THE PATHFINDER

Publication #22

DISRUPTING THE FOUNDATIONS

(Part 5)

JUDGMENT BY FIRE
CONSUMING FIRE
THE WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
THE LAKE OF FIRE
THE BOOKS WERE OPENED

"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of Life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. AND WHOSOEVER WAS NOT FOUND WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE WAS CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE." (Rev. 20:12, 15).

Only God is able to say how many times these verses have been used in the sermons, exhortations and casual discussions, and almost always they have been used in conjunction with ETERNITY. These sermons have also carried the thought of the LAKE OF FIRE being composed of natural flames which will be a NEVER ENDING JUDGMENT upon all who are not saved before being laid in the grave (about 99 percent of creation). We could be a little more graphic and go into detail of some of the grotesque descriptions of man's ungodly and very unscriptural imaginations of what they suppose the LAKE OF FIRE (commonly termed "HELL") is all about. However, our previous article covered that aspect adequately enough; and not only that, enough time has been spent on what man assumes to be a fact, rather than what is TRUTH and REALITY. Let us examine this study and see if its contents bear witness to the Spirit of truth; and if it does, we should then apply it to our daily walk in order to be able to continue on into Him and finish the building that has been started in each of us. This is our primary concern at the present -- to get the essential foundations of the doctrines of Christ laid to further the progression of the saints of God.

One would normally think the things as fundamental as the FOUNDATION of God's truths would have already been firmly secured by the Church, especially since it is almost 2,000 years old. However, from what is seen of Christendom today, it is very clear that the foundations have not been properly taught and are very unstable to say the least. ETERNAL JUDGMENT is the last segment of the foundation we will consider in this series, in hopes of bringing some balance and strength to this basic Christian belief.

There seems to be two extremes in this school of thought: It has either been glorified as the capstone of God's temple (to some of those in Sonship who have some understanding on the subject), or it has been DISRUPTED altogether by traditional theology. We are told in Hebrews 6:1 & 2, "Not laying again the foundation of...eternal judgment"; and indeed, this we should not do; for once something is established in Christ, there is no need to keep trying to get it done. However, neither should we destroy it when it is time to move on to greater things. The Greek confirms this principle by saying, "NOT DISRUPTING AGAIN the foundation of...eternal judgment." This should be clear, that when we build the temple of God (within ourselves), we do it in the same manner as when we build a natural house. When the walls and roof are ready to be built, we leave the foundation as it was laid and build upward from there with the whole building resting firmly upon it.

The Church has disrupted it, not by saying there will be no judgment, but by adopting some of the myths the ancient Greeks had in regard to one's fate after death. These thoughts were conceived and then birthed into the Roman Catholic church by men such as Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose, and other post-Nicaean fathers. There were, however, some early church fathers and historians who were also influenced by these thoughts before Roman Catholicism was ever formed. This type of theology trickled down and finally found root in the decadent Church Constantine instituted when he came to power. By this time, Christianity was no longer a threat to man's inner-self nor was it a danger to their kingdoms, but rather, it became an asset to them. Therefore, the "name of Christ" was inadvertently used to advance and strengthen world powers; namely, Constantine's, and of course, those following him capitalized on this new found power as well. Although he has been noted as the first "Christian" emperor, and has been lauded as a great man of God by most denominations for bringing Christianity out of the seclusion of homes and into public buildings people now call "churches," he strongly adhered to many of the Greek's superstitious beliefs.

Constantine, as history records, saw no difference in Jesus, God, and the Sun, of which he worshipped and declared SUNday as a holiday which was the springboard for Sunday worship for the Church. Unbeknown to most, it took him twenty-five years after his famed "conversion" and the inauguration of the Roman Catholic Church before he submitted to being baptized; and then, it was not in the name of Jesus, but "in the name of the father, the son and the holy ghost." Some of his pagan beliefs were eventually renounced for the sake of peace and unity of his empire, but many of his original Roman beliefs went to the grave with him (Christmas [Sun worship, i.e. Saturnalia], Easter [worship of the goddess Astarte], candles in worship services, etc.) which still exist in Christendom today. These are things that, no doubt, helped this pagan concept of eternal damnation to explode with popularity and become a major doctrine in the ranks of the Church. This particular doctrine, along with infant baptism and the cult (worship) of saints and their bones received much of their enduring strength from the men mentioned above (For details see Eerdmans' Handbook To The History of Christianity and Woodrow's Babylon Mystery Religion).

