sgys banner books

by Will Kinney

The word Hell in the King James Bible

The Doctrine of Hell in the King James Bible

Hell or Hades or Sheol or the Grave?

The doctrine of Hell is getting a lot cooler in the modern versions.

In fact, a lot of theologically important words in the Holy Bible are being toned down or even lost entirely. As examples, here is a partial list of the frequency of certain words comparing the King James Bible Old Testament, with the NKJV, the NASB, ESV and the NIV Old Testament.

TRUTH KJB – 118 times; NKJV – about same; NASB – 92; ESV – 44;  NIV – 41

GRACE KJB -38 times; NKJV – 20; NASB – 9; ESV – 7; NIV – 8

MERCY, MERCIFUL KJB – 288 times; NKJV -same; NASB – 51; ESV – 132;  NIV – 85

SOUL KJB – 478 times; NKJV – same; NASB – 255; NIV – 110

LUCIFER KJB – 1 time; NKJV – 1 time; NASB – 0; ESV – 0;  NIV – 0

JEHOVAH KJB – 7 times; NKJV – 0; NASB – 0; ESV – 0;  NIV – 0

HELL KJB – 31 times; NKJV – 19; NASB – 0; ESV – 0;  NIV – 0

Examples of other words in the whole Bible, both testaments.

DOCTRINE KJB – 56 times; NKJV – 42; NASB – 14; ESV – 13;  NIV – 7

SAINTS  KJB – 98 times; NKJV – 98; NASB – 68; ESV – 82; NIV 2011 – 0

FORNICATION KJB – 44 times; NKJV – 21; NASB – 8; ESV – 0; NIV – 0

DAMNATION, DAMNED KJB – 9 times; NKJV – 0; NASB – 0; ESV – 0; NIV – 0

HELL (whole Bible) KJB – 53 times; NKJV – 32; NASB -13; ESV – 14; NIV – 13

HUMAN – The word “human” is the gender-neutral, New Age, Evolutionary Buzz-word.

How many times does it appear?

In the King James Bible, Geneva Bible, ASV 1901 – ZERO times.

In the NKJV – 15 times

(a few examples)

Leviticus 5:3 – Or if he touches HUMAN uncleanness—whatever uncleanness with which a man may be defiled, and he is unaware of it—when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty.

John 16:21 – A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a HUMAN being has been born into the world.

Romans 6:19  – I speak in HUMAN  terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.

1 Corinthians 2:4 – And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of HUMAN  wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

1 Corinthians 4:3 – But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a HUMAN  court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.

Hebrews 12:9 – Furthermore, we have had HUMAN  fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?

NASB – 39 times

ESV – 65 times

Holman Christian Standard – 141 times

NIV – 214 times

Examples from Genesis 6 – “When HUMAN beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of HUMANS were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with HUMANS forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

Dan Wallace’s NET version – 233 times

One Bible Critic, named Reese Currie, posts at his site this ignorant criticism of the KJB saying –

“Luke 16:23 KJV: And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

NKJV: “And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”

The Greek word is hades, which means, “the abode of the dead.” Here, the NKJV transliterates the Greek word hades to differentiate “Hades,” the abode of the dead, from “Gehenna,” the lake of fire. It is much more accurate to do so, since Hades is going to be thrown into the lake of fire in Revelation 20:14. The wording is Jesus’ wording and I have no issues with it. The NKJV is more accurate.” (End of his comments)

First, all this Bible Rummager and unbeliever in the inerrancy of ANY Bible is giving us, is his own personal opinion. Many others disagree with him.

And secondly, the word Gehenna is never translated as the “lake of fire” and he cannot prove from Scripture his assertion that Gehenna and the lake of fire are the same thing. He just made that up and gave us his opinion. That’s all he did, and his personal opinion cannot be backed up from the Bible.

Hell in the Modern Versions – hades, geenna and tartaros  = A very mixed up and inconsistent mess

The words still translated as hell in the N.T. of these modern versions (NKJV, NIV, NASB, ESV) are geenna 12 times (Matthew 5:22, 29, 30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,33; Mark 9:43,45,47; Luke 12:5 and James 3:6) and tartaros 1 time (2 Pet. 2:4).

The 2001 – 2011 ESVs still translate hades as “hell” in Matthew 16:18 “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

The NIV editions of 1973 and 1984 translated hades as “hell” in Luke 16:23 “in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments”, but the 2011 “new” New International Version now has “hades”.

The  ISV (International Standard Version) has translated hades as “hell” in Matthew 16:18 “the gates of hell”.

Petterson’s 2002 The Message has translated hades as “hell” in Matthew 16:18, Luke 16:23, Revelation 6:8, and Revelation 20:13 and 14.

Dan Wallace’s NET version 2006 is a study in confusion. He has “gehenna” as hell and “tartaros” as hell, but when it comes to “hades” most of the time he has the transliteration “hades” but in Luke 16:23 he goes with “hell” saying – “And in HELL, as he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far off with Lazarus at his side.”

And then he twice “translates” a word that is not hell as hell. He does this in Galatians 1:8 and 9 –

“But even if we (or an angel from heaven) should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be condemned to HELL! As we have said before, and now I say again, if any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be condemned to HELL!”

The Catholic Connection

It is interesting to compare and contrast the ever changing Catholic bible versions.  The other Greek word that is often translated as “hell” in the King James Bible and many others is hades.  In the older Catholic Douay-Rheims version, every time the KJB has hades as “hell”, so did this older Catholic bible – See Matthew 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27,31; Rev. 1:18; 6:8 and 20:13 and 14.

But the New Jerusalem bible (catholic) of 1985 has translated the Greek word hades as “hell” in Matthew 11:23 and Luke 10:15, as “the underworld” in Mat. 16:18, and as Hades in Mat. 11:23; Luke 16:23, Acts 2:27,31, and in Rev.1:18; 6:8 and 20:13,14.  So we see that all these modern versions are consistently inconsistent.

This particular study will focus on the word Hell and how it is being air conditioned by degrees in many modern versions. There are many who criticize the King James Bible as being wrong for translating certain Hebrew and Greek words as Hell.

In the King James Old Testament the Hebrew word Sheol is variously translated as HELL – 31 times; THE GRAVE – 31 times, and as THE PIT – 3 times.

The modern versions disagree among themselves and have little room in which to criticize the KJB.

The NKJV transliterates this same word as Sheol 18 times, but then translates it as HELL 19 times, rather than the 31 times as in the KJB. It also has translated the word as the GRAVE and the PIT.

The NIV never translates it as hell or even as Sheol, but instead has the GRAVE 55 times, DEATH 6 times, the DEPTHS 2 times, the DEPTHS OF THE GRAVE 2 times, and as THE REALM OF DEATH once.

The NASB and the ESV on the other hand, transliterate rather than translate this word every single time as SHEOL. How many Christians know what Sheol is? It strikes fear in the heart, doesn’t it?

