The Afterlife, Judgement/Justice, Heaven and Hell Dr

The Afterlife, Judgement/Justice, Heaven and Hell Dr. Art Waeterling 7/20/17 It is highly recommended the student read The Three Ontologies of Man, located in the Glossary of Theological Essays. For it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this, the Judgement. (Hebrews 9:27) Consciousness after Death Is there consciousness after death? There is if Jesus has anything to say about it. Though the human spirit may be separated from the soul, it is not dependent upon the body for life. Simply put, the human spirit, or Eternal Breath of God…does not die. The issue is Fellowship with our Infinite nature, or, a relationship of adversity. For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21) I am a strait betwixt two, having desire to depart and be with Christ, but to stay put is more needful to you. (Philippians 1: 23, 24) It is true to say at Death each of us pass into the pure metaphysical reality of intangible spiritual Life, but more accurate to say at death, relationship of soul to spirit passes. All of us have ways of answering “What happens after death?” Some say we see a Bright Light that draws us into itself. Others say avoid it. The Mormons see death as one grand family reunion of spirits, while others most common – a journey to the Lamb of God; Love; Justice; Heaven and Hell. No one should be dogmatic on positions of Heaven and Hell, for Revelation speaks of a plane of existence spirit/soul has yet to experience…unless you’re dead or the Resurrected Jesus, with the exception of Enoch and Elijah. Biblically, consciousness after death is a forgone conclusion, and can in the most general of terms safely say Revelation teaches passing into the Presence of God, the Lamb and Spirit.

But as Dr. Irwin Reist has said, “That’s what it says. Now what does that mean? Does Death mean there is an end to sin? When we die, does unrighteous cease? Is there a difference between Specific Resurrection and General Resurrection? Can we change because of the afterlife? Can we repent in Heaven or Hell…why or why not? Is our relationship to Heaven and Hell directly related to relationship of psyche to human spirit? Answering these questions depends on how we interpret the Apostle John’s record, however of one thing we can be Biblically certain – whether Jew or Christian, both Testaments assert and affirm consciousness of some kind after death. Of this, Dr. Robert Morey writes: We must also point out that not only must the materialists come up with solid evidence against a conscious afterlife, but must also give a plausible explanation as to why this belief is anthropologically and geographically universal. When we turn to the history of philosophy what the best of human minds have discerned, we find that from the classic Greek philosophers to the virtually self-evident present time, the immortality of the soul has been immediately reasonable… In light of the history of philosophy and science, it is appalling to hear in our day such statements as, “Only ignorant and uneducated people believe in the afterlife.” “Science has disproved immortality.” “Philosophers can never accept the concept of an afterlife.” Are we really expected to believe that all the philosophers and scientists who looked forward to an afterlife were ignorant and uneducated people? Would such people accept a concept having no evidence for it? Are the materialists of our day more intelligent than nearly all of humanity who preceded them? On what grounds do they rashly wave aside all the arguments for immortality which have been developed over the entire length of humanity’s history? The only reasonable response is to begin where man began, i.e. with a basic orientation to and belief in an afterlife. Until solid evidence is presented to the contrary we shall begin with the assumption that some part of man survives death. (Dr. Robert Morey, Death and the Afterlife) “That’s what it says. Now what does it mean?”… It takes work to know what the Bible says – and a lot greater sweat to interpret without dogmatic meaning. However adding to this, I invite the reader to go to Questions and Answers on the webpage, clicking on Is There Consciousness after Death? Make no mistake…this is a true story worthy of serious contemplation. The reader may wish to disbelieve it happened, but don’t pass it by without explaining why not?

