Hell Should Not Be Sugar-Coated

I just encountered an interesting article titled “Christian Leaders: Hell Should Not Be Sugar Coated” at the following link:

http://global.christianpost.com/news/christian-leaders-hell-should-not-be-sugar-coated-59639/

After the article was a comment by a poster named Bob ELdridge:

So many teach a god of hate and revenge, excusing their own continuous blasphemy as they deny the love of God, without the slightest bit of fear, failing to keep the commandment to prove all things and continue to speak of how clear the scriptures prove their doctrines, while being completely without understanding. Praise be to God for ALL will be brought to the Truth, every knee will bow to Christ, the Truth, because it is the will of God and no man can stay His hand.

This comment, in brief, is standard fare for those who do not believe in eternal unending punishment in the Lake of Fire, which is what the Bible warns is the certain fate of all who are unsaved.

Notice, too, the immediate focus upon the love of God, as if this were His only attribute.

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Consider John 3:36,

Joh 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.

The Bible obviously speaks not only of the love of God, but the wrath of God.

Talk about proving all things, it is time posters like Mr. Bob Eldridge and those who share his view, like Pastor Rob Bell, settle down and do their homework first and learn what the Bible itself actually teaches.

To arrive at the full truth of what the Bible teaches, we must get our doctrine from the Bible, not our church, denomination, organization, or favorite teacher.

We must carefully consider all the evidence, not just the portion of evidence we like.

And we need to be humble enough to accept what God clearly declares He will do, and not re-write the script to suit our own sensibilities.

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

In one sentence at Matthew 25:46 Jesus described the eternal destiny of both the saved and lost. The lost “go away into everlasting punishment.” The saved, or righteous, go away into life eternal.

The terms “everlasting punishment” and “life eternal” translate the same Greek word in the original text.

This logically means that the duration of life eternal is the same as the duration of everlasting punishment.

This Biblical proof fully answers the doctrinal error expressed by Mr. Bob Eldridge and Pastor Rob Bell and anyone else who holds such a mistaken view.

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54 Responses to Hell Should Not Be Sugar-Coated

  1. Bob Eldridge says:

    After listening to the audio links provided it is clear that the varies teachings are derived from a strict understanding of the letter or literal words from translations through the literal understandings of the scriptures, forming disciples of those that come in their own nature or name. This is of the same and continuous destruction of Gods Word perpetrated by the many that are sent to deceive, to insure the few to be diligent in seeking the Lord as He has determined; and through proving all things as the Word commands some will be pulled from the fire to seek Truth, as Christ came to deliver us from the wrath to come.

    Many are deceived by such teachings and will not be cleansed of these doctrines until they have been brought through the lake of fire, being saved by fire, while the water of life (the cleansing) is available now. We must understand to believe in Christ and receive the Truth He did not fail, He is the Saviour of the whole world. If we don’t believe in Him, even for His works sake, (it is finished) we deny His Spirit of God, if we don’t receive His Spirit we can not know the Truth. The Truth is in the Spirit, not in the letter that has been translated with many variations promoting many different doctrines and deceives so many, as He said: MANY will come deceiving, Mat 24:5, If anyone speaks the Word of God as being literal he is among this MANY that deceive. Those that worship the Father, confess, witness, must worship in Spirit and Truth. God will not torment anyone eternally. Hell is a fabrication by those that are without understanding and have not received the love of the Truth.

    1Ti 4:9-11 Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation. For to this end we labor and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of them that believe. These things command and teach.

    This is the True gospel of the kingdom of God, He is the Saviour of All men. The Truth has been greatly distorted by the teachings of men over many years, blaspheming the Name of God, our Father. Salvation is in knowing the True God and His Son Jesus Christ, The Word, it is the Fathers will that All men come to this knowledge, He has spoken it and will also bring it to pass, in His time all will confess Christ, The Truth, before the Father. Correctly so, there is no second chance, nor is there a first chance, but all things come to all in the proper timing, all according to the will of God, Who both works in us to will and to work for His good pleasure. Our hope is in His Word as He has spoken the end from the beginning in that everything He has made is very good, it can not be changed, as much as the many desire God on their own terms, He can only be found on His terms, through Jesus Christ, the Truth. His Word, Christ, reveals Him to be the Father of all mankind and He will deliver All of His children, His offspring by His Word, it is Not possible for His Word to return void, He will bring All to this knowledge. All will glorify the Father in the Spirit of Christ, there is none that can withstand His will.

