· “The ancient dead” (three words from one word) in the Revised English Bible even though there is not a word in the Hebrew in this passage that is even remotely kin to “ancient.”
(2) Isaiah 26:14 "They (the nations) are dead (Rephaim), they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise; therefore have you visited and destroyed them, and made all remembrance of them to perish." This is about nations that did not remember God. It has nothing to do with an "immaterial, invisible part of man" after death. It is hard to believe this passage is used to prove that a person has an immortal immaterial, invisible part of a person, for if it were speaking of this something in a person, then that something is dead, deceased, shall not rise (no resurrection), and all remembrance of that something in a person has been made to perish. If this were an immortal soul, it would be nothing like the immoral soul of today's theology, it would teach there is no life or resurrection after death for the immortal soul, but this passage is used anyway to prove that the soul is alive after death in either Heaven or Hell.
(3) Isaiah 26:19 "Your dead shall live; my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, you that dwell in the dust; for your dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast forth the dead (Rephaim)." Isaiah is speaking of the nation of Israel that was dead, they were slaves in bondage to another nation because they had left God, now they had repented and were being restored as a nation. He is not speaking of the resurrection of any individuals Jews.
· In Isaiah 26:14, which is speaking of nations, the nations are dead and shall not rise (shall not be restored).
· In Isaiah 26:19, which is speaking of Isaiah, it shall live, shall arise (shall be restored).
o If these were speaking of individuals, as Robert Morey in "Death and The Afterlife," on page 79 says he would have these individuals both “shall not rise” and “shall rise.”
Note: the King James Version in both Isaiah 14:9; 26:14 and 26:19 changed the Hebrew proper name, Rephaim, to “the dead,” the New American standard changed it to “the spirits of the dead” in 14:9, and “departed spirits” in 26:14 and 26:19. Why did they change what God said; the Hebrew does not say “the dead,” “spirits of the dead” or “departed spirits”; neither one is a proper noun, Rephaim is a proper noun, and there is no authority for changing it. Isaiah 26:19 is speaking of the nation of Isaiah, not of departed spirits. The New International Version says “spirits of the departed” 14:9 when neither “spirit” nor “departed” is in the Hebrew. Is not this just another attempt of the translators to change God’s word to put their view into the Bible, even if they had to change the proper noun God used into some thing other than a proper noun?
FIVE OF THE EIGHT ARE IN THE POETICAL BOOKS
All five refer to the lost, and speak of their death, deceased, destruction, dead, not ever attaining unto the paths of life again, resting with the dead. The dead are simply spoken of as being dead; nothing is said about a soul being alive after the death of the person. There is nothing in any of the five passages above that say anything about a soul being alive in Heaven, Hell, or Abraham's bosom at any time, not before or after the judgment; they are an undeniable contradiction to the orthodox doctrine of being alive and going to Heaven or Hell at death.
What do many believe? These passages are used to prove all the dead; both the good and the evil souls are now "Rephaim." Many who believe the souls that were in the dead go immediately to Heaven or Hell at death use it although it would make the soul not be in Heaven or Hell where they believe the immaterial, invisible something that is now in a person will be after the person is dead.
Which way do they go? "Rephaim" is used by Protestants in a way that does not agree with what they believe and teach; Protestants believe that the saved will be in their eternal home with Christ in Heaven at death, but step away from this belief and say at death both the saved and unsaved are together, and have only a weak shadowy existence, and will have this shadowy existence unto the resurrection. Even if we did grant that Rephaim is the "immaterial, invisible part of man" after death, it would contradict their beliefs about the "soul" being in Heaven or Hell. It makes all the dead be "shades" "shadows." Anyway you look at it, the eight times Rephaim is used it refutes the belief of going to Heaven at death and does to support it. Are they so desperately in need of proof that a person has an immaterial, invisible something in them that can never die that they reach for anything, even if it is far from what they believe and want to find?
Robert Morey, an orthodox Protestant, has written one of the most accepted and used books in defense of the doctrine of Hell that has come out in recent years. In his book he makes an argument for Hell which I think shows just how desperate he is for any kind of proof. In "Death And The Afterlife," On page 79 he said from the meaning of Rephaim, when the body dies, man enters a new kind of existence. He then will exist as a spirit creature, and experiences what angels and other spirits experience. Just as angels are disincarnate energy beings and are composed only of mind or mental energy, and are capable of thought and speech without the need of a body, when man dies, he becomes a disembodied energy being, and is capable of thought and speech without the need of a body. This is nothing more than a desperate attempt to prove that the "immaterial, invisible part of man" has some kind of life somewhere before and without the resurrection. Not a one of the eight passages where Rephaim is used says anything about a Rephaim being like God and angels. Not one of the eight, or any passage in the Bible says God and angels are nothing but thoughts. He must have made that up out of thin air and hoped you would not see it is not in any of the eight passages. I wonder if he sees how low he is making God if God were like the Rephaim in the eight passages? That he is making God be only "shades," "shadows," "ghosts," "name of the dead in sheol."
