The Identity of the Holy Spirit

We'd love to share with our readers something we've discovered in scripture. This is a heavy topic that most Christians fear to even question, but I do believe that God wants us to find the truth which is the reason why He has given us His Word. One of the foundations of modern Christianity is the doctrine of the Trinity. Yet, it is strange that the word "trinity" is never mentioned in the Bible. Surely, if God wanted us to acknowledge and worship the trinity, then He would have made that very clear.

Many will stop here without continuing to read further. We won't give you anything that isn't in scripture. The Bible is the final authority. I ask you to check the Bible and be open, and teachable. Paul commended the church of the Bereans for testing what he was saying and comparing it to scripture first (Acts 17:10,11) . He praised them because he knew that the Bible was the final authority and he wouldn't want us to just take man's word for it.

Moving back to the subject, if you're still with us, then please check out these verses about the Holy Spirit. We are taught that there are three in the godhead, but throughout the chapter of John, it talks about the relationship between the Father and the Son. The holy Spirit is nowhere in this.

And what we've found is that the holy Spirit is the Spirit of God the Father. Here is what we have found:

Compare both verses which are speaking of the very same instance, but one is in Matthew and one is in Luke.

"But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost." Mark 13:11-13

 "But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you." Matthew 10:19,20


See this? One says that it is the Holy Ghost speaking in us, but then the next one says that it is the Spirit of our Father that speaks in us. The Bible does not contradict itself. These are obviously speaking of the same Spirit, which is God the Father.

Next,

"But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." Rom 8:11

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit." 1 Peter 3:18

"Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)" Gal 1:1


So, is it the holy Spirit that was in Christ that quickened Him from the dead, or was it God the Father who raised Him from the dead? Again, there is no contradiction. They must be speaking of the same Spirit, which is the Father's Spirit.

Before I go further, here is proof that God the Father is a Spirit:

"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Genesis 1:2

"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." John 4:24


Now that we've clarified that, let's move on.

 It was the Holy Ghost that came upon Mary and gave her the fruit of the womb, which was Christ (Matthew 1:20) but Jesus is the Son of God the Father. Was He conceived by the Holy Ghost? Is He the Son of the Holy Ghost or the Father? It wouldn't make sense unless both were speaking of the one and same Spirit.

Next,

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" 1 Cor 6:19

"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" 1 Cor 3:16

"And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." 2 Cor 6:16

"That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us." 2 Tim  1:14

*The blue is to show who dwells in us, and the red is to show whose temple we are.


So.. are we the temple of God the Father, or of the Holy Ghost? God said He will dwell in us, and the Bible says that the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Our conclusion is that we are the temple of God the Father's holy Spirit, and that He dwells in us. But, we'd rather have you check and study the scripture for your own conclusion. Hopefully, we are helping provide information for you to look into for yourselves. The key is that if it is truth, then see if it matches everything else! Test the scriptures!

Here are some more to think about:


The OT constantly refers to God the Father as "the Spirit of God." *(italics added for emphasis)


Example: "And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly." 1 Samuel 11:6

"Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me." Isaiah 48:16

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound" Isaiah 61:1

"Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD." Ezekiel 39:29 

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit  upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams" Acts 2:17

(note: the Bible says that when Jesus was on earth, it was during the last days. When Jesus left, the Spirit of God was sent and given to us, just as God promised.)

 Here is something interesting:

"Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." 1 Cor 12:13 

Are they talking about two different beings with the Spirit of God and the Holy Ghost? Let's check the Greek translation:

"Spirit (Pneuma meaning Spirit/blast) of God (Theos meaning diety)" and "Holy (hagios meaning sacred and most holy) Ghost (Pneuma again, meaning Spirit).

There is no reason that Spirit and Ghost would be written differently, both have the same translation. "The Spirit of God" and "The most holy Spirit." Again, this verse is talking about the one and same Spirit.

Here's another:

"He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit." 1 Thess 4:8

This one doesn't capitalize "Holy"  although it is the same word as above: "hagios" which means most holy and sacred. Why would the verse above capitalize "Holy" and the verse below not capitalize "holy?" Keep an eye out and be keen over punctuations and capitalization in the English translation.

God has given us HIS holy Spirit. God is a Spirit and He is holy. He gives us His holy Spirit.

"No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit." 1 John 4:12,13

 "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Eph 4:30 *(not capitalized again, but is this more clear? I hope so!)


"Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." 2 Cor 3:3

"And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Cor 6:11

"No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit." 1 John 4:12,13

 The Bible also tells us that God the Father is the Father of spirits (plurality in Heb 12:9), and in Revelation 1:4, 3:1, 4:5, 5:6,  it tells us that God has sent seven Spirits to the world.

The Bible mainly speaks of God the Father loving His Son and giving all things to His Son. It testifies of their relationship. Jesus is one with the Father, and the Father is one with Jesus, and they dwell in us and make their abode in us (John 14:23). The holy Spirit (if a third person) is never mentioned in this unification.

Try these verses out and see if they fit. If it is truth, then it will fit them all from the Old Testament to the New Testament.

The Same Day..

There are many debates amongst Christians and one of the heaviest debate is about the timing of the return of the Lord for His people. When will He come for us and take us away from His wrath yet to come? Christians have been so divided against this that they have labeled themselves together into a group, from dispensationalists, Amillenialists, pretribilationists, midtribulationalists, posttribulationalists, and so forth. Yet, there is only one truth. Let us all come together as brethren in Christ to find it in His Word alone.

Allow us to show some scripture that may reveal further truth and understanding...

Let us read the passage in Luke 17 and understand the shadow of things to come:

"And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all." v26, 27

During the days of Noah, life went on. Everyone continued on with their daily business. They ate, they drank, and they wed. The day of destruction came as a thief in the night. First, Noah and his family entered the ark and were safely kept away... then disaster came unexpectedly and quickly.

When they entered the ark, the flood came that very same day. This is the key to understanding the second coming. Do you notice that 'day' is never plural, but singular? The day of the Lord is one spectacular event!

Were the wicked people given a second chance? Were they given a seven year tribulation? Not at all. They had all those years and years of warnings to repent and give heed to the Lord, but they ignored it. Destruction came and destroyed them all immediately.

"Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." v28, 29, 30

This was the same story with Lot. Life went on and everyone tended to their daily business. They ate, they drank, they bought and sold. They grew their crops, and they built their houses. God could not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah until His people were safely taken out. He sent His angels to literally drag them out of the city (shadow of things to come anyone? angels shall also come to carry us out of this world at the coming of the Son of Man, CLICK HERE for the article)

And once Lot and his family were taken out, destruction and fiery wrath descended from above ON THE SAME DAY. God does not waste any time. Were Sodom and Gomorrah given a warning tribulation period to repent? No. They could have repented at any time before the fire and brimstone destruction from the Lord, but they ignored and went on with their wickedness. Destruction came at the same day.

And so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. Life will go on and we shall tend to our daily business. The coming of the Lord shall be as a thief in the night. He shall come for His people and destroy the wicked on this great and awesome day!

Blessed is the faithful servant who keeps watch for His master shall come at any hour.

"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?

Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods." Matthew 24:42-47

And the Lord also addresses His other servants, those who call Him LORD, but are not keeping watch and they are doing wickedly while being caught up in worldly things. What shall be His portion when the Lord arrives?

"But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;

The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,

And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." v48-51

This wicked servant of the Lord that was not prepared for His unexpected coming shall be cast asunder alongside with the wicked. Yikes. ...  was this servant who was not prepared given another warning? Did the Lord come and tell the servant that He would come back in seven years and give him another chance? No.

Those who believe in a secret rapture before a tribulation, and yet another coming of Christ in the end have become lazy Christians. They are not watching for the Lord who shall arrive at any moment. Many have given up the urgency of watching because they believe they will have another chance after rapture. Beware the works of satan.

How dare we say that we can predict the coming of the Lord? We have created this seven year formula and have tried to pin-point the time that Christ shall return (Click HERE for the article about the false doctrine of the seven year tribulation.) Our Lord shall come as a thief in the night and only the Father knows the hour. No one shall know when.

And when our Lord returns, it shall be a glorious appearing for His faithful servants, and a day of utter horror and destruction for those who were not ready.

"He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still." Rev 22:11

The Prophecy of Daniel

We have prayed before writing this article that it may be presented unto all of you in a very clear way. Let the Spirit of truth guide us into all understanding. Before reading this article, I urge you to remove from your mind whatever doctrines and teachers may have taught you about this scripture, and to look at God's Word for what it says alone. Other things that we may have come across with may disorient our minds, and let us find the simplicity that is in Christ.

Many teach that Daniel 9:27 is a tribulation and antichrist prophecy. In my personal experience, I took their word for it since they were experts, yet God has given us the minds of Christ that we may know these things. We don't need experts to tell us what it means, for God wrote this to us directly. We want to show our readers that this is not an antichrist or tribulation prophecy. Before anyone decides to shut off this website, we ask you to join us in seeking TRUTH from God's Word alone, and to hear us out.

The entire chapter 9 of Daniel is about Jerusalem. When it has become clear to Daniel what will happen to Jerusalem, He spends the chapter praying for mercy from God on their behalf. The angel Gabriel comes upon Daniel and shows him a vision from God about seventy prophetic weeks. This vision is described in Daniel 9:24-27. Let us read it together. (KJV passage below:

 ^"Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." Daniel 9:24-27

Here are our notes,

1.Seventy weeks is for- a cease to transgression, to make an end of sins, to bring a reconciliation, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal the prophecies and to anoint the most Holy.

-A cease to transgression is through the blood of Jesus, to make an end of sins is what Jesus did, to bring a reconciliation between man and God is through Jesus, to bring in everlasting righteousness is through the blood alone, to seal the prophecies and anoint the most Holy (Son of God).

2. Seven weeks is then given to restore and build Jerusalem unto "Messiah the Prince" as known as Jesus Christ.

- Seven weeks is symbolic for seven years since 1 week = 1 year. 7 weeks = 7 years.

3. In the midst of the week, Messiah is cut off (crucified and killed), not for Himself, but for us.

-Jesus' ministry lasted for 3 and a 1/2 years, exactly like the prophecy foretold ( 3 1/2 years is the middle of 7 years.) He was crucified 3 and 1/2 years after he started His ministry and was cut off in the midst of the week.. not for Himself, but for all of us.

4. "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week.." Does confirm sound like destroy? or break? Confirm is to validate His covenant which is the new, spiritual covenant that Jesus Christ came to bring. It makes more sense that Jesus confirms His new covenant with us instead of an antichrist breaking some kind of agreement right? That is nowhere in the passage.

(Daniel is still writing about Messiah the Prince and no one else is ever introduced.)

5. "in the midst of the week, he shall cause the sacrifice and oblations to cease.." Because of what Jesus did for us in the midst of the week when he hung on the cross and shed His blood, there was no longer any need for blood sacrifice! Jesus has taken it's place! He caused the oblation to cease too (many don't know this) but oblations are charitable offerings. Jesus has fulfilled those through His death.

6. "And for the overspreading of abominations, he shall make it desolate.." There were many transgressions, sins and abominations in the world but now that we have Christ to give us salvation and forgiveness, it stopped the overspreading of abominations and made it desolate (empty, a wasteland). Why would an antichrist want to stop abominations? He wouldn't right? This is a messianic prophecy.

7. "even until the consummation.."  What Jesus did for us on the cross, he gave us everlasting righteousness, took away our transgressions, and this is good even until the consummation which is the end when He receives us as His bride at His coming. The definition for consummation is "perfection, fulfillment, an ultimate goal to an end, a completion of a marriage."

8. "And this shall be poured upon the desolate." And all this will be given to the desolate who were the (definition: "the sad, wretched condition, lost, forsaken.") This is a gift to us. I once was lost but now I am found. I was desolate but now I am redeemed.

The Real Marriage Supper of the Lamb

Most of us have heard about the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Upon hearing that, we may imagine fine linen, guests in fine array in a grand dinner party. Perhaps there will be a long buffet aisle filled with delicious food for us to eat. That is what I used to think of before I learned more about the marriage supper of the Lamb.

