Biblical Scholars Agree
In his book The Bible Hell, Dr. J. W. Hanson summarized the case against Gehenna being translated into the English word Hell:
1) Gehenna was a well-known locality near Jerusalem, and ought no more to be translated Hell, than should Sodom or Gomorrah. See Josh. 15:8; 2 Kings 17:10; 2 Chron. 28:3; Jer. 7:31,32; 19:2.
2) Gehenna is never employed in the Old Testament to mean anything else than the place with which every Jew was familiar.
3) No Jewish writer, such as Josephus, or Philo, ever used it as the name of a place of future punishment, as they would have done had such then been its meaning.
4) Paul says he ‘shunned not to declare the whole counsel of God,‘ and yet, though he was the great preacher of the Gospel to the Gentiles he never told them that Gehenna is a place of after-death punishment. Dr. Thayer (author of Thayer’s Lexicon and also on the translation committee to the American Standard Bible) significantly remarks: ‘The Savior and James are the only persons in all the New Testament who use the word. John the Baptist, who preached to the most wicked of men, did not use it once. Paul, wrote 14 epistles, and yet never once mentions it. Peter does not name it, nor Jude; and John, who wrote the gospel, three epistles, and the Book of Revelation, never employs it in a single instance (the Greek words of “lake of fire” in Revelation is not Gehenna). Now if Gehenna or Hell really reveals the terrible fact of endless woe, how can we account for this strange silence? How is it possible, if they knew its meaning, and believed it a part of Christ’s teaching, that they should not have used it a hundred or a thousand times, instead of never using it at all; especially when we consider the infinite interests involved? The Book of Acts contains the record of the apostolic preaching, and the history of the first planting of the church among the Jews and Gentiles, and embraces a period of thirty years from the ascension of Christ. In all this history, in all this preaching of the apostles of Jesus, there is no mention of Gehenna. In thirty years of missionary effort, these men of God, addressing people of all characters and nations, never, under any circumstances, threaten them with the torments of Gehenna, or allude to it in the most distant manner! In the face of such a fact as this, can any man believe that Gehenna signifies endless punishment, and that this is a part of divine revelation, a part of the Gospel message to the world? These considerations show how impossible it is to establish the doctrine in review on the word Gehenna. All the facts are against the supposition that the term was used by Christ or his disciples in the sense of endless punishment. There is not the least hint of any such meaning attached to it, nor the slightest preparatory notice that any such new revelation was to be looked for in this old familiar word’.
Think About This
Within the King James Bible, every verse containing the word “Hell” (with one exception) refers either to the grave (sheh-ole’ or hades), or to the Valley of Hinnom, Jerusalem’s city dump. Ancient translators substituted the English word “Hell” for these Hebrew and Greek words, so they could manufacture support for their artificial doctrine of eternal punishing (the single exception, II Peter 2:4, will be addressed later in this book).
The Smoke of Eternal Torment
Once the translators “established” their doctrine of Hell by modifying Scripture, theologians began to find other passages that seemed to support eternal punishing. Let’s look at some of these.
Revelation 14:9-11 (KJV):
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
If the above passage discusses eternal punishing in Hell, then this would be a gruesomely horrible scene: Jesus and all the holy angels spending eternity, calmly watching sinners being tormented in fire!
So even if you have the most basic of relationships with your loving Creator, you know this interpretation cannot be true. But if we can get past the common assumption that this passage refers to Hell, we can let the Bible explain when and where this fiery event takes place.
Let’s go back to the beginning of the chapter with Revelation 14:1 (KJV):
And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion…
Of course, the Lamb is Jesus Christ. And in this prophecy, Jesus is again standing on the earth — which proves that Revelation 14 is describing the time of Christ’s Second Coming. So this chapter has nothing to do with eternal punishing in Hell, but rather an event that occurs on the earth.
Another consideration is the statement “the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever.” Smoke rises when material items burn. But because physical materials cannot burn forever, it’s illogical to think that smoke will rise in perpetuity.
So how do we explain this statement?
Sometimes the Bible uses the concepts eternal and forever to express something that “runs to completion.” Jude 1:7 and Exodus 21:6 (KJV) provide examples. In these passages, the words eternal and forever refer to situations that ceased, once God accomplished His objective.