    THERE ARE MANY VERSES IN THE SCRIPTURES THAT WILL DISAGREE WITH EACH OTHER UNTIL THE SUM OF THE WORD IS OBTAINED THROUGH THE SPIRIT. THIS IS THE PROBLEM WITH TAKING THE WORD LITERALLY, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO EVER COME TO THE TRUTH. OPPOSING SCRIPTURES WILL LEAD YOU IN TO MANY DIFFERENT DOCTRINES, YOU MUST BE LED OF THE SPIRIT TO COME TO THE TRUTH. THIS IS THE REASON THAT THERE ARE OVER 30,000 DENOMINATIONS OF RELIGION BASED ON MANS INTERPRETATION OF THE WORD. PAUL WROTE BY THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT PRIVATE INTERPRETATION IS FROM THE CARNAL MIND AND ALL THAT PRACTICE SUCH CAN NOT ENTER THE KINGDOM, YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR MIND AND SUBMIT TO CHRIST, THE TRUTH.

    Joh 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth: thy word is truth.

    Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life.

    2Co 3:6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

    1Co 2:13-14 Which things also we speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth; combining spiritual things with spiritual words. Now the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged.

    Hell, a word ascribed to in the scriptures through translations, the combining of thoughts to arrive at doctrine, doctrine long taught as a place of burning, some say literal, some say physical, but the many agree it is reserved for the wicked. Search the scriptures, a phrase from scripture, alluding to the commandment to prove all things, when taken serious to the diligent will reveal some interesting understanding and should provoke any that hear to study for Truth. As hell generally relates to the valley of Hinnom, a place used for refuse burning close to ancient physical city of Jerusalem, and used by Christ metaphorically in the scriptures, or according to the many a subterranean place of torture. You decide, as the warning is recorded in a few places within the scriptures, written down before Jesus made reference to Hinnom.

    Jer 7:31-34 And they have built the high places of TOPHETH, which is in the VALLEY OF THE SON OF HINNOM, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; WHICH I COMMANDED NOT, NEITHER CAME IT INTO MY MIND. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that it shall no more be called TOPHETH, nor THE VALLEY OF THE SON OF HINNOM, but The valley of Slaughter: for they shall bury in Topheth, till there be no place to bury. And the dead bodies of this people shall be food for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall frighten them away. THEN WILL I CAUSE TO CEASE from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, THE VOICE OF THE BRIDEGROOM AND THE VOICE OF THE BRIDE; for the land shall become a waste.

    Now, as we read in Jeremiah we understand that this place is no more called Topheth or Hinnom, but today it is call Hell, and it is not from the heart of God, but from men, and to the many that say this is speaking to the physical Jews back then that refused The God and sacrificed to their own gods, I say pay attention to what God will do, what He declares, He will remove the voice of the Bridegroom and the voice of the bride, which can only be done to those of Christianity, since the voice of the Bridegroom was not receive until after the sacrifice of the Bridegroom/Christ was completed. Seek Truth and study, this is the lake of fire, which all will attend, and the false doctrines will be destroyed, the high places built on the doctrine of hell will be brought down, but those that have overcome will not be hurt of the second death, which is the lake of fire. This is translated in Revelations as eternal torment, outer darkness, this is written to those that say Lord, Lord, but never knew Him. Truth in Study through Christ will reveal it is millennial judgment until every knee bows to the Truth, the torment is every one giving up self and will continue until the Word of God be accomplished in all men.

  2. Jerome Smith says:

    Dear Bob Eldridge,

    I am pleased to see you post again.

    I have listened to two of the three links to Mr. Fudge. So far I find his presentation unconvincing because he is not building his argument upon careful comparison of Scripture with Scripture. But, the Lord willing and enabling, I hope to hear the third link and perhaps others after that if they are available.

    You have posted some very helpful Scripture.

    Your position of denying the literal meaning of the Bible is clearly a falsehood. In order to understand any communication in language it is necessary to start from the literal meaning of what has been said. You cannot spiritualize or allegorize it away and hope to think you are arriving at the truth intended by the Divine Author of the Bible.

    God said what He meant, and meant what He said.

    You state that there are many verses in the Bible that disagree with each other until the sum of the word is obtained through the Spirit.

    No doubt, the Holy Spirit is a necessary part of coming to a proper understanding of what He inspired to be written. But this does not furnish any comfort to those who hold your opinion about what the Bible says. How do you know just which spirit is guiding you to the understanding you proclaim?

