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:
- 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:
- 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
Apostasy
The Truth about Yoga [podcast]

Yoga brings demon possession which keeps the person captive to the lie – that they have to do their little séance breathing technique. They have to keep doing their little witchcraft drill. That’s just it – it doesn’t work.
Your silly little yoga pose won’t forgive your sins, give you peace, or save you from going to hell.
“Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. 22 Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?” 1 Corinthians 10:21-22
WHAT kind of absolute pansy of a “man” feels like a man after doing yoga? Get a clue. NO ONE needs yoga to stretch and work out. That’s what gyms are for. Delusional. God is calling you to repent and get a spine.
DABBLE WITH YOGA AND YOU’VE GOT DEMONS!
The devil is slick…and sick…. yet can only fool those who are outside God’s will (James 4:7). Example: WHO ever said one needs yoga for relaxation or exercise? Delusional. Repent and break all bonds with this demonically-yoking practice.
There’s no such thing as a Christian who does yoga.
ANY person doing yoga has demons! Any company or organization promoting or allowing it, is demonic. 100%. Repent now sinner.
Yoga is a diabolical placebo, a cheap substitute for what you truly need. You need Jesus to forgive your sins, sinner. Turn to Him in humility and in full repentance.
It doesn’t matter how widespread the advertising push is for yoga, it’s still witchcraft. Why add the witchcraft? What’s Revelation 12:12 say?
“Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Revelation 12:12
by Debbie Lord
DID YOU KNOW?
The serpent (Satan) described in Genesis 3 as the most subtle of all beasts of the field, has deceptively presented yoga to the world as “innocent” exercise and “a positive” experience just as he did when he approached Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, challenging God’s words, in essence calling Him a liar: “Hath God said?”… and thus begins the elevating of the creation over the Creator.
All around us, the name of our most holy God is taken in vain, while the popularity of yoga (the worship of beasts, nature, Hindu gods etc.) increases. A shift like this doesn’t just happen casually or by coincidence. The Enemy of our souls is at work 24/7 scheming his way into our societies by dethroning The One True God (the Creator of the universe and everything in it) by deceiving us into physically paying homage and bowing down to other gods by elevating the creation above the Creator through the practice of yoga.
The practice of yoga has become so common in the U.S. and the western world that we see the motions and concepts all around us on TV, in commercials, movies, all forms of entertainment media and in our every-day lives. It is common to see someone strike a yoga pose or put the palms of their hands together and make a bowing gesture. It appears so kind, gentle and gracious … innocent, right? Here is the real meaning and the root from which this position is derived:
“Namaste”—the word spoken in conjunction with the bow—”translated roughly, means ‘I bow to the God within you,’ or ‘The Spirit within me salutes the Spirit in you’—a knowing that we are all made from the same One Divine Consciousness.“ Urban Dictionary
Yoga means “to yoke with.” Just exactly who or what are you “yoking with”?
Portions of article by Julie Roys:
The word yoga is problematic. Yoga means “to yoke.”… using the word begs the question, “Yoked to whom?” …the postures and techniques of yoga were designed to be offerings to the millions of Hindu gods. But ultimately, yoga was intended to yoke a person to the so-called “Lord of Yoga” – Shiva, the destroyer. …these realities make yoga, regardless of how it’s packaged, incompatible with Christianity.
Quotes from The Chopra Center:
“When you bow your head and say namasté at the end of a yoga practice, you have the chance to do more than simply mark the ending of the session. In fact, a spiritual revelation is on the other side of a truly felt namaste.”
“One of the most common translations of namasté is ‘The divine light in me bows to the divine light within you,’ and ‘I honor the place in you where the entire universe dwells.'”
All of the above fly in the face of the Truth of God as Creator of the universe and everything in it, and that we humans are God’s creation (not the Creator) as told to us in His holy Word—the Bible. God is holy “set apart” and “other than.”
“Hinduism is pantheistic and teaches that god is in everything — its 330 million gods, plants, animals, and every human being. So, to salute the divine in another person makes total sense to a Hindu.