Revelation 14 is a similar situation. Once those who worshiped the Beast were destroyed (burnt up), the smoke of burning had to cease. Notice how the prophet Malachi described this Revelation 14 judgment:
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch” (Malachi 4:1 — KJV).
The original biblical writings had no reference to an ongoing, eternal punishment in fire. Through subtle changes to the English wording, Bible translators made it appear that Scripture supports their artificial doctrine of Hell.
Think About This
Christ’s prediction that the Israelites of His day would be burned in fire might seem gruesome and unfair — until we remember that the Lord was preaching to the same race of people that practiced pagan sacrifices in the Valley of Hinnom, where they worshiped pagan gods by burning their live children.
Misused Scriptures
Institutionalized Christianity has promoted the doctrine of Hell through a large and well-organized conspiracy. Not only have Scriptures been modified, but preachers routinely take passages out of context so they can misrepresent God’s truth to honest Christians.
So let’s review some of these passages.
The claim: Matthew 25:46 (KJV) proves the existence of eternal punishment in Hell.
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Notice how this verse says nothing about the nature of the punishment; instead, it defines how long the punishment lasts. Also note how Jesus contrasted this punishment with eternal life. Thus the punishment is everlasting and irrevocable. But those punished are not alive — they are eternally dead.
The claim: Matthew 13:42 (KJV) proves that people suffer in “Hell-fire” (also see verse 50):
And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Indeed, Jesus did say that some of the wicked would be burned in fire. But this passage never suggests this “wailing and gnashing of teeth” lasts forever. Instead, it describes the method by which unrepentant 1st Century Jews were put to death in the Valley of Hinnom.
The claim: After His crucifixion, God sent Jesus to Hell where He visited condemned sinners. This claim is based upon combining two verses:
I Peter 3:18-19 (KJV) 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: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison (which is assumed to be Hell).
Psalm 16:10 (KJV) For thou wilt not leave my soul in Hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
The first verse is true: Christ did visit spirits in prison. But Peter 3:20 (which preachers conveniently leave out), tells us this event occurred in the days of Noah.
Also notice how the second verse predicts what would happen after Christ’s death, an event that would not occur until thousands of years after Noah died. In this passage Hell is translated from the Hebrew sheh-ole’, which refers to graves or caves. And indeed, three days after His execution, God resurrected Christ’s body so it was not left in sheh-ole’.
Finally, observe how Peter wrote that Jesus visited spirits, not dead people. And this is important, because in II Peter 2:4 (KJV) the apostle reveals there is a special place of punishing for evil spirits:
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 …
Here the Greek translated into the English Hell is pronounced Tartaros, and means the abode of the wicked dead. The word is only used once in the Bible, and it specifically refers to a place of restraint and punishment for unrepentant fallen angels.
More Arguments Against Hell
The prophet Amos predicted the 70 CE destruction of Jerusalem. And notice how he foresaw sinners trying to “dig into Hell” to get away from God’s wrath:
I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered. Though they dig into Hell [Hebrew: sheh-ole’], thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down (Amos 9:1-2 — KJV).
Frankly, it’s hard to imagine why anyone would want to dig into the modern fiery Hell preached about today — especially considering how it’s supposed to have never-ending depths of hot ashes! However to the prophet Amos, “Hell” was just another pit or hole in the ground.
Then in Revelation 20:13, we have an interesting prophecy describing how people are in Hell, but then these same people are delivered from Hell for judgment:
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.
So if God judged these sinners and sent them to Hell, then how (and why?) are they later delivered from Hell to be judged again? The explanation is simple: the Greek translated into the English “hell” is our old friend hades, which refers to a grave or subterranean cave. Thus it was the grave that gave up its dead, not the mythical Hell of institutionalized Christianity.
But What about God’s Judgment?
The Book of Revelation describes what is sometimes called the “Great White Throne Judgment.” And although the Scriptures related to this subject are somewhat complicated, they conform with everything else we have studied.
Revelation 20:11-14 (KJV):
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And 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. And death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
This prophecy describes a time when God resurrects many dead people. And here the Greek translated “Hell” is hades, which means the grave. Then Revelation goes on to describe how these people are judged. But note how God judges these people “according to their works.”
Works?