What we see here is that the very scholars who criticize the King James Bible for translating the word at times as HELL can’t seem to agree even among themselves as to what the word means in various contexts.

Let’s look at a few examples.

Psalm 9:17

King James Bible – “The wicked shall be turned into HELL, and all the nations that forget God.”

NIV – “The wicked RETURN TO THE GRAVE, all the nations that forget God.”

There are two big problems with the NIV rendering here. First, you can only RETURN TO someplace you have already been before. Does the NIV teach reincarnation? You can teach it using the NIV, but you cannot get the doctrine of reincarnation from the King James Bible.

Second, most everyone, the wicked and the righteous, go to the grave. So what else is new? The context is the fate of the wicked, and it is not the same as that of the righteous. The NIV rendering is silly at best, and diabolical at worst.

NASB, ESV 2001 – “The wicked will RETURN TO SHEOL, even all the nations who forget God.”

The NASB, ESV have two similar problems. How do people return to someplace if they have not been there before? Also what in the world is Sheol? Many criticize the KJB for being hard to understand, but how many of them know what Sheol is?

And again there is no distinction between the wicked and the righteous in the NASB rendering. The liberal RSV has: “The wicked shall depart to Sheol”, the ESV 2011 is similar with “the wicked shall RETURN to Sheol” and the Catholic New Jerusalem bible of 1985 has: “May the wicked turn away to Sheol.”

The Jewish translations differ among themselves as well. The 1917 JPS (Jewish Publication Society) says: “The wicked shall return to THE NETHER-WORLD, even all the nations that forget God.”  The Jewish Family Bible 1864 – “Wicked ones shall return unto the GRAVE, and all nations that forget God.”

The Ancient Hebrew Bible 1907 and the 1936 The Holy Scriptures, Hebrew Publishing Company, say: “The wicked shall be turned into HELL” and the Complete Jewish Bible 1998 says: “The wicked will return to SH’OL, all the nations that forget God.”

Psalms 9:17 – “The wicked shall be turned into HELL”

The NKJV – “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” = the KJB here. Also agreeing with the King James Bible are Wycliffe 1395, Coverdale 1535, the Great Bible 1540, Matthew’s Bible 1549, the Bishops’ Bible 1568, the Geneva Bible 1587, the Douay-Rheims Bible of 1610, the Bill Bible 1671, The Longman Version 1841, The Boothroyd Bible 1853, the Lesser Bible 1853, The Revised English Bible 1877, The Sharpe Bible 1883,  the Douay of 1950 (Though the 1970 St. Joseph NAB says “to the NETHER WORLD” and the New Jerusalem bible 1985 says “turn away to SHEOL”)  The Word of Yah 1993, the KJV 21st Century Version 1994, the Third Millennium Bible 1998, God’s First Truth 1999, The Revised Geneva Bible 2005, the Bond Slave Version 2009, the Catholic Public Domain Version of 2009, The Work of God’s Children Illustrated Bible 2011 and A Conservative Bible 2011 – “The wicked shall be turned into HELL, and all the nations that forget God.”, The Revised Douay-Rheims Bible 2012, the BRG Bible 2012.

In 1395 Wycliffe wrote: “Synneris be turned togidere in to HELLE; alle folkis, that foryeten God.”

And the 2002 Message paraphrases it in this way: “The wicked bought a one-way ticket to HELL.”

This online Hebrew Interlinear Old Testament – “shall be turned The wicked into HELL, all the nations that forget God.”

Jewish Virtual Library The Tanakh [Full Text] 1998

“The wicked shall be TURNED INTO HELL, and all the nations that forget God.”

Foreign Language Bibles

The Portuguese de Almeida of 1681, and the Portuguese La Biblia Sagrada and the 2000 O Livro all read exactly like the KJB saying: “Os ímpios seräo lançados no INFERNO, e todas as naçöes que se esquecem de Deus.” , as does the French Ostervald of 1996 – “Les méchants reculeront jusqu’aux ENFERS, et toutes les nations qui oublient Dieu.”, the Italian Diodati of 1649 – ” Andranno in volta NELL’INFERNO.” and the Conferenza Episcopale Italiana Bible – “ornino gli empi negli INFERI”, and the Spanish Cipriano de Valera of 1602, 1865, 1909 and the 2010 Reina-Valera Gomez Bible – “Los malos serán trasladados al INFIERNO.”, The Romanian Fidela Bible 2014 – “Cei stricaţi vor fi întorşi în iad împreună cu toate naţiunile care uită pe Dumnezeu.” = “the wicked shall be turned into HELL, and all the nations that forget God.”

Likewise Baptist Bible commentator John Gill states: “The wicked shall be turned into hell,…. Some render it, “shall return to the grave”, to the earth, the original dust from whence they came; but this is common to all men, to the righteous as well as the wicked; rather lwav here signifies the place of torment, commonly called HELL, where devils and damned spirits are; hither the souls of the wicked go immediately upon their departure from their bodies, Luke 16:23; and after the judgment is over, they will be remanded thither in soul and body; and their damnation is called the destruction of soul and body in HELL;… this is true of all the wicked, the beast and false prophet, who shall be cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone, Revelation 19:20″

The Hebrew word Sheol communicates nothing to us in the English language. There are many different views among the scholars themselves as to what this word signifies and it seems to vary with different contexts. Many Hebrew and Greek words have multiple meanings which change their sense according to the context and scholars argue over them all the time.

The 1987 Amplified Bible (Lockman Foundation) translates Psalms 9:17 as: “The wicked shall be turned back [headlong into premature death] into Sheol (the place of the departed spirits of the wicked), even all the nations that forget or are forgetful of God.”  But we know from the New Testament that the place of the departed spirits of the wicked is called HELL!

The 2012 ISV (International Standard Version) translates Psalms 9:17 differently than most, saying: “The wicked will turn back TO WHERE THE DEAD ARE.”

There are times when the word simply means the GRAVE, as in Genesis 42:38 where Jacob says: “My son shall not go down with you (into Egypt)…if mischief befall him…then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to THE GRAVE.”

At other times the word means HELL, as the place of the dead in the heart of the earth. Scripture tells us in both the Old and New Testaments that there are compartments or degrees of hell. Both Deuteronomy 32 and Psalm 86 speak of THE LOWEST HELL.

In Deuteronomy 32:22 God says: “For a fire is kindled in mine anger and shall burn unto the lowest hell”, and in Psalm 86:13 David says to God: “For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from THE LOWEST HELL.”