“Christianity, however, teaches that God is transcendent and distinct from His creation. Though it’s true that the Holy Spirit resides in each believer, the Holy Spirit does not bow to himself in other believers saying, … ‘That light in me honors that light in you.’ According to Scripture, the Holy Spirit honors the Father and the Son. And a Christian’s worship, though emerging from within him, should always be directed upward and outward. So, the Psalmist says, ‘I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.’ In Christianity, we, the creature, direct our worship to the Creator.” Author Unknown
The yoga fad that is exploding in popularity world-wide is more than a passing fad, it is one more step toward the slippery slope of the Christ-denying apostasy of the church.
You may say: “Yoga exercises help my body. It works for me.” But by what power is it working? Satan is setting the stage for the great deception of the world and the church for false miracles in the end times.
“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil;” Isaiah 5:20
Quote from John Edmiston: “The end-times religion will be both idolatrous and magical. Idolatry is the substitution of the creature for the Creator. Magic is any system that claims to give people access to God’s power without having to accept God’s will.” John Edmiston, False Miracles in The End Times
Yes, there are many professing Christians who fail to understand the origins and power at the root of the practice of yoga. And yes, there are several different kinds of yoga, however, they all have the same origin and root.
At the very root of every kind of yoga, each physical posture is pointing toward, bringing attention to (worshiping) and is even named after an animal, an element of nature and false gods.
Yoga has its roots in Hinduism, which espouses that “God” is in every living thing and so the creation itself should be worshiped.
If you say: “Well, to me it’s just stretching, concentration, balance and strengthening exercises” . . . then why is the class named “Yoga”?
Why would you choose to knowingly, intentionally engage in a practice that has at its core, denial of the supremacy of the very God you say you believe in, and by participation are giving your body over to worship other gods—even Satan himself?
Quote from wikipedia regarding one kind of yoga—Kundalini Yoga
“It was adopted as a technical term in Hatha yoga during the 15th century, and became widely used in the Yoga Upanishads by the 16th century. Eknath Easwaran has paraphrased the term as ‘the coiled power’, a force which ordinarily rests at the base of the spine, described as being ‘coiled there like a serpent.’”
“Coiled like a serpent.”
Again, just who or what are you “yoking with”?
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” 2 Corinthians 6:14
How many times have you heard “I just take the class for the exercise—I’m real careful to stay away from the spiritual part of it.”
How can that even be possible when the very positions (poses) themselves are based on positions that focus on/elevate an animal, nature or a Hindu god?
How can you separate one from the other?
“Choose you this day whom ye will serve” (Joshua 24:15).
“What? Know ye not that your BODY is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: Therefore glorify God in your BODY, and in your spirit which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
If you are a Christian who participates in “harmless” yoga exercises, are you asking the Holy Ghost within you to worship a Hindu god or a creature rather than the Creator, the One True God? Do you think the Holy Ghost is going to stick around for that?
“And the very God of peace sanctify you WHOLLY, and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and BODY be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
Are you willfully, not only limiting but actually rebelling against the Lord’s sanctification in your spirit, soul and body?
“I beseech ye therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye PRESENT YOUR BODIES A LIVING SACRIFICE, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And BE NOT CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:1-2
How can you as a Christian do one thing in your spirit and do exactly the opposite with your body? Impossible.
“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” James 1:6-8
You may have heard the saying by Hudson Taylor: “Christ is either Lord of all or He is not Lord at all.”
“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.” Matthew 6:24
“Choose you this day whom you will serve.” See Joshua 24:14-16
Still some will say: “Well, still, in my spirit, I’m not serving the gods of Hinduism, I’m praying to the one true God all the time I’m doing yoga”
Read Romans 12:1 again (above).
So, is it important what you willfully choose for your body do?
The Apostle Paul said: “But I keep under my BODY and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (1 Corinthians 9:27).
What chances are you willing to take, how far are you willing to go even if the consequence of your choice may result in being cast away from God?
Are you willing to risk being cast away from God and His presence for eternity?
Even if you can’t bring yourself to think there’s a possibility that what is put forth in this article is true and should be applied to your life and exercise routine, are you really ready to gamble with your eternal destination by continuing to willfully, purposely engage in yoga exercise?
There are alternatives. There are classes out there that engage in stretching, cardio, balance and strengthening exercises that do not have their roots in the practice of yoga. Prayerfully seek them out.
