subject of a metaphor must be

“symbolic” and the predicate “literal” or there would be no real comparison to de-

termine the meaning of the metaphor, also goes on to say that the people throwninto this lake of fire are LITERALLY burned up and DIE. So they would have to die

and be burned by SYMBOLIC FIRE? Give me a break. Symbolic fire does not liter-

ally burn up physical matter! The reverse is also true: LITERAL FIRE cannot burn

up SYMBOLIC BODIES! No, the subject AND predicate of this metaphor are BOTH

symbolic! Nor does one part of a metaphor “represent” the other part as stated

above.

The above definitions of a metaphor just won’t work in the real world. Let’s try a

couple:

“All flesh is grass”(I Pet. 1:24)

“All fleshrepresentsgrass”—In no way does “all flesh”represent“grass”!

“All symbolicflesh isliteralgrass”—In what way is “symbolic flesh,” “literal

GRASS? Or, in what way is literal grass like symbolic flesh. This is nonsense.

“All flesh” is itself a symbol for “life” and specifically HUMAN LIFE. “Grass” is

ALSO a symbol for a very fragile FORM OF LIFE. BOTH are symbols! And it is not

“impossible,” but rather very easy to see thelikenessbetween them.

For the benefit of my critics, let me get technical here for just a paragraph and

then we will move on. Even a metaphor must be understood in the context that we

find it, as no Scripture is its OWN interpretation. In our example“all flesh is

grass,”it does not say whether it means, “all living flesh is living grass” or “all liv-

ing flesh is dead grass” or “all dead flesh is living grass” or “all dead flesh is dead

grass.” Is it important for us to know which it is? Well, yes it is, and God tells us in

the verses that follow:

“All flesh is grass, And all its glory is as the flower of grass.

Withered is the grass, And the flower falls off … Yet the declar-

ation of the Lord is remaining…”(I Pet. 1:2425).




This clearly shows a flowering grass in the “process” of dying, contrasted with

God’s declarations which “remain” and do not die. In Isaiah 40:68, we also have the

phrase,“the PEOPLE is grass,”so again, we are speaking oflivingpeople who

will rather quickly become like “dying grass.”

Now then, is there a simple way that we can at least represent all metaphors in

an intelligent, understandable statement? I think so. I have come up with a state-

ment that seems to represent ALL metaphors correctly and honestly. Here is how it

works: Take ANY metaphor and apply this principle to it:

A.“The WORDS that I speak unto you, they are SPIRIT.”

Or condensed:“[My]Words ARE Spirit.”

Next, add the words “like” and “in certain ways,” and state the metaphor like

this:

B.“The WORDS that I speak unto you, they are[like]SPIRIT[in

certain ways].”

There it is. Simple. Christ’s words are notliterallyspirit, butlikespirit, but not

in all ways, onlyin certain ways. And so far I have found this principle to work in all

metaphors. Christ’s words are not like spirit in that they can be audibly heard by

physical ears. They are not like spirit in that we have them on physical paper im-

printed with physical ink, etc. But theyarelike spirit in that they have INVISIBLE

POWER. Jesus Himself gives us an explanation of this very sort of thing,

“The wind blows where it will, and you hear the sound thereof,

but can not tell whence it comes, and where it goes, SO IS

every one that is born of the Spirit”(John 3:8).

Jesus could have used a metaphor here and said something like this:“Those

born of the Spirit are wind.”But He didn’t. He explained in what “certain ways”

they are“like”the wind. And that, you see, is what a metaphor really is. Now let’s

try this principle to other metaphors and see if it does not simplify them:

A.“Take, eat: this[bread]is my body”

Or condensed:“Bread is Body”

B.“Take eat: this[bread]is[like]my body[in certain ways]”

As physical bread gives nourishment to the physical body, the Bread from heav-




en is spiritual nourishment to our spiritual life as if we were eating Christ’s spiritu-

al body.

A.“All flesh is grass”(I Pet. 1:24)

Or condensed:“Flesh is Grass”

B.“All flesh is[like]grass[in certain ways].”

Flesh, specifically that of humans, is very fragilelikegrass. It is short lived. It is

easily killed or destroyed, etc.

A.“The lake of fire. This is the second death”(Rev. 20:14).

Or condensed:“Lake of fire is Second death”

B.“The lake of fire is[like]the second death[in certain ways].”

But before we can see in what ways the lake of fire islikethe second death, we

must determine what this lake of fire is and what the second death is.