 Note: This is not the marriage supper of the lamb.

Some are taught that after the "secret rapture" before the 7 year tribulation, the saints will be enjoying a grand marriage supper while the rest of the saints are below getting saved during tribulation. I've heard sermons saying that Moses and Elijah will even have to leave the marriage supper and go below to witness unto those left behind. What blasphemy. What a joke! That is nowhere in the Bible!

And why would God have a marriage supper without ALL of His bride? Why have it with half of his bride? That's not a complete wedding.

Come and read Revelation 19 with us,

"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
 
And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;

That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." Rev 19:7-9, 17-21

 This is a wonderful and a more clearer explanation of the marriage supper of the lamb. Unfortunately, it is not referring to an upscale dinner party with delicious food for us, but that the fowls shall feast on the flesh of the wicked! Jesus will return at His coming and destroy the wicked below who want to make war with Him. He will destroy them and the birds and the fowls will feast on their flesh.

And when all this occurs, He will also be a bridegroom receiving His complete bride at His coming. We shall be raised out of our sleep, we shall be transformed into a new spiritual body, and we shall be caught up in the air to be with Him and there we shall always be with Him. We are together as a bride, meeting our bridegroom in the air to be with Him forever. That makes more sense doesn't it?

After looking at the above passage at Revelation 19, now let us look at Matthew 24, verse 33-37,

"Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.

Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together." Luke 17:33-37

Whosoever is left behind at His coming at the last trump, and whoever is not those caught up in the air as His bride, shall be left behind for destruction. The fowls and the eagles shall gather together as the like manner that we see birds circle and feast upon dead bodies and carcasses.

We also see this in Isaiah 34. The chapter speaks of His great and awesome day that is coming, and it also says:


"Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. " (v1-3)

And there is more!

"And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh." Isaiah 66:24


"And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away. " Jeremiah 7:33


"Speak, Thus saith the LORD, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them." Jeremiah 9:22

We can find a hundred of these verses speaking and describing the same fate of the wicked throughout the Bible. If you want to search for more, we recommend downloading E-sword.net (button is on the right side of our webpage) and search for fowls, carcases, and so forth.


We hope this has helped you have a better understanding of the fate of the wicked and what the Marriage Supper of the Lamb really is.

Is There a Secret Rapture?

There is a popular, widespread belief about a certain kind of rapture. I personally believed it for years, but only because I was taught that way all of my life, because I heard it being taught from the pulpit and I read it in all the popular books. I read all fourteen books of the Left Behind Series. I would find myself wondering when the moment would be when we suddenly vanish into thin air. Do we really leave our clothes behind? What if I was driving? Who would be left behind in amazement at all the disappearances and how would they explain it?

These were some of my thoughts until one day I asked God for truth. In exchange, I knew I had to open myself up to Him to show me truth even if it meant accepting that I was wrong. That is not easy for many of us. We might be bold and zealous about defending our beliefs, but for us to realize that we were wrong is not an easy thing. It took me three months of seeking God and struggling with myself to finally understand AND accept what He was showing me.

Truth is in His Word alone. Be careful of popular belief. Be careful of man's doctrine. Be careful of traditions. We need to break away from all of these to be a clean slate, and open to whatever God may show us. It is a privilege and very humbling when He does, and it is very worth it.

Also, we encourage you to confirm everything that we are showing you in this article, and all articles with an open Bible. Double check everything, look into His Word, Seek HIM, not other men and their opinions. God offers us the Spirit of Truth (John 16:13)  and He gives us the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16) so that He may teach us.

Now, back to the focus of this article.. is there a secret rapture?


We all know that the word "rapture" is never in the Bible, but it does explain us being caught up in the air to be with the Lord. We can find that in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18.

"For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Wherefore comfort one another with these words."


We see that we shall be "caught up" together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Note the word "them." The living shall be caught up with the dead in Christ who were asleep in their graves, then all together are we caught up in the air to be with the Lord.. forever.

"And so shall we ever be with the Lord." 

At that point, we are all together and we shall be with the Lord always, never to be separated again.

Also note that: Jesus will descend down from Heaven, with a SHOUT! 



Here is another verse that parallels to this one as well,


"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" 1 Corinthians 15:51-55


Now, these both are descriptions of this same event. We see in verse 15 that "we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed".. only those who are dead IN Christ may rise, while those without Him will not be raised out of their sleep until the second resurrection (note: Rev 20:5,6, John 5:29). So the dead shall be raised up, the living shall be changed, and then together we are caught up together in the clouds.

When does this take place? We see it says "at the last trump."

We are changed from corruption into incorruption. We are changed from mortal to immortal. Death is swallowed up in victory and the grave is defeated.

Okay so.. why do we assume this is a secret rapture that occurs before the this 'seven year tribulation' .. that we go back to the grave just to be brought up again? We go back to our dead bodies and be raised up again? Wouldn't that be saying there two raptures?

I thought we were gonna be with the Lord forever? Now we have to be separated from Him again?

And I thought death was swallowed up in victory and the graves were defeated?

So let's say the secret rapture belief is right. We are raptured, then we go to be with Jesus for seven years during the tribulation, then Jesus sends us back to the grave and back to our corpses, to raise us up in another kind of spiritual body, then we are raptured again to meet him in the air, then he descends down again to the Mount of Olives. That's pretty confusing isn't it?

...God isn't the author of confusion. There are no two raptures. There is not a second coming, and then a third coming.

I've heard of others explaining that the first one isn't official because Jesus' feet never literally touch the ground. But where is that in the Bible? I have never found it. What I have found was:


"And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south" Zechariah 14:4

Wait, so His feet actually Do touch the ground after all?

When Jesus ascended to the skies after He rose from the dead, there were two angels and they said:


"Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." Acts 1:11

And Jesus ascended from the Mount of Olives. Prophecy tells us He shall descend upon the Mount of Olives, the same way and at the same place.

Here's another one:

"Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen." Revelation 1:7

So.. every eye WILL see him? Yeah!


The Bible tells us that the wicked SHALL see it!


