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Daily Devotional, Year 3 – February 17

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Eternal Torment?

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Part 16:

“God’s Two-Edged Sword!”

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

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“For the word of God is quick, and powerful,

and sharper than any twoedged sword…

and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight:

but all things are naked and opened

unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” 

Hebrews 4:12, 13

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God tests people.

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From the very first test back in the garden, God tests people.

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Oh yes, there’s coming that glorious day in which the Lord will no longer test His tried-and-true sons and daughters.

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But for now, we must endure the various tests which come our way.

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Listen to the Book of Job…“What is man, that Thou (God) shouldest magnify him? and that Thou shouldest set thine heart upon him? And that Thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?” Job 7:17, 18

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So here is seen that, not only does God test people, but our infinite God tries each human “every moment”!

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Hand in Cookie jar – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

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THE BIBLE: A TWO-EDGED SWORD!

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The Bible is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart…“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

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Here above the Lord reveals that His Word discovers what’s truly in a person’s heart.

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Glittering Sword Constellation www.theheavensdeclare.net

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GOD TESTS EACH SOUL

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One way in which God’s Word reveals what’s in a person heart is accomplished is through various tests which God has placed in His Word.

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Listen once again to Job 7:18…“And that Thou (God) shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?” 

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Holy Bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Lic.

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BIBLE LAYS DOWN BASIC PRINCIPLES

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For instance, God doesn’t come right out and openly condemn gambling.

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And many churchgoers assume that gambling is okay, since there is no explicit condemnation of gambling in the Bible.

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However, the Bible has various precepts which lay down eternal principles. And those principles can either be accepted or rejected…

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Listen… “Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.” Proverbs 13:11

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WOW! This above proverb seems to address and answer the very question of gambling! And yet, so many churchgoers ignore this verse, or don’t even know it exists! And of course, there are other passages which lay down similar principles, which condemn gambling.

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So, this is a very simple, yet powerful example of just how God has written His Word to be a two-edged sword. It cuts to save, or it cuts to destroy.

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But it reveals the true thoughts and intents of the heart of each and every person!

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Gambling – Poker Room – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share-Alike License

ABOVE PICTURE: The armor of God – theheavensdeclare.net -use by permission only

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ETERNAL TORMENT

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Now, the reason for focusing on this subject today, is to shine a spotlight on the long-held church-doctrine, “Eternal Torment”.

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Yes, for many centuries, the Church has clung tenaciously to this supposed doctrine.

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And today, the apostate portion of God’s house stills clings to this heresy, not realizing the proper hermeneutics for discovering Bible truth.

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THE RICH MAN & LAZARUS

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In other words, the church-apostate has made the parable of “The Rich Man & Lazarus” the sum-total of the nature of Hell.

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But here again, God’s Word lays a trap for all those whose heart deceives them.

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And those who are filled with the “spirit of error” will be misled concerning this church-doctrine (as well as many other seemingly ambiguous Bible truths.) (1st John 4:6)

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Brooklyn Museum – The Bad Rich Man in Hell – James Tissot – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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EVERY VERSE MUST BE WEIGHED

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So, just where does the church-apostate go astray concerning the nature of Hell?

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The correct Bible hermeneutic (method of interpretation), is that every Bible student must compare spiritual things with spiritual, in order to, “rightly divide the Word of Truth”.

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In other words, you cannot take one or two or even three Bible passages and make those passages the sum-total of truth.

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Scriptures must be compared with ALL other related passages to arrive at any supposed Bible doctrine.

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And there are hundreds of passages concerning death and the grave. Most of which are ignored.

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And even then, once studied, we must leave open the possibility that we may have missed other passages which will require us to further modify our supposed Bible doctrine.

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PASSAGES TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT

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For example, if all we had was “The Parable of The Rich Man & Lazarus”, then yes, we might conclude that Hell will be a place of continual fiery torment of Lost Souls throughout eternity.

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Especially when we combine this parable with Revelation 14:11…“And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”

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The problem is, these are not the only Bible passages dealing with the nature of Hell! (And smoke rising up for ever can also be a snare for those who do not carefully compare scripture with scripture to find a correct understanding.)

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QUIET IN THE GRAVE

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For merely one example of bad theology, is that the architects of this church-doctrine of “Eternal Torment” forgot to consider the passage found in Job which says…

“Why died I not from the womb?

why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?…

For now should I have lain still and been quiet,

I should have slept: then had I been at rest…

There the wicked cease from troubling;

and there the weary be at rest.