This metaphor is, admittedly, considerably more complex than most for a num-

ber of reasons:

1. The subject contains the addition of an adjective.

2. The Predicate contains the addition of an adjective.

3. The phrase “lake of fire” is used nowhere else in Scripture.

4. The Phrase “second death” is used nowhere else in Scripture.

5. A lake is a body ofwaternot fire.

6. Nowhere do we find a counterbalancing phrase such as “the firstdeath.”

7. Satan is thrown into this metaphor—real fire can’t hurt him.

8. Why are the beast and false prophet thrown in to this metaphorbefore

Satan?

9. Although it is called the “second death,” NO ONE ACTUALLY DIES!

10.Why would we find “brimstone” or sulfur in this metaphor—brimstone is

not something that is used to torture? (

11.Death and hades are thrown into this metaphor—death and hades are not

living creatures.




12.Many humans are thrown into this metaphor, but we are not told that their

bodies are either “burned” or “killed.”

13.Being only “fearful” (Greek: “timid”) is cause to be thrown into this lake offire. Even my detractors might find eternal torture rather excessive punish-

ment for merely being “timid.” There are Scriptural answers to all these en-

igmas.

How then shall we interpret this metaphorical Scripture? Or is this the enigma

of all enigmas? The riddle of all riddles? Actually the Scriptures tell us exactlywhat

this “lake of fire/second death” really is. But let me be quick to reassure you that we

will never come to an understanding of this metaphor by applying the principles of

Christian Theology. This metaphor is NOT physical, material, or literal, but SPIR-ITUAL in every way! We must look to the spiritual, through spiritual eyes if we are

to ever comprehend this enigmatic metaphor.

The Keys to Spiritual Interpretation

We will consider four guiding Scriptures:

1. “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any

private interpretation”(II Pet. 1:20).

The KJV is not the best translation of this verse—it is neither by far the worst.

The word “private” tends to fog the understanding of this Scripture. If no Scripture

is to be of a “private” interpretation, are we to look for a “PUBLIC” interpretation?

That sounds silly.

This is a profoundly important verse when it comes to interpreting Scripture.

Yet, I doubt that there are many who understand this verse.

The Greek word translated “private” in the KJV is the wordidios,and although

it can mean private or separate, more specifically it has reference to “one’s OWN” or

“his OWN” or “their OWN” or “your OWN” or “OWN.” In this case, it would mean

“ITS own” as a prophecy is nonpersonal and inanimate. See Strong’s Greek Diction-

ary p. 119. Now notice a couple of translations that retain this definition:

First from theConcordant Greek Textin an “Ultraliteral English Sublinear”:

“...this BEFOREmost KNOWING that EVERY BEFOREAVERment OF

WRITing OWN ONLOOSing NOT ISBECOMING.”

Rendered in the Translation as:“…knowing this first, that no prophecy of

Scripture at all is becoming its OWN explanation.”—Concordant Literal New

Testament




Next from the Emphatic Diaglott English Interlineary:“…this first knowing,

that all prophecy of a writing, of its OWN loosing not it is.”

Rendered in the Translation as:“This first ascertaining, That All Prophecy

of Scripture is not of its OWN Solution”—The Emphatic Diaglot, A New Em-

phatic Version.

I go to all these extra efforts of showing you the Greek so that you can be con-

vinced yourself and not just believe that this is “my interpretation” of how a verse

can or cannot be “interpreted.”

So now we can make sense out of this verse, and how profound it is. It destroys

the carnal minded approach to Scriptural interpretation. So here is what God is

teaching us. No prophetic statement (Revelation is prophecy—See Rev. 22:18,“…

the words of the prophecy of this scroll”) has within its OWN statement the ex-

planation and fulfillment of that statement. Therefore it is wrong and unscriptural

to insist that the very verse that contains the prophecy (such as“the lake of fire.

This is the second death”) has within itself the interpretation of itself. That’s

what God has now taught us in II Pet. 1:20! Therefore, we must go elsewhere to find

the correct interpretation. But how do we do that without making blunders and mis-

takes? We have three more Key verses that will keep us on the right track.

2. “It is the spirit that quickens[makes alive]; the flesh profits nothing:

the words that I speak unto you, THEY ARE SPIRIT and they are

life.”

