Sunday, November 13, 2011

NO ETERNAL PUNISHMENT ?


HOW CULTISTS TWIST, MANGLE AND IGNORE SCRIPTURES

 
Let me just answer the cultist’s with this one verse:

Rev 20:10  The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever

And because of this verse, all their arguments become so futile that nowadays, they had to resort to redefining the meaning of “forever and ever”.  And when they do, they make themselves look like even greater fools.

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I abstracted these arguments of a cultist from this page: http://www.remnantofgod.org/hellfire.htm .  I suspect this fellow is a 7th Day Adventist follower who is trying to conceal his origins.  Deceptive.  And he run a site without identifying himself.


And let me point out to you the ways in which cultists deceive, double-speak, ignore scriptures, twist words and meanings just so that they can deceive others.  Most of these cultist writers are actually minions in the cultist kingdom.  Their arguments are never original.  They simply regurgitate what they learned from their senior cultists.  Actually these minions are actually themselves deceived people.  I do not think these small fries intend to deceive you, for they themselves are deceived, just like the bible says:



2Ti 3:13  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.


My response is made out in red.  I have edited out some of his ramblings which are too frivolous to answer to.  But whatever is reproduced here is totally unedited.


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Cultist: “One doctrine of devils that has had it's way in today's society with great ease it that of the doctrine that says there is a Hell that lasts for all of eternity and those residing do so in screams of torment. Most take a verse in Revelation chapter 14 out of context and preach a Hell that is a place of eternal torment. “  See how confidently he makes this statement?  Now read Rev 14, and you find nothing about screaming.  The verse merely gives symbolic expression of God’s wrath.  This is what I call regurgitation.
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Cultist: Some also take three repeated verses from Mark to proclaim their belief in a worm filled eternal torture chamber. But before discussing these verses, and many other verses that speak of hell. One needs to ask one question of themselves. Do they believe a God that would send His one and only Son to die a torturous and humiliating death would create a place that would be used for TORTURE for ALL eternity?  This is how cultist appeal to human emotions – “Do you believe your God is such a cruel God?  Aren’t you insulting your God?”.  So, would God create that horrible place called hell? The obvious biblical answer to this is YES!  God created it and the bible says so.  But God also said it was not created for mankind.  Instead,  God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to die a humiliating death so that we do not have to go to that horrible place, which was created for satan and his angels, not us. ( see Mat 25:41 ) Are you ashamed of what God has done?  I am not.  Are you? 
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Cultist: Does the character of God come off as a tyrant who enjoys hearing the screams of people who have decided not to worship Him? See the continued play on your emotions.  His trick is, he plays on your dread of being accused of calling God a tyrant, so that you will be forced to agree with him.  My answer to him is this: “No, God does not enjoy sending people to hell.  He has no pleasure in the death of the soul that dieth ( see Eze 18:32 ) ”.  Just remember that He did not create hell for mankind, but for satan.  But if wicked men choose to follow satan to hell rather than follow Jesus to heaven, He will allow it to happen.


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Cultist: I pray at this time that you will allow me to share with you some things of God's character as well as His Scripture that PROVE this "doctrine of a devil" is simply a lie to get billions upon billions throughout all of time to "blame" the Almighty and ever living God of all creation for creating such a place and sending them there. See again how the cultist twist the situation by continuing to ignore the bible verse that says that hell was not created for humankind, but for the devil?  See how he continues to ignore the accountability of man for following the way of the devil to hell, but continue to insist that wicked man goes to hell because God “sends” him there?

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Cultist: Not long ago I was in a conversation with a person about truth in Scriptures in a Newsgroup on the internet. He promptly told me that God was a tyrant, and a very hate-filled vengeful God.  I asked him why he believed that about his Creator. He replied, "Because He SENDS people to hell! I will never worship a God that would send people to such a place like that! A place were people go to be tortured for all of eternity screaming at the top of their lungs for ever!! How can He sit on His throne knowing that while all His "loved ones" are worshipping Him in their happy go lucky Heaven, there are countless BILLIONS in hell at that very moment writhing in a pain that cannot be described?!?!" I assured him that he has fallen for the oldest trick in the book. The devil has painted a picture of the Almighty for him that is the exact opposite of what His Word says He is like. For example. God does NOT send anyone to hell. Nor does He want to. See how the cultist continues to play on emotions?  He should be giving a straight answer to the newsgroup, that God does not send man to hell, but instead God even sent Jesus to provide the way out for man. But the cultist does not do what is right  because he thinks like the newsgroup people and agrees with them.  The cultist does not have the mind of Jesus.

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Cultist:  2Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 
Here’s an example of quoting out of context.  This verse in its full context expresses God’s long-suffering to allow mankind full opportunities to escape …… but if he does not, God has no choice but to let them go with the devil to damnation!  This verse does not say that a righteous God will not punish.  This verse says that a righteous and just God is doing, and has been doing all He can for mankind not to go to eternal damnation.


