Difference between revisions of "Is there HOPE for ALL?"
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Revision as of 19:43, 9 February 2011
We trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, especially of those who believe. 1 Tim 4:9-10 King James Version
Text in light blue or bold light blue can be clicked on - to take you to the scriptural verse or other writings that confirms the text.
The above scripture (1 Tim 4:9-10) identities two classes of men to be saved: 1) non-believers, and 2) believers, who will be saved to an even greater degree. The scripture above confirms what I have heard the Father, in his presence, say and explain to me. There is Hope for All.All will be reconciled to God, either in this life through the unpleasant purification process of crucifixion of the lusts and affections, (that the deficit sects know little about), or in the next life's more painful purification process, called Hell. All will be saved. All will be reconciled to one by Christ to God.
(For more on purification in this life, see How to Benefit from the Changing Power of God .)
Jesus said few would be saved, because the gate is narrow and the way is compressed, and many would seek to enter and not be able to. Mat 7:13-14, Luke 13:23-24. So what happens to the vast majority of people, including 2 billion (few?) people claiming to be 'christians,' who don't produce fruit, become purified, reach a sinless state, and enter the Kingdom of Heaven while on earth? Are they doomed to everlasting punishment in Hell?* A God, who tortures the vast majority of humanity forever, is a sick twisting of the scriptures to make our Father of light, mercy, compassion, and love into a monster; any person of reason finds this twisted concept of God repulsive. This false concept of an unforgiving, eternally punishing God serves to turn masses of people away from Christ and God; it is the devil's doctrine and tool. Should we fear God? Oh, Yes! We should fear his displeasure; like a good parent, (but infinitely better than a human), he will discipline and punish us for the things we continue to do wrong - but to a purpose - to teach us, change us, and to reconcile us to himself in love. God is Love. Love corrects. Love disciplines. But Love restores. Love never fails. Do you honestly think God created us so he could punish and torture us forever? If you do, you have grossly underestimated his power, his forethought, his mercy, his kindness, his compassion, and most of all - his LOVE. The purpose of life is to find God, and his purpose will not be thwarted. He values every life. We are his creation, and he loves all of us. We all are one. Every person you see will eventually be your brother, reconciled to God, after being purified with removal of our lusts, affections, selfishness, addictions, and pride.
(* One prominent deficit sect has recently modified their eternal torture position, and now states that God is merciful because he will only torture sinners for a time proportional to their sins, and then he will destroy them. They have imagined God to be like a cat that tortures it prey before killing and eating it. This may be mercy in the eyes of vengeful, unregenerated men, but this is still purposeless cruelty, and is still terribly naive in understanding God and love. God will neither punish people forever, nor destroy those whom he has created in love.)
To live in heaven, you must be purified: either in this life with less pain and a greater reward, or purified in the next life, called Hell. Neither is a pleasant experience; to die to self is not pleasant.
Sinners cannot live in heaven with God, or heaven would turn into Hell. We all have to be purified to live in God's presence and to live in perfect harmony and love with our brothers. A common belief is that all fleshly Christians still sinning will be instantly purified in the last minute of their lives,* to then live in heaven. This is wrong because God will never take away our free will; and if he purifies us without our having learned to loathe and hate our selfish habits and addictions, once instantly purified, we would drift back into the same patterns of selfish behaviors that cause us to embrace sin. So in this life or the next, we have to: 1) discover the bitterness of the passions and pleasures that our hearts desire, and 2) over time suffer the consequences of our passions and pleasures, while longing to have them removed by desperately seeking the grace of God to be changed. In Hell, our passions are unrestrained, similar to how we are without restraint to lusts and violence in our dreams. For our passions are the worst of tyrants. When we are placed so that we are entirely given up to them, they will torment the heart, and, like a torrent, sweep all before them, and yet never be satisfied. We must discover that true liberty is to be found only in him, whose truth shall set us free, and who shall lead us to understand only in noble actions (serving him) are we really free.
In this way, when our heart's defects are removed, one at a time, we are certain not to return to sin in our free wills. Love never forces its own way, instead it helps us see the error of the wrong way, so we can choose the right way; and then rewards us with the grace of change, finally resulting in purity. *This stems from 1 Cor 15:41-52, we all shall be changed in a twinkling of the eye at the last trumpet ... the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. This is true; the last step in a long process of change is in the twinkling of the eye. But before the twinkling-of-an-eye change, we must learn the extent of the evil in our hearts and learn to hate evil so much, that we would never consider returning to our selfish ways. Then we, having been alive in corruption, but dead to the life of God, are raised to the incorruptible Life in God. But corruption cannot inherit incorruption; the corruption in us must be seen, detested, abhorred, and finally destroyed. That which shows us our sins, takes them away, which is grace.