Shoel as HELL in the Old Testament

Among the various Bible versions that sometimes translate the Hebrew word sheol as “hell” are the following: Wycliffe 1395, Coverdale 1535, the Great Bible 1540, Matthew’s Bible 1549, the Bishop’s Bible 1568, the Geneva Bible 1599, Douay-Rheims 1610, the Bill Bible 1671, Webster’s 1833 translation, Living Oracles 1835, The Longman Version 1841, the Lesser Bible 1853,  The Boothroyd Bible 1853,  The Revised English Bible 1877, The Sharpe Bible 1883, the Revised Version 1881, The Ancient Hebrew Bible 1907, the Jewish 1936 Hebrew Publishing Company translation by Alexander Harkavy into English, Luther’s German Bible 1545, Brenton’s translation of the Septuagint 1851, the Spanish Reina Valera  1569, 1602, 1909, the Italian Diodati 1602, the Portuguese de Almeida 1681, Portuguese O Livro of 2000, Rotherham’s Emphasized  Bible 1902,  the Douay 1950, the Bible in Basic English 1961 (2 Sam.22:6; Psalm 18:5), New Life Version 1969 (Pro. 5:5, 7:27, 19:18, 15:24,23:14), God’s Word Translation 1995, the KJV 21st Century Version 1994, New Living Translation, the NKJV 1982, Third Millennium Bible 1998, and the 2002 version called The Message in 2 Samuel 22:6; Job 26:6, Psalm 9:17, 16:10, 18:5, 31:17, 49:14, 55:15, 88:3, 89:68, 116:3, 141:7, Proverbs 5:5, 7:27, 9:18, 15:24, 27:20, and Isaiah 57:9!!!

Other Bible translations that have HELL in places like Deuteronomy 32:22 – “For a fire is kindled in mine anger and shall burn unto THE LOWEST HELL” are The Jewish Family Bible 1864 – “shall burn unto the lowest HELL”, The Word of Yah 1993, God’s First Truth 1999, J.P. Green’s ‘literal’ 2005, The Apostolic Bible 2006, Hebraic Transliteration Scripture 2010, Jubilee Bible 2010 – “For it is a fire that consumes unto HELL and would root out all my increase.” (Job 31:12; Psalm 88:11; Proverbs 15:11; 17:20), Conservative Bible 2011, The Work of God’s Children Illustrated Bible 2011, Names of God Bible 2011 – “My anger has started a fire that will burn to the depths of HELL.” (12 times in O.T. See Ps. 139:8; Job 11:8; Ps. 49:14,15; 83:13; 139:8; Pro. 5:5 “Her steps lead straight to HELL”, Pro. 9:18; 15:24; 27:20 – “HELL and decay are never satisfied”, the Biblos Interlinear Bible 2011 – “the lowest HELL”, The Revised Douay-Rheims Bible 2012, The New Brenton Translation 2012 – “shall burn unto the lowest HELL”, The Biblos Bible 2013,  the Modern English Version 2014 – “Yet you shall be brought down to HELL, to the sides of the pit.” (Isaiah 14:9,15; 28:15; 28:18)

Hades or HELL in the New Testament

In the New Testament the same confusion among the various bible versions is seen in the manner in which they translate or not the word Hades. There are many Bible critics who tell us the King James Bible is in error for translating the word Hades as Hell. Yet, as we shall see, the “scholars” are in total disagreement among themselves regarding this.

Luke 16:19-31 is the classic case showing the division that existed in hell before the resurrection of Christ from the dead. There we see the beggar Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom being comforted and in contrast we see the rich man IN HELL being tormented. There was a great gulf fixed between the two sections dividing the righteous from the wicked.

The Greek word used here is hades – αδης. The King James Bible translated it as hell, while the NKJV and NASB have Hades.

A simple visit to the “Oxford Compact English Dictionary” would clear it up for all but the most rabid of ”scholars”! “Hades” is a proper noun for A MYTH!

The NIV is interesting in that it has variously translated this same word as “Hades -5 times, depths – 2 times, grave – 1 time; and as Hell only once and that is here in Luke 16:23!

Oh, but wait.  Apparently that one time as “hell” in Luke 16:23 in the NIVs of 1973 and 1984 was one time too many.  Now the late$t NIV revi$ion of 2011 has come out and they have now decided that this should “Hades”.

The ESV likewise translates Luke 16:23 as “and in HADES, being in torment”, yet they have inconsistently translated this same word as HELL in Matthew 16:18 – “the gates of HELL shall not prevail against it.”

Hell itself is not the final state of the wicked. After the great white throne judgment we are told in Revelation 20:14 “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”

Those who complain about this word being translated as “hell” should check out some other bible versions to see what others, who have just as much education as they do, have done with these passages.

Hades  – αδης –  as HELL in the New Testament

Even today in the modern Greek language, the word αδης (hades) means HELL.  I have a hard copy of Divry’s Modern English-Greek and Greek-English Dictionary.  If you look up the word “hell” is says αδης, and if you go to the Greek to English side of the dictionary and look up αδης it defines it as HELL; Hades.  Hades is a transliteration and Hell is a translation into English of what the word means.

Online Greek Dictionary

Type in the word άδης and the first definition is “hell”

άδης

hell (proper) – in various religions, the place where sinners are said to go after death.

underworld – world of the dead

hades (noun)

inferno (noun)

Not only does the King James Bible translate the Greek word hades (αδης) as “hell” but so do the following Bible versions: Wycliffe 1395, Tyndale 1525, Coverdale 1535, the Great Bible 1540, Matthew’s Bible 1549, the Bishop’s Bible 1568, Geneva Bible 1599, The Beza New Testament 1599, The Bill Bible 1671, John Wesley’s N.T. 1755, Worsley Version 1770, Thomas Haweis N.T. 1795, The Clarke N.T. 1795, The Revised Translation 1815, Webster’s 1833 translation, The Longman Version 1841, The Hewett N.T. 1850, The Commonly Received Version 1851, The Revised N.T. 1862, The Alford N.T. 1870, the Smith Bible 1876, The Revised English Bible 1877, The Sharpe Bible 1883, The Clarke N.T. 1913, the Douay 1950, The Basic English Bible 1965, The New Life Version 1969,  the New Living Translation 1996 (Mat. 16:18), Today’s English Version 1992 (Mat.11:23, Luke 10:15), Good News Bible 1992 (Mat. 11:23; Luke 10:15), Bible in Basic English 1961 (Mat. 11:23; 16:18, Luke 10:15, 16:23, Acts 2:27,31, and the 4 in Revelation), Living Bible 1971- “His soul went INTO HELL”, Contemporary English Version 1995 – “He went TO HELL and was suffering terribly”, God’s Word Translation 1995 – “He went TO HELL, where he was constantly tortured”, (Mat. 11:23, 16:18, Luke 10:15, 16:23, Rev.1:18, 6:8, 20:13-14), KJV 21st Century 1994, Third Millennium Bible 1998, and The Message of 2002 (Mat. 16:18, Luke 10:15, 16:23, Rev. 1:18, 6:6, 20:13-14), ESV 2011 (Matthew 16:18) Dan Wallace’s NET version 2006 in Luke 16:23, New Heart English Bible 2010 – “In HELL he lifted up his eyes, being in torment”, and the  Names of God Bible 2012 – “He went to HELL, where he was constantly tortured.”