We touched on this verse already, but it is an important part of our fourverse

key. Again I ask: Who believes this verse? If the words that Jesus spoke are “spirit,”

then how can anyone suggest that everything He said must be taken “literally”?

Christ taught in public by parables only. Parables are spiritual, not literal. The book

of Revelation is the “Revelation of Jesus Christ,” therefore the words of the book ofRevelation are SPIRIT! The book of Revelation was “signified” (that is SYMBOL-

IZED). It is a whole book of symbols, metaphors, and figurative language. Therefore

the metaphor:“the lake of fire which is the second death”must be spiritual!

But how do we discern things that are “spiritual”?

We need another key.

3. “But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God:

for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, be-

cause they are SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED”(I Cor. 2:14).

And so when I explain spiritual things, I get a lot of email from Christians who

condemn me in not too flattering tones, because they are carnal and cannot possibly

receive spiritual things. They truly are FOOLISHNESS to them. They ask me if I




can’t read. They tell me the verse ITSELF tells us what it means. (But isn’t that

just what Peter said cannot be done? That no verse of prophecy explains ITSELF)?

There are reasons God put these verses in the Scriptures.

Remember earlier when we discussed how theologians compare physical things

with physical things thinking that they will accomplish something spiritual? Show

me a Scripture where God instructs us to compare physical things with physical

things for spiritual understanding? SHOW ME! David said “A good understanding

have all they that KEEP God’s commandments.” The problem with all too many is

that they don’t obey God (“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for

it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed CAN BE”Rom. 8:7), and

they don’t believe God. We MUST believe God when we are told that the book ofRevelation is the words of Jesus Christ and therefore is SPIRIT! Next I will give you

one of God’s commandments we are to follow if we are to ever understand such

things as “the lake of fire.”

The Scriptures don’t command us to compare physical things with spiritual

things or spiritual things with physical things or physical things with physical

things, so why do we do it? That is exactly how theologians have come to believe that

the lake of fire and second death are literal physical tortures for all eternity. They

have compared physical fire with physical fire and came up with the conclusion thatthe lake of fire is physical, material, literal FIRE! God never instructed us to learn

spiritual lessons in this manner!

Next we will see how God does instruct us to understand SPIRITUAL MAT-

TERS.

4. “Which things also we speak, not in words which man’s wisdom

teacheth [not by comparing physical things with physical things], but

which the HOLY SPIRIT TEACHES; COMPARING[OR MATCHING]

SPIRITUAL THINGS WITH SPIRITUAL”(I Cor. 2:13)!

This is really quite profound. This marvelous Scripture, plus the three prior

Scriptures will open up understanding to us that has been closed to many Christi-

ans for two thousand years.

Let’s recap what we have discovered about “the lake of fire” so far, not according

to man’s wisdom, but according to God’s declarations in the SCRIPTURES:

1. “The lake of fire is the second death” is FIGURATIVE language.

2. “The lake of fire is the second death” is composed of four word SYMBOLS.

3. “The lake of fire is the second death” is a classic example of a METAPHOR.

4. “The lake of fire is the second death” was written in a book that was SIG-




NIFIED which makes something known by a sign, and a sign is a symbol.

5. “The lake of fire is the second death” is a statement of prophecy and cannot

be its OWN INTERPRETATION according to II Pet. 1:20.

6. “The lake of fire is the second death” is a prophecy by Jesus, and Jesus has

told us that His words areSPIRIT!

7. “Things of the SPIRIT…are SPIRITUALLY discerned” (I Cor. 2:13). The

“lake of fire” cannot, therefore, be PHYSICALLY discerned.

Here are seven proofs that “the lake of fire is the second death” cannot possibly

be physical, material, and literal, as many claim to deduce from the verse itself.

Now back to our fourth key verse:“…comparing spiritual things with spir-

itual.”Several translations make this“…matching spiritual things with spir-

itual.” And that word “matching” clarifies this verse even more. Notice the next

verse which we have already quoted above,“But the natural[carnal, Greek: anim-

al man]receives NOT the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolish-

ness unto him: neither CAN he know them, because they are SPIRITUALLY

discerned.”Now I have heard that verse quoted as many times as any of you, but

how many quoting it had even a clue as to what they were quoting? It is often used

by charismatic preachers to insinuate that they have special powers of spiritual dis-

cernment, and can therefore read your mind and heart and know whether you are in

a bad attitude or maybe have a demon, etc., etc. But notice that God tells us exactly

how to have “spiritual discernment.” We are to follow the instruction in the preced-

ing verse: “comparing [and/or matching] SPIRITUAL things with

SPIRITUAL!”