Until we have learned from the Holy Spirit teaching us what is evil vs. good, love vs. lust, sin vs. righteousness, which process teaches us to hate anything evil and love all good, we would not even enjoy heaven because we would long for our addictions that are not available there. Jesus told us the same in the parable: No one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires the new wine, for he will say, 'The old wine is better.'Luke 5:39. A man must crucify his lusts and affections on the inward cross of self-denial before he can enjoy fellowship in the heavens.
Purification on earth is much easier than purification in Hell; purification in Hell is a horrible, obsessive experience to be avoided if at all possible. A description of Hell from Him to me, to be relayed to you is: "a lot of pain with unexpected love." For ALL will be reconciled to God. All will be saved. Your life in heaven will be far more rewarding if you attain purification while on earth. But, even if you have to pass through Hell, your resulting life will be much better than life on earth. So there is HOPE FOR ALL! More on Hell later. But first lets look at how the Bible shows Hope for All:
Luke 3:6 And all mankind will see God's salvation. New International And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. King James And all mankind shall see (behold and understand and at last acknowledge) the salvation of God (the deliverance from eternal death decreed by God). Amplified
1 Timothy 2:5-6 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.
1 John 2:2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 1 Cor 15:22
God purposed that through (by the service, the intervention of) Him (the Son) all things should be completely reconciled back to Himself, whether on earth or in heaven, as through Him, made peace by means of the blood of His cross. Col 1:20
And when all things are subdued to him, then will the Son himself also be subject to him who put all things under him, that God may be all in all. 1 Cor 15:28. And because we all will have learned to hate evil, we will all live harmoniously in love, peace, and joy.
Romans 11:7-33 What then (shall we conclude)? Israel failed to obtain what it sought. Only the elect (those chosen few) obtained it, while the rest of them became callously indifferent (blinded, hardened, and made insensible to it). Lest you be self-opinionated (wise in your own conceits), I do not want you to miss this hidden truth and mystery, brethren: a hardening (insensibility) has befallen a part of Israel until the full number of the ingathering of the Gentiles has come in, And so all Israel will be saved. As it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob. And this will be My covenant (My agreement) with them when I shall take away their sins. From the point of view of the Gospel (good news), they (the Jews, at present) are enemies (of God), which is for your advantage and benefit. But from the point of view of God's choice (of election, of divine selection), they are still the beloved (dear to Him) for the sake of their forefathers. For God's gifts and His call are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient and rebellious toward God but now have obtained mercy, through their disobedience, So they also now are being disobedient, that they in turn may one day, through the mercy you are enjoying, receive mercy. For God has consigned (penned up) all men to disobedience, only that He may have mercy on them all. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unfathomable (inscrutable, unsearchable) are His judgments (His decisions)! And how untraceable (mysterious, undiscoverable) are His ways (His methods, His paths)!
Col 1:16-20 16 For it was in Him that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him and in and for Him. (Christ is Him) And He Himself existed before all things, and in Him all things consist (cohere, are held together). He also is the Head of (His) body, the church; seeing He is the Beginning, the Firstborn from among the dead, so that He alone in everything and in every respect might occupy the chief place (stand first and be preeminent). For it has pleased (the Father) that all the divine fullness (the sum total of the divine perfection, powers, and attributes) should dwell in Him permanently. And God purposed that through by the service, the intervention of Him all things should be completely reconciled back to Himself, whether on earth or in heaven, as through Him, made peace by means of the blood of His cross.
It is written in the Prophets, They will all be taught by God.John 6:45
He will swallow up death. And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; and the reproach of His people He will take away from off all the earth; for the Lord has spoken it. Isaiah 25:8
Declare what is to be, present it - let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD ? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me.
Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.
They will say of me, 'In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength. All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. Isaiah 45:21-25
"I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jer 31: 33-34
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure... I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will do it. Isaiah 46:10-11. Don't doubt what he says he will do; it will be done.
Notice: ALL men and women bowing, confessing, and declaring the Lord righteous. The last thing the Lord would want is someone to lie and falsely say something they did not understand or feel. He is not dishonest, nor does he want people to be dishonest with Him. Rather, everyone will be convinced and will gladly bow and gladly swear and gladly say, "In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength;" any other way would not be His. And later it is further said, "every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father; to call someone Lord, means they have made Him their Lord, not under threat or force.
All must come to a knowledge of God. Voice of the Lord
Everyone must stop sinning. Voice of the Lord
Now, let's look at what George Fox said about All, (his words agree with scriptures above).
From George Fox's Letter 216 And then is the gospel, that is everlasting, preached unto all nations of mankind, and all that are driven out from God in the power of darkness; to the intent that they may all come up again to God, and have life and immortality brought to light by his Almighty power, that expels death and darkness.
