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| Jesus' teachings on Hell, part 1 |
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In the MKJV, the word hell appears 15 times in the gospels.
I was initially going to address all 15 occurrences, but there are harmonies which I will address and link back to the Matthew texts.
I believe the way hell has been traditionally taught and to whom it applies has been misconstrued out of context. In most cases, hell refers to Gehenna, a rubbish dump outside of Jerusalem (see photo below) or hades, the abode of the dead.
In most, if not all cases, read with a new understanding, you should see that hell references was mainly made to the religious pious of the day aka the Scribes and Pharisees.
Mat 5:22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be liable to the judgment. And whoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be liable to the Sanhedrin(council); but whoever shall say, Fool! shall be liable to be thrown into the fire of hell.
Interesting that this text follows the teaching of the beatitudes but let us look at the preceding verses.
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in Heaven.
The light that should shine before men, what is it?
What are the good works?
Who gets the glory?
Notice I have scored out the your for a reason. We are told our most righteous works are as filthy rags, so it cannot be ascribed to something of ourselves. If we look at how the MKJV renders it:
Isa 64:6 But we are all as the unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as a menstruation cloth. And we all fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. (MKJV)
Wow, a used tampon or sanitary pad in today’s terms. This is deep and there are multiple layers here. These come to mind: Nothing hidden that shall not be revealed; Shed blood..
Needless to say here, the righteous works are fit only for disposal or destruction. Think about it logically for a moment. The comparison is made to something that is generally very private and personal for the ladies and by no means is this something that is boasted about EVER.
We have no inherent light of our own; the light is of the indwelling presence of Christ. It follows logically therefore that the good works are also of Christ in us and reinforced by the fact glory goes to our Father in Heaven. We read elsewhere in the “depart from me, I never knew you,” another teaching directed at the religious, that the works were in fact very simplistic and basic.
Look at the verse with your replaced by the
Mat 5:16 Let your THE light so shine before men that they may see your THE good works and glorify your THE Father who is in Heaven.
This makes it corporate and not about “self” and renders the exact same message. It exists in each of us therefore your is acceptable, just wanted to change the focus to where it ought to be.
Mat 5:17 Do not think that I have come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to destroy but to fulfill.
Mat 5:18 For truly I say to you, Till the heaven and the earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall in any way pass from the Law until all is fulfilled.
Now here is an interesting piece. When is the Law fulfilled? That, btw is a trick question. Let us look at what Jesus actually says here.
not one jot or one tittle shall in any way pass from the Law until all is fulfilled
Is He talking of all law fulfilled or is He talking of simply ALL is fulfilled?
Mat 5:19 Therefore whoever shall relax one of these commandments, the least, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of Heaven. But whoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of Heaven.
OK we know there are somewhat 630 laws so which of these are the least? Is it the Law of Moses Jesus was talking about? The MKJV renders law with a “L” but is that correct? I’ll come back to this in awhile.
Mat 5:20 For I say to you that unless your righteousness shall exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of Heaven.
Aah the law. Let us look at some texts.
Psa 40:6 Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened; burnt offering and sin offering You have not asked. (Actually the whole of this Psalm needs to be read)
Heb 10:8 Above, when He said, "Sacrifice and offering, and burnt offerings and offering for sin You did not desire, neither did You have pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the Law),
So Jesus was not establishing the law, He was demonstrating its futility. The law puts one into a mindset of dead works. Jesus is saying if you want to follow the law, then you need to be better than the scribes and the Pharisees. In today’s terms, that means you have to be better than your pastor or whomever you hold in high esteem as a man/woman of God. The law was man’s way to God and not God’s way to man.
Rules, rules and more rules.
When Moses had set it all up for God to speak with the Hebrews, this is what they said:
Exo 20:19 And they said to Moses, You speak with us, and we will hear. But let not God speak with us, lest we die.
God was in a place to speak directly yet they chose as intermediary Moses. Even in spite of the law, they wanted to do it their way.