So we have SEVEN proofs that this “lake of firesecond death” is FIGURATIVE

language SIGNIFIED IN SYMBOLS, taking the form of a METAPHOR witnessed

by John in a VISION and written in a BOOK OF SYMBOLS that is prophetic and

therefore cannot be its OWN INTERPRETATION, being a revelation of Christ Who’-

s words are SPIRIT! And therefore we know two things to be absolute Scriptural

truth: (1) This phrase is SPIRITUAL in meaning and not literal. (2) This prophecy

cannot be its OWN INTERPRETATION as God commands in II Pet. 1:20. But if one

doesn’t believe these seven spiritual proofs (or even ONE of them), how is he to have

a spiritual understanding of spiritual things? To find the true interpretation of this

spiritual metaphor we must compare it with other spiritual teachings of the same

nature until we find a MATCH!

Before we look for something spiritual to match this metaphor, it will be helpful

to know just what it means to be “spiritual.” There is a giant different between

something sounding spiritual and something that actually is spiritual.




What Does “Spiritual” Mean?

The American Heritage Dictionary,p. 1335,spiritualadj.1.Of, relating in, consist-

ing of, or having the nature of spirit; NOT TANGIBLE OR MATERIAL.

Strong’s Greek Dictionary of the New Testament,“spiritual” #4152, pneumatkos,

“ Pneumatkos ALWAYS connotes the ideas of INVISIBILITY and of POWER” p. 205.

(All CAPS are mine).

THE “LAKE OF FIRESECOND DEATH” IS NOT TANGIBLE OR MATERIAL

OR LITERAL, BUT RATHER IS AN INVISIBLE POWER! THE LAKE OF FIRE IS

SPIRITUAL!

That’s right: the lake of fire is spiritual and therefore invisible. No one will ever

SEE the lake of fire; just as no one will ever SEE God’s Spirit; and just as no one

will ever SEE God’s “consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29). But make no mistake about it;

the lake of fire is REAL, and it is very HOT, and it BURNS things, and its effects

are ETERNAL—all, of course, SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING.

We need also to understand that not everything that is “spiritual” is holy and

good. There is also“spiritual wickedness”(Eph. 6:12). Many believe that the im-

partation of “immortality” and “incorruption” automatically impart holiness and

perfection as well. This is obviously not true, as there is much “spiritual wickedness”

in high places among those who do possess incorruption and immortality. We must

understand that something “spiritual” can also be extremely wicked, as this has

much to do with the purpose and function of the lake of fire. Not only is the lake of

fire itself “spiritual,” but, everything that is thrown into the lake of fire is either

spiritual or at least inanimate or intangible (as with “hades and death”).

Okay, fine; the lake of fire is spiritual, but what about these questions: Who are

thrown into it? When is it? Where is it? Why is it? What does it accomplish? How

long will it burn, and how can you escape it? Now I could answer all those in one

sentence, but it wouldn’t be very detailed, and I am sure you would want to know

more.

I think most of my readers by now realize that I don’t believe for one second that

the lake of fire is some hellhole of real fire that burns and tortures human flesh for

all eternity. So we will now concentrate on just what the lake of fire is, what it ac-

complishes, for whom, and how long will it take.

To do this we must follow God’s four keys to understand spiritual things. Godhas provided these Scriptural keys so that the wise can and will understand His

Word. We need to compare this SPIRITUAL lake of fire with something else SPIR-

ITUAL that will tell us exactly what it is and what it does, to whom, and for how

long. Is there such a spiritual Scripture in the Bible that matches the spiritual lake




of fire? Yes, there is. There is but one other section of Scripture that fits that of the

lake of fire and actually tells us what happens there.

A Spiritual Match

In Rev. 20:11 we read of“a great white throne.”In Verse 12 the dead, small and

great, stand before God, and the books are opened, and God presents us with a

double witness that“every man’s work”shall be judged by“fire”:

1. “and the dead judged… ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS,”(Rev.

20:11). And they are judged in“FIRE,” Vers. 14, 15 & 21:8.

2. “…they were judged every man ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS.”

(Rev. 20:13). And they are judged in“FIRE,” Vers. 14, 15 & 21:8.