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Cultist: James 1:13
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 
See the word twisting here?  Is God doing evil by punishing evil?  This verse merely says that the evil that is in man is the cause of his own downfall, God did not put that evil into man!  This is how cultists take verses out of context to support their cause.



Cultist: No, the Lord God Almighty cannot be tempted of evil and He would not SEND you evil. Wrong! The Lord God Almighty is not sending you evil by allowing people to go to hell.  A righteous God punishes, but He warns before He punishes.  A just God even came to take the punishment upon Himself so that a wicked man can escape hell by receiving His gift and repenting.
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Cultist: The Almighty and ever living Creator did NOT create you to burn. He WANTS you to live!  This is the truth. This is how a cultist will mix truth with lies.  If he tells all lies, you would not believe him, would you? 


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Cultist: Jesus warns us in a loving way that there IS a hell. He warns us that YES the Earth and everything in it will BURN UP.   2Peter 3:10
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 

Here is another example of taking verses out of context.  This verse explains that God will destroy this sin-infested earth to be replaced by a new earth.  This verse has not connection to hell or the lake of fire. But the cultist will deceive you into connecting it to punishment.

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Cultist: The Almighty is NOT the one putting anyone in hell. Wrong!  God is putting wicked man to hell, but not because He wants to.  He puts the wicked man to hell because the wicked man chooses to follow the devil there!  (  Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: )  Why be ashamed of the righteousness of God?

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Cultist: The devil must make hell look like a VERY torturous place so that our view of God is altered into a view that is NOT merciful. Wrong!  It is God who makes it very clear that hell is a tortuous place so that man be made aware of it, and he will choose wisely.  The devil is using cultists to create a negative impression of God for creating such a tortuous place for him and his angels.
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Cultist: It is not a place where the devil rules See this lie? Where in the bible does it says that the devil rules in hell?  It is not a place of eternal torture See this outright denial of what the bible says, and playing on human emotions?  It "IS" a place of eternal death however. And death is ETERNAL SEPARATION from God and all that is salvation and happiness. See how truth is mixed with lies in order to deceive into believing his next misquotes  Notice the following verses... Remembering all the while, that this is NOT God's will for you or me or anyone to burn in hell.

Cultist: 2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
  Therefore, if someone choose not to repent, is it God’s fault ?

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Cultist: Ezekiel 18:32, "For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye."  See this truth?  But the cultist uses this for his own ends by taking it out in isolation.  This verse tells us that God has no pleasure in seeing souls die – which is correct!  But it does not say that God will not allow it to happen.  God will allow it if the evil man does not repent.
Cultist: John 3:36, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
And Hell is DEATH. Regardless of the fact that the Scriptures state that those that go to Hell "shall not see life," the world calls hell "eternal life" IN FIRE doesn't it? Yet the Bible says that the "wages of sin is death" Romans 6:23 How can this be eternal life in fire? How can this mean eternal life anywhere? Do you recall this from your studies? See how he deceives you with his play on the word life?  The bible says specifically that to burn in the lake of fire is the 2nd death.  The 2nd death does not mean that existence is extinguished.  The bible makes it so clear.  The cultist ignores the fact that the bible also says that living people who are without God have no life in them.  Does that mean the living people are therefore dead at the same time?  It is the nature of cultists to twist words to suit his argument,  and ignoring situations where the same words would expose his duplicity.
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Cultist: Genesis 3:4, "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:"
The devil has been saying for 6000 years that WE WON'T DIE! This life in fire doctrine is no different than the serpant (sic)  in the tree. BOTH are openly declaring the Lord a liar! See how he mixes a truth with a lie again? See how he makes use of your dread of insulting God and using it to force you to agree with him?

Cultist: 2 Peter 2:9
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: 


Yes, we learned this earlier. The Lord will help us in times of temptation and deliver us out of it. But notice what happens to the "unjust" here. They are RESERVED unto the day of judgment to be PUNISHED. Notice what this verse is not saying here. It is NOT saying "PUNISH-ING" It is saying punished! See how he twisting the word "punishment" to be different from his self-created “punishing”?  Does cause you some confusion, doesn’t it.  That’s a typical cult argument technique.

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Cultist:  Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: He knows that hellfire is for the devil, and not for man, doesn’t he?  But he will ignore this, while using the same verse to suit his other purposes.

Cultist: "EVERLASTING FIRE?" Some use this verse to proclaim the fire will last forever and ever and ever and ever... But look at these verses using the same word "everlasting"

2 Thessalonians 1:8,9
In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 
Again, mixing truth with word twisting to confuse you to his side.  The 2nd death is everlasting destruction … and do not be ashamed of it.  He is playing with the term everlasting fire lead you to agree with him that it is only the fire that is everlasting, and not the torment. Really devious.  Now, let me refer you a verse he conveniently ignores at this stage, but which he will use in another place to suit his purpose:

Rev 20:10  The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where[2] the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
So, can you see that the bible disagrees with the cultist?  Can you see the bible says that “they will be tormented day and night forever and ever?”
Need I explain more to you?


