· Luke 10:20: Jesus told His disciples, “Rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”
· Hebrews 12:23: “You have come…to the general assembly and church of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven.”
· Revelation 22:19: Any that adds to or takes from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the “tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book.”
If your name is not in the book of life, there will be no life without end, only death without end.
THE THOUSAND YEARS AND THE LAKE OF FIRE
In the New Testament many symbols are used and many of them we are told just what they are symbols of. We are given the interpretation in clear plan language. When we are told exactly what the interpretation is in plan language, we must not change the interpretation of the symbol. The Premillennialists make a symbol (the thousand years) into a literal time. The Bible's interpretation of the thousand-year reign cannot be accepted by them for if it were it would end the Premillennial doctrine. In the same way those who teach the lake of fire is Hell cannot accept the Bible's interpretation of what the lake of fire is, the second death, for to them the lake of fire is an eternal life of torment in fire; therefore, the second death cannot be death. The Bible's own interpretation of what the lake of fire is not accepted, for if it were there could be no Hell.
THE SYMBOLS - - - - -THE BIBLE'S INTERPRETATION
(1) THE FIELD -------- IS THE WORLD not a farm, Matthew 13:38
(2) THE GOOD SEED ---- ARE THE SONS OF THE KINGDOM not a garden, Matthew 13:38
(3) THE TARES -------- ARE THE SONS OF THE EVIL ONE not weeds, Matthew 13:38
(4) BOWLS OF INCENSE - ARE PRAYERS OF THE SAINTS not cereal, Revelation 5:8
(5) THE SEVEN HEADS -- ARE SEVEN MOUNTAINS
(6) THE TEN HORNS ---- ARE TEN KINGS not ten trumpets, Revelation 17:12
(7) THE WATERS ------- ARE PEOPLES, MULTITUDES, NATIONS not seas, Revelation 17:15
(8) SEVEN CANDLESTICKS ARE THE SEVEN CHURCHES Revelation 1:20
(9) THE WOMAN -------- IS THE GREAT CITY not a female, Revelation 17:18
(10) FINE LINEN ------ IS RIGHTEOUS ACTS OF THE SAINTS not a tablecloth, Revelation 19:8
(11) THE DRAGON ------ IS THE DEVIL AND SATAN Revelation 20:2
(12) 1,000 YEAR REIGN- IS THE FIRST RESURRECTION not a kingdom on earth after the second coming of Christ, not a millennial kingdom after the first resurrection, Revelation 20:6
(13) LAKE OF FIRE ---- IS THE SECOND DEATH not a deathless place of torment.
All die once, sinners will die twice; (1) they die, are resurrected, and judged, (2) then die again never to be resurrected a second time. NOT THE REVERSE—SECOND DEATH IS NOT THE LAKE OF FIRE, the second death is not eternal life in the Lake of Fire as is taught by many, Revelation 21:8.
The interpretation is only what it is stated to be. The thousand years is the first resurrection. The thousand years and the Lake of Fire are the two most misused symbols in this book. It is as if God knew they would be misused, and He plainly said what they are symbols of so there could be no excuses to misuse them. “The lake that burns with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.” The interpretation given by theology reverses the order and makes the second death be the Lake of Fire and says there is no death in the Lake of Fire. John interpretation of the “lake of fire” is that it is “the second death,” but theology must reinterpret John’s interpretation to make death be something other than death; John’s interpretation of “death” must be interpreted to be eternal life just with a lost of well-being.
· John said, “The lake of fire is the second death.”
· Traditionalists say, “No John you are wrong, the Lake of Fire is not a death, the second death is eternal life with a lost of well-being.”
The Bible speaks of two deaths, the first and the second, if the first death is death, but the second death is eternal life being tormented by God, then it is not death; the second death is a real death, just as real as is the first death; both the first and second death is the end of life, neither death is eternal life in another form or place; nothing is said about the lost after the second death, there will be nothing to say anything about.
· “Lake of Fire which is (ho estin—that is) the second death” (Revelation 21:8).
· “And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said unto him, Ephphatha, that is (ho estin) Be opened” (Mark 7:34).
· “It was the Preparation, that is (ho estin) the day before the Sabbath” (Mark 15:42).
· “For his body’s sake, which is (ho estin—that is) the church” (Colossians 1:24).
· “A place called Golgotha, that is (ho estin) to say, the place of a skull” (Matthew 27:33).
The words after ho estin clarifies the words before it. Who would know what Ephphatha means if it had not been clarified by saying it means, “Be opened”?
Those in Christ are now "kings and priests" (Revelation 1:6). Are a "kingdom and priests; and they reign upon the earth" (Revelation 5:9-10). Those who are baptized into Christ have been raised with Him; they were dead and now have the life He gives and they live with Him. This is the first resurrection, and those who have a part in it will not be subject to the second death after the judgment. All others are dead in that they do not have the life Christ gives, and after the resurrection and judgment they will die the second death. The 1,000’s (plural in the Greek) of years is symbolic of an indefinite time in which the saints will reign with Christ; the saved reigning with Christ begins after the resurrection of Christ and it will last to His second coming.
Strong lists ten Greek words that are translated thousand in the New Testament. Only two of them are used in Revelations.
More on the use of the singular and plural of thousand can be found under “Articles” by Ken Fortier at: http://www.kenfortier.com/ “A Preliminary Study of the Greek Word Thousand and Thousands.”