Although it is needful to have some understanding of such historical matters, this study is not to be a history lesson of ill-winded doctrines; but rather, we want to look at some hard facts -- genuine truths -- concerning this vital foundation of "ETERNAL JUDGMENT," which is by FIRE!

JUDGMENT BY FIRE

I see two monumental obstacles that prevent people from receiving accurate doctrinal truths in the Church today: Number one -- The Bible is taken too literal, not realizing it is largely a SPIRITUAL BOOK speaking of SPIRITUAL THINGS to a SPIRITUAL MINDED PEOPLE. And number two -- With Romanism at the helm, many truths of God have been perverted because of tradition and errors in translations of the Bible. It is my firm conviction, however, even if these two hindrances were removed or had never even existed, man would be no more the wiser today as a result of it. For if those things that pertain to God are not SPIRITUALLY DISCERNED, they will do nothing but puff up and produce death to those ascending by way of the mind rather than by the Spirit of Christ, He who is the author and finisher of our faith (I Cor. 2:7-16, I Cor. 8:1). Therefore, if our Bibles of today were totally accurate, the SPIRIT (the LIFE) OF THE WORD would probably still be missed.

Hopefully, we can be honest with ourselves as we stand before God and seek the reality of what He has purposed in reference to His judgments; thus knowing what His Spirit is saying. If we can do this, we will be able to walk the straight and narrow path Jesus blazed for us nearly 2,000 years ago, and we shall know what it is to be a pathfinder in Christ.

The word FIRE is translated from the Greek word PUR from which we get words such as PURe, PURify, PURge, etc. But too often the word FIRE carries a fearful and negative meaning; however, if we will notice, even in the natural it serves much more as a positive tool for man than otherwise. We heat our homes with fire as well as using it to run our automobiles, cook our food, break down and separate chemicals, PURify things, etc. Only when it is in the wrong hands or is out of control is fire considered a bad thing. If man, being evil, is able to keep fire under control and use it for good, don't we think God, who is Good, can do at least the same? Brethren, we should never believe we have more compassion on the lost than God who created them, and that He can't or won't use the fire of Himself for ultimate good. Therefore, let us start thinking of His judgments as being something that will produce a positive correction upon all who falls, regardless of what age their judgment takes place in.

To the wood, hay, and stubble of the natural man and to the tares of the world, the judgment fires of God are most certainly painful; for these nonproductive, life-sapping parasites must come to nought in order for the Kingdom to flourish. But when it is finished, it will be as Isaiah declared: "He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over ALL PEOPLE, and the vail that is spread over ALL NATIONS. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord will wipe away tears from ALL FACES. For when Thy judgments are IN THE EARTH, THE INHABITANTS OF THE WORLD WILL LEARN RIGHTEOUSNESS." (Isa. 25:7-8, 26:9).

Until Jesus sent forth His Spirit, and planted Himself firmly in those of His calling, God's judgments were for the most part NATURAL. He presented circumstances that affected the NATURAL man, i.e. plagues, pestilence, hunger, war, etc. It was like touching their finger with the scorching flames -- they quickly repented of their wicked ways, but as soon as the sores were healed, they went straight way back into the same sins. Judgment of one's outer man for the most part has never had any lasting effects, history has proven this. However, when God's judgment is IN the earth, as Isa. 26:9 says, then the fire burns in the soul, at the root of the problem, which produces a "Godly sorrow that worketh repentance unto salvation." (II Cor. 7:10). No longer is the correction temporary because of the offender having merely been caught and he fears a harsher judgment if he continues on in sin; but rather, the correction is PERMANENT because the inner man has been BORN OF THE SPIRIT OF THE LIVING GOD who is a CONSUMING FIRE! Therefore, that seed, that unquenchable flame within the bosom, ceases not to burn until it has consumed everything that can be kindled. When this flame can find nothing more to burn inwardly, and one's remains are pure and holy before God -- the fire will reach outwardly to find other hearts of hay to consume and transform the same way as those preceding them. Yes, JUDGMENT shall be seen IN ALL THE EARTH, causing righteousness to be learned, a righteousness learned by the Godly, inworking Spirit rather than by tormenting fear. This Holy fire of God is more intense than any natural flame and when contained within the inner-most part of one's being, it does a work as none other can possibly do.