    The Bible commands us to “test the spirits” in 1 John 4:1.

    If your interpretation of what the Bible says disagrees with my interpretation there are only a very few possibilities to explain what happened in the process: (1) you are right and I am wrong; (2) I am right and you are wrong; (3) we are both wrong. If our interpretations differ so as to be contradictory, it is certain they cannot both be right.

    You repeatedly lay claim to having an interpretation that is correct because you worship in spirit and truth. You can make the claim, but you cannot prove this from the Bible because such a belief is subjective, not objective. It is your opinion unsubstantiated from what the Bible actually teaches. You can sound spiritual, but that does not make what you say or understand about what the Bible teaches correct.

    Anyone who makes a truth claim supposedly based upon the Bible must be able to document that claim by multiple witnesses from the Bible itself.

    There are no contradictions in the Bible. When anyone finds what they think may be a contradiction, they have failed to understand the intended literal meaning of the text they are considering. They have failed to properly consider the context of the verses involved. They have failed to carefully consult all the other verses in the Bible that pertain to the subject. They have failed to do their homework. They have failed to carefully follow the 23 Rules of Interpretation I have posted in the October 2010 archives here.

    The Bible repeatedly warns us not to be gullible. Paul, for example, commands us to “prove all things; hold fast what is true” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Jude commands us to earnestly contend for the faith once for all delivered unto the saints (Jude 3).

    You have declared in all capitals at that in your comment above:

    (1)THIS IS THE PROBLEM WITH TAKING THE WORD LITERALLY, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO EVER COME TO THE TRUTH.

    Nonsense. The only way to get to the truth in the Bible is to take it literally. A literal interpretation can and does take into account the presence of figures of speech, but those figures are used to emphasize the literal meaning of what is being said. If you do not take the words of the Bible literally, there is no check upon the truthfulness or accuracy of your interpretation. Your interpretation will be utter nonsense if it does not follow the 23 Rules of Interpretation.

    The Bible declares in many places that it can be understood, and that it was written to be understood. It can only be understood to the ordinary reader if it can be understood literally. If the literal meaning of what the Bible says is not its intended meaning, then the Bible writers were writing falsehood, which of course is not the case. When a Bible author intends for the reader to understand what he has written in other than the literal sense the writer will inform the reader in context that this is the case.

    (2) OPPOSING SCRIPTURES WILL LEAD YOU IN TO MANY DIFFERENT DOCTRINES, YOU MUST BE LED OF THE SPIRIT TO COME TO THE TRUTH.

    Being “led of the Spirit” is no guarantee that you will come to the correct meaning of a passage of Scripture. Many who loudly proclaim they are “led of the Spirit” teach doctrines that are not correct according to what the Bible teaches.

    There are no opposing Scriptures that will lead you into many different doctrines unless you fail to observe the 23 Rules of Interpretation.

    If you think there are some opposing Scriptures that lead to different doctrines, please furnish a plain example, and I will demonstrate from Scripture that the example is flawed.

    (3) THIS IS THE REASON THAT THERE ARE OVER 30,000 DENOMINATIONS OF RELIGION BASED ON MANS INTERPRETATION OF THE WORD.

    By the way, this is a chief argument of the Roman Catholic Church, and Romanism is utter heresy.

    Denominational differences have arisen for many reasons, but not because the Bible teaches contradictory doctrines.

    All denominations are mistaken in some of their doctrinal teachings. They are often most mistaken in the doctrinal distinctives that mark out the denomination as unique.

    If those who lead these denominations sat down and studied the Bible the way the Bible ought to be studied, using the principles of Real Bible Study that I have discussed at great length here, most of the differences that arise from Bible interpretation could readily be resolved.

    (4) PAUL WROTE BY THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT PRIVATE INTERPRETATION IS FROM THE CARNAL MIND AND ALL THAT PRACTICE SUCH CAN NOT ENTER THE KINGDOM

    Paul never wrote one word about “private interpretation.” When you make a truth claim, it helps greatly to provide the “chapter and verse” that supports the claim.

    In this case, you must be referring to Peter. (Hey, we all make mistakes–not a major problem.) I wrote an entire Post here on the subject of private interpretation. The expression as you understand it is incorrectly interpreted and applied. Read the Post available in the Archives immediately to the right for February 2010.

    (5) YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR MIND AND SUBMIT TO CHRIST, THE TRUTH.