Other English Bibles that have the word HELL in places like Luke 16:23 – “and in HELL he lift up his eyes, being in torments” are The Word of Yah 1993, Lawrie Translation 1998, God’s First Truth 1999, Last Days Bible 1999, The Evidence Bible 2003, Bond Slave Version 2009, The Public Domain Version 2009, The Hebraic Transliteration Scripture 2010, The Work of God’s Children Illustrated Bible 2011, Conservative Bible 2010 – “And he reopened his eyes in Hell, being in torment there”

Many foreign language Bible translate the Greek word hades as HELL.  These include Luther’s German Bible 1545 (Luke 16:23) -“in der Hölle”, the Spanish Sagradas Escrituras 1569, Cipriano de Valera 1602 – “en EL INFIERNO, alzó sus ojos, estando en tormentos, y ve a Abraham lejos, y a Lázaro en su seno.”,  Reina Valera 1909, and 2004 Reina Valera Gomez Bible (infierno), the NIV Spanish edition Nueva Versión Internacional 1999 – “ En EL INFIERNO, en medio de sus torments” = “in HELL, in the midst of his torments”, the Portuguese de Almeida 1681 “E no INFERNO, ergueu os olhos estando em tormentos” – “and in HELL, he lift up his eyes, being in torments””, the Italian Diodati of 1649 and the New Diodati of 1991 and the 2006 La Biblia della Gioia –  “essendo tra i tormenti nell’INFERNO”, the French Martin 1744 and the French Ostervald of 1996 – “Et étant en ENFER.”, the Maori Bible – “A i te reinga ka titiro ake ia, i a ia e whakamamaetia ana” = “and in HELL he looked up in torments”, the Chinese Union Traditional Bible – 他 在 陰 間 受 痛 苦 – “IN HELL”, the Hungarian Karoli Bible – “És a pokolban felemelé az õ szemeit” = “IN HELL he lift up his eyes”, the Polish Updated Gdansk Bible 2013 – “A będąc w piekle i cierpiąc męki” = “and being IN HELL and suffering torment”, the Romanian Cornilescu Bible – “ Pe cînd era el în Locuinţa morţilor, în chinuri” = “while he was IN HELL in torment”, the 2006 Russian Slovo Zhizny Bible – “В аду, где богач терпел мучения” = “the rich man, IN HELL, being in torment”, the Afrikaans Bible 1953 – “En toe hy in die doderyk sy oë ophef” = “And IN HELL he lift up his eyes, being in torment”, the Danish Bible Det Gamle Testamente 1931 – “Og da han slog sine Øjne op i Dødsriget” = “IN HELL he lift up his eyes”, the Czech Kralicka Bible – “Potom v pekle pozdvih očí svých” = “IN HELL he lift up his eyes in torments”, the Swahili N.T. – “Huyo tajiri, alikuwa na mateso makali huko kuzimu” = “Rich man, he was IN HELL torments”, the Ukranian N.T. – “І в пеклї зняв він очі свої, бувши в муках” = “IN HELL he lift up his eyes being in torment”.

Wordsmyth Dictionary defines Hades as:

  1. in Greek mythology, the underworld inhabited by the dead, or the god who rules there; Pluto. 2. in the New Testament, the state or home of the dead. 3. the place of punishment for the wicked after death; HELL.

The American Heritage Dictionary 2000 defines Hades as:

  1. Greek Mythology a. The god of the netherworld and dispenser of earthly riches. b. This netherworld kingdom, the abode of the shades of the dead. 2. also hades HELL.

Notice that the first definitions given refer to Hades as myth, or merely as the place of the dead, without any reference to suffering or torment. For a preacher to say: “Repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ or you will go to Hades” seems to lack the visceral impact of “or you will go to Hell.” What do you think?

The American Heritage dictionary defines hell as: 1. Hell – The abode of condemned souls and devils in some religions; the place of eternal punishment for the wicked after death. b. A state of separation from God; exclusion from God’s presence. 2. The abode of the dead, identified with the Hebrew Sheol and the Greek Hades; the underworld.

The New KJV is not the same as the King James Bible. Here are some examples:

Matthew 16:18

KJV: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of HELL shall not prevail against it.”

NKJV: “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of HADES shall not prevail against it.” Luke 16:23

KJV: “And in HELL he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”

NKJV: “And being in torments in HADES, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”

The New KJV is inconsistent in the Old Testament in that it does render the word sheol as “hell” 19 times, yet it transliterates this same word as Shoel 18 times to match the NASB rendering. The word Hell is removed in 2 Samuel 22:6, Job 11:8, 26:6, Psalm 16:10, 18:5, 86:13, 116:3, Isaiah 5:14, 14:15, 28:15,18, 57:9, Jonah 2:2, Matt. 11:23, 16:18, Luke 10:15, 16:23, Acts 2:27, 31, Rev. 1:18, 6:8, 20:13,14.

Some Bible critics, mockers and others who would try in vain to do away with the doctrine of hell appeal to the book of Jonah where Jonah prays to God from the whale’s belly saying: “out of the belly of HELL cried I, and thou heardest my voice.”  “See”, they say, “Jonah wasn’t literally in HELL, so no such place really exists. It is just a figure of speech.”

Well, in part, they are right. It is a figure of speech here.  Most older and more correct Bibles have the word “hell” here, like Wycliffe, Coverdale, Great Bible, Matthew’s Bible, the Bishops’ Bible, the Geneva Bible and even the Douay Rheims bible.  Newer versions like the RSV, NKJV, ESV, NASB have “Sheol” while the NIV has “the grave”, but Jonah was not literally in Sheol (the realm of the dead) nor in a literal grave.

The story of Jonah (real history, not an allegory) is a type or prophetic picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Jonah the “type” is figurative, but in the anti-type or the fulfilled reality, the language is literal.  Jonah pre-figured the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The Lord Himself tells us in Matthew 12:40 “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Jesus Christ did literally die, spent three days and nights in the heart of the earth and was then literally raised from the dead.  “He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in HELL, neither his flesh did see corruption.  This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.”  Acts 2:31-32.

It seems that our Lord visited both sections of this realm of the dead. He told the dying thief on the cross who believed in Him – “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”  Luke 23:43 It appears that the section referred to as “Abraham’s bosom” is the region of the Old Testament saints who had faith in God, and was also referred to as “paradise”.

But it appears from Scripture that our Lord also visited the section called “hell”, but we are not told how long He stayed there.  This seems to be alluded to in 1 Peter 3:18-20 where we read: “For  Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.”

It does appear that our Lord did go to the “prison” side called Hell where he perhaps announced His victory over death and hell. Bible commentators have lots of different opinions about where He went and what He did when he got there, but as I presently understand the Scriptures, I think this explanation makes sense.

