Immortality or Resurrection (Updated), William West [black female authors .txt] 📗

Campbell.
• "Judgment and fierceness of fire which is READY TO CONSUME the enemies"
McCord's New Testament Translation, Freed-Hardeman College.
The fury of fire is at the judgment and is a consuming, devouring, destroying fire, not
an everlasting tormenting fire that cannot consume. There is a big difference. The
adversaries of God will be judged and will be devoured, consumed, destroyed by the lake
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of fire, which is the second death, and will never be raised again. It is a death from which
there will never be a resurrection.
THE DEVOURING, CONSUMING, DESTROYING FIRE
THE CHAFF [Matthew 3:11-12]: Those who responded to Christ are the wheat. The
chaff is the useless parts of the wheat, those who do not respond to Christ, are "burned
up." Peter used the same words when he said the world and its works will be "burned up"
[2 Peter 3:10]. Neither the world nor the chaff will be tormented forever.
WEEDS, TARES AND BAD FISH [Matthew 13:30-50]: Both the wheat and the tares
(the children of the devil) exist together in the world, but at the judgment, God will burn
the tares and save the wheat. In the parables, both the tares and bad fish represent people.
DRY BRANCHES [John 15:1-10]: Jesus is the vine. Any branches that do not bear
fruit are cut off. The dry dead branches are cast into the fire and burnt up. When dead
lifeless branches are burnt up, the branches do not exist, there is nothing left but ashes. "If
a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather
them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned" [John 15:6]. A man that does not
abide in Christ is burned and ashes are not immortal souls in eternal torment. Unless
someone can find a way to torment ashes this teaching of Christ makes eternal torment
impossible.
HOW FIRE IS USED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
TO CONSUME NEVER TO TORMENT
"Then fire came out from before the Lord and CONSUMED the burnt offering and the
positions of fat on the altar...And fire came out from the presence of the Lord and
CONSUMED them, and they died before the Lord" [Leviticus 9:24-10:2].
"Fire also came forth from the Lord and CONSUMED the two hundred and fifty men
who were offering the incense" [Numbers 16:35].
"So I will send fire upon the wall of Gaza, and it will CONSUME her citadels" [Amos
1:7]. "And it will CONSUME her citadels" [Amos 1:14].
"But I will send a fire on its cities that it may CONSUME its palatial dwellings"
[Hoses 9:14].
"And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty. ‘ If I am a man of God, let fire
come down from heaven and CONSUME you and your fifty.' Then fire came down from
heaven and CONSUMED him and his fifty" [2 kings 1:10].
"But a certain terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire that will
CONSUME the adversaries" [Hebrews 10:27].
HEBREWS 10:29: On the Judgment Day, when all the saved and the lost will most
likely be able to see what Heaven will be like, and the lost to know that they are going to
die; and know there will not be another resurrection, that they have forever missed being
in Heaven, it will be a death very much sorer than physical death. It is not said that the
"sorer punishment" is to be tormented forever; but some read this into it, and teach it as if
it is a Bible truth; and that everlasting torment in Hell is the only "sorer punishment" that
is possible. TO DIE FOREVER AFTER THE JUDGMENT IS A MUCH SORER
PUNISHMENT THAN TO DIE ONLY UNTO THE RESURRECTION AND
JUDGMENT WHEN THEY WILL BE RAISED FROM THE DEAD. When we die, that
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death is not endless for there will be a resurrection, but the second death will be without
end and there will never be a resurrection from it.
HEBREWS 11:31: Rahab "PERISHED NOT with them that were disobedient." If we
know what happened to those who were disobedient then we will know what did not
happen to her. "And they UTTERLY DESTROYED everything in the city, both man and
woman, young and old, and ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword"
[Joshua 6:21]. To perish is to be utterly destroyed, not to have eternal life and be
tormented forever. THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO BOTH AN OX AND A MAN.
BOTH PERISHED. BOTH WERE UTTERLY DESTROYED WITH THE EDGE OF
THE SWORD.
ROMANS 9:22: "Vessels of wrath fitted unto destruction." Many of today's preachers
do not like the way God said this and change it to, "Vessels of wrath fitted unto an eternal
life of torment;" after all they have been taught an immortal soul cannot be destroyed.
The response I get more than all others combined is that "if there is no Hell, then it
does not make any difference what we do." I do not think most find life that useless. Most
will do anything they can to live. Those who are sick do all they can to live a little longer.