Justice/Judgement Krisis: A Separating, sundering, separation; trial, contest. Selection. Judgement, opinion or decision given concerning anything, especially concerning justice and injustice, right and wrong; In the forensic sense, of the judgement of God or of Jesus the Messiah; the lasting judgment; the day appointed for the judgment; sentence of condemnation, damnatory judgment, condemnation and punishment; to become liable to condemnation. The judgment condemning one to Gehanna. That judgment which Christ occasioned, in that wicked men rejected the Salvation he offered, and so of their own accord brought upon themselves misery and punishment; Judgement takes place by the entrance of the Light into the world and the hatred men have for this light. (Thayer) While Judgement may be Justice, Judgement is not always Justice. Can Justice be Immutable and Unconditional yet subject to change? What is the difference between finite and Eternal Justice? Eternal Justice Eternal Justice is based upon the Person of God: Father, Word/Son and the Holy Spirit as: The Persona of Righteousness. The Rock. His Work is perfect. For all His ways are Just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice. Righteous and upright is He. They have acted corruptedly toward Him. They are not his children because of their defect, but a perverse and crooked generation. Do you thus repay the Lord, oh foolish and unwise people. Is not He your Father who has bought you? He has made you and established you. (Deuteronomy 32: 4 – 6) Righteousness and Justice are the foundation of Thy Throne. (Psalm 89: 14) The Lord is righteous within her. He will do no injustice. (Zephaniah 3:5) Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly? ((Genesis 18: 25)

The Persona of Holiness Who is like thee among the gods oh Lord? Who is like thee, majestic in holiness? (Exodus 15: 11) Once I have sworn my Holiness, I will not lie to David. (Psalm 89: 35)

The Lord God has sworn by His Holiness, Behold the days are coming upon you when they will take you away with meat hooks, and ther last of you with fish hooks. (Amos 4:2) Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts. (Isaiah 6:3) And I am no more in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to thee Hold Father, keep them in thy name, the name which thou hast given me, that they may be one even as we are. (John 17:11) But you disowned the Holy and righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of Life, the one whom whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are all witnesses. (Acts 3: 14, 15) Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When His mother MNary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. (Mathew 1: 18)

The Road to Law See I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today; and the curse if you do not listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known. (Deuteronomy 11:26 – 28) See I have before you today Life and Prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to and to keep His commandments and His statutes and his judgments, that you may live And multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You shall not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordon to enter and possess it. (Deuteronomy 30: 15 – 18) From Perfect Righteousness and Pure Holiness, God’s Law springs forth the Substance of His Eternal Nature, or the Person of Divine Being. According to our obedience, we are judged. Adam, Eve and the Serpent God did not create His Image to sin, but knew from Eternity he would. In very point of fact, by “free will” God gave man permission to break His Law, and provided the temptation to do so which, He called “very good.” He even provided a serpent to engage mental battle.

From the earth God raised up a body, which in turn created the psyche of consciousness, or the soul. Into Adam God breathed the breath of an Innocent Infinite Nature, and man became an extension of Divine Innocence. With the rise of Eve, we have a peculiar situation that must be explained deliberate. Adam was the voice of God in the Garden, as he proudly gave Eve a tour of all the plants and animals named by her mate. And so God addresses His Image, male and female: And God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing moves on the earth. And God said, “Behold I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth and every tree which has fruit yielding seed…it shall be food for you, and to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves upon the earth that has life. I have given every green plant for food, and it was so. And God saw all that He had made and behold, it was very good (Genesis 1: 28 – 31) But Adam came before Eve, and so God addresses the First Man. And out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the Garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And the Lord God commanded the man saying, “From and tree in the Garden you may eat freely, but from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. (Genesis 2: 9, 16 17) This seems a rather strange omission, for only Adam was made privy to the Tree of Good and Evil, while Eve had to hear the prohibition from her husband, changing the immediate temptation from the Tree, to the veracity of Adam, clearing the way for Eve to imbibe. Now the serpent was more crafty that the beasts of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, indeed has God, and said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, “You shall not eat from any tree of the garden? (Genesis 3: 1) Adam could have played chess with the serpent without ever hearing these words. It always begins with “Has God said,” does it not? And the woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the Garden we may eat; but from the fruit but from the fruit of the tree in the middle of

the Garden God has said ‘you shall not eat of it our touch it, lest you die.’ (Genesis 3:2, 3) Without a thought, Eve spoke from loyalty to Adam as the voice of God without challenge, until now. And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely shall not die. For God knows in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3: 4, 5) Had Adam been present when these words were spoken, Eve’s temptation could never have happened, for the First Man knew exactly what God said, responding with, “Liar, begone.” How dare this slithering beast challenge the voice of Divine Being? God said ‘Touch and Die,’ Slime for brains, you are beginning to look like a mosquito.” But for Eve, the temptation was “Believe the legged creature crawling up from the ground or…what my husband said God said. Further, the beast changed the temptation. Husband: Touch the Tree and Die. Serpent: You shall not die, for God knows the day you eat, your eyes will be opened and you shall be like God, knowing good and evil.