Hell | Is ‘Hell’ Missing from Your “Bible”? | Soul Sleep Exposed | Fake Bibles Exposed

A PLACE CALLED HELL

SATAN Wants Your Eternal Soul!

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

Abiding

Getting Gospel Grounded [podcast]


Explosive Podcast Featuring Expose’ of the prophesied end times wolves and rich Christology!

Refusing to sit under the false gospel, false doctrines, false teachers, and wolves is not forsaking the assembling of the saints. It’s obedience to the LORD! See 2 Corinthians 6:17-18)

There is a “difference” between the true and the false leaders today. True disciples will always warn and help God’s people distinguish the false teachers and “discern between the unclean and the clean”:

“And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.” Ezekiel 44:23 

False leaders are to be marked, to be scoped out and labeled in order to protect God’s people.

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly (self-serving carnal appetites); and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” Romans 16:17-18

Beware of the Band aid Bandit Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing!

There are no shortcuts in serving the LORD. One must deny self and take up the cross daily to follow Jesus.

“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” Luke 9:23-24

This is what gets to the root of that old man, that iniquitous evil bent, the flesh in us. Read Romans 6 each day this week prayerfully.

Lots of people, lots of fake pastors offering cross-less coping hacks, surface level “solutions” that have done nothing but perpetuate sinners in their sin. This is the same thing the greed-driven false prophets of old did…. in order to gain notice, to gain nickels, noses, and numbers for their own self-serving agenda to make merchandise of the people (2 Peter 2:1-3). A message without the cross is not the Gospel (Galatians 2:20; 6:14. etc.).

They (the false leaders of Israel) have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11

They operate by the principle of “coddling them in their sin while you confiscate their cash.”

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily (stealthily) shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” 2 Peter 2:1-3

False Prophets Promise Eternal Security to those Living in Sin. False Prophets give False Promises.

There are conditions to appropriating the promises of God. | Conditional Divine Promises

“They (the false leaders) say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace (with God); and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.” Jeremiah 23:17

In other words, false prophets lead people to believe that they will continue to have peace with God while they are living in sin and that they are judgment proof. Same lie Satan told the man and woman in the Garden which led to their fall into sin (Genesis 2:17; 3:4). Satan told Adam and Eve they would still be eternally secure if they sinned against God! Lie! Read Genesis 2:17 and 3:4 now.  | Satan’s First Lie that He is Still Telling Today! [podcast]

What was Satan’s first teaching? Is he really still teaching that same lie?

Like the “many false prophets” of our day, the prophets in Israel were promising “Peace, peace” to the people – peace between them and God – when judgment loomed on the horizon (Jeremiah 23:17; Matthew 24:11). This is exactly what the eternal security wolves do when they promise, they give assurance to those are living in sin. Promising peace to people living in sin and under divine condemnation is criminal and could only be the work of the enemies of Christ. Promising peace to sinful people is a money maker for now and yet will land the liars and their prey in hell. Nothing could be more clear from Holy Scripture. The vast majority of pastors today are wolves who do just this. The wages of sin is still death and all who die in sin will perish….. Wolves entertain goats and condone their temporary trinkets at the costs of their eternal souls….

No one is going to walk in peace and assurance just because they speak of it, claim it, or because they desire to have peace and assurance. No, it’s only when we obey the Word of God that His peace and assurance flood our being. There’s no short cut to obedience (1 John 3:16-18).

Of this, Adam Clarke writes:

“Peace, peace – Ye shall have prosperity – when there was none, and when God had determined that there should be none. Here the prophets prophesied falsely; and the people continued in sin, being deceived by the priests and the prophets.”

The wolves among us stick a band aid on a wound that needs surgery. Surgery would involve painfully cleaning out the infection, the deep cut sin had caused. This would be the only way to bring healing, wholeness. In contrast, false leaders deal only at the surface level…. in fear of losing their audience and money, they withhold the divine truth from the people – because they aren’t concerned about the people but rather themselves (Philippians 3:18-19).

“Jehovah directs him (Jeremiah) to pour . . . out the message of impending doom because of their covetousness, the falsehood of the prophets and priests, and their shamelessness. It is characteristic of false prophets to promise prosperity in a time of spiritual declension… They were covetous and deceitful, and dealt with problems superficially. For their shamelessness they would share in the coming time of punishment.” William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary

Only obedience to Christ, to His cross message, will yield the fruit of freedom from sin.

“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, IF ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32

The truth sets no one free from sin – until they obey Him, the Truth.

One man who recently discovered the divine power of the cross life shared:

“I’ve laid all my past sins at the feet of Jesus finally! Porn was 1 that I struggled with…it’s been gone 30 days now..1st time in 30 years…the pills are no more! Feels good to be truly saved my friend…thanks for all you do.”

Jesus forgives and sets free – as only He can do. Every other “source” is a lie.

Christ is Our Foundation

“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:11

“And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:4

The Sound Doctrine of the Holy Scriptures is the Way God Ordained that We Know Him

“Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. 2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: 3 Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. 4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” Deuteronomy 32:1-4 

The link between sound “doctrine” and being grounded in, knowing and dwelling in the LORD, “the Rock,” are inseparable.

Getting Gospel Grounded = Getting Grounded in Christ

“In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. 5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. 6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:” Colossians 2:6-10

The Gospel is all about Jesus and anyone not becoming increasingly grounded in knowing and worshipping Him, is being led astray.

Getting Gospel Grounded is getting grounded in Christ, in studying and knowing Him, the reason He came… not following the latest global gimmick or “global revival gimmick” that some false prophet is pushing to bring attention to himself…. when you are becoming grounded in Christ you will not be lured in by the gimmicks.

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1

3 truths that will greatly increase your grounding in Christ…

1. John 10 – Knowing, following, and hearing the voice of the Great Shepherd of the sheep.
2. John 15 – Abiding in Christ and thereby bearing the fruit that He alone can produce and that glorifies Him.
3. John 17 – Being one with Christ and the Father – prayerfully being brought deeper into that interpenetrational union with the Lord.

Knowing God

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” John 17:3

Jesus Christ doesn’t need our acceptance, the acceptance of sinners – we are in utter need of His acceptance. We are all sinners and in desperate need of the acceptance of our Maker. Because we are separated from Him in our sin, God “commandeth all men every where to repent,” not to accept Him (Luke 13:3; John 1:12; Acts 17:30, etc.). When we admit we have sinned against Him and receive Jesus into our lives by faith, we are then and only then “accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6).  

“Churching the Un-Churched” is the stated goal of the apostate modern local churches that litter America’s landscape.