So bring them to the great sacrifice, the Lord Jesus Christ, the seed of the woman, who offered up himself for the sin of the world, the top stone, which is over all laid, who is restoring by his power, who has all power in heaven and earth, who is restoring all things into the place, as they were in the beginning, and reconciling in one, by his power, all things in heaven and things in earth, destroying that which made the separation, and broke unity, which is the enmity in people's minds, which the light, that enlightens everyone that comes into the world, destroys:
From George Fox's Letter 222 all things in heaven, and things in earth, must bow to the name of Jesus,
before they be reconciled to God;
for all things in heaven, and things in earth, are reconciled by him in one.
From George Fox's Letter 320 For all being dead in old earthly Adam, Christ, the heavenly Adam has tasted death for them all, and is a propitiation for the sins of the whole world, and he enlightens all, and his grace has appeared unto all, and his spirit is poured upon all flesh, and his gospel, which is the power of God, is preached to every creature under heaven.
Philippians 2:10-11 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, means that everyone makes him Lord of their life - their controlling spirit within them - in love, peace, and joy)
1 Timothy 4:9-10 For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe. (This should end any doubt that all are saved. The Savior of ALL men and women; and for those who believe, even greater is the result.)
More on Hell as part of the saving of all men: (A lot of pain with unexpected love.)
1 Cor 3:15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. Each man shall eventually be saved by passing through the lake of fire, a purifying but very painful experience. You will have nothing to show for the time you spent on earth. All will have been wasted and for nothing.
Luke 12:47-48 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Notice some receive less quantity of stripes, (figure of speech, describing punishment), than others - defining less time of pain - defining an end to pain - defining an end to Hell for an individual; the time in the fire based what they did while on earth. And how does one get out of Hell? by long, long pleading to the Lord Jesus Christ, (the savior of all men) to purify them, after the last penny, ( figure of speech describing penalty), has been paid.... Everyone will be taught of God. Every knee will bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
But, people who don't find holiness in this life "shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;" 2 Thes 1:9. Notice he does not say destruction of life or torture, just from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power - that is the eternal punishment. There is the Kingdom of Heaven, and the heaven after hell, but a heaven isolated from the presence and glory of the Lord. Stephen Crisp, an eminent early Quaker minister said: "The outward court of the temple was for representing the church of God in general, from the particular; the outward court was not measured, that the gentiles might come in; the unbaptized (did not have the baptism of death by fire, resulting in a circumcised heart) people, who were never regenerated, they might come so far as the outward court, but this did not entitle them to the privileges of the house of God, nor to any worship or sacrifice that was accepted upon God's altar."
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Mat 10:28.The Him is God. Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment has come; and worship him that made heaven, and earth,Rev 14:7.
Those not purified, those dying in their sins, all must pass through the lake of fire, commonly called Hell; (but not really Hell, because Hell and death are also cast into the lake of fire)*; but the spirit lives forever and eventually leaves Hell to a much better life than earth. To lose your soul is to lose that part of God within every man that could have been united with the fullness of Christ, to have become a Son of God.
Notice! Hell, (or Hades) itself is cast into the lake of fire, to be done away with, like death, Rev 20:14 ; so the Lord is going to do away with Hell (or Hades) itself, once it serves its purpose of purification.
The soul having been united with Christ, then lives in a higher dimension of love and Life than to live in spirit only. The Lord names this reward "the kingdom of God;" it is a reward that is beyond man's imagination, beyond the words of earth to describe. Man must give up his entire life to God; in exchange God gives man himself - the greatest gift imaginable, but without our understanding until God is fully known.
Everyone will deeply regret forever that they did not obtain purification while living on earth, for two reasons: 1) the pain of Hell, that will seem like forever, and 2) the loss of their soul with the eternal loss of the kingdom. Those with the deepest regrets will be those who called themselves Christians, had the promise before their eyes continually, and who did not seek the righteousness of God and his internal Kingdom as their highest priority in life - those who thought Jesus was an excuse for sin rather than He who would destroy the sin in them - those who ignored his command to be perfect as your Father in heaven in perfect - those who were content to live in their flesh, worshiping in the false church of Babylon - those who were content with a supposed remote God, instead of seeking the kingdom within and God within where they could worship God in spirit and truth.
What you may not know is that you are now living on the earth in a cursed existence, the curse of Adam's fall, cut off from the life of God; everything is relative. Scripture tells us that until we are purified and renewed in the spiritual image of God, we are living in a state of damnation, now, in this life on earth. So life after Hell can be better than earth, but nothing like it could have been. Those living in the higher dimension will have the memory of their sins erased; while those in the lower dimension will never forget their sins on the earth and their evil passions and desires, which became their obsessions in Hell. There will not be the peace and joy of the higher dimension's kingdom; so those in the lower dimension will still be subject to misery and to weeping and gnashing of teeth. Those in the lower dimension will also be aware of those who are enjoying the higher dimension of peace, joy, love, and proximity to God. Therefore, even after Hell, they will be continually aware that they live in a comparative state of punishment, which they will understand to be totally just and fair.