Does not God grant salvation and eternal life as a free gift? And aren’t we saved by the gift of Christ’s sacrifice, instead of our own human works and accomplishments?
So hold on to that thought.
The prophecy also mentions a “second death” for those whose names are not written in the Book of Life. Yet it does not state these names are written or erased during this judgment. Instead, the Bible shows that names are written into the Book of Life during various times throughout history (Exodus 32:32, Daniel 12:1, Luke 10:20, Revelation 3:5 & Revelation 17:
.
So let’s tie all these facts together and figure out what is going on here. First, we need to add something from Matthew 16:27:
For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
Here Jesus describes how God evaluates (or judges) a person’s works to determine their spiritual reward.
But is this not an exact parallel to what we just read in Revelation 20?
Therefore, the White Throne Judgment does not determine whether or not a person is saved. Instead, it determines the saved person’s reward, while it assigns eternal punishment (death) to those who obstinately refuse God’s offer of salvation.
To learn what happens to sinners who ultimately repent, we must look to some surprising statements made by Jesus Christ.
God’s Judgment
Let’s begin with John 5:22:
For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son.
I suspect many Christians will find this passage astonishing: God the Father does not judge anyone!
So we need to set aside the image of the Father sitting on a huge throne, surrounded by angels, fire and lightning, as He slowly and solemnly passes judgment on every human being. Instead, the Father has assigned all judgment to the One who created humanity (Colossians 1:16), then came to earth to experience the trials and hardships of human life.
And knowing this fact, we should pay special attention to what Jesus said about judging:
Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man (John 8:15 — KJV).
So even though God the Father gave Jesus the sole and absolute power to judge humanity, once the Lord received this power, He excused Himself from determining the eternal destiny of human beings!
Think About This
The supposedly judgmental and vengeful Christian God — the same God institutionalized religion claims will banish most of humanity to eternal torment in Hell — has in the persons of both God the Father and Jesus Christ refused to judge any human being!
Now I suspect that some readers will find the above statements hard to swallow. Some might suggest that I’m proof-texting, which is the practice of taking Scriptures out of context to suit your own purpose. And frankly, after thousands of years of hearing about a judgmental and vengeful Diety, it’s a huge mind-shift to consider a God that does not judge human beings.
So we need to verify what Jesus said in John 8:15. We can begin by taking a look at Luke 12:13-14. In this passage, one of Christ’s disciples asked Jesus to judge between him and his brother. Notice how Jesus responded:
And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made Me a judge or a divider over you?
And now we have a second occasion, where Jesus refused to judge human beings.
Nevertheless, Scripture clearly states that people will be judged. But if God the Father and Jesus Christ do not personally perform the judging, then how is it accomplished? Jesus explains in John 12:47-48:
If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.
The teachings Jesus shared during His ministry — those same teachings that are recorded within the four gospels of the Bible — are what judges humanity.
And now we have three statements, where Jesus refuses to personally judge human beings.
Judgment for Humanity
So which of our Lord’s teachings will judge humanity? Among other things, Jesus commanded people to love their neighbors, and even their enemies:
But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:44-45).
And here are a few more of our Lord’s statements that indicate how human beings will be judged:
Wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men (Matthew 12:31 — KJV).
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me (John 12:32 — KJV).
And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world (John 12:47 — KJV).
Think About This
God knows He placed human beings into an evil world — a world led and inspired by evil spirits over which human beings have little or no control.
Therefore, the “justice” of God is to offer salvation to everyone.
An Explanation of Luke 16:19-31
Because it’s the most complicated set of Scriptures about Hell, I’ve saved Luke 16 for last. Surely there have been thousands of sermons preached about Hell. And many have referenced this story, which seems to describe a sinner’s torment, as he is being punished in Hell (in this passage, the word Hell is translated from the Greek hades, which means the grave).
Nevertheless, many biblical scholars refuse to share this opinion. Here are two examples of what they say:
“This parable is not theology. It is a vivid story, not a Baedeker’s guide to the next world (Karl Baedeker was one of the first individuals to produce travel guides). Such stories as this were current in Jesus’ day. They are found in rabbinical sources, and even in Egyptian papyri.” (Interpreter’s Bible, Volume VIII (New York: Abingdon Press) p. 29010).