Now then, is there another Scripture that speaks of the judgment of“every

man’s WORK”?and every man’s work judged by“FIRE”? Yes, there is, and only

one other:

1. “EVERY MAN’S WORK shall be made manifest: for the day shall de-

clare it, because it shall be revealed by FIRE”(I Cor. 3:13a).

2. “…And the FIRE shall try EVERY MAN’S WORK….”(I Cor. 3:13b).

We have now located our “two witnesses.” These are the only two places in the

entirety of the Bible that speak of:

1. “EVERY MAN…,”

2. “Every man’s WORK…,”

3. “Every man’s work, JUDGED…MANIFESTED, DECLARED, RE-

VEALED, AND TRIED…,”

4. “Every man’s work judged…tried BY FIRE.”

We have proven by SEVEN proofs that the lake of fire in Rev. 20 is not physical,

material, or literal, but SPIRITUAL. We shall now prove conclusively that the fire of

I Cor. 3 is likewise, not physical, material, or literal, but SPIRITUAL as well. These

two sets of Scriptures will explain each other. Remember that we learned there are

two groups of people to be judged: (1) The whole world in the day of judging (Acts

17:31), and (2) The house of God NOW (I Pet. 4:17 & I Cor. 11:32). Since God is no

respecter of persons, He judges both groups by the same means.




Examining the Metaphors and Symbols of I Cor. 3

“I[Paul]have planted, Apollos has watered; but God gave the

increase”(I Cor. 3:6).

“Now he that plants and he that waters are one: and every

man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor

[works]. For we are laborers together with God: ye are God’s

husbandry[garden], ye are God’s building”(Vers. 89).

Comment: Paul didn’t plant carrots in a garden, which Apollos then watered,

and God made them grow. This is not speaking of produce in a vegetable garden.

This is figurative, symbolic language concerning the spiritual growth of PEOPLE!

Paul says “YE” are God’s garden, and “YE” are God’s building. Now then, people are

no more buildings than they are gardens. “Ye are God’s garden” is a METAPHOR

and “Ye are God’s building” is a METAPHOR. Remember my aid to understanding

metaphors: “Ye are [LIKE] God’s garden [IN CERTAIN WAYS]; “Ye are [LIKE]

God’s building [IN CERTAIN WAYS].”

We are God’s Garden

In what “certain ways” are we “like God’s garden”? Remember we must compare

spiritual things with spiritual. Answer:

“My Father is the Farmer… “I[Jesus]am the grape vine. You

[that’s us]are the branches. He who is remaining in Me, and I

in him, this one is BRINGING FORTH MUCH FRUIT”(John 15:1

& 5).

Isn’t this easy when we stop fighting God’s Word with our own preconceived doc-

trines? And trust me; this is as hard as it get, if we will just allow God’s spirit to

TEACH US spiritual things!

Now then, WHAT KIND of fruit are we talking about—apples and grapes? Let’s

again, compare spiritual things with spiritual. Answer:

“But the FRUITof the SPIRIT[in God’s spiritual garden, which we

are]islove, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith,meekness, and self control”(Gal. 5:2223).

All of these character traits from God’s Spirit are invisible and they are SPIR-

ITUAL. But does that mean that they are not real? Of course not. In fact, we can




SEE the results of these invisible, spiritual character traits of the spirit just as Je-

sus told us we can see the results of the invisible wind.

We are God’s Building

In what “certain ways” are we “like” God’s “building”?

“Know ye not that YE[that’s us] ARE the temple of God and

that the Spirit of God dwells IN YOU”(I Cor. 3:16).

“For ye are the temple of the living God…” (II Cor. 6:16).

Notice that “ye are the temple of God” is another metaphor. In what certain ways

are we like the temple of God? Answer:

“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but

fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and proph-

ets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief corner stone; in

Whom ALL THE BUILDING fitly framed together grows unto

AN HOLY TEMPLE in the Lord: In Whom YE [that’s us again]

ALSO ARE BUILDED TOGETHER for an habitation of God

through the Spirit”(Eph. 2:19:23).

The Lord of heaven and earth“dwells not in temples made with hands”

(Acts 17:24). Where does God then dwell? Are you ready for this? This is heavy stuff!

“If a man love Me, He will keep My words: and my Father will

love him, and WE [both Jesus Christ AND His Father]WILL

COME UNTO HIM [this is US if we love God], AND MADE OUR

ABODE[our home]WITH HIM”(John 14:23)! WOW!