Joy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit — a permanent joy, beyond the earth's transitory joy. There is an old saying: "you will never know how good it feels until you stop hitting yourself over the head with a hammer;" point being, our life in the flesh, separated from the life of God, is like being continuously hit over the head with a hammer — we are miserable, compared to the happiness we experience with holiness. Richard Claridge, an outstanding early Quaker, profoundly wrote:
"The real happiness of man consists in being truly religious, or holy, in our measures, as God is holy; for holiness and happiness are so nearly related, that the one cannot be, or subsist, without the other. Holiness is happiness begun, and happiness is holiness in perfection."
And perfection of holiness is specifically counseled by Paul: Therefore having these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Cor 7:1. Without holiness, we are, and will be in misery.
Yes, there is a Hell. It is very uncomfortable, to say the least. It is not like Dante's inferno. It is not physical fire and brimstone; these are physical symbols of the spiritual, for example: "Our God is a consuming fire." Heb 12:29. There is also a burning within you to do something; the burning of lust, as described in Romans 1:27, but in a burning intensity greater than you have ever known. It is raging obsession. It is hyper sin city - complete mutual rage, complete mutual lust, etc. The brimstone, sulphur, (when burned sulphur produces sulphur dioxide, used forpurification and bleaching), symbolizes a spiritual purification agent. I was taken there because I prayed, sincerely doubting there was a Hell. This is what I felt and saw:
1) I was in a cavern underground. It was totally dark. I knew I was being hunted by someone else. I knew I was hunting him. It was kill or be killed. There was a lot of fear and adrenalin. Suddenly it was light, and in front of me was the person I was hunting and who had been hunting me. We clubbed each other frantically. The light went out. I was in a cavern underground. It was totally dark. I knew I was being hunted ........ a loop that I felt like was going to go on forever.
2) I was then immediately transferred to a lighted cavern, escorted, with hallways and rooms off to the side. In each room was a nude woman and a bed. The only woman I saw was still somewhat attractive, but looked very tired and used to the point that her skin was beginning to dry and ripple slightly. I knew, without having to participate, that this was perpetual sex with someone in each room. I knew that this would go on, over and over and over and would at least seem like "forever." It was not appealing. It was not sickening. It just was. That was the end of my experience in Hell. It was enough to convince me it was real.
The Lord once told me "if one man's sin can curse the whole human race, then how much more just is it for one man's righteousness to pay for the sins of the whole world." Sounds logical doesn't it? HE IS LOGICAL. And the scriptural proof of his statement to me is:
Well then, as one man's trespass (one man's false step and falling away led) to condemnation for all men, so one Man's act of righteousness (leads) to acquittal and right standing with God and life for all men. Romans 5:18
In the presence of the Father, I was told by Him: "every man and woman is precious; every person will be brought back to Him in reconciliation; every word spoken, every action taken by everyone leads them to God." I could see and feel the infinite wisdom of God and how all ways led to God; and I could see and understand how this life was an illusion because it was nothing but a way to God for each and all; it was overwhelming; it was the greatest experience of my life to date. I could only see a cloud, but I could feel his mighty streams of power; it was like stepping into a strong river of wisdom, seeing clearly the infinite truth, logic, and reality of everything he told me. I also found the Father to be full of joy, happy, forgiving, and in control beyond what we can at best imagine. What we are learning in this life, all of us, will eventually lead each of us back to God - some obviously a longer, more difficult process than others.
You might be thinking, "how could every word spoken, and every action taken lead to God." Because we learn from the pain of our incorrect words and actions, our mistakes will eventually be the source of our learning about evil, and learning to hate it; either in this life or the next. And as we learn about evil, we recoil from it, and are naturally drawn to virtue, goodness - God. It is written "All men will be taught by God;"either on the earth by the Holy Spirit that is in your heart eager to lead you into all truth and to know all things, or in the next life, called Hell, which is much more painful, much longer, and with less reward at the end. We are created to be children of God, to be loved by him, and to love him. But He doesn't want to be in the company of evil. And since he creates in us with free will to love or to lust, he first sends us to "evil school," the earth, where we are offered the chance to learn about evil with great reward if we do, because it results in us becoming one with him, a son and part of him as an heir.
He can control the details of men's lives without violating their free will. Those chosen by God are protected by Him while they complete their seeking course; as is written, "all things work together for good for those who love God (or as argued, God loves) and are called according to his purpose." But he only provides protection to those who are seeking him in love and whom he has called; from the voice of the Lord: "All other people, destined for reconciliation after this life, live without protection." We have free will, but he can move us around like chess board pieces and not violate our free will, because the insignificant details that he controls, don't violate our heart's principles. This is not making something good out of a bad situation of which he had no control; he is in control of everything around those whom he has called according to his purpose, and who love him! For what? From the voice of the Lord, "the earth exists for the saints." The earth is everyone's opportunity to become one with God as a son, but for those not so motivated, they are only obstacles, tests, polishing stones, in the illusions of this life, which appears that everyone chooses everything independently, but as the Voice of the Lord said: "every man is put in place by God." The illusion is there is no God. The illusion is God does not control anything. The illusion is that we are all independent, under no control. It is a necessary illusion; the nurturing soil to allow love to grow without coercion. See Why Evil is Allowed for More.