Hint: The word “Yoga” will not be anywhere in the title of the class.
Yoga is Satanic | Kundalini Witchcraft in the Church
UPDATE FROM SISTER DEBBIE LORD:
Had good time of fellowship with the 2 ladies that came over this afternoon.
Conversation moved to the practice of yoga!
So, we had our first Bible study together and prayed
a prayer of repentance, deliverance and cleansing of its
effects. We included all of us in the prayer and it was
especially for one lady who expressed verbally her horror
at what she had done in participating in yoga in any way.
The Holy Spirit had already been preparing her heart.
This revelation re yoga triggered another question about “rock stacking” (Cairns) so we looked into it together and found that they have many meanings — one is simply for hiking trail directions so you don’t get lost, but have also been used for centuries for burial and other ritual ceremonies. Schools have used the practice of building Cairns inside the classroom so that their students can “reflect on themselves and realize what their priorities in life are, a form of meditation tool.” Idol worship and witchcraft.
This info caused us to pray for increased Holy Spirit discernment and awareness of what’s going on around us in this world — including the church world.
YOGA IS SATANIC: IF you’re doing yoga, you’ve got demons. Repent and denounce it now.
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Apostasy
Beware of the Crown Stealers! [video]

by Glenn and Dezi Langohr
“Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” Revelation 3:11
In the next teaching we are going to go over all of PAUL’S WRITINGS that false teachers manipulate.
False teachers today — OSAS, Hyper-Dispensationalists, Free Gracers, and Pretribbers — are crown stealers . They twist Paul’s writings to promise a salvation that requires no endurance, obedience, or holiness. But Jesus and Paul speak the same Gospel . Jesus warned through parables: some hear the Word with joy but fall away in tribulation ; servants who neglect their calling are cut off ; virgins without oil are shut out of the wedding feast ; unprofitable servants are cast into outer darkness . These mysteries of the Kingdom reveal that salvation is conditional — not “once saved, always saved.”
Paul confirmed the same truth . He warned believers not to believe in vain (1 Cor 15:2), to run the race and fight the good fight of faith (1 Cor 9:24; 1 Tim 6:12), to hold faith with a good conscience or risk shipwreck , and to lay hold of eternal life through endurance. He declared that believers can be cut off if they do not continue in God’s goodness (Rom 11:22). He said Christ could be hindered from being fully formed in the heart (Gal 4:19). He exhorted believers to test themselves to see if they were truly in the faith, warning that without Christ in them, they would be reprobates (2 Cor 13:5). He even named names FOR CAUSING OTHERS TO SHIPWRECK THEIR FAITH LIKE PRETRIBBERS DO— Hymenaeus, Philetus, and Demas FOR FORSAKING PAUL DURING PERSECUTION FOR A LOVE OF THIS PRESENT WORLD — DEMAS was a fellow laborer with Paul so let that sink in. Paul preached the full counsel of God (Acts 20:27), the same Kingdom Gospel Jesus proclaimed, not a new “Paul’s gospel.”
Revelation seals the testimony . Jesus calls His churches to repent, endure, and overcome — warning that names can be blotted from the Book of Life (Rev 3:5) , crowns can be stolen (Rev 3:11) , and lukewarm believers will be rejected (Rev 3:16). Seven blessings are promised to the faithful: eating of the Tree of Life, the crown of life, hidden manna, authority to reign, the first resurrection, entering New Jerusalem, and eternal life with God. But alongside these blessings are terrifying judgments : beast worshippers tormented forever, Babylon’s fall, the great white throne, and the fearful and unbelieving cast into the lake of fire. The conclusion is clear: endure, overcome, hold fast — let no man steal your crown .