God certainly still brings natural judgments upon man in our day, such as calamities and wars and personal hardships; however, we will let others speculate on the natural realm and its demise while we look into mysteries of the spiritual treasures of God, praying He deems it good for us to see. In our quest for truth, we are reminded of the words of Solomon, "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings to search out a matter." (Prov. 25:2). Knowing this, let us do just that -- SEARCH out this matter of ETERNAL JUDGMENT, and do it with all sincerity of wanting to know the truth, even if it is contrary to what we have embraced for so long.

CONSUMING FIRE

We have noticed that the vast majority of Christians have very little knowledge of there being any other fire than the natural. Therefore, when fire is mentioned in reference to judgment, their natural minds automatically think of natural fire that scorches the natural flesh of men's natural bodies. However, this is not always the case, for FIRE in the scriptures is speaking more often than not of a spiritual fire rather than natural, so let us think in the terms of the Spirit rather than the natural as we continue on.

A good example of God's SPIRITUAL FIRES of judgment is found in Ezekiel 28:18, which is a prophecy to the prince of Tyrus, and is probably referring to Adam (mankind) as well. It says, "Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities...therefore will I bring A FIRE FROM THE MIDST OF THEE, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth...." This fire within that burns, consumes, and refines a person is not merely a sorrowful feeling that is brought on by the natural, moral mind of man but is the very essence of God Himself which is often administered by those who have become like Him.

We know God is Spirit which is possessed through Christ, but how many knows GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE (Heb. 12:29), and HIS MINISTERS A FLAMING FIRE (Ps. 104:4)? And rightly so, for "AS HE IS, SO ARE WE in this world" (I Jn. 4:17). Regardless of this fact, we do not see much of His presence as fire in the world today , but we will see it! We should not expect it, though, until all the combustible garbage in the firstfruits' hearts is consumed in the place Jesus call gehenna...spiritually speaking of course. It will then be as it is so aptly recorded in Nahum 1:5, "The mountains [major kingdoms of the world and the evil spirit of the individual] quake at Him, and hills [third world powers and the soulish desires of a person] melt, and the earth [the rest of mankind as well as one's fleshly lusts] is burned at His presence, yea the world, and all that dwell therein." (Do we see the necessity of dwelling in the heavens with Christ?)

Almost everyone agrees the fire of Ezekiel 28:18 is one of the Spirit, because they can't imagine a literal fire burning inside a flesh and blood body, or they are led to believe this is speaking of Satan, and since he is a spirit, then it is concluded the fire must also be spirit. If it is so easy to see the fire of Ezekiel 28 is spiritual, then it should be just as easy to see the fire of Nahum 1:5 is likewise spirit. Both of these fires speak of the Spirit of God and its work in mankind, and when this is seen, the scriptures will become much more clear and will make the sense they are supposed to.

This spiritual, consuming fire is also spoken of in Revelation 14:10-11 in reference to those who have the mark of the beast (6-6-6, spirit of man, soul of man, and fleshly desires and works of man, Nahum 1:5 we mentioned above is also speaking of these three realms of 6). "...He shall be tormented with FIRE and BRIMSTONE [Grk. Theio, God-fire] in the presence of the holy angels [Grk. aggelon, messengers] and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever [Grk. eis aionas aionon, into the ages of ages]." In this verse we have the fire of Nahum 1:5 identified (the Lamb & His messengers), and those who are of Adam, created and dwelling in the 6th day, will always be tormented when they stand in the kindling glory of the God; that is, as long as the mark remains and there is carnal fuel to burn.

I hear someone protesting, not only about the type of fire this speaks of, but also about the length of time involved in their torment, saying it is "for ever, as the Bible declares." If this was the case, then we would have to ignore II Thessalonians 1:9, which states, "Who shall be punished with EVERLASTING destruction FROM the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power." You see, if Revelation 14:10 is correct in saying the torment of the wicked will be FOR EVER IN THE PRESENCE of the Lamb, then it would stand to reason that they could not be punished FOR EVER FROM HIS PRESENCE at the same time they are eternally IN HIS PRESENCE. When the adjectives of the word AION are translated to mean a NEVER ENDING state of being, we have a glaring contradiction; however, when it is translated properly, AGE-LASTING, then the cord rings clear and begins to harmonize with the rest of the beautiful melodies of all the other teachings of the Bible.