There the prisoners rest together;

they hear not the voice of the oppressor.

The small and great are there;

and the servant is free from his master.”

Job 3:11, 13, 17-19

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You see, this and many other similar passages speak of Hell as the grave; as a place of rest and sleep, and peace. And as Paul said, the Book of Job is, “profitable for doctrine, confirmation, correction, and instruction in righteousness”. 2nd Timothy 3:16

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The “spirit of error” and the “Spirit of Truth”

1st John 4:6

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But those who are of the “spirit of error” cannot accept these passages which correct their misunderstanding of the nature of Hell. (see 1st John 4:6 concerning the “spirit of error” and the “Spirit of Truth”)

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These deluded ones, whether preacher or parishioner, either try to twist this above passage (Job 3:11, 13, 17-19″), or say that it is merely the ramblings of a discouraged man (Job), or these erring ones simply ignore Job’s words altogether.

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Job rebuked by his friends – Wikimedia – US Public Domain

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LOPSIDED INDOCTRINATION

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And so, whenever a new church-member is going through an indoctrination class on this subject of the nature of Hell, such passages as Job 3, are probably not going to be even mentioned, or they will be twisted, or discounted in some manner.

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And so, this church-doctrine continues to be one of the “cherished doctrines” of the apostate portion of the Church.

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“Eternal Torment” became a great means for the established church to frighten unbelievers into submission.

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Hell’s Torment and Tormentor – Wikipedia – Public Domain (2)

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ETERNAL TORMENT

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And through the long centuries of the Church, countless sincere seekers-of-truth have no doubt turned away in disgust at the thought that God is some cruel tyrant who mercilessly tortures all unbelievers throughout all-time-and-eternity.

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And today’s atheistic society mostly just scoffs that such a cruel-tyrant-God actually exists in Heaven, and that He has an eternal-torture-chamber-of-horrors in which to withhold even one drop of water from all those vast multitudes who rejected His love!

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After all, for preachers to preach that “God is love”, and then threaten their hearers that He will torture them throughout eternity if they don’t accept Him really makes Jesus look like a big hypocrite in the minds of secularists!

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Devil in Hell with Whistler’s Mother – www.signsofheaven.org – Not for public uses

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“THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE”

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But the Good News is, those who are willing to forsake this present selfish world, to follow Jesus, if they continue in the Word of Christ, they will eventually know the truth.

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And the truth shall make them free of these erroneous and abominable church-doctrines which are little more than heresies!

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However pressing his duties STM2-c James Lee Frazer always finds time to read a few chapters from his Bible each day. I – NARA – 520675 – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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TO GO TO PART 17, GO HERE…

February 24 (Eternal Torment? Part 17: “Torment In Heaven?”)

Hell’s Viewing Gallery- Signsofheaven.org – copyrighted – not for public use

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Let me not be given to a close-minded spirit. But help me to love truth, no matter if it means I will be hated by my own brethren…

The Christian Martyrs Last Prayer 2

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… Planet of Rest: Doctrine of Eternal Torment, or you can also read this shorter article…AUGUST 19 (Apocalypse Now! Part 6: Fire & Brimstone!)

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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THE END

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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

Info & pics of constellations on this site from Wikipedia & Internation Astronomical Union (click here)

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THE GLITTERING SWORD CONSTELLATION

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“In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.” Isaiah 27:1

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This constellation is made of most of the constellations in this website. The upper portion can be seen in the winter, while the lower blade is visible in the warmer months. (This constellation is actually in a semi-circle, as it appears in the night-sky. These pictures, however, show it as it would appear straightened out.)

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The only way that this constellation can be seen, is to become totally familiar with all the constellations on this website!

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ABOVE STAR CHART: Summer Constellations of Signs Of Heaven.org

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That is because this constellation is made of the many constellations on this website, as they appear in the heavens.

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ABOVE STAR CHART: Wikipedia star-charts with winter constellation in West with Orion (these constellations drawn in by this website)

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Glittering Sword Constellation”

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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TOMORROW…

February 18 (Nature’s Five Witnesses, Part 7: “The Beauty of Nature”)

Butterfly – Wikimedia – Jim Bendon – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

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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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(456) Harold Camping Open Forum January 7, 2005 – YouTube

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

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