Follow the Langohr’s youtube channel here: Jesus Preachers
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Abiding
“Them that Seduce You” 1 John 2:26 [podcast]

From the book I Die Daily
“Them that Seduce You” 1 John 2:26
“He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.” Matthew 27:42
“Come down from the cross” is the cry of the enemy of all souls. Here he inspired God-less men to tempt Christ to not complete the work of redemption. In the same way, today, God-less pulpiteers and writers say nothing of the daily cross Christ commanded to be taken up by any person who would follow Him (Luke 9:23-24). These are the very “enemies of the cross of Christ” Paul warned us about (Philippians 3:18-19). Of this phenomenon, a disciple writes:
“Satan works both angles. First, he tried to keep Jesus (and us as His body) from going to or staying on the cross. On the other hand, he puts us on the cross as per what he did through Judas, the high priests of Judaism, and Pilate, and the Romans. Satan is somewhat schizophrenic as to this. But 1 Corinthians 2:8 is making the point that had he, the main prince and his underling princes, if they had known what they were doing (defeating themselves as a house divided), they would never have crucified the Lord of Glory. Satan’s house is a house divided against itself and is therefore laid waste by his own forces just as Jesus stated in Matthew 12. Peter himself reviled Jesus when Christ told him He would be going to the cross. Jesus attributed that work to Satan.”
When Peter, being used of Satan spoke, the Son of God turned, and said to Peter…
“Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:23-26
Here Jesus spoke not only of the necessity of His own redeeming cross, but also of the daily cross to be taken up by each and every one of those who would follow Him. This should forever underscore and cement in our understanding the necessity of the daily cross.
One preacher wrote:
“Galatians 2:20 says, ‘I am crucified with Christ,’ and Romans 6:5 says, ‘For if we have been planted (united) together in the likeness of His death.’ These are both in the Greek perfect verb tense.
This indicates a past event WITH CONTINUING EFFECTS. So, it could literally say ‘I have been and continue to be crucified with Christ’ and ‘For if we have been and continue to be planted ….’ Romans 8:36, 2 Corinthians 4:10, and 1 Corinthians 15:31 clearly speak of a daily death with Christ.
Ephesians 4:22-24 talks of a continual putting off (death) of the old man, as does 2 Corinthians 4:16. Martin Luther taught of a daily Spirit baptism and called it ‘dying upward.’ These people who teach otherwise resist the daily cross. This is the error of triumphalism.
As we appropriate the finished work daily, we become more
and more what we already are. We possess our possessions.
Compare Colossians 3:3 with Colossians 3:5.
Let’s take the advice above and put together verses 3 and 5
of Colossians 3: “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ
in God … Mortify therefore your members which are upon the
earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil
concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”
T. Austin-Sparks stated the following:
We have not to die; we are dead. What we have to do is to
accept our death … In baptism … we simply step in there and
say, ‘That position which God has settled with reference to
me is the one which I now accept, and I testify here in this
way to the fact that I have accepted God’s position for me,
namely, that in the Cross I have been brought to an end.’
The true disciple is always “delivered unto death for Jesus’
sake” (2 Cor. 4:11.) He has “crucified the flesh with the
affections and lusts” (Gal. 5:24). He is daily putting to death
“the deeds of the body” and being “raised up” by the power of
the same Holy Spirit “that raised up Christ from the dead”
(Rom. 8:11, 13). He rejoices in “Christ Jesus” and has “no
confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3).
“I die daily … Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake … that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you.” 1 Corinthians 15:31; 2 Corinthians
4:10-12
Concerning the raising up process of the Gospel of God, T. Austin-Sparks wrote:
“The unalterable basis of an open heaven is a grave, and a
crisis at which you come to an end of your own self-life. It is
the crisis of real experiential identification with Christ in His
death.”
Though we entered into His death upon initial salvation, accepting and experiencing that death is still a daily choice, an individual decision to be made on an ongoing basis. One’s choice to continue to persevere, following Christ as He clearly prescribed, will determine his eternal destination (Luke 9:62; 19:13; 21:19; Romans 6:16; Galatians 6:7-9).
The insidious circumventing of the cross can come in many clandestine ways that are masked with pious outer garb. Today, while refusing to utter the full counsel of the One they claim to be representing, smiling and charismatic men stand in sheep’s clothing, promising heavenly life to those who live in sin. They only prosper due to the volitional biblical illiteracy of the masses. Ignorance of the truth is a choice with eternal consequences (Hosea 4:6; Matthew 22:29; 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12).