All men and women will be made righteous. All men and women will be glorified. But, not all will be in union with God through Christ.
And John said, ‘the devil who had deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone, along with the beast and the false prophet; and shall be tormented day and night for ever and forever, Rev 20:10’ This text is frequently quoted to prove that all those who have been deceived will be tormented night and day forever - but look, all four Bibles say only the devil is cast into the lake of fire andtormented forever. Those deceived are cast in the lake of fire and have their part in the lake of fire, but they are not also tormented forever; those who have been deceived, after their time, are reconciled to God. But the devil was not deceived; he knew what he was doing when he deliberately rebelled against God's direction. The whole creation will be reconciled to God, except the devil.
Similarly, the Hell Fire-Damnation preachers threaten the everlasting fire; which fire is everlasting. But look, the baptism of the Holy Spirit burns up the chaff with unquenchable fire, which cannot be put out. Mat 3:11-12. Now few would argue that one is burned forever by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The fire lasts forever, but a person is not left in the fire forever - except the original deceiver. The smoke from the burning of the whore (the false church) arises forever, but not from the deceived; the smoke is like a memory that is never forgotten.
The Book of Revelation describes two different groups of men in heaven: 1) the 144,000, who are the first fruits of God, redeemed from the earth, who followed the Lamb (were obedient) wherever he went, and 2) a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands. This great multitude had not been redeemed from the earth; they had not been obedient; they were not the first fruits - but they were there, along with the few, who were numbered, (144,000) and who had been obedient to Jesus in their life on the earth.
Further, in New Jerusalem, the temple and those within were measured (measurable, countable, finite); the location of the spiritual Jews, thosewhose hearts had been circumcised on the earth, to become Jews (obedient) inwardly. The outer court, was not measured. Rev 21:16, gives us a further measure. George Fox significantly amplifies the dimensions, referring to another translation:
The Greek copy with Arias Montanus' interlineary translation has it, Revelation, 21:16, that is, furlongs, twelve times twelve thousand, that is, one hundred forty-four thousand, that is the length and breadth, and the height being equal, is twelve thousand, being in all, one million seven hundred twenty-eight thousand furlongs, that is, two hundred sixteen thousand miles, that is ten times the compass of the earth, as it is commonly accounted, or thereabouts.
Using the above circumference and ignoring height, New Jerusalem would cover 24 times the area of earth. If each of the 6.72 billion people on the earth today were standing in a 3 ft. x 3 ft. square, every person would fit within 1/2 the state of Connecticut.* So, New Jerusalem's outer court of the Gentiles, (of those whose hearts were not circumcised on earth), is capable of holding the innumerable others, not redeemed from the earth, not first fruits - but reconciled to God, having passed through the lake of fire to become fit company for heaven.
These calculations can be reviewed on a separate page.
But don't make the mistake of thinking that since you're going to make it anyway, you might as well practice as much evil as possible. Your efforts to live according your understanding of what is required of you will be to your credit. Learning that giving is more satisfying than receiving, learning that kindness feels good, learning that telling the truth, (regardless of the feared consequences), is always the best, learning to control your anger, learning to treat others as you would have them treat you, learning to be happy with whatever you have, learning the value of marital fidelity, learning that forgiveness and mercy free the mind - learning and practicing these will minimize your purification time in Hell. Many stripes for some, fewer for others.
Curiously, this is confirmed by the visions of St. Julian of Norwich, who was assured by God: "Sin is behovely, but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well." Julian's theology was optimistic, speaking of God's love in terms of joy and compassion as opposed to law and duty. For Julian, suffering was not a punishment that God inflicted, but was a means he used to draw us closer to himself. She also found God to be happy and full of joy, optimistic, confident, and in control.
(You may be asking yourself: why is this information just being disclosed? Answer: the eternal Hell Fire damnation talk has become so loud and damaging to thinking souls, in its inherent unfairness, that He that felt it necessary to remind us of His value, love, and mercy for all men and women, proved by the many scriptures quoted herein, which we have forgotten and cast aside. The true sheep are being scattered by the Hell Fire damnation talk.)
Now for that special case of children - how much purification is necessary for an infant? Any? No! How much purification is necessary for a five year old? Certainly, is it not logical that purification of children is much simpler than someone who has lived 50 years of mistakes, habits, lusts, and affections?