These scriptures, and others like them, seem to be fairly plain, that the judgment fires of God in this age, and the one of the second resurrection, is the FIRE OF GOD -- HIS WORD as it proceeds from the lips of His MINISTERING FLAMES OF FIRE which kindles fire of brimstone in the lost creation's heart. It is not a fire that burns the natural bodies of flesh, but one that burns and consumes the fleshy minds of men and women of the world. I beseech you brethren, don't be afraid to let it be known that this fire burns the heart and not the fingers. When the heart is refined there is no need for the fingers to be burned, for then they can not be drawn into forbidden places.

For some reason, it is hard for people to believe that God is actually going to use His elect to judge mankind, but listen to the following for confirmation: THE LORD WILL COME WITH FIRE, and plead (Heb. shaphat, judge, i.e. pronounce sentence) with all flesh, and with this fire He will consume the self-sanctified ones who eat shines' flesh, and the people shall be as the fuel for the fire in the day of His holy wrath. (Isa. 66:15-17, 9:19). Yes indeed, THE LORD WILL COME AS FIRE, and it is Jude (vrs. 14-15) who identifies the vessels containing the fire and their purpose: "THE LORD COMETH IN HOLY MYRIADS OF HIMSELF [diaglott]. To execute judgment upon all, and TO CONVINCE ALL that are ungodly..." When the Lord becomes one with all His ten thousands and is manifested through these holy ones, their (His) word will be "...LIKE FIRE saith the Lord: and like a hammer that breaketh the rock into pieces." (Jer. 23:29). And they will not be going around with torches in hand and burning everyone who needs correction, but they and their Word will be that holy fire and carnality will be the fuel.

Yes, it will be from the flaming, mighty ones of God that this fire will proceed and consume all the fleshy, wood-nature of man. And even if "...they made their hearts as an adamant stone" (Zech 7:12), the word will also be as a hammer and break to pieces their self-exalting rebellion. But praise God, this fire will not be forever nor will be the pounding of the hammer. When there is no more fuel to consume and no more stone to crush, then the judgment will be finished -- it will have accomplished its purpose. In all this burning and crushing, creation will for the first time know what it is to have Godly sorrow that worketh repentance to salvation (II Cor. 7:10). It will be such a genuine sorrow, one not to be repented of, "That at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth: And that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER." (Phil. 2:10, see also Rom. 14:11 & Isa. 45:23).

Some have said, "This confession is a forced confession once they find themselves in hell, and they finally realize Jesus is truly the Son of God with all power and authority, which they can no longer rebel against." However, this is only a supposition which has NO scriptural basis -- a sandy foundation to say the least. But a couple of thoughts that do have some validity are found in Romans 10:9 and I Cor 12:3: "That if thou confess [a confession is a TRUE statement of a REALITY] with the mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God raised Him from the dead, THOU SHALT BE SAVED." And "No man can say Jesus is Lord, BUT BY THE HOLY GHOST." With this (Phil. 2:10-11, Rom. 10:9, & I Cor. 12:3) we have, THE CONFESSION that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, the confession is A REALITY, the reality has produced SALVATION, and the CONFESSION, the REALITY, and the SALVATION are all the result of THE HOLY SPIRIT which is contained WITHIN the person making the confession! This confession is not made because they have to but because they want to, for the fire of God has brought them to this place of Godly sorrow that worketh repentance unto salvation, rather than the sorrow of the world that worketh death. A natural fire would produce a worldly sorrow unto death, but the Holy Spirit fire produces the Godly sorrow unto life. It's as simple as that!

Charles Weller of Restoration Ministries shared this thought in his book THE FIRE OF THE LORD: "Perhaps, now we see the LIGHT, the GLORY, all reveal the very HOLINESS of God, Everything is Holy before Him, because the FIRE has consumed all corruption from before His presence...We are now beginning to see the beauty of the fire -- it releases us from flesh! Our God is a consuming fire. He will by His glory slay us, or by His light remove us. Of course, He accomplishes the same by fire. Each (fire, glory, light) serves its purpose. The fire is to purify, the light to reveal, and the glory to cause true adoration. In each we see the other and vice versa."