False churches today seek to sell families on the need to join their country club where’s there’s fun for the whole family. These beguilers cater to the urban family to build their church business, with no intention of preaching the whole counsel of God’s Word, the cardinal doctrines of the original Gospel (Jude 3-4). Their goal is to entertain and to grow their church enterpri$e and not to ground their prey in Christ (Colossians, etc.). It’s all surface level, cosmetics. There is no repentance, no blood of Jesus, no King James Bible, no cross – no crucified life, no Holy Ghost baptism, no repentance, no personal holiness, no Christology, no readiness for the soon return of Christ, etc. The apostate modern church world exposed. 

TODAY: A dear Christian young lady asked me why I am not part of a church group any longer. A gently-communicated litany of doctrines purposely not being taught in the modern churches ensued. Also the fact that that the King James Bible is no where to be found. They only use pitifully lame fake “bibles.” It’s a busine$$ to the modern pastors who refuse to preach cardinal biblical doctrines such as the divinity of Christ (Christology), hell, repentance, judgment to come, confessing and cleansing ourselves of all sin, the return of Christ and being ready for it at all times, the cross – crucified life, etc. 

God is Calling Us to Follow Jesus – not Mere Men

Hebrews 6:17 speaks of “the immutability of his counsel.” Because of the immutability of the LORD Jesus Christ, the divine Author and Finisher of our faith, there is no muting His counsel, His Word. It is eternal and unchanging (Psalms 119:89; 146:6; Mark 13:1; John 10:35, etc.). God is eternal divine perfection and therefore His Word, His truth, His counsel cannot be muted, silenced, set aside, or changed.

So many looking for a sign instead of the Savior.

So many looking for a word and not THE Word.

“God forbid”

“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Galatians 6:14

The Gospel centric disciple revels in, is immersed in the glory of the Savior. He understands that salvation is about Christ and not himself.

“To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. 3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. 4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:2-7

Paul made a determination.

“For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” 1 Corinthians 2:2

From the very foundation of the world and forever more, the Gospel, salvation has always been and will always be about Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God – the crucified, buried, and raised again Savior of the world.

“And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Revelation 13:8

Religion is perhaps Satan’s greatest tool to wedge itself between the “one Mediator” and the people – before and after one is saved.

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” 1 Timothy 2:5-6

Abiding Fruit. Light Shining.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

Perhaps the greatest spiritual blessing teeming in and overflowing from the lives of believers that allows for powerfully moving evangelism, is the joy of the LORD. Moved men move men. Yes, men filled with the Holy Spirit’s fruit, the love, the joy, and the peace of God, are powerfully used of God to win men to Himself (Galatians 5:16-23). No sinner, no backslider has these treasures but every one of them desires them! The fruit produced by the Holy Spirit in Christ’s saints is a big part of that light Jesus instructed us to let “shine” before men.

Being is more important than doing. Abiding in Christ, rooted and grounded, assures that “fruit,” “more fruit,” and “much fruit” will be produced in our lives (John 15:1-16).

Emanating from the Jesus-worshiping Gospel-grounded disciple will be every dimension of Heaven’s fruit and glorious fragrance

“Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. 15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:” 2 Corinthians 2:14-15

Gospel Foundation

“If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Psalms 11:3

Is “the foundation of God” being laid in your personal life? (2 Timothy 2:19) If you are not diligently, daily, relentlessly, and perpetually in God’s Word, not only is His foundation not being built, you are backslidden and in utter need of repentance before it’s too late.

Those without the proper, the biblical foundation, will fall instead of flourish – with no exception (Psalm 1). Our LORD taught concerning the absolute necessity of being deeply rooted and grounded in Him.

“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? 47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. 49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.” Luke 6:46-49

Summation:

  • Worshiping, trusting, and obeying God are essential.
  • Abiding in Christ guarantees the fruitfulness that glorifies Him.
  • Every life not carefully founded, soundly grounded in Christ, on His stated terms, His Word, will be washed away in the coming storms and judgment.
  • Only those whose lives which are built upon the foundation of obedience to the Word of God will be left standing before the LORD for eternal blessing.
  • Great shall be the irrevocable ruin in hell of all who refused to do things God’s way in their brief earthly life.

Read Psalm 1 and 92.

In these final days, you can get all scared, sulk, filled and paralyzed with fear, OR you can settle down and get deeper, as you “search the scriptures” (John 5:39-40; Psalms 119:165).

Jesus is washing and sanctifying the bride He’s returning for. Like the five wise virgins, Christ’s true bride is in love with Him, ever and eagerly looking for His soon return, the Marriage of the Lamb, the Great Bridegroom with His true bride and their dwelling place, the New Jerusalem (Matthew 25:1-13; Revelation 21). This remnant body is submitting to Christ (John 13:8; 15:3; Ephesians 5:25-27; Revelation 19:7-10).

“Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” John 15:3

Crisis Management Mode vs Perpetually Dwelling in His Word

The modern church world, run by lightweight seminarians, are perpetually in crisis management mode, never building “the foundation of God” in the lives of God’s people (2 Timothy 2:19).

Perpetual Blessings require perpetual fellowship with Heaven’s coming KING.

“Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.” 1 Chronicles 16:11

Continually seeking the LORD guarantees that you remain full of His strength, His joy, His divine peace.

Running to the LORD continually is essential. Instead of praying and the reading of God’s Word being simply a crisis management reaction, why not make it our meat, our lifestyle – that which we do daily, diligently, and fervently?

“The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” Proverbs 18:10

Are you running to Jesus?

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2

If you are going to established in divine peace, if you are going to be “safe,” you must run to and remain grounded at the feet of Christ! Read Philippians 3:1-3.

Get filled, stay full, keep your lamp filled and overflowing (Matthew 25:1-13).

Matthew 7

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. 28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Matthew 7:19-29

Hindrances to a sound, solid foundation.

“And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. 18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, 19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.” Mark 4:16-19

Satan is the great distractor. His job, his work is to “steal, to kill, and to destroy” so as to cheat you out of the abundant life Jesus came to give you.

“The thief (Satan) cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” John 10:10-11

Remember how above we spoke about religion wedging between us and our LORD?

Join Us

We saved a place for you to receive our weekly newsletter.

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!

This is like eating trashy, no-nutritional-value snacks, filling up on them and then having no room, no appetite for the steak and potatoes. What happens then? In an hour or less, your body is craving real nutrition. Junk food is a cheap substitute for real food that fills and nourishes the body. In the same way, eating the steak and potatoes of God’s Word fills the mind, the heart, and the life of all who banquet at the table of sound doctrine.

There are so many, the majority of those doing ministry, who have their flashy lures they use to draw you in and yet the shallow content only leaves you remaining in the entanglements, the snares of sin and the world…

What’s the LORD convicting you of friend? Could it be that He’s drawing you aside to Himself, to tuck your feet under His infinitely bountiful table…. drawing you to come and dine, to feast with Him?