When talking about judgment, Jesus said in Matthew 7:22-23: "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I neverknew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity." Obviously these people, who thought they were Christians, called him Lord; and they had enough faith that he was the son of God to perform wonderful works, thinking themselves to be in his name. Where is their fruit resulting from purity? Can you imagine how betrayed these people will feel. They will likely be angry.
They will likely feel resentment and mistrust of Jesus. Their purification will probably take longer than the 'sinners' because of their anger and resentment; and the 'sinners' will finish purification and enter heaven first, and the 'saved' will finish purification and enter heaven last. So the last will be first, and the first will be last. And if they are teachers or preachers, not perfected and authorized by Christ, and therefore having been teaching in error, their time in Hell will be even longer, for the blood of those they have misled will be on their heads; and blackest darkness is reserved for them. This scripture was already being fulfilled in Christ's time on the earth: the tax collectors and prostitutes were already entering the Kingdom ahead of the eminent Pharisees - those thought to be last were before those thought to be first. The person who has the least esteem of himself can hear the call to repentance the clearest. The last can hear the call to repentance; the first are deaf in their self-righteousness, (or their imputed righteousnessfrom Christ, which supposedly excuses them from repentance and the cross of Christ).
Do not confuse this with the "purgatory" that the Roman and Greek sects have defined. Everyone who is not purified enters Hell, regardless of religious profession. There is no prayer or contribution that can hasten their exit. George Fox has said, do not pray for the dead; they have had their time when prayer could help them. And sacrifices for the dead are forbidden by scripture.
Neither should this teaching be ammunition for universalists, because to escape the purification of Hell and save your soul, you must find the straight and narrow way that few will find. A faith in Jesus Christ that produces fruit is the only way to salvation of the soul; there is no other way. If you loose your soul, you will live in spirit only - a lower dimension of heaven - and only after a long and painful purification experience in Hell. You will regret forever your failure to seize the opportunity of salvation while on the earth.
You must have fellowship with Christ in his sufferings; 1 Pet 4:12-13 if you will reign with him, you must suffer with him; 2 Tim 2:12 if you will live with him, you must die with him; 2 Tim 2:11 and this is of necessity to salvation; and not temporary, but continual: there must be a "dying daily." and if you die with him, you must be buried with him, Rom 6:4 and being buried with him in the true baptism, you also rise with him. Col 2:12
Jesus said he would reject many, who thought they were Christians, but who still sinned. If he rejects people who name themselves Christians, though he loves people of all faiths, he will also reject those of other faiths or no faith too. A total change of heart is necessary.
You cannot depend on your righteousness and 'salvation' from reading scriptures about grace and faith. If and when you are righteous, Christ will tell you so! When you are assured of salvation, he will tell you "I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut." The receipt of salvation and the entering the Kingdom are simultaneous. Depend on nothing else, except his spoken words to you! Remember Jesus said, "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance;" because the righteous cannot hear his call to repentance, yesterday and today! The righteous think they need to do nothing; they even say repentance and the cross is "works" and to do any work related to salvation would disqualify their false salvation based on 'grace' - so they can't hear his call to repentance, especially if they are busy in a form of religious practices: bible study, attending services, tithing, singing, reading from a prayer book, eating wine and bread, water baptisms, speaking in 'tongues.' He told me: "It is hard for those wrapped up in a form to see repentance to the truth." It was hard yesterday; it is hard today. See Jesus Wants to Teach You Himself for seeking His righteousness.
We know that there is some form of life in Hell, otherwise pain would not be felt. If all are to be placed in right standing with God and life, after Hell is heaven. It is better than earth, but no where near the Life we can attain if we become purified and attain the Kingdom of Heaven while on earth, (perhaps the "third Heaven" of which Paul spoke in 2 Cor 1:2). The attainment here is relatively free from pressure, relatively free from compulsion, free from the intensity of the experience in Hell. Here we can choose thousands of times a day what we want to do. There, (in Hell), there is little choice - only an obsession to do the things you have harbored in repetitive intensity so much that they become repulsive; and finally you choose to risk sacrifice of your life remaining rather than continue - thus shunning evil, hating evil, and being so sick of evil that you live happily ever after serving love - but in a diminished state than if you had chosen to shun, hate, and eschew evil while on earth. The diminished state and the higher state have been described to me as "living in different dimensions." In the old testament, only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies in the temple; those who produce fruit in this life become kings and priests, in the presence of the Lord and in the glory of his power forever, serving Him. Revelation describes heaven as the temple of God and an outward court.
The temple of God is for the spiritual Jew, those whose hearts were circumcised while on earth; they serve and worship God as priests and kings in the temple of God, which is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb (Christ). Stephen Crisp, an eminent early Quaker minister said: "The outward court was for representing the church of God in general, from the particular; the outward court was not measured, that the Gentiles might come in; the unbaptized (did not have the baptism of death by fire, resulting in a circumcised heart) people, who were never regenerated, (on earth) they might come so far as the outward court, but this did not entitle them to the privileges of the house of God, nor to any worship or sacrifice that was accepted upon God's altar." But those who were not purified (regenerated) on earth do not enter the outer court until they have been purified in the lake of fire.