Only a few, who must not be right in the head, would not care if they did not live. Those
who teach Hell are like a drowning man reaching for a straw. They reach for anything to
save their theology. This theology belittles the death of Christ. God thought it important
enough to give His only Son. Christ gave His life that we could live, but some say His
gift of life to us is not important if there is no Hell to be tormented in. To die is O.K. with
them. This is the same as saying, "If I will not go to Hell, then I do not care if I die and
do not go to Heaven, for I only want to go to Heaven to keep from going to Hell." Fear of
Hell has made many hypocrites who go to church and think that they are Christians, but it
has never made one true Christian. Never saved one person, but it has made many
hypocrites and will go on making them as long as it is taught. Anyone who goes to
church because they fear Hell and would not go without this fear, is a hypocrite, not a
Christian. Would they cheat on their wife, lie, and steal if it were not for fear they would
be found out? If it is not from love of God, going to church for any other reason will do
no good. If one is not a Christian because of the love of God and the hope of eternal life,
he cannot be a Christian because of the fear of going to Hell. The Lord does not add
anyone to the church because of fear of the nonexistence pagan Hell. Some would say,
"Has not the fear of Hell made many Christian?" No, the believing of Satan's lie over
God has made many be lost even while they think they are saved. No one can be
frightened into Heaven. Hellfire preaching is the gospel of fear used by men like
Jonathan Edwards. It cannot save, it deceives.
The Judgment Day will be a fearful day for the lost [Hebrews 10:26-31]. Maybe more
fearful than anything a person has ever known. We will all stand before the judgment seat
of God; those who have not obeyed the Gospel, or have not remained faithful will face
God's wrath at the judgment.
Summary: IT WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE TO SAY ANY CLEARER THAT EVIL
MEN WILL BE KILLED, UTTERLY PERISH, BE UTTERLY DESTROYED JUST
LIKE AND WITH THE ANIMALS AND THINGS AT THE END OF THE WORLD.
ALL THE RIGHT WORDS, BOTH IN THE GREEK AND IN THE ENGLISH
TRANSLATION ARE USED TO SHOW EVIL MEN WILL DIE, COME TO AN END.
IT COULD NOT BE SAID ANY STRONGER OR CLEARER. ON THE OTHER
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HAND, NONE OF THE WORDS USED SO OFTEN TODAY ARE USED, AN
UNDYING SOUL, AN IMMORTAL SOUL TO SAVE, EVERLASTING TORMENT,
ETERNAL HELL, YOU ARE GOING TO HELL WHEN YOU DIE, ETC. THESE
WORDS, WHICH ARE USED REPEATEDLY FROM TODAY'S PULPITS WOULD
BE AN ABSOLUTE MUST TO PROVE TODAY'S TEACHING OF HELL, BUT
THEY ARE TOTALLY ABSENT IN THE BIBLE. If you think you could say it better,
try it. There are no better words in our language. There is not anything that shows a
person will live forever in torment. The parables and metaphors Christ used clearly
show destruction, not torment. Did the Holy Spirit do a poor job of choosing words
when He was guiding into all truth? Luckily He has some with their theology to help Him
out lest the new convert understand the English words the way they are translated. Is it
not unreasonable to make words in the Bible have a meaning attached to them that is
unlike their use in any other book in the world?
THE WRATH OF GOD
"Vengeance belongs unto me, I will recompense and again, the Lord shall judge His
people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" Hebrews 10:30-31.
See Romans 2:1-16; 1 Thessalonians 1:10. The Day of Judgment will be a fearful day to
the lost, when they must give an account to God. The theology of many makes it essential
that the wrath of God keeps the fire of Hell hot, and forever tormenting the lost in
extreme pain and anguish. The Bible does not one time say His wrath will mean He will
inflict everlasting pain and anguish on the lost.
1) WRATH OF GOD IN THIS LIFE: MANY OF THE SCRIPTURES ON THE
WRATH OF GOD IS HIS WRATH ON THE SINNER NOW IN THIS LIFE [Romans
1:18; 2 Peter 2:9]. Sodom was destroyed. It was totally annihilated with all that were in it.
In the flood all life not in the ark was totally destroyed, annihilated, abolished, not
tormented. Throughout the Old Testament God's wrath has been on people, cities, and
nations that disobey Him. They were destroyed by fire, sword, wars, floods, famines,
pestilences, but never forever tormented. Capernaum was thrust down to the grave. It
does not exist today.
2) WRATH OF GOD "IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT." MANY OTHER
SCRIPTURES ARE ABOUT HIS WRATH IS AT THE JUDGMENT DAY
• "Wrath IN THE DAY OF WRATH and revelation of the righteous judgment of
God...but unto them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey
unrighteousness, shall be wrath and indignation, tribulation and anguish, upon
every soul of man that worked evil...IN THE DAY when God shall judge the
secrets of man" [Romans 2:5-16 American Standard Version].
• "For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth,
there remains no more a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of
judgment, and a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries. A man that
has set at naught Moses law died without compassion on the word of two or three
witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, think you, shall he be judged worthy,
who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the
covenant wherewith he was sanctified and unholy thing, and has done despite
unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that said, vengeance belongs unto me,
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I will recompense, and again, the Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing
to fall into the hands of the living God" [Hebrews 10:26-31].
• "And inasmuch as it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this comes
judgment" [Hebrews 9:27].
• "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the
wrath of God through him" [Romans 5:9].
• "Inasmuch as he has appointed a day