Mat 5:21 You have heard that it was said to the ancients, "You shall not kill" --and, "Whoever shall kill shall be liable to the judgment."
Mat 5:22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be liable to the judgment. And whoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be liable to the Sanhedrin(council); but whoever shall say, Fool! shall be liable to be thrown into the fire of hell.
So here we have the threat of hell but is it literal? I mean if you ever call someone a fool you are liable to go to hell yet if you were to say Raca, only judgment by the council of the Sanhedrin.
Let us look at the meanings of these two words:
Raca G4469 ῥακά rhaka rhak-ah'
Of Chaldee origin (compare [H7386]); O empty one, that is, thou worthless (as a term of utter vilification): - Raca.
Fool G3474 μωρός mōros mo-ros'
Probably form the base of G3466; dull or stupid (as if shut up), that is, heedless, (morally) blockhead, (apparently) absurd: - fool (-ish, X -ishness).
I guess by these definitions we need to find modern day parallels.
Strange however, I see both of these equally bad. If you call someone worthless or a fool then IMO we sin against the fact that all are created in the image of God, so by inference, if we say one is worthless, God is worthless, likewise if we say one is a fool we infer God is a fool. I dunno when we carry on the next verse it almost seems the hell spoke of here is maybe an add-on. It seems to contradict so many other teachings.
Let us look at the following verses:
Mat 5:23 Therefore if you offer your gift on the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you,
Mat 5:24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Now here the focus stays on brotherly love, tolerance and lines up with other scriptures of forgiving trespasses so that yours can be forgiven. What is interesting here too is that I have heard this part being used in regards to the tithe or communion which is also incorrect.
What was offered at the alter? A gift? A sacrifice? An offering?
Search on gift + alter in the OT - results – one
Num 18:7 Therefore you and your sons with you shall keep your priests' office for everything of the altar and inside the veil. And you shall serve. I have given your priest's office as a service of gift. And the stranger that comes near shall be put to death.
Now we really have to ask ourselves what sort of gift can we offer?
The Murdock bible renders it as oblation and oblation is defined simply as: - an offering of a sacrifice, thanksgiving, etc. to God or a god
- the thing or things offered; esp., the bread and wine of the Eucharist
Now I wonder why the translations render this as gift when the word means:
G1435 δῶρον dōron do'-ron
A present; specifically a sacrifice: - gift, offering.
When did a sacrifice or offering become a gift?
Something here does not sit right.
I did a quick overview of Leviticus and to be honest, I doubt seriously if this was a God ordained thing. Let me recite those two scriptures again:
Psa 40:6 Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened; burnt offering and sin offering You have not asked. (Actually the whole of this Psalm needs to be read)
Heb 10:8 Above, when He said, "Sacrifice and offering, and burnt offerings and offering for sin You did not desire, neither did You have pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the Law),
To me Leviticus is nothing more than a collection of BBQ recipes and nutritional guidelines. My mouth actually waters when reading the first 10 chapters. By now the Jews had ordained Moses to speak on behalf of God and what we see here are rituals which IMO differs little from pagan myths. There are too many alternates for a sin offering and a trespass offering. If there was an offering for a particular sin, there would be only one animal that would suffice.
It sounds to me much like the Levites were the corporate butchers of the day and if you imagine this happened daily, it was nothing more than a cook out. Sorry folks, there is just no inner witness on these rituals for me. I actually see the Levites making up these rituals so that they would be amply fed, wow they sure must have been fat dudes. Remember they had no lands, nothing. They were to be provided for.
In today’s situation, In the USA you have a BBQ, in South Africa we have a “Braai” and in Australia you have a “Barbie”, very much a social thing and I am sure there a many similarities in recipes.
I am sorry but I find nothing spiritual at all in these rituals and we have two witness texts to show this was not of God.
Mat 5:25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him; that the opponent not deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.
Mat 5:26 Truly I say to you, You shall by no means come out from there until you have paid the last kodrantes.
Now this one is very interesting.
Agree with your adversary quickly.