Again, the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe. 1 Tim 4:9-10
Purity on earth is not a pleasant experience for it involves suffering through tribulation and a fiery ordeal, (the Ministry of Condemnation, in which your schoolmaster is the Law of Sin and Death, after which comes the Ministry of Life), but Hell is far worse; it is to be avoided at all costs. It is truly Hell. It will feel like forever in the first 2 minutes. It will go on and on and take on as many different forms as you have addictions. Your addictions are not apparent to you now. Even if you like to read about or watch programs about violence or sex, you are addicted far more than you realize. Those addictions are destroyed, not by reading, but by doing. One could say, you get the desires of your heart, but in an avalanche of mass quantity/repetition. It is truly a burn-out experience. You must arrive at the state where all addictions are repulsive to you and you automatically shun them. So, whatever your pleasures, they will be hyper-driven until repulsive. In Alcoholics Anonymous, they refer to an alcoholic's bottoming-out experience; to wake up one day in the gutter and say to yourself, ENOUGH - I'VE HAD IT, resolving to reform with the higher help available by faith in the name of Jesus Christ. Similar will be the case in Hell; you will be driven to abottoming-out experience in every lust and affection you have.
Then will they call upon me but I will not answer; they will seek me early and diligently but they will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord, Would accept none of my counsel, and despised all my reproof, Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be satiated with their own devices. For the backsliding of the simple shall slay them, and the careless ease of fools shall destroy them. Pro 1:28-32
The heaven of the Vikings, Valhalla, was where they rode out every day to do battle to the death, and then returned to a drunken feast. Perhaps that is exactly what they got, until they got sick to death of it. Become aware of you desires; face them; know you are a slave to your passions, pleasures, habits, pride, and lusts.
The fury of God is for the Light and Spirit of the Lord to step out of you; he being who has restrained you in your life more than you realize. When he steps out, you are left in the abyss of total darkness; this is to be cast into outer darkness, the dimension of the kingdom of hell. Without the light's restraint of evil, your heart is free to pursue all its fantasies with obsession; and eventually, your passions and fantasies, along with a continual repeat of your earthly life's mistakes, one by one, become a horror to you. Your horror turns into a dread and a hate of them, until finally the love of God rescues you from them, one by one. But you hate them so much, you would never consider anything remotely similar in the future; when you are then removed to the outer court of heaven. Thus everyone pays for every mistake they made on the earth,their time spent in this obsessive behavior being proportional to their sins when on the earth. As the Lord said: I will give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be satiated with their own devices— and thus their time on earth has served them to become wise — the hard way!
And the smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever; the memory of the suffering and pain in Hell will never be forgotten. There will be weeping; there will be gnashing of teeth; there will be suffering; but not forever, and to a purpose - until they are reconciled by Love to God.
One person wrote me telling me how it was impossible for God to place people in a position to sin to their hearts' desire, stating that I was trying to make God evil. I say God can easily place you into a dream state where you are put into extreme conditions to play to your heart's inclinations, thinking and feeling just like it is reality - but it is not actually happening. Except, in this state, you can't wake up, and the state lasts until you have paid the last penny and become totally sick of the sin.
Our dreams are a preview of what hell can be like. When I was in my junior year in college, I acted very irresponsibly, cutting all my 8AM classes; only going to opening day and then the mid-term and final exam. My grades suffered. After graduation, for thirty years I had a recurring nightmare of being late for my mid-term exams and unable to remember in which rooms the classes were held. This dream and my desperation continued, until finally in this nightmare, I concluded that I was not being fair to my mother by cutting classes; she was paying her hard-earned money to send me to college, and I was wasting it. So, in my dream I resolved to quit college and get a job; I never had the nightmare again. Perhaps you have had a similar experience. The Spirit of God wrestles with us, trying to get us to discover the error of our ways. Whatever mistakes we have made in this life, unless we resolve them before we leave this planet, we will have to resolve them in Hell - and we will be obsessed to repeat them, until we finally sicken of them so much, we decide to do the right thing, whatever the consequences. This is a hard way to learn; far harder than with the kindness of the Spirit of God to show us in the Light the forgotten and secret sins of our heart, and to then take them away.
A wise man once said: "to become wise, one must first acknowledge they are ignorant." Unless you know that you are a slave to sin, you will never get free. So the first step to freedom from sin is to look at your slavery. From the voice of the Lord: "Those who refuse to look at their slavery say, church me." It comes down to a choice of how you want to live:
as a selfish human in slavery to your anger, pride, lusts, passions and pleasures with no lasting satisfaction, subject to the fury of God's painful correction, or
would you rather be dedicated to purpose of actions and words that are pure, true, noble, clean, peaceful, joyful, beneficial to others around you, and full of love for your creator - while in union with your creator in his Kingdom - with him loving and treasuring you in return, to your eternal satisfaction?