“In this parable, Jesus was using a familiar folk-tale and adapting it to a new purpose by adding an unfamiliar twist to the end of it.” This scholar also comments, “the story of the wicked rich man and the pious poor man, whose fortunes were reversed in the afterlife, seems to have come originally from Egypt, and was popular among Jewish teachers … It was not the intention of Jesus to propagate a strict doctrine of rewards and punishments … or to give a topographical guide to the afterworld.” (G. B. Caird, in The Gospel of St. Luke (Penguin Books).
Another commentator points out how it’s instructive to carefully review the specifics of this tale, to determine if the narrative is even rational. Here is what he wrote:
a) If souls indeed are immaterial, with the material body being left in the grave, then how was Lazarus physically “carried” by the angels?
b) Do souls have eyes, a bosom, the tip of finger and a thirsty tongue?
c) There was a great gulf fixed between Abraham and the rich man; yet they could both see and converse with each other. Does this mean Heaven is a place where those enjoying bliss and those agonizing in eternal torment can carry on conversations? Is this what a loving God would do to His children? Does God reward the righteous by confining them to a place where they would have to watch sinners suffer eternal agony and listen to the shrieks of the tortured damned?
d) The tale says that Lazarus went to Abraham’s bosom. But when Jesus spoke the words quoted in Luke, Abraham was unquestionably dead and without his reward (See Heb. 11:8, 13, 39-40).
And here are a few more comments from biblical scholars, explaining why they decided Jesus based His parable on a common Jewish fable:
1) Jesus used the word “father” for Abraham, despite His own command to call no man father. However, “Our father Abraham” is a common phrase in the Mishnah (Aboth 3:12; 5:2,3,6,19; 6:10; Taanith 2:4,5);
2) Surviving Jewish texts of the period show that Luke 16:19-30 was drawn from, and in parody of, popular First Century teachings concerning a division in the underworld between the fires of Hades and the paradise where Abraham and other patriarchs dwelt;
3) Regarding martyrdom, ancient Jews wrote: “After our death in this fashion Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will receive us and all our forefathers will praise us” (4 Maccabees 13:17 in JOSH. Charlesworth, The OT Pseudepigrapha, Doubleday, 1983);
4) Early Jewish works describe the heavenly realm as being separated from the fires by a river. In one apocryphal work this river could be crossed only in an angelic boat: “You have escaped from the abyss and Hades, you will now cross over the crossing place … then he ran to all the righteous ones, namely Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Enoch, Elijah and David” (Apocalypse of Zephaniah 9:2. Charlesworth, op. cit.). The same 1st Century Jewish work also shows the popular belief concerning the role of Abraham as intercessor for those in torment in the fiery part of Hades: “As they looked at all the torments they called out, praying before the Lord Almighty saying, ‘We pray you on behalf of those who are in all these torments so you might have mercy on all of them.‘ And when I saw them, I said to the angel who spoke with me, ‘Who are they?‘ He said ‘Those who beseech the Lord are Abraham and Isaac and Jacob’” (Apoc. Zeph. 11:1~2);
5) In another Jewish work Abraham causes some of the dead to return from Hades to life: “Then Abraham arose and fell upon the earth, and [the Angel of] Death with him, and God sent a spirit of life into the dead and they were made alive again” (Testament of Abraham A 18:11).
Then finally in John 3:13, Jesus said, “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man.” So when Jesus spoke this parable, no human being was yet in Heaven — and this included Abraham.
Therefore Luke 16 cannot be a literal story about eternal torment in Hell. All evidence points to Jesus responding to the Jews with one of their own religious fables, as a prelude to the message He gave at the end of His presentation:
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead (Luke 16:29-31).
Our Lord used an ancient Jewish fable to foretell how the Jew’s would remain blind to their sins and unable to recognize their Savior — even after they watched Him miraculously rise from the dead.
Conclusion
I want you to read what a retired Episcopal bishop says about the doctrine of Hell:
“I don’t think Hell exists. I happen to believe in life after death, but I don’t think it’s got a thing to do with reward and punishment. Religion is always in the control business, and that’s something people don’t really understand. It’s in a guilt-producing control business. And if you have Heaven as a place where you’re rewarded for your goodness, and Hell is a place where you’re punished for your evil, then you sort of have control of the population. And so they create this fiery place which has quite literally scared the Hell out of a lot of people, throughout Christian history. And it’s part of a control tactic.” — Bishop John Shelby Spong, Year 2016 (watch the complete interview).