Ezekiel 15:4-7 tells us some things concerning the fiery judgment of Jerusalem which is typical of the Church: "Behold, it [the vine tree, Jerusalem, the Church] is cast into the fire for fuel; the fire devoureth both the ends of it, and the midst of it is burned. Is meet for any work? Behold, when it was whole, it was meet for no work [the system has never accomplished anything in the kingdom of God]: how much less shall it be meet yet for any work, when the fire hath devoured it, and it is burned. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God; As the vine tree among the trees of the forest, which I have GIVEN TO THE FIRE FOR FUEL, so will I give the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will set My face against them; they shall go out from one fire, and another fire shall devour them; and ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I set My face against them."

FIRE is used five times in these verses, devour three times, and burned twice; even so, we understand, God is not referring to a NATURAL, judgmental FIRE, but a SPIRITUAL one that will turn their hearts to Him which will cause them to desire Him as their Lord. We also know the inhabitants of Jerusalem, although they are used as fuel for the fire, are not judged (tormented) forever as burning cordwood, nor are they totally annihilated in the devouring (consuming) fire, but they are brought to a Godly sorrow that worketh repentance to salvation -- even as it will work with all who are cast into the lake of fire which burns with the brimstone (God-fire) of Himself. The only difference is the judgment will be of the inworking of the Spirit rather than natural calamities upon the flesh, and since it is the work of the Spirit of the resurrected Christ, it will bring about a permanent change rather than a temporary repentance that is soon forgotten.

There is also another thing happening in the land today in reference to the impending judgment by the fiery hand of God, and this is in the ranks of Sonship. This may be the prelude to the end of the age, if what we are seeing is the same as what is recorded in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew. It looks as if we are now seeing the angels, or messengers, coming forth and separating and gathering the tares for burning (Mt. 13:28-43). First, there is a separating of those who say they are children of the kingdom but are not; and afterwards, there will be those who possess the word of life for the starving creation -- they will be gathered into the barn for the final preparation (removing of the chaff) before their unveiling. Both, the wheat and the tares, have been sustained by the same soil of church fellowship, sunshine of the Spirit, and rain of the Word, but the tares have born nothing but knowledge-puffing, self-exalting pride rather than growing up as grain for the hungry.

Therefore, if the consummation of this age is now at hand, messengers have been sent, messengers not unlike those sent by God to put lies into the mouths of the prophets of Ahab for his demise (I Kings 22:20-23). Personally, I believe we are again witnessing this very thing today. For some of the messengers who have carried the word of Sonship and Reconciliation are now speaking all manner of lies that are causing the tares to be separated into groups for burning and eventually saved due to that fire.

The people are saying, "Prophesy good things to us, give us more revelations, speak to us of the deeper things, sell us special crystals and tuning forks." And they are getting that for which they have asked! But some of these prophecies, revelations, deeper things are not always coming by the Spirit of Truth, and especially not the mystical objects of the earth. But rather, they are come from a spirit which sways them further from truth and into a place for harsh, fiery, correction. When the separation is complete, those who remain will then be gathered to be food for the starving world. This is why we do not yet see much gathering of true Sons, because the tares are still being gathered.

Until recently, I was dismayed by what was happening to so many who I had thought were one with Christ and would never succumb to such obvious teachings; but now I can rejoice, because this separation, no doubt, marks the end of the age! So rather than crying about it, let us Praise God! For soon, perhaps very soon, when the true Sons are gathered together, we will see the house of Jacob as a fire, "and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them, for the Lord hath spoken it. and saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's." (Obadiah 18 & 21).

THE WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT

Revelation 20:11-15 tells us of God's judgment by fire, and with my limited view I will attempt to clarify some crucial points herein. Please bear with me. Verse eleven tells us of One who sits upon a GREAT WHITE THRONE, "from whose face [manifested character] the earth [natural things of man's doings] and the heaven [principalities of spirits, imaginations & thoughts of man] fled away; and there was no place found for them." In this righteous judgment of God, there is NO PLACE for the flesh or the presumptuous thoughts of the feeble, carnal mind of man. The judgment that proceeds from this throne must be altogether PURE...with no mixture whatsoever.