In all four times the second death is used, death is from "thanatos," which is used 118 times in the New Testament. In all 118 death is really death, not eternal life with torment, not alive but separated from God, not alive with only a loss of well being.
Thanatos always means death, never any kind of life, but today's theology tells us that John's interpretation of the lake of fire must be reinterpreted, and death changed to eternal life with torment, for there could not be death to a soul that cannot die; therefore,
John's interpretation of the lake of fire being the second death must be reinterpreted to be the lake of fire is eternal life with torment for souls.
The lake of fire is only a symbol of the real thing (the second death), but many preach and teach it as if there is a real lake of literal fire somewhere, but it is not on this earth, and this fire will last forever. There is not now or ever will be a lake of literal fire. They must turn it around and make the second death be only a metaphor of the lake of fire, and it is not a real death, for the second death cannot be a real death if a "soul" can never die. They also make the second death be only a metaphor of Gehenna (but only after Gehenna has been mistranslated into "Hell"). They do not seem to be able to make up their minds on whether the second death is a metaphor of the lake of fire, or a metaphor of Gehenna after Gehenna has been changed to "Hell."
Changes made by those who say they do not change the Bible.
FIRE THAT CANNOT BURN UP!
FIRE MUST BE REINTERPREATED
TO BE SOMETHING THAT CANNOT BURN UP
If the lost are never to be destroyed, why did God use throwing them in fire (something that to us always means the death of any living thing, something that no living thing can live in) as a symbol of deathlessness? To teach the everlasting deathless torment, theology had to make a reinterpretation of “fire” to be something that never destroys or consumes, fire had to be reinterpreted into something that will not destroy any living thing, but would forever torment it, it had to be reinterpreted into something that is the opposite of what fire really is, and dose the opposite of what fire does. God is made to use a symbolic picture to teach us that we could never understand without help, made to be unable to teach us without help from men to interpret His word to us and tell us that fire does not burn up; something that burns up and kills any living thing must be reinterpreted to be something that never burns up and never kills, if not, it would make unconditional immortality not be possible.
Death will end after the judgment when death is destroyed. The end will not come unto Christ "shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power for he must reign till he has put all his enemies under his feet, the last enemy that shall be abolished is death" (1 Corinthians 15:26).
BRIMSTONE AND FIRE IN NON-SYMBOLIC PASSAGES
The brimstone and fire of the second death. How "fire and brimstone" are used in the Bible and in the Book or Revelation.
Fire and brimstone (sulfur rock) were literally rained on Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19:24. The "fire and brimstone" that destroyed Sodom was rained from Jehovah out of Heaven, not from Hell, and the destroying was persons on the earth, not souls tormented but not destroyed in Hell. "Then Jehovah rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Jehovah out of Heaven" (Genesis 19:24; Luke 17:29). Both cities were literally burned up, and were brought to a total end by the fire and brimstone that rained on them. Fire and brimstone are used six other times in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 29:23; Job 18:15; Psalm 11:6; Isaiah 30:33; 34:9; Ezekiel 38:22), one time by Christ in Luke 17:29 speaking of the total destruction of Sodom. If the destroying will be "after the same manner," then the fire would be rained from Heaven, not be in Hell, and this fire will destroy, not forever torment those on which it is rained. Most believers in Hell put both the brimstone and the fire in Hell, but in every passage in both the Old and New Testament, it is literal fire and brimstone and is always on this earth, it is never in Hell. They must move the brimstone and fire from earth to Hell, for they have no scripture that is not symbolic that puts the fire and brimstone in Hell where they want it.
Edom's destruction Isaiah 34:9-10: "Its smoke shall go up forever; from generation to generation it shall be desolate; none shall pass through it forever and ever." The fire was literal fire that destroyed, not tormented without end, and it did go out, and today there is no smoke going up. After the fire went out, it became the home for pelicans, hedgehogs, owls, and ravens (Isaiah 34:11). Thorns came up in its fortified towers after the fire went out (Isaiah 34:13). The fire was not quenched, but it went out when there was nothing more for it to burn. The smoke is a symbolic picture showing that the complete destruction was forever.
It is always a total destruction, never a forever ongoing torment. Today's preaching of "Hell fire and brimstone" does not fit with the use of fire and brimstone in the Bible. In today's theology the destruction is changed from total destruction into a never ending torment without destruction.
BRIMSTONE AND FIRE IN SYMBOLICAL PASSAGES
Fire and brimstone are used six times in Revelation as a symbol of total destruction, which is taken from its literal use in the rest of the Bible.
PART FOUR
EVERLASTING OR FOREVER Of The King James Version
Olam in the Old Testament: "Age, age-lasting, olam" Robert Young, Young's Analytical Concordance To The Bible, page 310. Olam (olamim-plural) in the Hebrew Old Testament is translated everlasting in the King James Version and others, but does not mean without end as eternal in today's English does.
Olam-singer and olamim-plural are used of:
1. A Period of times that had both a beginning and an end. Forever (olam) is used about sixty-five times in the Old Testament for things that have already passed away.
2. Periods of times that had a beginning but the end is obscure or had not yet came.
3. A Period of time that is followed by another period of time; “from olam (age) to olam (age)” and “from olam (age) to olamim (ages), which are often translated “for ever and ever, ”, if “for ever and ever” made senses, which it doesn’t, would make there be more than one eternity.
AGES WITH BOTH A BEGINNING AND AN END
Some of the things that are "everlasting" or "forever" in the King James Version that was age lasting, not everlasting.