Many like to hide behind works they do in and surrounding their local church home. They relish singing in the choir, ushering, doing drama or being a part of the technical team, helping in various ways, or even preaching a message, and yet the life of Christ is not manifesting in their personal lives as they go out into their world daily. His light in them is not bright enough to shine into the darkened hearts of men through personal evangelism. They have been steeped in a mere formula of godliness that does not manifest the evidential fruit of one who is truly in Christ, radiant by His glory, and flourishing in His life. A. W. Tozer wrote:
Another substitute for discipleship is: Our Lord referred to
this when He reproached the Pharisees for their habit of
tithing mint and anise and cumin while at the same time
omitting the weightier matters of the Law such as justice,
mercy and faith. Literalism manifests itself among us in
many ways, but it can always be identified in that it lives by
the letter of the Word while ignoring its spirit. It habitually
fails to apprehend the inward meaning of Christ’s words,
and contents itself with external compliance with the text.
If Christ commands baptism, for instance, it finds
fulfillment in the act of water baptism, but the radical
meaning of the act as explained in Romans 6 is completely
overlooked. It reads the Scriptures regularly, contributes
consistently to religious work, attends church every Sunday
and otherwise carries on the common duties of a Christian
and for this it is to be commended. Its tragic breakdown is
its failure to comprehend the Lordship of Christ, the
believer’s discipleship, separation from the world and the
crucifixion of the natural man.
Literalism attempts to build a holy temple upon the sandy
foundation of the religious self. It will suffer, sacrifice and
labor, but it will not die. It is Adam at his pious best, but it
has never denied self to take up the cross and follow Christ.”
Prayer—Forgive me, Lord, for trying to follow You without taking up that self-death instrument daily.
Yet another way the depraved heart, cloaked fully in a mere form of religion, seeks to circumvent the work of the cross, is by denying or ignoring that there is a cross to take up “daily.” The one whose theology is undergirded and poisoned with the unconditional eternal security lie, must resist all personal responsibility. He must take the line of least resistance. He is a moral coward, who while feigning to be walking in grace, has actually acquiesced to such a mythical position in order to avoid dying the death.
He refuses to buy into the truth of the Gospel when it threatens his own personal comfort zone he has built around himself, using half-truths and twisted and convoluted blends of philosophy, clichés, and Scripture. At all cost, he must remain intoxicated with the lie that he can do nothing to violate and fail the grace of God, and forfeit his place with God, which he erroneously believes is eternally secure—no matter what rebellion he may choose to commit against Him who is “Holy, holy, holy” (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8). So, he must fight the truth violently using his keyboard, pulpit, or pen to defend his paper-thin position. He must at all costs make sure anyone he leads believes that “God requires nothing of him, that salvation is of the LORD, and there is absolutely never any personal responsibility placed upon the individual recipient of salvation.”
What a tragic, fraudulent lie this deceiver is casting upon those naïve enough to give him ear! The bowels of hell have been nourished by millions who have bought this lie and have descended into the gaping and inescapable abyss (Isaiah 5:14). God forbid that anyone under the care of the “grace” deceiver be burdened with the slightest incentive or motivation to live holy, because in his evil theology, God Himself is no longer holy and just and doesn’t punish sin in His own people. Using whatever deceptive means and even Scripture-twisting, the deceiver will do away with all thought of personal responsibility from among his flock. He further seeks to lull them asleep with himself, as they bask in the lukewarmness of hell-bound Laodicea and those “at ease in Zion,” refusing to hear and hearken to the severe warning to turn back to the LORD—“Repent” and “Woe to them” (Amos 6:1; Revelation 3:14-21).
Circumventing Schemes
In order to accomplish keeping his flock asleep, the beguiler must only acknowledge the positional cross, while seeking to deny the experiential or daily cross Christ commanded His followers to take up (Matthew 10:38-39; Mark 8:34-39; Luke 9:23-24). Those who deny the “daily” cross Christ commanded, deny Christ (Mark 8:34-38). To deny His words is to deny Him (Mark 8:38; John 8:47; 14:21). Those who do not teach Christ’s command to deny self and take up the cross daily, hold a position of lawlessness; such are false teachers, “ungodly men” who are “turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness (a license for sin)” (Romans 6:1-2, 15; Jude 3-4). We are to “earnestly contend” against them and the heresies they spread.