Thomas Jefferson in a letter to John Adams in 1820 said, "To say that God, angels, and the human soul, are immaterial, is to say they are nothing. At what age of the church the heresy of immaterialism crept in, I do not know; but a heresy is certainly is—Jesus taught nothing of it."
What is their no substance soul and Heaven? What could it be if it has no substance? God made all things out of nothing. If the soul has no substance while it is in a person, it will still be nothing after it leaves the person. Are they saying God made nothing out of nothing? And this God who made nothing out of nothing is Himself nothing.
HEAVEN IS A REAL PLACE
“For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:24; 8:5). The holy place made with hands was a real place that was a copy of the true holy place; a real place could not be a copy of something that did not exist, which was only a thought in the mind that has no substance. Christ entered “INTO HEAVEN ITSELF.” If Christ and God were only thoughts with no substance, and Heaven was only something in their minds, it would mean a thought entered into the thoughts that were only in the mind of the thought. He makes this and many other passages to be pure nonsense. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2-3). Thoughts do not have a house with dwelling places; Christ went to prepare a place for “you” not for thoughts only. Heaven is a real place with real dwelling places for a real “you.” You cannot prepare a place in a place that is not a place.
NOTE: I have tried to give the views of the majority in each in the above Protestants versions of Hell. In each of them, there are many individuals and/or small groups who believe in a variation of that believed by the majority.
Summary: Protestants that believe in Hell are contradictory as to what and where Hell will be.
· Some believe Hell to be a lake of fire and brimstone.
· Some believe Hell will be banishment from the presence of God.
· Some believe Hell to be only mental anguish.
· Some believe God will not only be doing the tormenting, but He will have great pleasure in it.
· Some believe God will give most of mankind to Satan to torment, as he wants to.
· Many believe a version of Hell that makes God be infinite cruel by creating million foreknowing He was creating them with no chance to not be in Hell.
· Some believe many other contradictory versions of Hell.
EIGHT OTHER VERSIONS OF HELL
(1) Church of Christ, Christian Church: The Abraham's bosom, or the after judgment Hell, A newer version of Hell: This version is based almost entirely on an interpretation of Luke 16:19-31 (see chapter eight, part one). Most members of the church of Christ, the Christian Church and some Protestants believe it although it is not generally accepted as being orthodox or traditional Protestant. In this version all who do not obey Christ will go to Hell, but not unto after the coming of Christ and the judgment; and no one goes to Heaven before the judgment (no instant rapture). According to this version, at death all are taken to an intermediate holding place where the lost are tormented, and the saved are rewarded in a place sometimes called "Abraham's bosom." Instead of all being in Heaven and Hell unto the second coming of Christ, all are either on the good or on the bad side of hades, and Christ will take them out of hades at His coming, and judge them a second time to see whether He made a mistake the first time and put them on the wrong side of hades. A baby who has not come to the age of accountability is not lost and will go to the good side of hades. After the judgment God will personally do the tormenting of all the souls of the lost for eternity, and Satan and his angels and all the bodiless souls will be tormented together.
This view has two places where God is going to torture the lost; (1) in one side of hades that is a temporary place of torture, and will last only unto the second coming of Christ, (2) and "Hell" which will be a permanent place where God will torture most of mankind without end. No one’s deathless soul is now in Heaven or Hell and it will not be unto after the resurrection and judgment. This is the view was I taught from the time I became a Christian, and I believed it a long time. I have many books and tracts in which well-known preachers and teachers, such as H. Leo Boles, E. M. Zerr, B. W. Johnson, and many others who teach this view; but lately it seems to be dying out in the church, and is being replaced by going immediately to Heaven or Hell at death without the Resurrection or Judgment, particularly at funerals where preachers often say the bodiless soul that were in the dead person is now in Heaven. Most all think of and speak of their loved ones as now being in Heaven with Jesus, not in Abraham's bosom unto the judgment.