And so dear reader…let’s be real. Which option would have you chosen? Did the serpent lie?  Playing on the ignorance of innocence, the answer is yes. The First Couple understood through examining the inhabitants of the Garden the meaning of physical death as cessation of Life, and something to be if possible, avoided. To Adam and Eve, the Tree at best was poisonous. But one must ask why God created the beast at all. It did not have to be a Tree. It could have been “Do not touch or eat of the berries from this bush, or you will die.” The beast exacerbated the issue of life and death choice, or the free will of innocence to elect a different ontology from Divine Being.  On the other hand, let us not forget the story of Eden had little to do with physical death, but rather the sojourn of innocence to separation from the umbilical cord to God’s Ontology. “God knows in the day you imbibe, eyes will be open, good and evil will be known, and you shall be

as God.” This was a lie of omission, for what God “knows” was not the issue, neither were the rewards for eating the fruit. The issue was the cost man paid for the Death of innocence…never mentioned by the beast. When the woman saw the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, , and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from the fruit and ate, and gave also to her husband also, and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3: 6) While the verse strongly suggests Adam was standing alongside Eve at this event, the credibility of such interpretation is sadly lacking.  Are we to believe Adam stood in silence while the serpent lied to his wife?  Are we to believe Adam was silent while the beast tempted Eve to change his authority as an extension of God’s voice in the Garden?  Are we to believe Adam stood motionless as without objection, Eve reached for the forbidden fruit, the results of which would have brought death to his helpmate? Perhaps a more likely interpretation would be “gave to her husband with her” references “with her in the Garden”, rather than both, standing side by side at the Tree. He could have been cultivating the Garden 10 or 100 feet away, just out of earshot from the event. From this point of view, we can assume Eve confronted Adam with the forbidden fruit, and he ate…bringing us to another question: Why did Adam partake without objection? What justification could give a scintilla of credibility to Eve’s argument, encouraging without objection her husband eat? There was no debate or argument. As Eve stood before Adam not a word appears needed. Holding the forbidden fruit…juice dripping from her chin, all she needed was an appearance and Adam without question or challenge…was convinced enough to imbibe. Nothing needed to be added. I have eaten…and yet live.

But the Tree of Good and Evil was a challenge to the Image of God, and imbibing the forbidden fruit a test of freedom to choose, male and female. We have eaten, and yet live. Though the First Couple was innocent, they did not know they were…much less realizing such an ontology could die. All they knew was by imbibing the forbidden fruit, they did not change. Everything else appeared the same with two exceptions: nakedness by separation from God and – the rise of Fear. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the Garden in the cool of the day, and they man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the Garden. (Genesis 3: 7, 8)

I find humorous the next few verses:

Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where art thou? “ And he said, “I heard the sound of Thee in the Garden and I was afraid because I was naked: so I hid myself” And He said, “Who said you were naked? Have you eaten from the Tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” (Genesis 3: 10 11) Obviously, God knew answers to these questions before they were asked, so why bother asking them at all? Confessions  Perhaps to exact confession from what used to be innocent ignorance.  Perhaps to make Adam hear the sound of his words.  Perhaps to force Adam to see his priorities.  Confessions are hard to take back without in some way, losing face.  A man’s repute may be largely decided by the honor he gives his words.

 Confession indicts us to perform.  Confession stifles the temptation to lie.  Confession sets our goals before us, and the world.  Confession expresses what we are trying to do.  The Building Blocks of our Ethics and Morality reside in our confessions.  By confessions we predestine our own election.  Confession tests the strength of Faith and Belief.  Confession may compel the help of others for success.  Confession may increase relationship with those yet to confess the same thing.  Confession may compel confession.  Confession expresses what is outside is also inside, and what is inside…is also outside.  Confession is one-half of Rebirth.  Confession puts the soul of man on the table.  While Confession may speak evil, the Confessions of which we speak reflect the better angels of our heart. Returning to the First Couple, we come to the blame game of fear. And the man said, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me from the Tree and I ate. (Genesis 3: 12) And so the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done? And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me and I ate.”(Genesis 3:13 Though the serpent was about to lose some legs, the sacrifice was worth severing God’s Image from Divine Innocence. We call this: The Fall of Man or, the Death of innocence.