Concerning the “remnant” which is a descriptive word defining the only people to be eternally with Christ, Isaiah 37:31 says: “And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.” No one can “bear fruit upward” unless he is willing to humble himself “under the mighty hand of God.”
“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:” 1 Peter 5:6
The Last Days
God’s Word forewarns us that only a few among those once righteous will be in Heaven. “And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” (1 Peter 4:18).
With all the popular last days type books in print, it is regrettable that few of them if any deal with readiness as the Scriptures present it. The human authors seem to completely overlook such an essential truth, because they have been schooled in this cross-denying way themselves. They completely overlook Christ’s severe words of warning in Luke 21:34-36. The typical modern church posture is that if one has at some moment in the past received Christ, he is forever and indelibly secure for Heaven no matter what, with no possibility of losing out with God. Is this what the Bible teaches us?
Great tribulation is coming, such as has never been experienced upon the earth. “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matthew 24:21).
We are told by the Son of God that only those with the oil of God in their vessels will be admitted into the marriage feast of the Lamb (Matthew 25:1-13). Only those who are intently connected with Jesus Christ, foregoing the things that would hinder their relationship with Him, will “escape all these things that shall come to pass.”
“And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:34-36
He told us that if we will overcome and be with Him, we must “be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” By this we know that some shall not “escape.”
The LORD Jesus beckoned those who would follow Him to the end, to be waiting and ready for His imminent and pending return:
“Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning. And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.” Luke 12:35-40
The enduring saints must discern keenly, and the only way to do such is to fully repent, love Him personally and supremely, and cast off all worldly ties that draw us from the Bridegroom (Revelation 3:14-18).
In order to escape this promised and epidemic onslaught of the enemy of God, one must be daily “crucified with Christ,” being separate from iniquity and abiding in Christ (John 15:1-6; Galatians 2:20). It is only in being “dead” that we are “hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). It is only in experiencing His “death” that His “life” can work in us and through us to others (2 Corinthians 4:10-12). It is only in taking “root downward” that He will raise us up to “bear fruit upward” (Isaiah 37:31).
As was prophesied, the enemy’s seduction of souls is in full swing and ever-increasing as the time of the return of Jesus draws nigh:
Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them.
Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the
devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because
he knoweth that he hath but a short time. Revelation 12:12
In the above passage, those who are already safe with Him in Heaven are told to “rejoice,” while those who remain upon the earth in this last hour are solemnly warned to beware because “the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Perhaps there would yet remain among us some who are still ignorant of the devices of the enemy, and not so sure about the activities he is perpetrating among the remnant. Listen closely to what Jesus says concerning the final days which we are now living in:
These things have I written unto you concerning them that
seduce you (this is John’s inspired reason for writing to us). But
the anointing which ye have received of him abideth (remains)
in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same
anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie,
These things have I written unto you concerning them that
seduce you (this is John’s inspired reason for writing to us). But
the anointing which ye have received of him abideth (remains)
in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same
anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie,
and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. And now,
little children, abide (remain) in him; that, when he shall
appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before
him at his coming. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that
every one that doeth righteousness is born of him. Behold, what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we
should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth
us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons
of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we
know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we
shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him
(the hope of Christ’s soon return) purifieth himself, even as he
is pure. 1 John 2:26-3:3
According to these Holy Spirit inspired words penned by John the apostle, there are “many deceivers” seeking to “seduce you” (1 John 2:26; 2 John 7-11). One of the most insidious ways these wolves, who “lie in wait to deceive,” operate, is by refraining from preaching the true Gospel which includes the taking up of the daily cross (Matthew 16:24-27; Luke 9:23-24). If one will be safe in heavenly glory, never to suffer another iota of pain for all the eternal future, he must stay clear of the “many deceivers” who have answered the call of evil, and are sent forth to “deceive” those who would be prey due to:
• Having a lack of knowledge—not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God (Hosea 4:6; Matthew 22:29)
• Not watching and praying (Matthew 26:41)
• Not submitting to God (James 4:7)
• Not being crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20)
• Not being “dead” and having their lives “hid with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3)
• Not having their affections set upon things above (Colossians 3:1-4)
• Minding earthly things (Philippians 3:18-19)
There is abundant proof that so many today vainly believe they can have the benefits of the cross without the responsibility of the cross. They want the crown but not the cross. They are self-serving (“whose god is their belly”) and so desire to feel secure by trusting that because Christ died and was buried and rose again, they are safe.