“When a ‘faithful’ member dies, he or she does not ‘go’ to heaven or hell. The person is not ‘sentenced’ by Christ to heaven or hell until ‘Judgment Day’…There will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous (Acts 24:15).”
http://bible-the-real-world.awardspace.com/html/church_of_christ.html
(2) Edward Fudge version: The short Hell, God will torment the lost in Hell for a short time, then Hell will end: He uses the name Hell as if it was a Bible name, but thinks it will last for only a limited time, and will end with the total destruction of the souls in it. He may have Hell and the wrath and fury of God at the judgment confused (1982 edition). Roger Dickson believes the duration of Hell will fit the crime, and then will end. It will be short for some souls, and longer for other. He says, "After the stripes have been given, then the destruction occurs, for which there is no reverse" page 162ff, "Life, Death, And Beyond." Is he renaming the Judgment Day, and calling it "Hell?" If I understand him right, he thinks the lost will go to Hell, but the not so bad will not be tormented as long as the very bad. After the "punishment matches the crime" he says they will then be destroyed (page 163). (1) "Shall be beaten with many stripes" (Luke 12:47). This is used to prove there will be an end after the stripes. He seem to think, "Beaten with few stripes" could not be as long as "beaten with many stripes;" therefore, could not take forever; some would be tormented longer than others, but the torment will end with death for all. (2) This short Hell is different from the Church of God short Hell in that it will not be on this earth, and there will be no second chance, it will end with death from which there will be no resurrection.
F. LaGard Smith, a teacher of Bible at Lipscomb University in his book, “After Life, A Glimpse of Eternity Beyond Death’s Door,” also teachers there is a Hell, but a Hell that will end, no one will be tormented without end. He says on page 191 that sooner or later there is a point that the punishment in Hell will end.
"Beaten with few stripes" is in a parable addressed to those of that day, not an actual event after the resurrection and Judgment Day of God beating with a whip (Luke 12:41; 12:49-53). In the Law of Moses God limited "many stripes" to 40 lashes, never more than 40 (Deuteronomy 25:3; Luke 12:47; Acts 16:23; 2 Corinthians 11:24). According to him the stripes will end, but with many the "many stripes," which was no more then 40 is used by those that believe Hell is endless torment to prove that God will forever give not only the 40, but stripes without end, an uncountable number of stripes to those in Hell. In the parable in Luke 12:47-48 both the “beaten with few strips” and the “beaten with many stripes” are changed to “beaten with an endless uncountable number of blows given by God to a countless number at the same time He is burning them in the lake of fire; this change that puts the both the “few stripes” and the “many stripes” in Hell must be made to make the stripes go on being given by God for eternity and never stop, for if the “few stripes” were not an endless number and God ever stopped His beating, Hell would have ended. If there were a Hell that had no end, after the “few stripes” reached a number that no man could count, the stripes would have just begin. All the details that make up any of the parables cannot be taken literally. The point to parables is that they all teach a lesson. The lesson to this parable is that to whoever much is given much will be required, we are to use whatever ability we have whether much of little. More is required in this lifetime of the person that has much ability than of the person that has little ability, but even the person that has little ability must use what he or she has. Nothing is taught in this parable about any punishment after the judgment.
Death and only death is the wages of sin; there is no passage in the Bible that says a bodiless soul will be in “Hell” for a short time any more than there is one that says anyone will be in a “Hell” that has no end. The lake of fire is not a real literal lake of fire, it is a symbol picture of death, any living being cast into a lake of fire would be dead almost instantly. John clearly said the lake of fire “is the second death” (Revelation 20:8), not a short time for some but longer of others. Their punishment is not being tormented by God unto they have paid for their sins and then the torment will end; their punishment is an eternal punishment, an eternal death (Matthew 25:46). A place called “Hell” does not exist in the Bible, not a short Hell, or an eternal Hell.
For those that believe in an endless Hell, “few stripes” presents a problem. As Robert A. Taylor said in “Rescue From Death,” if a persons that receives the “few stripes” received but one stripe a year, after a trillion years that person would have received a trillion stripes with trillions of years without end yet to come. There is no way that a countless number of trillions could be call a “few stripes.” “The traditional view of Hell is fundamentally a nightmare beyond comprehension,” “Rescue From Death,” page 99.
This short Hell were God will torment for a while and then the lost will pay the wages of sin, death, is taught by Timothy J. Barnett in “Endless Hell Ended,” 1987, and by many others as a way to make God be less evil then many of the orthodox Protestant versions of Hell.
FATE OF THE UNSAVED
· According to the Bible
o Death – Resurrection – Judgment – Second death
· According to Fudge
o Death – Resurrection – Judgment – Hell – Second death
During the Ju