And even though I do not agree with many Episcopalian doctrines, I must respect this man’s courage to “tell the truth” about Hell — a doctrine that is accepted by most Christians as one of the basic foundations of Christianity.
Hell Has Poisoned Christ’s Message
Winston Churchill said, “A lie gets halfway around the world, before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” Satan told one lie to Adam and Eve — that human beings cannot die because they have eternal life — and this fabrication has found its way into the mind of almost every Christian.
Yet here is truth: if we choose to remain unrepentant sinners, our punishment will be an eternal death without consciousness and any chance of a resurrection. As Romans 6:23 reminds us: the wages of sin is death.
The Greek historian Polybius noted how pagan religions used the concept of fiery eternal punishing to keep worshipers in line — and institutionalized Christianity was quick to pick up on this fact. What better way to encourage Christians to attend church and look up to the clergy, than to promote a distant and judgmental God, one who would like nothing better than to torture most of humanity for all eternity? Furthermore, what sane Christian would turn down the opportunity to have the professional ministry insulate them from such a terrible and demanding Deity?
Think About This
Institutional Christianity’s doctrine of Hell is a marvelous tool for promoting church attendance, growing the stature of Christian institutions, and increasing offerings and tithes.
The Real Hell
It’s been said the best lies contain an element of truth. And indeed, the doctrine of Hell does contain a seed of truth. For you see, there really is an eternally burning Hell — but it’s not the place where God sends evil men and women. As we’ve already read in II Peter 2:4 (KJV), it’s where God imprisons wicked spirits:
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to Hell [Greek: Tartaroo], and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment …
Now add what Jesus said in Matthew 25:41 (KJV):
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.
Here Jesus was speaking to His disciples, warning how those who rejected His 1st Century calling would be destroyed in the fires of a future Roman war. Yet there’s a dual aspect to this verse: it also tells us that God prepared “fire” for the Devil and His angels — not for sinning human beings.
So consider the irony: the Devil tricked the entire Christian world into believing that God created a place of fiery punishment for humanity — when in reality, God prepared everlasting fire to punish Satan and the demons.
Humanity’s Enemy: God’s Enemy
In Revelation 12:9-10 (KJV), one of the holy angels had something to say about Satan:
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Most Christians understand how Satan works hard at accusing Christians. Yet the Devil has been just as busy falsely accusing God of creating an eternal place of torment for human beings.
Notice what was foremost in Jesus’ mind about the Devil:
You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).
Jesus has not forgotten the Devil’s lies to Adam and Eve — and the damage they have done to His gospel (the “Good” News).
God is not a vengeful monster who condemns human sinners to suffer the painful agony of eternal torment. Instead, God takes the most merciful approach possible for angry and unrepentant sinners: they will rest at peace in eternal death.
The doctrine of Hell is the premier creation of the Father of Lies — don’t believe this Satanic doctrine!
Footnotes
111
http://www.gallup.com/poll/11770/eternal-destinations-americans-believe-heaven-hell.aspx 112
http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/josephus/war-6.htm Book 6, Chapter 9, paragraph 3
113
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8604-jerusalem#916 See “Destruction of the City (70)”
Scripture References
John 15:15 “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
Luke 23:36-37 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!”
Matthew 27:44 The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.
I Thessalonians 5:19-21 Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.
I John 5:7 “For there are three that testify” (NASB) — compare with errant KJV: For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
Matthew 18:16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two of three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.
II Kings 16:3 But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and even made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had driven out from before the sons of Israel.
II Kings 23:10 He also defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire for Molech.
II Chronicles 28:3 Moreover, he burned incense in the valley of Ben-hinnom and burned his sons in fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had driven out before the sons of Israel.
Jeremiah 7:31 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 did not command, and it did not come into My mind.
Jude 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Exodus 21:6 Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.
I Peter 3:20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.
Exodus 32:32 But now, if You will, forgive their sin — and if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!
Daniel 12:1 Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.
Luke 10:20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.
Revelation 3:5 He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Revelation 17:8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.
Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Taken from 'Executed to Suppress His Message,' by D. A. Taylor