Agree G2468 ἴσθι isthi is'-thee
Second person imperative present of G1510; be thou: - + agree, be, X give thyself wholly to.
Adversary G476 ἀντίδικος antidikos an-tid'-ee-kos
From G473 and G1349; an opponent (in a lawsuit); specifically Satan (as the arch enemy): - adversary.
Quickly G5035 ταχύ tachu takh-oo'
Neuter singular of G5036 (as adverb); shortly, that is, without delay, soon, or (by surprise) suddenly, or (by implication of ease) readily: - lightly, quickly.
Give thyself wholly over to satan the arch enemy, suddenly, readily and without delay. Dang, that sounds like a quote from a satanic bible.
while you are in the way with him; that the opponent satan may not deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.
Judge G2923 κριτής kritēs kree-tace'
From G2919; a judge (generally or specifically): - judge.
G2919 κρίνω krinō kree'-no
Properly to distinguish, that is, decide (mentally or judicially); by implication to try, condemn, punish: - avenge, conclude, condemn, damn, decree, determine, esteem, judge, go to (sue at the) law, ordain, call in question, sentence to, think.
Officer G5257 ὑπηρέτης hupēretēs hoop-ay-ret'-ace
From G5259 and a derivative of ἐρέσσω eressō (to row); an under oarsman, that is, (genitive case) subordinate (assistant, sexton, constable): - minister, officer, servant.
while you are in the way with him; that the opponent satan may not deliver you to the judge call into question, and the judge deliver you to the officer minister or servant, and you be thrown into prison.
Prison G5438 φυλακή phulakē foo-lak-ay'
From G5442; a guarding or (concretely guard), the act, the parson; figuratively the place, the condition, or (specifically) the time (as a division of day or night), literally or figuratively: - cage, hold, (im-) prison (-ment), ward, watch.
while you are in the way with him; that the opponent satan may not deliver you to the judge call into question (your faith), and the judge deliver you to the officer minister or servant, and you be thrown into prison the condition of being caged or held.
You may battle to follow where I am going with this. What puts us in a condition of being caged or held?
Religion.
Mat 5:26 Truly I say to you, You shall by no means come out from there until you have paid the last kodrantes.
Can you see bondage? The RCC had a system of indulgences where you made a payment for remission of sin via money. Can you see a parallel with the tithe of today?
So truly this is a very confusing portion of scripture and has been so misinterpreted and cherry picked it is unreal.
Charitable giving I condone yet I do not condone this in most of the church system as most of these if not all misappropriate funds. See now I have also looked at the gifts issue and the Levitical “lie” and we see that when ever man comes in with his own ideas, the result takes you further away from God.
Now that I have set the background, let us look at these scriptures with this new understanding and see if we come away with a legitimate better understanding.
Mat 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain. And when He had sat down, His disciples came to Him.
Mat 5:2 And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying,
Mat 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit! For theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.
Mat 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn! For they shall be comforted.
Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek! For they shall inherit the earth.
Mat 5:6 Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness! For they shall be filled.
Mat 5:7 Blessed are the merciful! For they shall obtain mercy.
Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart! For they shall see God.
Mat 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers! For they shall be called the sons of God.
Mat 5:10 Blessed are they who have been persecuted for righteousness sake! For theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.
Mat 5:11 Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for My sake.
Now stop here. We are often taught that persecution shall come from the world. When in fact all we have is ridicule. Persecution really comes from within the religious community.
Which people were ever persecuted for the Christian faith?
By whom was it carried out?
Has it changed?
Mat 5:12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for your reward in Heaven is great. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Mat 5:13 You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its savor, with what shall it be salted? It is no longer good for anything, but to be thrown out and to be trodden underfoot by men.
I could write a sermon on verse 13 alone. Read verses 2-11 again.
Now how pray tell does salt loose it saltiness?
NaCl is the symbol for salt and is made up of Sodium Chloride. To split these into the basic elements of Sodium and Chlorine requires electrolysis so in the times of Jesus it is fair to assume no one was aware of this fact. That said; salt cannot become unsalted can it?
