In a day when modern advances in technology have taken the world by storm (consider the internet!) people now have more than enough of the trinkets of this world vying in fierce competition in order to capture and keep their attention and keep it firmly fixed upon the things of this life, while at the same time little or no thought is given to the more important issues of purpose and destiny. Death, the initial step into the next life, being so universal and known by all is a subject that is  shunned by many. It is seldom a popular topic of conversation except perhaps among would-be philosophers and the professionals. Folks just do not want to think or talk about it. They haven't the time; it's too frightening; nobody knows... and a host of other excuses keep them from an honest search into the meaning and destiny of life.  As for Christians, they love talking about the things of salvation; eternal life in Christ; and the glory that awaits them beyond the grave and on into the Second Advent of Messiah!  Yet when the subject of the future of the unsaved is brought up most remain in the area of generalities. Further, most probably because of a lack of study material on the subject along with the influence of the cults confusion plays its part in the minds of many believers. Therefore I have several reasons for writing this paper and posting it to the web.
   First of all I believe the Church needs to find its footing in this area and re-introduce it into the work of preaching the truth to men. The error of annihilationism is finding its way into the Christian Church and the only way to defeat error is by promoting the truth. I am not saying we should employ so-called scare tactics in our presentation of the truth but God put hell in the Bible and Christ spoke of it again and again in His ministry. The gospel is that of the true wisdom of God and the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. What need do I have to fear God if I die and nothing else happens? We don't need more theologians; they abound. But the Church could well use an army of God fearing people to challenge the world! A correct view of God's attitude toward sin and how He will deal with it goes a long way in the cultivation of Godly fear.
   Second, as I mentioned, confusion has its field day in this area and God is not its author. The Church is called to be the guardian of the truth and She desperately needs to have a correct understanding of that truth if She is to fulfill Her purpose on earth. Whenever any area of truth is left vacant error is quick to move in and take up residence. Therefore I offer these papers in hopes that the Church will be challenged to return to a study and preaching of the Biblical doctrine of man's destiny.
   Third, Jesus came to declare God to us. We see plainly that God is holy. This means His justice as well as His mercy is holy. Righteousness and justice are familiar terms among men but we must remember that God is not like men. His ways are far above ours and so to impose human understanding to the things of God is a fatal flaw. How is Divine justice properly viewed with respect to human sin? That's the question we must keep in mind as we consider what God means when He says; "...for the wages of sin is death...". Unless we get this one right we do not honor God in His dealings with impenitent men. May this study encourage all who read it to go to the Bible and seek the Lord while He may be found. And.. Oh yes... to complete the quote above.....  "but the gift of God is eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ."        Romans 6:23
 
 
 

                                 IMAGERY AND FIGURES OF SPEECH:

It is extremely important to understand that the Biblical writers used images and figures of speech in order to enable the human mind to correctly grasp and understand elements of reality that we have not experienced in this present life. The purpose of these is to create a mental image in order to illustrate an idea that is true. We need to keep in mind at least two things about figures of speech;
1. They should not be taken in a strictly literal sense. Human anatomy is often applied to God yet God is a Spirit having no body or physical parts. The believer is said to be like a tree planted in the ground in Ps 1. These are figures meant to allow us to understand truth and are not to be taken literally. The same is true for such terms as "fire that is not quenched; worm that does not die". These were images used by our Lord which were meant to impart a mental picture of the fate of the wicked. Crass literalism can do nothing but land us in hopeless error.
2. The reality is always greater than the mental image created by the figure of speech. It is interesting to note that more is spoken on hell than heaven. I believe that the glories that await the redeemed and the miseries that shall confront the lost are both beyond anything the human mind can imagine. Images used in the Bible to describe the future world can only give us a small glimpse of what those realities are like; but enough to motivate us to seek the Lord while there is still time.

       ONE                                                                   Rain Check!
       TWO
      SOUL AND BODY
       ETERNAL CONSCIOUS PUNISHMENT
                                                                         updated; July  6,1999