Cultist: The result of the FIRE is and EVERLASTING DESTRUCTION. The wages of sin is DEATH not life eternal in hell fire!  See how he decides on his own (mis)understanding of the world death here?  Death here obviously mean eternal death, not the fleshly death he wants it to mean.   Life in hell fire would mean we have a mean and very angry God who enjoys the screams of billions of people for all eternity. See how he plays on your human emotions and sense of charity.  “Oh dear!  You and your God must be very cruel to ‘enjoy’ the screaming”.  Then you will find yourself trapped into agreeing with his next lie.   This is the devil's plan to get you to believe this is the character of God. The devil NEEDS you to look at God in this way!  That’s exactly what the devil is using this cultist to do.  No!  A just and righteous God will punish as it has been set from the beginning.  A just and righteous God has already provide the way out, by taking punishment upon Himself, and conquering death on our behalf.  We only have to accept the gift and follow Him.  If we do not, we are saying to Him “Let me go to hell like I want to”.

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Cultist: Matthew 25:46
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. 


Do you see the word everlasting PUNISH-MENT being used here by Jesus Himself to explain the fate of the wicked? If Jesus meant eternal punishING don't you think He would have said that? The Bible never counterdicts itself. Jesus meant what He said. The "wages of sin is death" Death is PERMANENT. Punish-ING is an "ongoing" process. This is not what Jesus said. Nor does any verse in His Word say this. Some even preach that yes, indeed, the "body" is killed in hell fire. But, the "soul" lives on for all eternity in flames of hell. If so, I challenge them to explain this simple and very easy to understand verse...   See the continued attempt to differentiate between ‘punishment’ and his attempt at confusing you with “punishing”?  Cultists can be ingenious with word twisting techniques.


Cultist: Malachi 4:1,3 : For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do [this], saith the LORD of hosts.  Here is another attempt to distract you by playing on the word “ashes” to mean physical destruction of the soul.  For a fact, you will notice that this verse says nothing about the soul.  Malachi was issuing a warning from God to the Israelites about their bodily destruction …… nothing to do with the soul.  You can so easily be deceived by their tossing of scriptures in isolation here and there.
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Cultist: And if Satan is running Hell and in control of the eternal torments of all those that reside in Hell, then why would the Word of God tell us in the following passage that Satan will burn up RIGHT BEFORE OUR EYES?
Ezekiel 28:17-18, "Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee."  See how he plays with words again?  He is trying to trick you into believing that that metaphorical expression ( ashes ) is a literal expression, but at the same time, keep the other metaphorical expression ( devour ) as metaphorical.  Very inconsistent, isn’t it? 


Cultist: Revelation14:11
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.


This verse in Revelation is favored by literally millions of preachers to prove hell is eternal punishING. Before proving what this verse means we must find out what the term "for ever" actually means to God when He says it. Understand first, God Almighty is an ETERNAL God and we, are a MORTAL people. Looking to Isaiah 34 you will see that the same language is used to describe the fate of Edom. 


Isaiah 34:9,10
And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up forever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever
Yes, this is poetic.  But does it mean Rev 14:11 is also poetic just because this Isaiah verse is?

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Cultist: Mark 9:48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 

The worm will live as long as it takes to finish the job. And the fire will NOT be quenched until the "fuel" is depleted.  See how he twist it to suit himself?  The verse says “the worm dieth not” but he added in his own meaning “The worm will live as long as it takes to finish the job” which the bible doesn’t say.

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Cultist: Exodus 21:6
Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever. 


Cultist: "SHALL SERVE HIM FOR EVER"???? How is this possible? What happens when the slave DIES? Another attempt at taking verses out of context.  “Forever” is also used in the context of one’s lifetime, and not always in the immortal eternal sense only.  Each incident of use must be interpreted to the context.  The context in his verse is clearly referring to the lifetime of the slave.  Cultist can get pretty tedious in their vain efforts to deceive

Cultist:
That's right. The definition of FOR EVER is not eternity. Of course not!   When the slave dies his master no longer has his service. And that is correct. But when God uses forever in the context of eternal life and eternal death, He does mean “eternity”.
Cultist: By the way.. If Hell is for eternity, then why did Jesus only stay dead three days?  If Jesus stays dead forever, are you saved?  He obviously cannot understand the power of God over death.  Was He not to be our perfect Saviour and sacrifice for sin? If the wages of sin is death, then Christ died for us, and that's that. See how he tries to confuse you by ignoring the power of God over death with this argument?  Or maybe he really doesn’t know, which is why this cultist is deceived.  

Jesus says in John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."

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