No! So how does salt lose its saltiness? Add something else; water comes to mind. Yes you have probably heard of a “watered down gospel” usually aimed at those who see the simplicity in Christianity as Jesus taught and strangely comes from the same folk Jesus was warning these simple folk of. Do an experiment. Lick you finger, dip the tip in salt, taste it, salty?
Now do it again. This time put it in a glass of water. Take something sweet and then later, drink the water.
Taste the salt? No?
Wonder why?
Did the salt loose its flavor?
Was the salt in the water?
Mat 5:14 You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Mat 5:15 Nor do men light a lamp and put it under the grain-measure, but on a lampstand. And it gives light to all who are in the house.
Mat 5:16 Let your THE light so shine before men that they may see your THE good works and glorify your THE Father who is in Heaven.
Mat 5:17 Do not think that I have come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to destroy but to fulfill.
Man had screwed up so badly that only Jesus could come set the record straight. By now I think it is fair to assume, Jesus was speaking of the Royal Law aka the Ten Commandments.
Mat 5:18 For truly I say to you, Till the heaven and the earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall in any way pass from the Law until all is fulfilled.
Mat 5:19 Therefore whoever shall relax one of these commandments, the least, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of Heaven. But whoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of Heaven.
Now with the 10 in mind, this makes sense however:
Mat 5:20 For I say to you that unless your righteousness shall exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of Heaven.
Jesus shows the futility of conforming to the Law as it is impossible. So how is it possible to exceed the scribes and Pharisees? Well without Jesus, it is not possible. His gift of salvation is the only way it becomes remotely possible. That is the first step.
Unfortunately, many if not all, fall back into the dead works of the law and get frustrated. The next step is learning of Father’s Love.
Mat 5:21 You have heard that it was said to the ancients, "You shall not kill" --and, "Whoever shall kill shall be liable to the judgment."
Mat 5:22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be liable to the judgment. And whoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be liable to the sanhedrin; but whoever shall say, Fool! shall be liable to be thrown into the fire of hell (Gehenna).
What Jesus was saying here, the attitude of non brotherly love and self piety deserved to be in the rubbish dump of Gehenna.
G1067 γέεννα geenna gheh'-en-nah
Of Hebrew origin ([H1516] and [H2011]); valley of (the son of) Hinnom; gehenna (or Ge-Hinnom), a valley of Jerusalem, used (figuratively) as a name for the place (or state) of everlasting punishment: - hell.
Let us look more at the valley side to see where this context came from:
In the Scriptures, however, “Gehenna” (“hell,” AV)—all incredible myths to the contrary notwithstanding—does not speak of “the place of the eternal torments of the damned.” Instead, it refers to an actual place on earth, namely, the valley (or “ravine”) of Hinnom (Neh.11:30) in the land of Israel. The ravine of Hinnom is a valley to the southwest of Jerusalem (“the ravine of the son of Hinnom”; Joshua 15:8). The Hebrew phrase gê (“ravine of”) hinnom became geenna in Greek, whence Gehenna in Latin and English.
In time, Moloch, a god worshiped by the Ammonites, came to be worshiped by Israel as well (Lev.18:21; 1 Kings 11:3,5,7; 2 Kings 23:10; Amos 5:26; Acts 7:43). In Jeremiah’s day, the ravine of Hinnom was associated with the worship of Moloch (Jer.32:35). Josiah, in Judah, defiled this shrine by destroying the high places of Moloch, thus putting a stop to the sacrifices offered there (2 Kings 23:10,13).
Moloch worship incorporated human sacrifice, namely, the sacrifice of children by fire. In the days of the Kings, under Ahaz (2 Chron.28:3) and Manasseh (2 Chron.33:6), children were sacrificed by fire on altars erected within the valley of Hinnom. In later times, according to some, this valley was used for burning the corpses of criminals and animals, and indeed refuse of any sort.