Open eyes; knowledge of good and evil; to be like God; confession; the rise of Fear; the Blame Game; without accomplishment or repute; empty; a blank slate – we call this – Original Sin, the results of which is Autonomy. From the Greek: autos (self) and nomos (name), Autonomy literally means “To name oneself, or, the development of one’s own repute. Original Sin and Sin While the words “original sin” do not appear in the Bible, the results are clearly seen in the writings of Paul: Therefore just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, therefore death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. (Romans 5:12)

From the Theology suggested, we could translate verse twelve as: Therefore just as through one man autonomy entered into the world, and separation from ourselves and God by autonomy, therefore separation passed upon all men, for that all have autonomy. The story of Eden was not about the death of the body, though the First Couple believed it was. The saga of Adam and Eve concern Separation from the Ontology of God’s Innocence, leaving man to create his own repute and identity. The question normally asked: How does the sin of one man spread to the world? St. Augustine surmised original sin applicable to all man through sexuality. Conceived by Autonomy, the child lives by complete dependence and the mother…until birth, where the umbilical cord is severed and the child becomes autonomous. We get parents hating the idea they conceived a child in sin. “See our new addition? While Teddy is an original sinner; growing up to learn how to break the law; demanding; selfish; failing to keep his liquids to himself; with screams heard all the way to Russia; crawling insomnia; diapers; formula; spreading airborne disease; and unless baptized soon…will likely end up in the lake of fire…but, he’s a good tax write-off and how cute…wanna hoed him?”

Okay, a bit of exaggeration perhaps, but one thing is certain. This is the closest autonomy will ever get to the remnants of Adamic innocence. We bring up our children in autonomy, celebrating birthdays each year the closer they get to twenty-one, or whatever cultures see moving from “infant to Man.” A Family of Four I find it interesting the First couple did not reproduce until cast from the Garden, and wasted little time proceeding according to “Be fruitful and multiply.” Right out of the gate, Cain and Abel back to back were brought into the world defining the First Family for the next fourteen years. Raising both boys to proud adults, fourteen years would pass without further children. Why?  Doubtful they stopped intimacy.  More than likely they prayed to God for another child.  In light of “Be Fruitful and multiply”, many children would have been expected.  From the appearance of things, Eve would be barren for fourteen years.  Only after the shocking ordeal of losing her family, would Adam and Eve begin reproducing like rabbits. We might chalk this up to coincidence. Yes, we could do that. On the other hand, just how many children are necessary to bring the horror of sudden murder into history – and had there been more children, would the lessons have been the same? Considerations We should think twice before believing Separation from God’s Innocence means God disappears, or refuses relationship with Autonomy…in or outside the Garden. God so far has not mentioned a penalty for imbibing the forbidden fruit, except for the death of innocence, which brings us to another question: Who paid the bill for original sin?

Most Christians would immediately say Christ paid the penalty for all sin, including the original. But we have seen the penalty was Separation from the Innocence of God, with man’s voice an equality to Divine Being. And yet, God continued relationship with the First Couple as Innocence to autonomy, advancing first, punishment to the Serpent. Because you have done this, Cursed more than all Cattle, and any beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life. (Genesis 2: 14, 15a) But the passages are noted as the Proto Evangelon, or the first prophecy in Genesis for a future Messiah…though likely the First Couple hadn’t a clue to what it meant. And I will put enmity between you and the woman; between your seed and her seed; and He shall bruise you on the head; and you shall bruise Him on the heel. (Genesis 3: 15 b) Except for the Lamb slain before the foundation of the World, man could not have been in Fellowship with God. The Action of Divine Being would be meaningless, empty and a futile waste of Eternal Time. Let us not forget Divine Being has been the issue for Eternity regarding relationship between Holiness and autonomy. Omniscient Perfection and finite imperfection was well known in the Eternal Mind. Without beginning or end, God cannot be one without the other. But there were no crushed heads or bruised feet in the event of Original Sin. Six thousand years would pass before the Incarnation; Death and Resurrection of Christ became History  Adam and Eve were not cast from the Garden as punishment for touching the Tree. Neither was it a penalty tacked on to the death of innocence for disobeying God. The First Couple died to God’s Innocence and now, by cymbal and tinkle speak with voices surpassing the sound of Divine Being. To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. In Pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. (Genesis 3: 15, 16, 17a)