These novices issue forth constant promises of God blessing you, of His favor and blessing being upon your life. Yet there’s no mention of any of the divinely stated conditions. This leaves those empty who who are being preyed upon and led astray, wondering what’s missing. These who flash the shiny lures to catch your eye, perhaps do so to gain you as a follower. Yet, what has this ever done to root and ground your heart and life in Christ?

Ever heard the saying, “All that glitters is not gold”?

Continue Reading

Apostasy

Beware of the Manipulating Monsters: Spiritual Identity Theft [podcast]


Instead of fostering a deeper love for CHRIST in their hearers, local churches have diverted that loyalty, the faith of their hearers to themselves (1 Corinthians 29-2:5). This is “the spirit of antichrist” at work (1 John 2:18; 4:1-3). Anti  in “antichrist” means “in place of” and the vast majority of local churches seek to replace Christ with themselves – to intercept the heart affections of their audience from loving Jesus Christ supremely – to rob Him of His glory for their own self-serving agenda! Beware! This was Paul’s warning of Colossians 1-2. Christ alone is the Supreme Creator, Sustainer, Reconciler, Redeemer, and Savior! Pour prayerfully over Colossians 1 and 2 this week beloved of God.

“…do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10 

You cannot and won’t please everyone and such should not be your goal. Please God beloved and in NON-essentials, make your own decisions – void of the undue, unwarranted interference of others! (Read Romans 14.) Some people are operating in witchcraft and don’t realize it. They haven’t repented and learned how to mind their own business. And, so many live under the witchcraft of pleasing family and friends and the whims of others. If that’s you, you are not yet free but you can be. Seek the LORD in special prayer. Repent afresh and ask God to strip off every trace of witchcraft and control over your life. Ask Him to establish your life in His love and truth and all fear shall be vanquished from your life! See 1 John 4:16-18.

Note: Anything that is not specifically named as a sin in the Bible, is a NON-essential and that means that God gives YOU the liberty to conduct yourself as you see fit. Read and get to know Romans 14. | Learning to Mind Our Own Business

Those who insidiously seek to position themselves, to maneuver things to manipulate you, are fully arrogant and that’s why they believe THEY know better than God and you concerning your life, your decisions, your ministry, your direction, etc.. Beware. These are the very enemies of Christ. Like snakes in the grass, people like this are insidiously operating in witchcraft and as sure for hell as if they were already there (Galatians 5:19-21). Beware.

Untold scores of men, all of which had a calling from God, have allowed wicked manipulators to derail, destroy, and waste their lives. Beware.

Beware of those with an agenda….. an agenda that is not God’s agenda/will. With Jesus our LORD, the true disciple declares to God – “NOT my will, but thine be done” (Luke 22:42). All of the unsaved are under the control of Satan, the enemy of all souls.

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:” Ephesians 2:1-2

Most if not all of us have realized that there are lots of manipulators around us who vie for the control of our lives, who attempt to push their agenda, their personal will on us. Solidifying our identity in Christ, becoming increasingly rooted and grounded in Him, is essential to be kept from such witchcraft. The aim, the stated will of God, is to root and ground every one of His saints ever more deeply into Christ. Pour prayerfully, meticulously over Colossians 1 and 2 beloved, and ask the LORD to root your heart and life deeper into Christ in whom alone you are “complete.” Ask the Father that your constitution, your innermost identity would be Christ and Christ alone! (Read Galatians 2:20; 6:14; 1 Corinthians 2:2, etc.)

“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Galatians 6:14

If your life is not all about CHRIST, you are in trouble. Stop. Re-turn afresh to the LORD. Declare JESUS CHRIST as the LORD, Savior, Master, First Love of your life in this world! Do it with force! Memorize Galatians 6:14.

Satan is behind every attempt to derail God’s people from walking in His perfect will. Spiritual warfare. In light of the desire to get God’s Word into the hearts of the people, Paul requests prayer to be “delivered from unreasonable and wicked men.”

“Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: 2 And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.” 2 Thessalonians 3:1-3

Escaping the Witchcraft, the Manipulation

ANY person participating in the work of Satan is a child of the devil. Satan’s work is “to steal, to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10). Any questions? Any activity, operation, or plan to steal the freedom or money or anything from another, is the work of Satan himself. So is to killing or destroying people or property unjustly.

May the LORD continue to increase His discernment in us – in order to see the enemy working through people from afar. Once we’ve allowed them in, they are within striking distance, right? Yes. See Matthew 7:6.

“And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.” Ecclesiastes 7:26

Did you see that? Did you see in Ecclesiastes 7:26 how those who obey God will escape the seduction and the clutches of manipulating people?

A careful reading, study, and meditation upon the words of this verse above, will yield important truths concerning spiritual warfare and overcoming through Christ.

“Witchcraft” is a soul damning sin – which means that any person operating in this sin is outside of Christ and as sure for hell as if they were already there (Galatians 5:19-21). Eternal security/once saved always saved is a lie from hell.

Any person who seeks to usurp authority over another person (his will and decisions, etc.) is operating by his own agenda and not the LORD’s. Such a person is rebellious and self-willed and therefore seeks to exert their witchcraft over the lives, the decisions, the will of others.

“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” 2 Timothy 2:24-26

Remember how manipulating Delilah was as she sought to manipulate and derail Samson? Read Judges 16.

There are many examples of manipulation in the Word of God, beginning in the Garden of Eden.

In the Scripture below, notice the interaction with Paul and the false prophet, Elymas. All interference of the Gospel is from Satan. Below is but one example. This man sought to exercise control over Paul and the deputy and how the LORD judged him:

Barnabas and Saul on Cyprus

Act 13:4  So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
Act 13:5  And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.
Act 13:6  And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
Act 13:7  Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
Act 13:8  But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
Act 13:9  Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,
Act 13:10  And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
Act 13:11  And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
Act 13:12  Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

Support | STORE | Podcasts | Prophetic or Pathetic? | Witchcraft | Prayer | Jezebel Exposed | Manhood | Beware of the Witches and Warlocks in the Church [podcast] | Are You Under a Spirit of Witchcraft? [podcast] | Jezebel The Depths of Satan | Biblical Prescription for Deliverance

Join Us

We saved a place for you to receive our weekly newsletter.

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!

Continue Reading

Abiding

“If any man speak, let him Speak as the Oracles of God” [podcast]


The Holy Spirit spoke through the prophet Amos of the day we now live in.

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:” Amos 8:11

“Amos 8:11: A famine in the land – The most grievous of all famines, a famine of the words of Jehovah; a time in which no prophet should appear, no spiritual counsellor, no faithful reprover, none any longer who would point out the way of salvation, or would assure them of the mercy of God on their repentance and return to him. This is the severest of God’s judgments on this side the worm that never dieth, and the fire that is never quenched.” Adam Clarke

Today, we have an epidemic of people in ministry, doing ministry, who’ve never been personally grounded in God’s Word. In many cases, they have followed the convoluted teachings of others, of mere men. Sad yet so true. On social media we see arrogant novices spreading a poisonous mixture, a diatribe of half-truths and heresies (1 Timothy 3:6). Beware and be not one of them. Get soundly grounded in God’s Word for yourself. Begin immediately studying God’s Word for yourself, which is a divine mandate (2 Timothy 2:15). That’s exactly what Paul told Timothy to do and exactly what God tells you to do here in 2 Timothy 2:15.