It has been said by more than a few, that the one sitting upon this throne is God Himself (with a body like mortal man's) and terribly to be feared, for by the mere breath of His nostrils He could blow away the Universe as easily as dust from the back of His hand. And with some of the sermons we have heard, we have been led to believe He just might do it if we make Him mad enough. However, by knowing our Father, we can safely say this is not true, and from what Jesus had said we can also determine, God is not the one sitting upon the throne; that is, unless we understand it is in HIS MANY MEMBERED BODY that He sits. It is recorded in John 5:22, "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed ALL JUDGMENT TO THE SON." And let us not forget, "For as the BODY IS ONE, and hath MANY MEMBERS...so ALSO IS CHRIST. For the body IS NOT ONE MEMBER, but MANY." (I Cor. 12:12, 14). Revelation 20:4 gives us additional confirmation that the one sitting upon the GREAT WHITE THRONE is A MANY MEMBERED BODY: "And I saw THRONES [plural], and THEY sat upon them, and JUDGMENT was given to them..." MANY THRONES for MANY MEMBERS make up ONE GREAT WHITE THRONE for ONE GREAT BODY which is called THE SON to whom ALL JUDGMENT IS GIVEN. From this premise, can we not say, it is by this body, that the world and the angels will be judged (I Cor. 6:2-3)...BY FIRE?

I would be remiss if I failed to clearly say, the throne of this great judgment should not be taken as being literal. Furthermore, if we are waiting for beautiful, pride-lifting thrones to sit upon, from which to pass judgment upon those who happen to be less fortunate, we will have a long, long wait; for it will never come in such a natural manner.

Most people shudder when their thoughts are turned to God's GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT, which casts all who are not found written in the book of life into the lake of fire. And rightly so, for "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God." (Heb. 10:31). However, some of those who realize the lake of fire is spiritual rather than natural, believe this judgment is either not too severe or is practically nonexistent. Let us be assured, brethren, God's judgments are mighty, they are awesome, and when one finds himself in the JUDGMENT OF THE AGES -- Oh, what a humiliating and painful thing it is to the ones who have sold their soul for a potage of stew.

THE LAKE OF FIRE

When the fire of God burns in the hearts and bones of souls, they will first cry out for the rocks and mountains (doctrines & kingdoms) to fall upon them for protection and to hide them from the face of the Lamb (Rev. 6:16), He who has eyes of burning flames of fire (Rev. 1:14). And "In those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it, and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them" (Rev. 9:6). The torment of the flames of God's holy judgment will surely cause men to desire death, desiring that even more than Christ, but their worm (soul) will not die and the fire of God's Spirit will not be quenched; but this fire will eventually change them into submissive, God-loving people who will humbly surrender, and with great joy they will shout the victory cry, "Jesus, You are my Lord!" Then the fire that could not be quenched will seemingly subside, for not only will there be no more fuel of carnality to be burned; but they themselves will be flames of fire. The Spirit, the Word, and the Son(s) that were formerly a torment to them will then be found to be like a refreshing rain in due season.

It has commonly been said, this hellfire (Gehenna, Grk.) is only for the lost sinners of the world, but this passage of scripture (Mrk. 9:43-49) is concluded with, "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched, for every one shall be salted with fire." Brethren, this fire is not relegated to only those the Church considers to be the lost sinners, but it is for EVERYONE. There is garbage in ALL souls, and it will have to be subjected to and consumed by the fires of the valley of Hinnom (hell fire, KJV; Ghenna, Grk.) before God's glory can be seen. (If "hellfire" is eternal for the sinner, which it isn't, then it would also have to be for the saint as well.

Christendom has been very negligent, but consistent, in keeping man's mind focused on the fiery judgment of the sinners who are not members of THEIR church, who have not made the proper formulated confession, who have back-slidden from "established" dogma, or whatever. They seem to delight in dangling people over the roaring fires of hell with their very graphic sermons of God's unforgiving wrath. In such sermons, you can feel the heat of the flames, smell the sulfur, hear the crackling of burning flesh with the accompaniment of the moans and wails of the eternally damned. Indeed, "Dante's Inferno" is enough to "scare the daylights" out of one, isn't it?

