Questions and Answers
The concept that the wicked go to an ever-burning hell after their death is nowhere taught in Scripture. In fact, the Bible does not even teach the existence of an ever-burning hell, torturing wicked souls of departed ones for their evil deeds. The concept of an ever-burning hellfire is derived from paganism. Richard Craze explains in his book, “Hell, An Illustrated History of the Netherworld,” copyrighted 1996: “… the old horned gods of the Stone Age people became the new rulers of hell. There was a sort of logic in locating the place of the dead below ground — the underworld — because that was exactly where the dead were buried… The early [nominal] Christians borrowed Hel’s name [the goddess Hel ruled over the place of the “lost souls” in Viking mythology] for their own place of punishment… The early [nominal] Christians borrowed heavily from earlier mythologies, and the generally accepted appearance of Satan is an amalgamation of such things as the horns and shaggy hindquarters of the Greek god Pan, the wings of the Mesopotamian devil Pazuzu, and the scales and dragon skin of the Persian Azhidaahaka… The Greeks borrowed freely from the Babylonians… Pluto, Zeus’ brother, governed [hell] with a… Christ’s statement that He came to FULFILL the law does NOT mean that He did away with it — quite the CONTRARY is correct. Notice what Christ said in Matthew 5:17: “Do NOT think that I came to DESTROY the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy BUT to fulfill.” Christ did not say here that He had come to destroy the law. Neither did He say that “fulfilling” the law meant, “destroying it,” because if that were true, Christ’s statement would read: “I did not come to destroy the law but to destroy the law.” This would make no sense. In the Greek, the word for “fulfill” is “pleroo.” It is true that this word can designate completion or even cessation — but as will be pointed out, it can also mean a continued activity of carrying out something — depending on the context. For instance, in Luke 7:1, the word “pleroo” is used in the sense of “end” or “conclude”: “Now when He concluded all His sayings…” In Acts 19:21, the Greek word is translated as “accomplished” : “When these things were accomplished…” (The Authorized Version says “ended” in both passages.) However, in the majority of cases, the… We addressed this question in our new booklet, “Should You Fight in War?” We are bringing you the following excerpts: “Do we believe in God and rely on Him for our protection, having the faith that it is GOD who is our protecting shield, or do we think that we must have additional security in the form of a handgun or some sort of firearm? Do we think that God is incapable of helping us in certain circumstances? We should, of course, do everything that we can do to avoid getting into dangerous situations. We obviously should not go to places where gangs assemble, and we should not get involved with people who are known to be active in crimes, for instance. In addition, Proverbs 15:1 tells us that a soft answer turns away wrath but that grievous words stir up strife. So then, we need to be peacemakers, and we need to avoid everything that would create strife. Proverbs 18:6 reminds us that a fool’s lips enter into contention and that his mouth calls for violent reactions. We are also told in Proverbs 26:17 that he who passes by and meddles with strife belonging not to him, is like… We understand from God’s Word that man does not have an immortal soul. Rather, man is a mortal soul! (See Genesis 2:7; Psalm 146:3-4; Psalm 104:29, Authorized Version throughout, unless otherwise noted. Compare our free booklet, “Do You Have an Immortal Soul?”) Thus we must understand that at death, the soul is dead. It has no inherent immortality in it. Christ said: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh” (John 3:6). Thus man is flesh; of the dust of the ground. And when he dies, he returns to dust. We also see that, as with mankind, this same fate befalls animals (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20). In Ecclesiastes 3:21 we find these words: “Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?” Yes, when a man dies: “…the dust [shall] return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:7). Although both humans and animals have a spirit, the spirit in man is quite different from the animal spirit. We read in 1 Corinthians 2:11, that a man only knows and understands “…the things of a man,” because he has… The passage in question reads in full, beginning in verse 14: “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected… (verses 14-17).” Paul gives us several examples to avoid, in order to make sure that we will inherit the blessing of the Kingdom of God. He tells us that if we don’t pursue peace with all people, but rather continue to live a contentious life style, we will not see or be accepted by Jesus Christ. The same is true when we don’t live holy or God-pleasing lives. He also explains that we won’t inherit the blessing either, when we allow a root of bitterness to spring up causing trouble; and finally, we won’t be accepted by God if we commit spiritual fornication by rejecting, through our words, thoughts and deeds, the gift of eternal… Some, in an attempt to teach a Sunday morning resurrection, have used Matthew 28:1 in support of such a teaching. We do know, however, that Jesus Christ was resurrected