Commanded to “Be fruitful and multiply filling the earth with these autonomous beasts called children,” and, as yet childless, Eve had little knowledge of what such pain could possibly entail – until leaving the Garden. Compared to what autonomy meant for Adam, Eve appears to have gotten the best deal. Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the Tree about which I commanded you saying, ‘you shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field by the sweat of your face. You shall eat bread till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return. (Genesis 3: 17 – 19) Another revolting development screwing up the meaning of Original Sin. If nothing else, this could be seen as the first meaning of “having a bad day.” Yet nothing God has said implies punishment for over-ruling the Divine Voice. The penalty for “separation from God’s Innocence was paid by Man. God had nothing to do with it. It was a simple lessen. Do what you are commanded…and Live innocence. Autonomy walks an incarnate life of separation between “infinity and flesh,” or what many call, “living death.” Yet it appears God does not address what the First Couple had done, and the Pick was no longer an issue for Divine Being. Can’t do anything about it now – water under the bridge. No longer what Man has done, but what he became. Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing Good and Evil; and now, lest he stretch out his hand, and take also from the Tree of Life, and eat and live forever.” (Genesis 3:22) This immediately suggests the First Couple was aware of physical death, meaning “Life will leave your body.” Neither Adam nor Eve believed themselves Immortal, the resolution of which was available by picking another Fruit from a Tree called Life. Obviously for Divine Being, this was the conclusion God expected but the lesson was clear: “Though the easy way out is always most appealing, the Tree of Life cannot be grown for another.”

While God’s words to the First Couple might be seen as a punishment, if Adam and Eve were separated from God’s Innocence as warned by Divine Being, and the penalty as described was from Innocence, Man Fell into Autonomy. “Eyes open; knowing good and evil; you shall be like God; with an equal and overriding voice.” And yet, there is still relationship between Perfection and imperfection, which, were it not from the Lamb slain, could not exist. It is therefore suggested “The pain of childbirth and passion for Adam, and, cultivation of a garden of thistles, crabgrass, and trees not yielding edible fruit, from scratch outside Eden, would succeed by the sweat of his brow…were simply God defining Autonomy to Adam and Eve. Nothing suggests God’s Love was not given to The First Couple. And the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21) Obviously, the Couple did not wish to leave, but the lesson was clear: There is but One Voice in Eden. But this “Tree of Life” thing was serious stuff with God, not only forcing them out, but, planting an Angel and laxer sword….blocking the way back in. Therefore the Lord God sent them out from the Garden of Eden to cultivate the ground from which they were taken. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the Garden of Eden He stationed the Cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned in every direction to guard the way to the Tree of Life. (Genesis 3: 26, 27) This was not without the same advice God spiritually gave the Couple in the Garden, but this time on a physical plane. “Do what I say, and live.” On the up side, having an impassioned wife whose only desire was for her husband, Eve was never too tired for a roll in the thistles.  Cain and Abel. We can assume Adam and Eve were excellent parents, raising two children to what most scholars see as fourteen, or the age of puberty. Two children: one to be an excellent farmer, and the other in animal husbandry. We can also assume what was raised, worthy of offerings to God. Both parents must have been proud of their children’s accomplishments.

In fourteen years Eve nurtured while Adam effectively taught the excellence of vocation good enough for the praises of God. More than likely there was at least mild competition between the brothers, but nothing appeared to merit scriptural relevance. We can also assume the brothers were spiritual, and so Cain goes to God bearing the suggestion of an offering. The deal was both brothers would offer God the very best they had. Cain picked the most perfect fruit his orchids offered, while Abel chose the excellence of a prized 4-H Club flock. Doubtful either brother saw the offering as a contest, until God let it be known He favored Abel’s sacrifice. What if you brought the best you had to God, and he favored the offering of a baby brother? We do things all the time disappointing others, but failing the approval of God…well, that’s a road with a bit more gravity. Many ask what was the difference was between these offerings? The most common answer is “death.” Fruit is replaced with the next crop, while animal sacrifices perish and are burned. Though Cain farmed and cultivated orchids and vegetables of excellence, the situation had alternatives. He could have traded or simply bought a fatted calf from his brother as his offering. But Cain could not escape his rage. Embarrassed before God, parents; baby brother and most of all – himself, Cain likely felt void of respect and esteem…giving rise to infinite Jealousy. He was Jealous God’s Approval was not directed to him. He was envious of his younger brother who took the prize. He was angry, unable to look his parents in the eyes. But most of all perhaps, he was enraged each time seeing his reflection in a placid pool. Simply put – Pathological Jealousy made Cain a bad enough mental mess to merit direct counsel from God. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at your door and its desire is for you, but you must master it. (Genesis 4: 5 – 7)  Though Cain must have known the meaning of sin else God’s counsel would not have been understood, this is the first time it is mentioned in the Bible.