Deceivers don’t teach you the Bible itself. No, instead they build their brand, their “ministry” on extracting a few verses in order to use to tickle the ears of their prey. These people are charlatans and have no business teaching the body of Christ. Run.

If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:11

“If any man speak, let him – In his whole conversation, public and private. Speak as the oracles of God – Let all his words be according to this pattern, both as to matter and manner, more especially in public. By this mark we may always know who are, so far, the true or false prophets. The oracles of God teach that men should repent, believe, obey. He that treats of faith and leaves out repentance, or does not enjoin practical holiness to believers, does not speak as the oracles of God: he does not preach Christ, let him think as highly of himself as he will.” John Wesley

“In order to explain or enforce God’s word, and edify his neighbor, let him do it as those did to whom the living oracles were committed: they spoke as they were inspired by the Holy Ghost. … should speak as or according to the oracles already delivered, grounding all their exhortations and doctrines on some portion of that revelation already given. This command is sent to every man upon earth in holy orders … Their teaching should be what the oracles of God, the Holy Scriptures, teach and authenticate.” Adam Clarke

“That he may give more precision to his counsel, the Apostle proceeds to speak of gifts under two heads into which they are naturally divided. First come those which St. Paul (Rom_12:6-8) ranges under the head of prophecy, embracing therein teaching and exhortation likewise: “If any man speaketh, speaking as it were “oracles of God.” The first Christian preachers must have gained their knowledge of the life and teaching of Jesus by listening to the narratives of the Twelve, and must have gone forth to give their teaching orally. The training of those who were appointed to minister in the various places whither the apostolic missions penetrated must have been of the same kind. In those first years there was work to be done which would seem more important than the writing of a Gospel history. When such preachers published to the congregations what they had learnt of the Master’s lessons, their sermons would be orally given, and though conveying the same instruction, would be liable to constant modifications of words. It was from such oral teaching that the variations found in the Gospel narratives probably had their origin. The preachers gave the spirit, and as nearly as possible the text, of what they had been taught. Perhaps by memoranda or otherwise, they would refresh their knowledge of the apostolic words, so as to adhere as much as might be to what they had first received. The word logia-oracles-which the Apostle here employs, seems intended to remind such preachers and teachers that they now, as the Jews of old, had received “living oracles,” (Act_7:38) words by which spiritual life was conveyed, to deliver to the Church. Those of them who were Jews would call to mind how God’s prophets had constantly prefaced their message with “Thus saith the Lord” or concluded it with the Divine accrediting, “I am the Lord”; and that the Christian prophet must bear in mind that he is only an ambassador, and must abide by his commission, if he would speak with authority, that as a steward he must ever think of the account to be some day given of “the oracles of God” (Rom_3:2) with which he was entrusted, and must “handle aright the word of truth”. (2Ti_2:15) For all such is St. Peter’s admonition, “If any man speaketh, speaking as it were oracles of God.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary

Ministry has become a performance – where people are performing, seeking to brand themselves, constantly creating endless media productions to increase their followers, their personal popularity…. it’s a fleshly show, a stage for carnality … Paul speaks of this in Philippians 3:18-21.

Have you ever pondered why there is little or no Scripture being used when listening to someone pretending to be speaking about the LORD? You should wonder (Matthew 7:16, 20; 1 John 4:1).

“Preach the word” is the divine mandate, command (2 Timothy 4:2).

Let us cease to pretend that we represent the LORD when everything we say isn’t coming straight out of His Word. Read that again please. He didn’t instruct us to entertain or to tell stories. He commanded us to preach HIS Word. King James Bible.

“If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles (written Word) of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:11

Think God is calling you to serve? Good. If He has saved you, He has called you (Ephesians 2:8-10; 4:7). Get lost in His Word every day (Jeremiah 15:16). Read it (Revelation 1:3). Study it (2 Timothy 2:15). Memorize it (Proverbs 4:4). Meditate upon it day and night (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1). THAT’s your prep for ministry, not going to an antichrist seminary. Jesus inducted you into His school of the Holy Ghost and Word the moment He saved you.

Purged, Sanctified, Meet for the Master’s Use, Prepared unto Every Good Work

“If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.” 2 Timothy 2:21

The only way the disciple of Jesus can be “prepared unto every good work” of the Gospel, is via the Word of God, by way of a personal knowledge and understanding of the precepts of God and his personal use of that divine truth, wisdom.

“And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect (equipped, mature), throughly furnished (with God’s Word) unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:15-17

“But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Hebrews 5:14

Dear minister of Christ:

It is your duty and personal responsibility to study and learn and increasingly know and be filled full of the truth of God. And, this cannot and will not happen outside of diligently, daily study of God’s Word. Memorize 2 Timothy 2:15 and 3:15-17.

“Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. 18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. 19 That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee. 20 Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, 21 That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?” Proverbs 22:17-21

How shall a man be prepared to speak the oracles of God other than getting those precepts, those divine truths into his own heart and mind by diligently studying God’s Word?

“Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel. 2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll. 3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness. 4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.” Ezekiel 3:1-4

How can God’s words possibly get into us unless we get into and stay into His Word?

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” 1 Peter 3:15

If you are a disciple of Christ, your goal should be to have Scripture memorized in order to be equipped to “give an answer to every” single person who you meet who has questions – saved and unsaved.

Every answer to man’s questions and problems are given to us in Holy Scripture. – “ALL things that pertain unto life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3-4). Are you learning them for your own life and the lives of others?

If Christ is truly sanctified (set apart as supreme, ultimate priority) in our hearts, we are diligently desiring, studying, learning, memorizing, and communicating His blessed Word. We are being armed for giving an answer from His Precepts to those He blesses us to speak with.

“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:10-11

If you dare speak for God – Let God speak for Himself by speaking, quoting His Word. This necessitates your personal duty to learn, to memorize His Word: “Let thine heart RETAIN my words” (Proverbs 4:4).

Support | STORE | Podcasts | Jail/Prison MinistryMexico Mission here | All Ministry Updates | The Return of ChristStewardshipApostate Modern Church Exposed | Beware of the BUZZ WORD Bandits [podcast] | Preach the WordWolves Exposed | Church Membership Exposed | 100’s of Christ-centered, Scripture-rich Podcasts | Knowing God | The Cross Life | Christology = the Study of Christ

Join Us

We saved a place for you to receive our weekly newsletter.

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!

Continue Reading

Categories

donate button round
sgys-books01

Trending