"The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish." Psalm 112:10


We are caught up to be with the Lord during this great, terrible and awesome day. The wicked are left on earth to suffer the Lord's vengeance. It will be a day of battle against the wicked and kings of this earth. This is a big, fiery showdown. We definitely do not want to be below while all this is occurring! (check Isaiah 13:6, Joel 2:1-11, Rev 16:14, Zech 14:1-3, Joel 3:12-16, Isaiah 29:6, Isaiah 66:15,16, Malachi 4:1)

When we are caught up to be with the Lord, we shall descend down with Him to the Mount of Olives as well. (check Zechariah 14:5, Deuteronomy 32:2, Jude 1:14)


Let us look into more rapture verses and see if it all aligns up, stay with us!

"For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Matthew 24:27-31

We see this verse is describing the coming of the Son of Man. As lightning shines in one place, it shines in the other as well, and we will all see Him. This passage describes awesome things to behold! Does this sound like a secret rapture to you? Surely when Jesus comes, every eye shall see Him and they shall wail, or gnash their teeth at Him. They will all see us have our victory with the Lord Jesus.

What is so cool is that when you read the last verse there, it says that He shall send his angels to gather his elect from the four winds. That is how we are "caught up." It never says we vanish. It never says we fly but that we are "caught" UP in the air.. by the angels. (read Rev 7:1 speaking of angels standing on the four corners of the earth). Also,


"The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels." Matthew 13:39

There is a harvest on this Earth. The reapers are the ones who gather the harvest and place them in a basket of some sort and brings them to the barn house. The reapers for this harvest are the angels as they reap God's people.

Also notice how it says "the harvest is at the end of the world?" All this will take place at the same time, at the end of the world. We recommend our readers to read the Wheat and Tares parable in Matthew 13.

There is one second coming. There is one rapture. What about the tribulation? Don't you know that the last days already began when Christ left the Earth? We have already been living in the last days. Believers are being martyred and persecuted for their faith every single day. During the Dark Ages, 50 million Christians were tortured and killed. China is hiding underground right now in fear of a massacre. We ARE in the last days!

Paul wasn't wrong when he said we were in the last days. He was telling the truth. Some pastors teach that Paul mistakenly thought they were in the last days. There are no mistakes in the Bible, and the last days did begin then.

Here is another:

"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." 2 Peter 3:10 

The Lord's coming shall come as a shock to many people. The heavens will pass away with a great noise, the elements shall melt with a fervent heat, and the earth and it's wicked works shall be burned up. This is definitely no secret rapture. How can anyone miss that?

Paul comments on this further:

"For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief." 1 Thess 5:2-4

It will only be a thief in the night for those without Christ, not for us. We should be like the faithful servant that is always watching. We will not be caught off guard. We will be ready.

Also note how it says "sudden destruction"...

Only man's doctrine teaches us that Jesus comes but doesn't "arrive" so it is not technically the Second Coming. There is no scripture basis for this. The Bible also never describes us leaving our bodies to be with the Lord, then be separated from Him again, return unto our corpses and graves, to be brought up again, then rise again, and then descend. Where does it say all of this? It doesn't.

Think about it, but don't just take my word for it either. Search these scriptures diligently. Ask God for truth. Open your eyes and keep them wide open. Question everything. Ask for scripture proving whatever people tell you.

The Biblical Truth About Hell part 2

Ok, I'm not going to waste much time between entries, it's time to start part 2. If you haven't yet, please please please read the Introduction and Part 1 of this study! It's essential, because all the parts compliment each other, and fully show what I believe is the truth about this. Some people are curious of what I have to say, some are upset, some agree, most don't care. That's fine. If you're still with me, please allow me to continue showing you why I believe hell is eternal destruction/death. In this part, I will examine the first half of the verses I have found in the Psalms that speak of the fate of the wicked, not leaving the righteous in the graves, and other relevant verses. Hopefully this won't be as long as the last one!

We start at the very first Psalm. I'm sure I have missed some verses, but I've tried my best with the time I have. I will try and go in order, and I encourage you to please follow along with your (hopefully translated from the Textus Receptus) Bible.

I would also encourage you to read the surrounding contexts in these verses, when applicable. I don't have the space to post the whole Psalms, and a lot of the time the entire context really clarifies things. Thanks!

Psalm 1:
[3] And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
[4] The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
[5] Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
[6] For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

The key thing to take away from here is verse 6. The ungodly shall perish. What does perish mean in the Hebrew? Let's take a look!

H6
אבד
'âbad
aw-bad'
A primitive root; properly to wander away, that is lose oneself; by implication to perish (causatively, destroy): - break, destroy (-uction), + not escape, fail, lose, (cause to, make) perish, spend, X and surely, take, be undone, X utterly, be void of, have no way to flee.

You guessed it, it means destroy! Be void of! Fail, lose! When does perish mean burn forever?

Also, note the references to trees bringing fruit, leaves not withering, and chaff being driven away. These are themes throughout the whole Bible. Jesus talks plenty about trees, vineyards, and fruits. The bad trees wither away! They are destroyed, they die off.

Psalm 5:
[4] For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
[5] The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
[6] Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

God hates wickedness, evil shall not dwell with Him. He will destroy them. If someone dies from a heart attack let's say, is that God destroying them? No, God destroying them is Him putting His judgment upon them. Casting them into the lake of fire, which is the second death. (Rev. 20:14)

The word "destroy" here is the exact word used for "perish" in Psalm 1:6.

Psalm 6:

[5] For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?

Does David say in a burning "hell" there is no rememberance of God? Let's think this out here. If one is saved, they're with the Lord forever. So David isn't talking about Christians in this verse, because Christians will always be with the Lord. He can only be referring to one other group of people, right? He doesn't say they're in "hell," either. He says they're in the grave. Besides, would people in a burning "hell" forget Who put them there?

Psalm 7:
[9] Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.

I think this verse is very clear. "Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end." If wicked people are in "hell," aren't they still around? Haven't they not come to an end? We know this verse talks of the eternal fate of a person, especially because God establishes His people forever. A few verses down, talking of the wicked,

[15] He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.

Sounds to me like the wicked go into the pit, the grave.

Psalm 9:
[5] Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.
[6] O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.
[7] But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.

"Thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever." Destroyed and put out their name! What does someone do to a fire at the end of a campfire? They put it out! God will "put out" the wicked, forever! It further says in verse 7 that God endures forever. It's contrasted with how the wicked are put out. God endures forever, the wicked don't.

[13] Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:

I used this verse in this study to show that the gates of death is the thing we are facing, not the gates of a burning inferno. I went into this in part 1 of my study.

[15] The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.

[17] The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
[18] For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.

So the heathen go down into the pit (a most often recurring theme, as we see already), they are turned into hell (sheol, the grave), but the needy are not forgotten! The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever! Doesn't this say that the wicked DO perish forever? Combined with every other verse (I have well over 80 now), I'd say this is the case.

Psalm 10:
[15] Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
[16] The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.

Again, God is King forever, the heathen perish. They are not forever. A burning inferno would mean that the wicked are immortal too. Are you starting to see how "hell" does not line up with Scripture?

Psalm 11:
[6] Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.

I think this is talking of God's judgment on the wicked. Fire and brimstone = lake of fire. (Rev 19:20) The lake of fire is the second death. (Rev 20:14)

Psalm 12:
[3] The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:

Hmm, cut off. What does this mean? Thankfully, the Lord has lead me to another Psalm that defines it. I will skip ahead just to immediately define what this phrase means.

Psalm 88:
[5] Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.


The ones that are "cut off" are ones that God has done away with. Ones He has left slain in the graves, that He remembers no more! Just to solidify this point, the definition of "cut off:"

H3772
כּרת
kârath
kaw-rath'
A primitive root; to cut (off, down or asunder); by implication to destroy or consume; specifically to covenant (that is, make an alliance or bargain, originally by cutting flesh and passing between the pieces): - be chewed, be con- [feder-] ate, covenant, cut (down, off), destroy, fail, feller, be freed, hew (down), make a league ([covenant]), X lose, perish, X utterly, X want.

It means to destroy or perish! To consume! The Lord will "cut off," or destroy the wicked. It's all throughout the Bible, and I'm trying my best to show you.

Psalm 20:
[6] Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.
[7] Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
[8] They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.
[9] Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call.

The Lord saves His people, the ones that don't trust in Him are brought down and fallen. After many other supporting verses, I can't help to think that brought down refers to down into the grave/pit. When I read fallen, I think of someone that has died. Here's the Hebrew:

H5307
נפל
nâphal
naw-fal'
A primitive root; to fall, in a great variety of applications (intransitively or causatively, literally or figuratively): - be accepted, cast (down, self, [lots], out), cease, die, divide (by lot), (let) fail, (cause to, let, make, ready to) fall (away, down, -en, -ing), fell (-ing), fugitive, have [inheritamce], inferior, be judged [by mistake for H6419], lay (along), (cause to) lie down, light (down), be (X hast) lost, lying, overthrow, overwhelm, perish, present (-ed, -ing), (make to) rot, slay, smite out, X surely, throw down.

It can be defined as cease, die, fail, fall, perish, rot. Look familiar?

Psalm 21:
[8] Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
[9] Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.

A fiery oven: the time of judgment, the lake of fire. When the tares are gathered into the oven and are burned up. The Lord will swallow them up in His wrath, and fire shall devour them. Devour! What does devour mean?

H398
אכל
'âkal
aw-kal'
A primitive root; to eat (literally or figuratively): - X at all, burn up, consume, devour (-er, up), dine, eat (-er, up), feed (with), food, X freely, X in . . . wise (-deed, plenty), (lay) meat, X quite.

To burn up! This is huge. To consume! We're talking about a fire that burns up and consumes them. Does an eternal hell burn something up? Nope, it just burns something. Does it consume something? Not if it's continually burning! The fire God sends on the wicked is a consuming one that burns up everyone in its path. Nobody survives it.

Psalm 28:
[5] Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.

God will destroy the wicked, and not build them up. They're done.

Psalm 30:
[3] O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

[9] What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?

God hasn't brought his soul up from a burning inferno, He brought him up from the grave, the pit.

Psalm 31:
[23] O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.

The Lord preserves the faithful. Ok, we know that. Here's what it means in the Hebrew:

H5341
נצר
nâtsar
naw-tsar'
A primitive root; to guard, in a good sense (to protect, maintain, obey, etc.) or a bad one (to conceal, etc.): - besieged, hidden thing, keep (-er, -ing), monument, observe, preserve (-r), subtil, watcher (-man).

To guard in a good sense, to conceal in a bad sense. To keep, preserve. Wouldn't the wicked be concealed in a bad sense if they are kept alive in torment? Yes. The Lord does not preserve the wicked, because Psalm 31 states that He preserves the faithful. By this reasoning it's impossible to have anyone preserved in "hell."

Psalm 33:
[18] Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
[19] To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

To deliver their soul from death, not from an eternally burning inferno.

Psalm 34:
[16] The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

Again we see the term "cut off." Destroyed. This just came to me. If anyone is thinking that this is just talking about the mortal condition of the wicked, remember, the meek inherit the earth. They reign with Christ for 1000 years in Israel, then reign with Him after the wicked are destroyed and New Jerusalem descends.

Alright, I feel that it's time to wrap up this entry. I'd rather make these studies shorter than I have in the past, so that they are easier to read. I hope from this first look into what Psalms says about hell and the wicked is showing you a stark reality: the wicked are burned up by God's fire (the lake of fire) and utterly destroyed.

Part 3 of my study on hell is coming soon! I will address many more verses that I have found in Psalms. Thanks for reading, and as always I welcome your comments and will do my best to answer them.

CLICK HERE FOR PART 3

The Biblical Truth About Hell part 1

I'm feeling ready to dive right into this, so I'm going to begin. If you haven't yet, please read my introduction to this study, it lays the groundwork for everything I want to accomplish with this.

The first step I took in my study of hell was to download a program called "e-Sword." You can download it for free here. It is simply a Bible study tool where you can search for words and verses, and download add-ons like the original Greek and Hebrew meanings, like I have. I don't use the program for anything other than that. It has commentaries available to download, but I don't like having other people think for me.