on Saturday afternoon, around sunset, after having been in the grave for three days and three nights. He was killed on a Wednesday, and placed in the grave on Wednesday afternoon, just around sunset. We have set forth in detail the Biblical and historical proofs for a Wednesday crucifixion and a Saturday resurrection in our free booklet, “Jesus Christ — A Great Mystery.” In that booklet, we have also explained the correct understanding of Matthew 28:1, as follows: “We read in Matthew 28:1-6 (Authorized Version): ‘In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it… And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for HE… The Church of the Eternal God in the USA and its corporate affiliates in Canada and Great Britain have consistently taught that it is not wrong to eat out on the weekly Sabbath or annual Holy Days (which are also called “Sabbaths” in the Bible), depending on the circumstances. At the same time, we must always keep firmly in mind that whatever we do or say or think on the Sabbath should be in realization of the fact that we are spending time that God has set aside for a holy purpose (Isaiah 58:13-14). Quoting from our booklet, titled, “God’s Commanded Holy Days,” pages 21 and 22, we have said: “It was Jesus Christ-the LORD of the Sabbath-who created the Sabbath, following the directive and command of God the Father. It is God-both the Father and the Son-who expects man to keep the Sabbath holy. Only God has the right to tell us how to keep the Sabbath holy. In Matthew 12:1-8, Christ tells us that mercy allows for a hungry person to get and eat food on the Sabbath. We see here a very important distinction to the time when God did not provide ancient Israel with manna from… In the second and third chapters of the book of Revelation, John received a message for the “angels of the seven churches” (Revelation 1:20). As we have pointed out before [compare the Q&A in Update 157], these messages were to be meant for seven existing local Church congregations in seven distinct cities at John’s time, but they were also directed to all Christians at all times (compare Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, and 22), and they included messages for seven consecutive Church eras, beginning at the time of John, and ending at the time of Christ’s Second Coming (compare Revelation 1:19-20). The seven Church eras can be briefly described as the eras of Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7); Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11); Pergamos (Revelation 2:12-17); Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29); Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6); Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13); and Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22). The following sets forth our understanding of the identities of the seven Church eras, as taught by the Church of God for over the past 50 years: The first era of Ephesus describes the Nazarenes. The Bible itself identifies the early Christians as the “sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). Worldly records tell us that the Nazarenes kept the Sabbath and the annual Holy Days,… A Luke 22:35-38 reads in context: “And He said to them, `When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?’ So they said, `Nothing.’ [God took care of them.] Then He said to them, `But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: “And He was numbered with the transgressors.” For the things concerning Me have an end.’ So they said: `Lord, look, here are two swords.’ And He said to them: `It is enough.'” This passage cannot be used to justify participation of a Christian to fight in war. In fact, the passage teaches the exact opposite. First of all, “two swords” would hardly be enough for Christ’s disciples to defend themselves against the coming Roman persecution. Secondly, Christ Himself makes clear why they were to buy swords. It was so that the prophecy regarding Him could be fulfilled. What specific prophetic saying had to be fulfilled? “And He was… Q Although there are examples in the Old Testament when men decided to go to war, other passages show that God ordered them to war. If human warfare is always wrong, did God order men to SIN? A To answer this question, it would be helpful to recall that sin begins in the mind – many times, long before the physical act is committed. If a man lusts after a woman in his heart (mind) he has already committed the sin of adultery, in the eyes of God (compare Matthew Thus, in David’s and in ancient Israel’s situations, both had already broken God’s law and committed sin against Him, in their hearts, when they desired to go to war. They had already become men of war, in their hearts – sinners, who had chosen to live contrary to God and His Way (but they might not have even realized… Do the wicked go to hell?
What did Christ mean when He said that He had come to FULFILL the law? Doesn't this imply that He did away with the law?
Do You Believe in and Teach Self-Defense?
Will an aborted fetus live again?
What is the "root of bitterness," as mentioned in Hebrews 12:15?
Would you please explain Matthew 28:1?
Is it a sin to eat in a restaurant on the Sabbath?
Can you identify the seven Church eras, as described in the book of Revelation?
Q How do you explain Luke 22:35-38? Doesn't this passage allow, if not command, Christian warfare?
Did God ORDER Ancient Israel to SIN?