From the voice of the Lord: "so they must pass through the earth wise," or else, you must learn about good and evil the hard way, in Hell.
The pressures of attaining purity on earth are so great that when some have been "convinced" and "condemned" (having entered the Ministry of Condemnation), they can become so tired and weary that they don't have the strength to go on; they then "fall asleep" in Christ, (they die, but while in Christ because they had undergone supernatural suffering). But they are the first to be translated at the Lord's next coming as said in 1 Thes 4:13-18, and then first purified. The infinite mercy and kindness of the Lord takes them out of the world to protect them from evil and falling away, and to keep them safe until their resurrection from the grave into Heaven. This assurance is found in Rev 14:13. (This to me is wonderfully special because it says that once someone enters into the Ministry of Condemnation, their salvation while on earth is assured; what Love and Care He has for us - to be sure we make it, even if we weaken under pressure. I don't think I will ever know how great is our God - he is beyond our minds. But we know he is clean, pure, logical, sensible, gentle, kind, merciful, fair, just, faithful and true beyond measure). Before you conclude that the earth's pressures might be too much, don't forget that however great the pressures on earth, those in Hell are far, far worse; and of course the rewards for attaining purity on earth are beyond our imagination - as it is written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Cor 2:9
The purpose of our life on earth is to arrive a the state where we hate evil so much that even when tested under pressure, we refuse to take it up again. At this point we have arrived at Job's state of "perfection":
Job 2:3 says, "And the Lord said unto Satan, 'Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that fears God, and eschews (shuns, abhors) evil? and still he holds fast his integrity, although you moved Me against him, to destroy him without cause'."
And if we do become one of "the first fruits" we will be kings ( a servant like Christ) and priests forever in the close presence of God worshiping and serving Him, beholding His glory, and being like Him, being one with Him, loving Him, and being loved by Him.
Not everyone can be kings, or we would all be trying to out-serve each other. I haven't been told exactly what kings will be doing; in general, I know they will be forever growing in learning and love. My opinion is that the vast group of people who do not attain purity on this earth will be served by those who became kings and priests. If we are chosen, we can take no credit or pride; we are simply the beneficiaries of his unmerited favor - grace. Those chosen were not chosen, because one day, all on their own merit, they decided to seek God; no, God is the one who draws us to Him, and then he turns our salvation over to Christ to produce to completion. Many are called, few are chosen. Those chosen have responded to the call of God. Since there is no time with God, he knew ahead of time who would respond to his call by their choice.
It is Christ's job to reconcile all things (which includes all of mankind) back to the Father. The relative ease and comfort of attainment in this life, and the rewards available to those who attain purity and reconciliation in this life, make the supreme effort to attain purity and the Kingdom in this life only common sense. Prize your time, while you still have it available. Pray for the Father to motivate you more by drawing you to Him while on earth. Offer Him your life-long best efforts in exchange for his drawing you to Him. Doubting his existence, I once said such a prayer and he answered with an indelible experience; an experience he has told me "anyone can have if they humbly ask." (That experience created a hunger that motivated me for over 25 years.) He said in meditation to my wife, "be the very best you can. . . . . for me!" (To His benefit as well as yours.)
To Repeat what is said elsewhere in this site: And to those of you who attain perfection; to those who reach purity in this life; by you doing so, (producing fruit), you show yourself to be true followers of Christ, and he then brings honor and glory to our Father. Is there anything else worth aspiring to do? For if there is some way we can repay our Father for our breath, our heart beat, our life, our savior who has paved the way for us, then that is the only thing to want - every other thing must take back seat to the passion of bringing glory to the Son and the Father. As for me, knowing that I can possibly do this for Christ and the Father, as insignificant as I am, I gladly dedicate my life to do so, and I am eternally grateful for the opportunity. For with success, we become united with God, and we operate according to God's purpose, will, and pleasure; and our pleasure is to have clean, pure, holy, perfect purpose in our words and actions - to be a instrument in his hands totally dedicated to life of love.
The purpose of this site is to show you that it is possible, help you grasp the hope for yourself, and then show you how to allow Jesus to purify you by grace for your subsequent entry into unity with Christ and the Father in the Kingdom of Heaven while on earth. For more on how to get purified in this life, go to the home page and then to How to Benefit from the Changing Power of God.
For if you live according to the flesh, you will surely die. But if through the power of the Spirit you are putting to death (making extinct, deadening) the deeds prompted by the body, you shall live forever. Rom 8:13
To those of you who want to argue that I have somehow misinterpreted the Bible scriptures quoted above, which seem very clear and easy to understand to me, I will not argue with you. I won't respond.
This web site's purpose is to show how to become free from sin by benefiting from the changing power of God through the cross,which leads to union with God in his Kingdom.