As was long ago foretold, many in this deceived generation are trusting in Christ’s atoning death without their own personal participation. They call Him “Lord, Lord,” but in the end will hear the horrific words of termination, “Depart from me” (Matthew 7:21-23.) From His blessed presence they will be forever alienated, vanquished into “the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11-15).
“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. 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? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (lawlessness).” Matthew 7:21-23
So many who claim the name of Christ conveniently ignore what Jesus said about taking up the cross and following Him to the end. In the riveting words listed in the above passage, did Jesus not tell us that only “he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” will be allowed into His Heaven? The daily denial of self, taking up the cross, and following Him is at the heart of the Gospel Jesus gave us.
According to the Son of God, overcomers will be allowed into Heaven and no one else (Revelation 2-3).
Readiness test:
• Are you daily taking up your cross? (Matthew 16:24-25)
• Do you daily deny yourself so that Christ can reign in your mortal body? (Luke 9:23-24; 2 Corinthians 4:11-12)
• Are you following Christ in the way He prescribed? (Matthew 7:21; John 8:47; 1 John 2:3-6)
• Are you purifying your life of all that offends God? (Acts 15:9; 2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 John 3:3)
• Are you coming out from this sinful world system and the apostate religious system? (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; 1 John 2:14-17)
• In obedience to the LORD, are you remaining clear of any and all wolves, who preach or pen a cross-less gospel? (2 Corinthians. 11:2-5; Philippians 3:18-19)
• Are you learning yet more and more to hate this sinful and rebellious world system, lest you become the enemy of God? (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17)
• Are you daily in the Word so the Word is getting into you and washing your heart and mind of all that is not according to the mind of Christ? (Psalms 119:9, 11; Proverbs 4:4, 21; Jeremiah 15:16; John 15:3; Ephesians 5:26)
• Are you keeping your lamp full by daily communion with Jesus? (Matthew 25:1-13; 1 John 1:3-9)
• Are you abstaining from fleshly lusts and departing from all iniquity? (2 Timothy 2:19; 1 Peter 2:11)
• Are you overcoming the wiles of the enemy who seeks to seduce you from self-denial? (1 John 2:26-3:3)
• Are you watching and praying, so as to be blessed to take up your cross daily and not be seduced from essential obedience in following Christ? (Matthew 26:41; Luke 12:35-40)
• Are you watching and praying so as to escape all sin and remain ever ready for Christ’s soon appearing? (Proverbs 8:34; Matthew 26:41; Luke 21:34 -36)
• Are you calling others to come to the Fountain of living waters from which all life flows, and in which all blessings abide? (Revelation 22:17)
In this late hour, may God bless each of us—His children—to be in fellowship with those who are embracing instead of evading the daily cross, and who “call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22).
As we were long ago forewarned, the “great wrath” of the one who “knoweth that he hath but a short (brief) time” has “come down” upon us through an epidemic of apostate leaders, who like the deceivers of old, erroneously promise His eternal life to those who refuse to take up their crosses to follow Him (Jeremiah 23:17; Amos 9:10; 2 Peter 2; Jude 3-4). Beware! “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” (Colossians 2:8).
PRAYER: Jesus, please deeply quicken Your holy fear in my inner most being. From this instant forward, I look fervently for Your soon return. Heavenly Father, I beg You to unite my heart to fear Thy name and make ultra-sensitive my conscience—to be so easily convicted upon the slightest thought that varies from Your holy will. Into Your hands, I now commend my spirit. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Capture Points
• Read and discuss Matthew 27:43 and how it applied to Christ when He was on the cross, and how this same temptation applies to the believer in his daily walk with Jesus.
• Transcribe 1 Peter 4:18 on an index card and discuss. (KJB recommended)
• Read and discuss Luke 12:35-40. (KJB recommended)
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