Today’s Devotional, Year 3 – January 9 (Eternal Torment? Part 32: “And Their Smoke Rose Up Forever?)

By admin On February 13th, 2021

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Today’s Devotional, Year 3 – January 9

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Eternal Torment?

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Part 32:

“And Their Smoke Rose Up Forever?”

To read part 1, click here…September 8th (Eternal Torment? Part 1)

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“And the smoke of their torment

ascends up for ever and ever:

and they have no rest day nor night,

who worship the beast and his image,

and whosoever receives the mark of his name.”

Revelation 14:11

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SMOKE RISING UP FOR EVER AND EVER…

“And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night.”

Now it is time to fully address this passage from Revelation 14, which speaks of smoke rising for ever and ever.

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The above verse from Revelation 14 sounds as if it is the last word on the subject of “eternal torment”.

Every unbeliever will seemingly be tormented forever and ever.

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But is this really the last word on this subject?

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magnifying glass – Wikimedia – share-alike license

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ANOTHER ‘SMOKE-RISING-FOREVER’ PASSAGE

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So, let’s explore this idea of smoke ascending up for ever and ever.

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Just listen to this passage, and how it ends up…

“Come near, ye nations, to hear…

For it is the day of the LORD’s vengeance…

and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.

And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch,

and the dust thereof into brimstone,

and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.

It shall not be quenched night nor day;

THE SMOKE THEREOF SHALL GO UP FOR EVER:”

Isaiah 34:1-5, 8-10.

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Ah-ha! So here we have another “smoke rising forever” passage!

And this fire is upon the surface of the planet and not in some netherworld cavern

And so, this above passage gives us further insight into the meaning of Revelation 14.

Church Burning – Burning Man – 2013 – cropped and altered image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.

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READ ON A LITTLE FURTHER…

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Okay, so if we stopped right here, we would have a picture of a fiery planet, after God’s final judgment, in which fire would endlessly burn on the face of the earth, and the smoke would rise up forever and ever.

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**But let’s keep reading this passage from Isaiah as it continues to describe this Post-Judgment Earth…**

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”It (the earth) shall not be quenched night nor day;

THE SMOKE THEREOF SHALL GO UP FOR EVER…

from generation to generation it shall lie waste;

none shall pass through it for ever and ever…

and it shall be an habitation of dragons,

and a court for owls…

There shall the great owl make her nest,

and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow:

there shall the vultures also be gathered,

every one with her mate.

Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read:

no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate:

for My mouth it hath commanded,

and His spirit it hath gathered them…

they shall possess it for ever,

from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.”

Isaiah 34:9, 10, 15, 16 (shortened for brevity)

What happened?

Where are all the screaming multitudes?

Where’s the fire?

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Now the above verse speaks of the day of God’s vengeance.

It speaks of desolation and destruction of the Earth.

It speaks of the smoke ascending up for ever and ever.

It speaks of the land laying desolate…for ever and ever!

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Athene cunicularia -Colorado Desert, California, USA – Wikimedia – Creative Commons lic. 2.0

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WHERE ARE THE SCREAMING MULTITUDES?

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So, the obvious question is: how does this passage fit into the entire scenario of God’s ultimate judgment upon earth?

Where are all the screaming people?

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Well, it says here, that they were all utterly destroyed!

Just listen again to this same passage from Isaiah 34…

“For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations,

and His fury upon all their armies:

He hath utterly destroyed them,

He hath delivered them to the slaughter”.

Does this passage say the people of the world will be endlessly tormented?

**No, it says they are “utterly destroyed”…death.**

And it says here that the fire goes out as well and becomes re-populated by the beasts of the field and the birds of the air.

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**But it also says, “THE SMOKE THEREOF SHALL GO UP FOR EVER:” God has purposely hidden the answer to Revelation 14 here in Isaiah 34.**

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The smoke of their torment may ascend for ever and ever, but the inhabitants have already been “utterly destroyed”.

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So, the smoke here on Judgment Day rises forever, in spite of the fact that the wicked have previously been utterly destroyed, and the fire has previously been extinguished.

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Boreal pine forest 5 years after fire, 2011-07 – Wikimedia – public domain

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DON’T IGNORE ISAIAH, CH. 34

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And this is the point of this above passage from Isaiah 34: that even though there is smoke rising for ever and ever, there is nobody being tortured here.

**Thus, we begin to understand that when smoke “ascends for ever and ever”, it doesn’t mean that those enemies of God will be tormented for ever and ever.**

Tormented? Yes!

But not tormented endlessly!

Picture-Spotted Eagle Owl Yawning – Wikipedia – public domain

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“…for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea…”

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So, here’s a very revealing passage from Isaiah 34, in which the Lord considers this slaughter to be a sacrifice…

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“For My sword shall be bathed in heaven:

behold, it shall come down upon Idumea,

and upon the people of My curse, to judgment…

for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah,

and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.”

Isaiah 34:4-6 Condensed for brevity

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And so, when we read of smoke rising for ever and ever, it is as a sacrificial smoke rising for ever and ever.

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And if all this is the Lord’s intent, then such a sacrificial smoke rising begins to take on a completely different meaning, would you not agree?

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Priesthood – the Holy of Holies – www.thebiblerevival.com – Public Domain

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TO READ THE CONTUATION OF THIS ARTICLE, CLICK HERE…

January 14 (Eternal Torment? Part 32 (Continued): “And Their Smoke Rose Up Forever?”

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Sodom on Fire by Gustave Dore – www.wikiart.org US Public Domain

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Help me to prepare myself to stand in the coming evil months ahead. Help me to be fully armored…

Marines at Prayer by Alex Raymond – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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THE END

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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

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LOCATING THE DRAGON

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**The Dragon Constellation can be located by finding Orion in winter months.**

**The Dragon is to Orion’s left, and the Dragon’s mouth is right next to Orion’s shield.**

**This Dragon’s mouth is the V-like constellation The Hyades Cluster, which is the very same constellation that comprises the head of Taurus the Bull.**

In simpler terms, Hyades is also known as the head of Taurus the Bull.

And Hyades is the mouth of this Dragon.

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The tip of the Dragon’s tail is composed of that star-cluster known as The Pleiades.

The Pleiades is actually in the shape of a lion’s furry tassel tip of his tail.

The sketch below shows this Pleiades as the tail tip.

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TOMORROW:

January 10 . . . . Our Minimum Daily Requirements! Part 2: “Part-timers Need Not Apply!”

Vitamin Display – by Mark Buckawichi – for Wikimedia – Universal Public Domain

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90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM

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ALL‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO LISTEN TO THIS 90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM, A QUESTION/ANSWER CALL-IN, TALK SHOW.

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CLICK HERE TO LISTEN…Harold Camping Bible Conference Open Forum #5 (youtube.com)

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ABOVE PICTURE: Holy Bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.

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