So with e-Sword, I did a search for the word "hell." 54 verses come up. I will show you these verses and expound on their meanings. Ready? Good. :)

Before I do that, I feel that it's a good idea to list all the possible definitions of hell from the Strong's Greek and Hebrew dictionaries that I have in e-Sword. Once we have all the definitions it will be much easier to reference them to the verses I list. (Note: I do think that some of the expanded definitions take errant liberties, as we will see in this study.) The definitions will become clearer as Scripture irons things out as we go along. You'll see. Just stick with me, and read everything I have to show you.

Hell refers to a handful of different words: sheol, hades, gehenna, and tartaroo.

H7585
שׁאל שׁאול
she'ôl she'ôl
sheh-ole', sheh-ole'
From H7592; hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranian retreat), including its accessories and inmates: - grave, hell, pit.

G86
ᾅδης
hadēs
hah'-dace
From G1 (as a negative particle) and G1492; properly unseen, that is, “Hades” or the place (state) of departed souls: - grave, hell.

G1067
γέεννα
geenna
gheh'-en-nah
Of Hebrew origin ([H1516] and [H2011]); valley of (the son of) Hinnom; gehenna (or Ge-Hinnom), a valley of Jerusalem, used (figuratively) as a name for the place (or state) of everlasting punishment: - hell.

G5020
ταρταρόω
tartaroō
tar-tar-o'-o
From Τάρταρος Tartaros̄ (the deepest abyss of Hades); to incarcerate in eternal torment: - cast down to hell.

With those definitions established we will dive into every single instance the word "hell" is mentioned throughout the Bible.

First it is important to note that every reference to hell in the Old Testament refers to sheol. Let's explore them.

Deuteronomy 32:
[22] For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
[23] I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.
[24] They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.
[25] The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.
[26] I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:

What do we have here? A fire burns and devours with bitter destruction. The rememberance of those judged here will cease. Once again, hell here means sheol, the grave or pit.

2 Samuel 22:
[6] The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;

Note the context here: hell (grave, pit) is mentioned along with the snares of death. In the grave we are dead.

Job 11:
[8] It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?

Again, sheol. Think about it. What makes more sense? A deep grave, or a deep burning inferno? I will show more instances of a deep pit as we explore more of Scripture in the coming posts!

Job 26:
[6] Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.

The context here also clears things up for us. The grave is naked before God, destruction can't hide. Why would destruction be combined with a word that means the grave and the pit if there is a burning inferno? Before anyone can say that destruction is an everlasting/continual event, I'll let the original Hebrew do the talking.

H11
אבדּון
'ăbaddôn
ab-ad-done'
Intensively from H6; abstractly a perishing; concretely Hades: - destruction.

Destruction means just that. Perishing, concretely Hades, which also means the grave. Is anything destroyed that is kept alive forever? I have so many verses to back this up, please be patient.

Psalm 9
[17] The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
[18] For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.

The wicked are turned into the grave. Verse 18 further explains that the poor shall not perish forever! Perish! Not burn eternally! We see another contextual instance of the grave being paired up with perishing and destruction. Let's see the Hebrew on the word perish.

H6
אבד
'âbad
aw-bad'
A primitive root; properly to wander away, that is lose oneself; by implication to perish (causatively, destroy): - break, destroy (-uction), + not escape, fail, lose, (cause to, make) perish, spend, X and surely, take, be undone, X utterly, be void of, have no way to flee.

Does any of that sound like someone staying alive forever to burn? No. We'll see many more instances of perish as we go along as well. John 3:16 anyone? :)

Psalm 16:
[10] For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

This makes perfect sense. David is saying that the Lord will not leave him dead in the grave. He will raise him up at the last day. Want proof?

Acts 2:
[29] Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
[30] Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
[31] He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

Paul even directly quotes David's Psalm! People may have a problem with this because they have fallen into another errant doctrine: the idea that souls immediately go to heaven or "hell" at death. This is a fallacy, and I would have to write another blog on it. Proving it is quite complete and lengthy, as most of my studies are turning out to be! I will show some of this proof as we study hell, because the idea of being asleep in the grave is relevant to this topic.

Notice here also that in verse 31 of Acts 2 it talks of how Christ wasn't left in hell. It is obvious here that Acts 2 parallels Psalm 16 with this. David will not be left in the grave, just as Christ has not been left there. "Hell" in Acts 2 means Hades, the grave. With these two passages looked at together, how can anyone think Hades means anything differently? Would David not be left in the grave, and Christ not be left in a burning inferno? See what I'm saying? Let's continue.

Psalm 18:
[5] The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.

Same as in 2 Samuel.

Psalm 55:
[15] Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.

Seeing a pattern here? Once again the context of the verse explains the meaning of hell. Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell, the grave. Death takes them! They're dead! What happens when death seizes someone? That's right, they go down quickly into the pit. Also, even if you believe in a burning inferno, nobody is judged until they are cast into the lake of fire (which is the second death, Rev. 20:14, I'll get to it). So if nobody is judged, how can anyone go down quickly into a burning inferno? This also disproves the idea of the common belief of hell.

Psalm 86:
[13] For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

God delivers us from the grave at His coming. Believers aren't in a burning hell, right? Of course not.

Psalm 116:
[3] The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
[4] Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.

We see the same thing here. Death surrounds, the grave takes hold. Pay attention to the word sorrow here, we will see how it pertains to Luke 16's Lazarus passage later. Psalm 116 is even titled "Deliverance from Death" in my KJV Bible. That's an accurate title, because again in verse 4 we see the author calling upon the Lord to be delivered from it.

Psalm 139:
[8] If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

This verse is so clear that I don't even have to explain it. I hope at this point you are seeing that hell so far means the grave, and only the grave. I also hope that you are thinking about what the New Testament says regarding hell. Don't worry, we'll get there. I'm not hiding any verse in this study. Let's first finish the rest of the OT verses so we cover all the bases.

Proverbs 5:
[5] Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

Another verse linking death to hell, the grave.

Proverbs 7:
[27] Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

Same thing.

Proverbs 9:
[18] But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

And again! :) All verses connecting sheol (the grave) with death.

Proverbs 15:
[10] Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.
[11] Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?