Love is the Key to Dwelling with God

And how does God make His abode with us? The key is to LOVE GOD!

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every

one that loves is born of God, and knows God. He that loves not

knows not God; for GOD IS LOVE. In this was manifested the

love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten

Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is




love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His

Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved

us, we ought also to love one another. No man has seen God atany time. If we love one another, GOD DWELLS IN US, and His

love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that WE DWELL IN

HIM and HE IN US, because He hath given us of His SPIRIT”(I

John 4:713).

Now for those who are glorying in the above marvelous Scriptures (to the exclu-

sion of about FIFTY BILLION brothers and sisters whom they think will never ex-

perience any of this LOVE OF GOD), let us not neglect to read the next verse:

“And we have SEEN and do TESTIFY[so apparently this is more

than just pious, unattainable, wishful thinking]that the Father

SENT[COMMISSIONED]THE SON TO BE THE SAVIOUR OF

THE WORLD”!

Do we need a second witness on this:

“We trust in the living God, Who IS THE SAVIOUR OF ALL

MANKIND…”(I Tim. 4:10)!

Love Your Enemies

DON’T BE DECEIVED! Those who glory and delight in the doctrine of eternal tor-

ment do NOT have the Spirit of God, and God does NOT make His abode with them!

Such persons have a darkened heart, and what fellowship has light (God) with dark-

ness? If you have been deceived into believing that God is going to torture most of

humanity for all eternity in fire, but have hated the whole idea with all of your

heart, then God will have mercy on your ignorance. But if you gloat in your pious

selfrighteousness, and eagerly await the day when those who do not follow your re-

ligion will be thrown into some hellhole lake of fire, then you have some serious re-

penting to do.

Here is where this evil doctrine of eternal torment brings out the evil in those

who endorse it. Obviously if one feels that God is justified in TORTURING billions

of precious human beings in literal fire, then certainly it must seem okay for us to

have disdain now for these people that we just know are on their way to hell. I un-

derstand that one of the Queens of England justified burning people at the stake by

stating that she was only doing NOW what God will be doing to them LATER. Sick!

And so Paul tells us that we are His “garden” where there will be fruit produced,




and we are His “building” where God Himself will dwell. But He also tells us that

we will have our old man pulled down and humbled while the fire of His spirit burns

the wood, straw, and stubble till all such evils and destroyed. And at the same time,

God builds man up by refining and purifying gold, silver, and precious stones (the

very character traits of God Himself). First comes the physical, the carnal, the Old

man that must be destroyed. Then comes the Spiritual—the man of God.

“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corrup-

tion; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is

raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It

is sown a NATURAL body; it is raised a SPIRITUAL body.

There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body”(I Cor.15:4244).

First we are born into mortal bodies with carnal minds by which we build a

plethora of straw, hay, and stubble. In judgment these things are burned up and

destroyed by the God’s spirit, which is a CONSUMING FIRE. At the same time the

qualities pictured as gold, silver, and precious stones are purged and purified by the

fire of God’s spirit and made even better.

And so God’s instructions to Jeremiah in chapter one verse ten, are applied toeach and every individual whom has ever lived:“See, I have this day set thee

over the nations and over the kingdoms[of every man and every man’s work]

to root out[‘For it is a FIRE that consumes to destruction, and would ROOT OUT

all mine increase’ Job 31:12], and to pull down[‘And I will drive thee from thy sta-

tion, and from thy state shall He PULL THEE DOWN’ Isaiah 22:19], and to des-

troy[‘To deliver such an one unto Satan for the DESTRUCTION of the flesh, that

the spirit may be SAVED in the day of the Lord Jesus’ I Cor. 5:5], and to throw

down,[‘And I will cut off the cities of thy land, and THROW DOWN all thy strong

holds’ Micah 5:11, And the ‘idols in their heart’ Ezek. 14:7, ‘CASTING DOWN ima-

ginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and

bringing in to captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ’ II Cor. 10:5], TO

BUILD[‘And now, brethren, I command you to God, and to the word of His grace,

which is able to BUILD YOU UP, and to give you an inheritance among all them

which are sanctified’ Acts 2032], and TO PLANT[‘Thou shalt bring them in, and

PLANT THEM in the mountain of Thine inheritance {heavenly Mount Zion} in the

place, O Lord, which Thou hast made for Thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord,

which Thy hands have established’ Ex. 15:17]!”

The "Lake of Fire" Series Part 5

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