Jeremiah spoke of the day when this ravine would no longer be termed the ravine of the son of Hinnom, “but rather, the ravine of the killed, and they shall entomb in Tophet because there is no other place” (Jer.7: 31,32; cp Jer.12:3; 19:6; Zech.11:4-9). Perhaps this was first carried into effect through the reforms of Josiah (cp 2 Kings 23: 10-20).
By all accounts, in Jesus’ time, this was no more than a rubbish dump and a place outside the city where the destruction of corpses of criminals, animals and refuse took place. It is a fair assumption that this fire there was fuelled by the garbage and in most cases was a smoldering rubbish dump.
Here is a picture of Gehenna today. See any fires?
The funeral pyres have long since died out.
Mat 5:23 Therefore if you offer your gift on the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you,
Mat 5:24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Mat 5:25 Give thyself wholly over to satan the arch enemy, suddenly, readily and without delay, while you are in the way with him; that the opponent satan may not deliver you to the judge call into question (your faith), and the judge deliver you to the officer minister or servant, and you be thrown into prison the condition of being caged or held.
Mat 5:26 Truly I say to you, You shall by no means come out from there until you have paid the last kodrantes You cannot escape until you have paid all your dues. Do you see self doing it?
Whom the Sons sets free is free indeed.
Now you may think I have lost it but this rendition using words only from the concordance illustrates the real message.
Who is the accuser of the brethren? Satan.
Rev 12:10 And I heard a great voice saying in Heaven, Now has come the salvation and power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers is cast down, who accused them before our God day and night.
Man I hope you can see the logic in this. This (Rev12:10) is a future event in this lifetime. More on that in another study.
Let’s say someone accuses you in the sense of an insult, staying in the theme of this Raca/fool thing.
Someone call you an idiot. You have 2 choices - Get your back up and refute/defend/offer insult back
- Agree
Now which one of these actions is likely to fuel a fight?
The same goes for satan. Look at how Jesus dealt with him when he was tempted. Did Jesus argue?
No! He merely cited scripture. Let us look at the story:
Mat 4:3 And when the tempter came to Him, he said, If You are the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
Mat 4:4 But He answered and said, It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."
Mat 4:5 Then the Devil took Him up into the holy city and set Him upon a pinnacle of the Temple.
Mat 4:6 And he said to Him, If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down. For it is written, "He shall give His angels charge concerning You, and in their hands they shall bear You up, lest at any time You dash Your foot against a stone."
Mat 4:7 Jesus said to him, It is written again, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God."
Mat 4:8 Again, the Devil took Him up into a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
Mat 4:9 And he said to Him, All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.
Mat 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, Go, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve."
Now if satan comes to accuse us and says if you are a Christian you would not do such and such a sin and may even bring to remembrance this:
1Jn 3:6 Everyone who abides in Him does not sin. Everyone who sins has not seen Him nor known Him.
Just agree with him. If you agree there is no argument and actually he is quite a dumb guy. When you agree it cannot be followed by a “yes but…..” Argument over!
When people judge me for my weakness (outward manifestation) I simply say “I am a work in progress, Jesus hasn’t finished with me yet!” Why make excuses? Why try and justify?
Now satan or any accuser will try and get you into the flesh, that is where your weaknesses lie. Refusing to go there, well, there are no debates, no reasoning, and no self justification; no nothing.
The flesh is doomed for destruction, it is the spirit of man that is saved.
Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Php 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ,
The day of Jesus Christ is not about the second return.
1Co 15:26 The last enemy made to cease is death.
1Co 15:27 For He put all things under His feet. But when He says that all things have been put under His feet, it is plain that it excepts Him who has put all things under Him.
1Co 15:28 But when all things are subjected to Him (Jesus), then the Son Himself also will be subject to Him (Father) who has subjected all things to Him (Jesus) , so that God may be all things in all.
So do you think this first occurrence of the word hell speaks of Eternal torment or is it symbolic?
15 more hell words to go, groan!
Blessings |
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