Hell and destruction. Remember the definition up there?

Proverbs 15:
[24] The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.

Here we see life compared to death. Keep this in mind, we will see the Master do this in the Gospels!

Proverbs 23:
[13] Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
[14] Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.

Death in the same context as hell again.

Proverbs 27:
[20] Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

I know this is getting repititious, but the Bible drums this into our heads! :) We have to understand this. 13 more Old Testament verses to go.

Isaiah 5:
[14] Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.

The pit "opened her mouth" so to speak, to embrace the dead. They descend into it.

Isaiah 14:
[9] Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
[10] All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
[11] Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

This is a fascinating chapter. It talks about Satan's ultimate demise, which I will cover eventually in this study! For now we see that Satan's pomp (pride) is brought down to the grave. The Bible is very clear in this. Continuing to verse 15:

[15] Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

The sides of the pit! There it is very clearly. Doesn't a grave have sides? Of course. It makes perfect sense.

Isaiah 28:
[15] Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

Death in context with hell.

[18] And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

Continuing on in that chapter, we see that the ones judged here are trodden down. There are other references in the Bible to the wicked being trampled, and the righteous walking on their ashes. We'll take a look at those later on.

Isaiah 57:
[9] And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.

This chapter is dealing with leaders of Israel that go against God. They are setting themselves up for the grave.

Ezekiel 31:
[16] I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.

Cast down to hell, descending into the pit. Self explanatory. The very next verse:

[17] They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.
[18] To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.

Down into hell, slain with the sword. Dead in the grave.

Ezekiel 32:
[21] The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.

The slain by the sword have gone down and are lying in the grave.

[27] And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.

What's this saying? These mighty men are fallen, they were terrifying while they were alive, but now them and their weapons have gone to the grave. Iniquities shall be upon their bones. They are dead, and their sins ascend to God. They will be accountable at the judgment.

Amos 9:
[2] Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:

Dig into hell - would anyone dig into a burning inferno?

Jonah 2:
[2] And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.

The fish swallowed Jonah up, and its belly became his grave until the Lord caused it to spit him out.


Habakkuk 2:
[5] Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:

Hell in context with death.

So that does it for every single instance of the word "hell" in the Old Testament. I hope you have read all of these verses and have asked God for understanding on them. Do you see that they all mean the grave or the pit? Does the context help explain that to you? Have my comments helped? I truly hope so!

Now let's move on to the New Testament! First I'll list all the verses in which the word "gehenna" is used, and then I will explain what that word really means.

Matthew 5:
[22] But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

[29] And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
[30] And if thy right hand offend thee, cut if off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

Matthew 10:
[28] And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matthew 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.

Matthew 23:
[15] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

[33] Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

Mark 9:
[43] And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
[44] Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
[45] And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
[46] Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
[47] And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
[48] Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

Luke 12:
[5] But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

James 3:
[6] And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

Ok, that is every instance in the Bible of the word hell, translated from gehenna. Let's delve further into this, seeking an explanation of what these verses are saying from the Bible.

First, let's see the definition of gehenna again:

G1067
γέεννα
geenna
gheh'-en-nah
Of Hebrew origin ([H1516] and [H2011]); valley of (the son of) Hinnom; gehenna (or Ge-Hinnom), a valley of Jerusalem, used (figuratively) as a name for the place (or state) of everlasting punishment: - hell.

So we see gehenna defined as a valley of Hinnom, or a valley of Jerusalem. Then we see how it is figuratively defined as a state of everlasting punishment. Is it right to assume that definition? I will show you that it isn't. I will also show you verses that coincide with gehenna being a valley.

Jeremiah 7:
[31] And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
[32] Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.
[33] And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away.
[34] 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 be desolate.

The valley of the son of Hinnom IS gehenna. Gehenna is flat out defined as such. Here we see that the people rebelled against God, burned sons and daughters in this valley, and in turn God will slaughter everyone in that very same valley. Their carcasses will be left to rot there. Keep that in mind, we will see more verses about that shortly.

Jeremiah 19:
[2] And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee,
[3] And say, Hear ye the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle.
[4] Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents;
[5] They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:
[6] Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter.
[7] And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.
[8] And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof.

This reinforces chapter 7.

Jeremiah 32:
[35] And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
[36] And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence;

Same thing here.

Joel 3:
[2] I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

[11] Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
[12] Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
[13] Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
[14] Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
[15] The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
[16] The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

This passage is huge. Understanding this will give us very important insight into gehenna and hell in general. Joel 3 talks about the Lord's gathering of all nations for judgment. It is extremely important to notice the reference to the sun and moon being darkened, and the stars withdrawing their shining. This directly links us to what Jesus says in the Gospels about His second coming. (Matthew 24: 29 for example) There is no possible reason to think that Joel 3 is referring to a different time period! Also note the mention of the harvest, the end of the world from the Gospels.

I looked up the word Jehoshaphat here, and I'm very excited as to what I've found. I'm actually doing this part of this Bible study on the fly. I wasn't even expecting to find this!

H3092
יהושׁפט
yehôshâphâṭ
yeh-ho-shaw-fawt'
From H3068 and H8199; Jehovah-judged; Jehoshaphat, the name of six Israelites; also of a valley near Jerusalem : - Jehoshaphat. Compare H3146.

It means Jehovah-judged! Also a valley near Jerusalem! Can this be gehenna? Yes! God's judgment is poured out in the valley of Hinnom as we see in Jeremiah. Hinnom is a valley of Jerusalem, Jehoshapat is a valley near Jerusalem. God's judgment is poured out in the valley, referred to as hell, aka gehenna!

The Lord allows the wicked to assemble in this valley of decision. The harvest is ripe - a clear reference to the wheat and the tares parable, the coming of the Lord. So we know the time frame that this is occuring. There's no other explanation otherwise. It's not some earlier judgment, this is the harvest. The press is full - this is referring to the winepress in Isaiah 5 and possibly other areas of the Bible. I'll show those verses shortly.

The day of the Lord is near the valley of decision! The day of the Lord is the day He comes back, it's all over Scripture. The Lord comes to crush the wicked in the valley of decision, gehenna. Here are more things to support this:

Isaiah 5:
[1] Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:
[2] And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
[3] And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
[4] What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
[5] And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
[6] And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
[7] For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.