    This statement, divorced from the context you provided, is the truth. Your mind will be changed as you carefully read the Bible independently yourself and believe what it teaches. The Holy Spirit will indeed lead you to the truth if you will let Him do so through His written word in the Bible.

    To suggest, as you have done, that hell is not a place prepared for the devil and his angels where they will suffer torment forever, a place the Bible states that will be the dwelling place of unbelievers forever likewise, is to teach doctrine contradictory to the plain teaching of the Bible.

    John 3:36 tells us that the “wrath of God” will “abide” or “remain” on those who have failed to believe in Christ. “Abide” or “remain” indicates God’s wrath continues to rest on them unabated and forever.

    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.

    Rev 21:8 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 burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

    Mat 18:8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
    Mat 18:9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

    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:

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

    Clearly there are only two possible destinies: (1) eternal life with God and Christ, termed in Matthew 25:46, “life eternal,” or (2) “everlasting punishment” in everlasting fire, prepared originally for the devil and his angels.

    Of course, in His written Word found only in the Bible, God repeatedly pleads with us to “choose life.”

    The GRAMMAR of Matthew 25:46 requires us to understand that “everlasting punishment” and “life eternal” are of equal duration: they last forever and never end.

    To suggest, as you have done, that the doctrine of Hell is from men and not God, is to slander the Word of God as it is written directly in the Bible, for you plainly contradict what the Bible itself teaches. This, on your part, is not being led of the Spirit of God.

  3. Bob Eldridge says:

    Knowing His Word.

    There is a great abundance of Truth that can not be understood when you depend on your own wisdom in the letter, your own works will gain you nothing, these works will only be lost in the fire, as Paul penned, the letter kills, the spirit gives life, this will not change through wishful thinking or because you desire not to acknowledge it. Many will argue over what the Truth is and how to find it out, prove the spirits. Christ holds the book with the seals upon it, without His fellowship, His Spirit, you can not know the Truth, you can not force True understanding out of the letter, you only deceive yourself and any that believe on you. You can not unify those that agree to disagree, because they have not the love for the Truth; when you are given the love of the Truth you know all things are of God, He only gives discernment to know the Truth, you can not achieve it through your own works of study. In thinking that you can go about divided from the True doctrine of God and gain salvation, you must understand that the Lord has written that no unclean thing enters in to His kingdom, this is speaking of confused doctrine, it is unclean, only Truth, the Word of God is acceptable, only the True Word of God can cleanse us of our sin nature. Faith is not a free pass as many teach, but is believing that God will do the work in us He has begun, that He will cleanse us through writing His Word in our hearts and minds, this is His promise to us, His covenant, the baptism, it is the eternal fire, His True Word, the cleansing by fire that ALL will experience, you will not float in to paradise by your faith, you can not save yourself. There is no second chance, nor is there a first chance, God does not operate on chances, nor does He fail, He can not fail, it is His work to do in each of His children, He will bring ALL to Himself and ALL will acknowledge His Son, The Truth that is His Word. It is His will that ALL come to this knowledge, the sooner you confess His will, the sooner His work can begin in you and you will be able to repent of your works. We must acknowledge who the king of confusion (Babylon) is, that kingdom that is within each of us of our own wisdom, we must come to follow after the Lord and quit trying to lead, get off His throne, not my will, but your will Lord.

    Joh 7:16 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. 17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. 18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

    1Th 4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:

    Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

    If we understand that fornication in the flesh, physical fornication is receiving a seed from one of which we are not betrothed or married to, then we can as Rom 1:20 reveals from the physical discern the spiritual, this will relate to us spiritually that the seed we should be receiving is from God as the Word of God is the seed of God, as in the parable of the seed that He, the sower sows in the earth, us. If the word we receive is not the True Seed, His Seed, then we are committing fornication every time we receive any word that is not His, any word that is received and is not Truth is received through fornication. This is how we can be spiritually sanctified through not committing fornication, it has nothing to do with the literal understanding of fornication, He is not speaking of physically but spiritually, because spiritual fornication is receiving a lie, false doctrine that can not cleanse us of our nature and can not save us, salvation is through the Son, The Word, it is as Paul wrote, another Jesus, prove the spirits, because there are many false prophets gone out in to the world, do they speak Truth, is the Truth, Christ in them. This is why we are to test the spirits, because the Word of God is spirit, prove the spirit if it is from God, because greater is HE THAT IS IN YOU, this is speaking of Christ in you the hope of glory, the Truth that is in those that speak Truth, then he that is in the world, the spirit that is against the Truth, anti-Christ.

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