In all this, these doctors of mixed Christian-Greek-Roman theology fail to teach one important thing, which we had mentioned above: EVERY ONE shall be SALTED WITH FIRE. (Mrk.9:49). EVERYONE, dear friends, includes the saints as well as the sinners, and whether it is a natural or a spiritual fire -- FIRE IS PAINFUL, IT HURTS! It just so happens that this judgment fire is one of Spirit and not natural which can be either now or later.

John the Baptist also spoke of this consuming fire of God in Matthew 3:11: "...He that cometh after me is mightier than me...He shall BAPTIZE you with the Holy Ghost and FIRE." To be BAPTIZED, as we already know, means TO BE IMMERSED, and the above verse makes it very clear in what element EVERYONE is to be immersed -- FIRE, brethren, THE HOLY GHOST FIRE to be exact! This awesome, SPIRITUAL FIRE OF GOD is already burning upon the altars of the Firstborn ones' hearts, and it will progress until it reaches the inmost part of everyone's aching heart who has ever had blood flowing through their mortal veins. Isaiah used a different term in reference to people being purified, but he was speaking of Israel rather than the whole world: "Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the FURNACE OF AFFLICTION." (Isa. 48:10). However, what John wrote in Revelation 20:15 is definitely speaking of the whole world, and he used still another term which is called THE LAKE OF FIRE.

It is easy for some to say the wicked will be cast into a literal lake of fire, and not only that, but throughout an endless eternity; however, when it comes to "us four and no more," the fire suddenly changes to the comforting Spirit of God. Come on people, let's at least be honest with ourselves and wake up and see some realities of Christ, for the great day of God is upon us, and the time of crucial testing is at hand. We cannot afford to listen to the lullabies of men's ear tickling (spine chilling) doctrines anymore. The voice of the turtle dove is now being heard in the land, and if we are not under the arm of our beloved who is coming out of the wilderness, we will miss the greatest work of God this world has ever seen. And you might want to mark the following words, for we will see them to be true: THIS MIGHTY WORK THAT WILL REVOLUTIONIZE THE WORLD AND SET MEN FREE AND ESTABLISH THE KINGDOM OF GOD, WILL NOT COME THROUGH THE ORGANIZED CHURCH, FOR MAN'S SYSTEM WILL UTTERLY FAIL DUE TO THE JUDGMENTS GOD HAS AND WILL IMPOSE UPON IT. BUT THIS SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION WILL COME THROUGH THE TRUE CHURCH -- THE ECCLESIA, THE CALLED OUT ONES, THE SONS OF GOD! YES INDEED, THE POWER OF GOD WILL COME FORTH VICTORIOUSLY TO MANIFESTLY BRING TOTAL SALVATION TO ALL! [For some accounts of the Babylonish church of today (Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish, etc.) and the contrasted Sons of God, read Rev. chapters 17 & 18 and Rom. 8:19-21, 28-33, I Pt. 1:2).]

THE BOOKS WERE OPENED

Many analogies are used in the Bible that tell us of sin and imperfection being exposed, i.e. the light that shines in darkness, the holy Spirit reproves the world of sin (Jn. 16:8), the word divides asunder the soul and spirit (Heb. 4:12), etc. Revelation 20:12 says it this way: "And I saw the dead small and great, stand before God; and the BOOKS were opened: and another BOOK was opened, which is the BOOK OF LIFE: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." THESE BOOKS are not made of lambs skin or paper and written upon with ink of recordings of every word and deed each human being has ever said or done, as it has been imagined. But THE PEOPLE ARE THE BOOKS, and in this resurrection their lives are opened, exposed, and read. The thing which causes the books to be opened is the opening of THE BOOK WHOSE PAGES READ OF LIFE -- THOSE WHO HAVE OVERCOME, THE ONES WHO SIT UPON THRONES, THE SONS OF GOD if you please. No longer, then, will men's lives and thoughts be a closed book, but they will be opened, even as those Paul referred to when he wrote to the Corinthians, "Ye are our EPISTLE...known and read of all men." (II Cor. 3:2).