Here is a parable the Lord gives us, connecting people to a vineyard. Jesus also speaks often about being a vine, having branches, and producing good fruit. In Isaiah we see that the Lord's vineyard produced some wild grapes, ones He didn't plan for or want. What does He do? He lays it to waste.

Oh, I want to show you more verses linking carcasses to God's judgment.

Isaiah 66:
[24] And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

Also, extremely important to note in this verse: carcasses of men have worms that die not, with fires that aren't quenched. I will explain this now, and further prove it later. If these are "spiritual" worms that don't die, and if there's a fire that isn't quenched, how can we have a carcass of a man? A carcass is a dead body! The worm's don't die until they eat up the body. The fire isn't quenched until it is finished reducing the carcass to ashes. Yes, there is hell fire. It is the judgmental fire that God rains down on the wicked, consuming them in the valley of Hinnom, gehenna!

Isaiah 14:
[19] But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

This is the fate of Satan, which I will expound on further along in this study. It's important to see here that a carcass is basically trampled upon with the feet of the righteous.

Matthew 24:
[28] For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

(note: eagles are also "fowls of the air")

This is the chapter in Matthew in which Jesus talks of His second coming. The wicked are judged when he comes back, and their carcasses remain on the earth.

Jeremiah 31:
[37] Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.
[38] Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.
[39] And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.
[40] And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.

This passage deals with the restoration of Israel, and how a new city will be built. Verse 40 mentions the valley of the dead bodies that are reduced to ashes. The valley of decision, gehenna.

There are more verses that flesh out the idea of gehenna being the valley of God's judgment. It's hard to keep all of this organized, since a lot of verses coincide with other topics that I am going to get into. I hope at the end of the study this all fits in for you. My head is spinning a little from getting so involved in this! I hope I'm still being clear, and that the message I am putting out here is easy to see. What we see here so far though, is that every time hell fire or hell is mentioned, and is translated from gehenna, that it is a fire that rains down on the wicked in the day of the Lord, when they are assembled in the valley of Hinnom/Jehoshophat/decision/slaughter. I really hope you see this!

Ok, I feel that I have thoroughly covered gehenna at this point. If you have any questions or want to debate this (or anything I write here for that matter), please leave me a comment! Let's go on and finish up the rest of the "hell" verses in the New Testament. Next up, the translations from the word "hades."

Matthew 11:
[23] And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

Luke 10:
[15] And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.

Hell is translated from hades in these two verses. Note the same phrasing as Psalm 55:15, Isaiah 14:15, Ezekiel 31:16-17, and Ezekiel 32:27. All of them contain the words "down to hell." We have previously established that these verses are talking about going down into the grave. Jesus is talking of the same thing here.

Matthew 16:
[18] And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Again hell is hades here. The gates of the grave, pit, or death. Don't agree? I know it's natural now to picture a burning hell's gates opening or something. It's what I used to do before the Lord led me to the truth. Let's again turn to the Bible for backup.

Psalm 9:
[13] Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:

Psalm 107:
[18] Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.

Isaiah 38:
[10] I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years.

I think it is very safe to say that the gates of hell Jesus mentions in Matthew 16 are the same gates of the grave and death mentioned elsewhere. Let's continue.

Luke 16:
[23] And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Hell means hades here also. Since we have defined hades as the grave, we know Lazarus is not in a burning inferno. I will completely dissect the Lazarus parable in another section of this study!

Revelation 1:
[18] I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Jesus' words. He was dead, and lives again. He has the keys of hell (hades, the grave) and death. We see the same thing in this verse as many of the others: hell linked with death.

Revelation 6:
[8] And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Hell also linked with death here. Hades.

Revelation 20:
[13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
[14] And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
[15] And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Huge verses here! Death and hell delivered up the dead to be judged! Are the dead alive in a burning inferno? No! They're dead! The grave "gives them up" for judgment! What is the judgment? It's the lake of fire! What is the lake of fire? The second death! Does death have anything to do with life? No. Let's take this verse into account:

Revelation 21:

[4] And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Just after the judgment of the lake of fire, the second death, there is no more death, sorrow, or crying. No more pain either, they have passed away. They are no more, they're dead! How can there be no more pain or sorrow or crying if people are alive burning? How can death be finished if there are wicked people in a constant state of death, as I've heard "hell" described? The answer is that it can't be. I'll get more into all of this with my 70+ supporting verses in other parts of this study.

That's it for the hades verses. One more version of hell to look into: tartaroo. This one's easy.

2 Peter 2:
[4] For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

What is tartaroo again?

G5020
ταρταρόω
tartaroō
tar-tar-o'-o
From Τάρταρος Tartaros̄ (the deepest abyss of Hades); to incarcerate in eternal torment: - cast down to hell.

I believe this definition is severely misleading. There has yet to be any mention of an eternal torment in the Bible, and this is no exception. Cast down to hell is more like it. Note the verse above. These sinful angels are reserved unto judgment. They're waiting for their punishment! They haven't received it yet! What is their punishment? We just saw it in Revelation: the lake of fire, the second death.

Well I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted! :) These studies always take a lot out of me. I have covered every single instance of the word hell in the Bible, and explained each verse clearly. Hell is the grave, the pit, the valley in Jerusalem, and a place for angels to be reserved for judgment. Not once is it defined as an eternal burning inferno. There is more to uncover to elaborate and fully prove this, this is only the first part. Ultimately I will show the demise of Satan, the judgment/fate of the wicked, the mortal vs. immortal bodies, and more. I have so much information to show here that I hope I present it clearly and thoroughly.

If you've stuck with me this far, thank you very much. I want to get this message out to every single person I can! If you agree with me, excellent! Teach others, we're commanded to! If you don't agree with me, please pray about it and leave me comments as to why you don't. I will be very happy to discuss things! Granted, keep in mind I haven't fully proven this to you yet. I still have to cover smoke of their torment ascending forever, and other things that "prove" a burning inferno. Don't worry, I won't run from any other takes on this!

Thanks, more to come!

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