"AND THE DEAD WERE JUDGED OUT OF THOSE THINGS WHICH WERE WRITTEN IN THE BOOKS, ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS." This statement is very akin to what Jesus said in Mt. 25:31-46. We will not quote it, but the thought of this passage is of people being rewarded either with the kingdom of God (AIONION LIFE) for their righteous WORKS or everlasting punishment (aionion correction) for their reluctance to doing good works. This passage of scripture has often been used to substantiate peoples beliefs in "eternal damnation" to the lost, but it seems that some very important points are consistently overlooked. Namely, if one is saved because of doing good things to the brethren of Christ or is eternally lost for failing to do these good works (Note: these verses are speaking of "WORKS"), then this would make the cross of Christ and His life of none effect. Man would not need Jesus for salvation, for they could acquire it by WORKS alone -- by DOING good things to God's people. We could also strike out scriptures such as, "For GRACE are ye SAVED through FAITH; and that NOT OF YOURSELVES: it is a GIFT FROM GOD: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast." (Eph. 2:8-9). No, dear ones, it is not by works, for our salvation is in the hands of our Lord -- He is the author and finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2); however, both, corrective judgments and rewards are a result of what people do.

Many will quickly agree that salvation does not come by works; saying, "For the righteous, their works will be the criteria for what their rewards in heaven will be, but for the eternally lost sinner, their lack of works and their evil deeds will determine the severity of God's punishment upon them when they are judged." This is a half truth, for surely those who know not to do good are judged with less stripes than those who know to do good but do not (Lk. 12:42); however, in reference to the idea of all unbelievers being cast into a literal lake of fire forever creates some questions. For instance:

How will the different punishments be measured out? Perhaps with various degrees of heat? Will those who have not done any good works at all and are completely wicked be thrown into the very center of the lake of fire where the temperature is possibly 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit? Will those who have done nothing for the brethren of Christ but are basically moral people be placed in a "cooler" region of the lake, where it is only 2,000 degrees. And for those who are sort of on the boarder line (they have done some good works but not quite enough), will they spend eternity on the outskirts of the flaming sea with temperatures ranging from 200 to a 1,000 degrees? Let us be reminded, now, with the idea of eternity in flaming fire, we can't consider various periods of time as part of man's judgment due to their works, for remember, there is no end to eternity.

Disturbing questions to say the least, but they are legitimate; however such absurdities to God's holy judgment certainly does not bear witness to His Spirit or the Word of sound doctrine. It is sad, but most people won't even consider these things, saying, they will leave the details up to God; but with this judgment being a basic foundation to Christian beliefs, it is very necessary to be firmly grounded in the knowledge of it. Otherwise, we will not be able to build a lasting structure that can stand in the great and terrible day of the Lord.

With the fire being God (His Spirit, His Word, and His ministers) which for a season afflicts people's lives unto permanent correction, makes a lot of sense we should be able to say Amen to. Let those whose god is one of eternal damnation, torment, and wrath continue to beat their negative drums of despondency; but for me and my house, we will beat our swords into plow shares and our spears into pruning hooks, as we trumpet the GOSPEL. The Gospel, of course, being the GOOD NEWS that "God will have ALL MEN TO BE SAVED, and come to the knowledge of truth," which will be "testified in DUE TIME." (I Tim. 2:2 & 6). Now, that is GOOD NEWS!!! But it is a little hard for me to rejoice at the thought of God being almost a total failure and having to resort to roasting His creation in an eternally burning pit for not saying "I do" before being laid in the grave. To me, that is not good news at all but is very bad news that has been fabricated and founded on Greek and Roman myths. By holding on to doctrines such as these, reminds me of the old saying, "You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy;" only here, the case is, "You can take the Christians out of Rome (or Babylon), but you can't take Rome out of the Christians."

There is a way, however, and that is by the revelation, judgment, and power of Christ which will eventually come to the whole world. And without any reservations, I believe His judgments will emphatically perform as Isaiah so boldly declared, "...THE CROOKED SHALL BE MADE STRAIGHT, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord SHALL BE REVEALED, and ALL FLESH SHALL SEE IT TOGETHER: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." (Isa. 40:4-5). This glory, the LIGHT and FIRE OF GOD, which will be revealed in all the earth, will not only EXPOSE the hidden things, but it will correct what has been wrong. Yes, every eye shall see the glory in all the earth as well as within themselves, for it will certainly STRAIGHTEN what has been crooked in ALL HUMANITY, and no longer will men be missing the mark as they had formerly done. What a wonderful day that will be. Don't you agree?

To Be Continued...

Elwin R. Roach

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