 The sons of Adam more than likely knew the meaning Omniscience and Omnipresence. The lesson: We commit sin, knowing we will get caught.  Cain premeditated the act. Were he to be tried in today’s court, the charge would be first degree murder under special circumstances, requiring the death penalty or life without parole…for taking his brother’s life.  The murder of Abel killed innocence, separating soul/spirit from his body.  Apart from Jealous rage, the murder of Abel had no purpose or benefit to Cain. And Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field that Cain rose up against his brother and killed him. The Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am II my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4: 8, 9) The answer to the question is, “If nothing else, as the older brother…Yes, you are.” Cain was, as he knew he would be – caught. And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you cultivate the ground it shall no longer yield its strength to you; you shall be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth. (Genesis 4:10 – 12) Cain will be buying at the market what he used to sell. Without the excellence of a green thumb, God took away his vocation. He was relegated to the life of a beggar…if he could hide enough of his face. He put his life in harm’s way, just to get a loaf of bread without calling attention to yourself. And so he addresses God: And Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is too great to bear. Behold thou hast driven this day from the face of the ground and from thy Face I shall be hidden and I shall be a vagrant and a wanderer, and it will come about that whoever finds me will kill me (Genesis 4: 13, 14)

We should note, Cain had a pair of big ones. This is your punishment for murdering your baby brother says the Almighty God, and Cain goes, “I Object. It’s too damn harsh. I got a bullseye on my back in a costume highly sensitive to Black Light, and everyone seems to be carrying rifles and

automatic weapons in the name of their 2nd amendment rights. He made his case and God changed a few outside parameters. So the Lord said to him, “Therefor whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord appointed a sign for Cain, lest anyone finding him should slay him. (Genesis 4: 15.) Let’s face it. God gave Cain Bodyguard protection from adversarial lethal harm. You don’t mess with “killer Cane,” likely became his calling card. A reminiscent idea left over from “Have Gun, Will Travel.” The Question frequently asked is what was God’s intention with Cain? Several theories:  He wanted to extend Cain’s Life.  He wanted to extend Cain’s suffering.  He wanted Cain to build the City.  He wanted the boy Enoch.  He wanted to give Cain enough time to accomplish something other than the repute of a murderer. Then Cain went out from the Presence of the Lord and settled in the Land of Nod east of Eden. And Cain had relations with his wife and she conceived, giving birth to Enoch, and Cain built a city calling its name Enoch, after the name of his son. (Genesis 4: 16, 17) I must comment on Cain’s wisdom dealing with God’s Punishment. Build a City on top of what won’t grow. It may not have grass or trees, but they’re doing incredible wonders with plastic lawns and shrubs saving water and work. And so our question reverberates again: Is there a difference between Original Sin and Sin, and how is the penalty paid? Original Sin turned innocence to an autonomous Image, while sin is an action against God, through one autonomous Image to another. While man paid the penalty for autonomy, Christ redeemed us from the results. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of

righteousness will reign in Life through the One, Jesus Christ. So then by one transgression condemnation passed to all there resulted to all men, even so through one act of righteousness, there resulted justification of Life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners (autonomous) even so by the obedience of the One, the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5: 17 – 19) But let us not forget the Law was not yet given. Starkly put, there was neither Law in Eden or out. It will not be until the time of Moses that sin could be defined. I am going to quote Romans 5: 19 to 21 in accordance to our discussion, placing the theological meaning to the words when appropriate. So then through one man’s disobedience the many were made `autonomous, and separation through, as even one act of Righteousness there was resulted the justification of mankind. Therefore just as through one - all men became autonomous, even so through the obedience of one, the many will be made righteous. The Law came in that the transgression might increase but where autonomy is increased, grace so- bounded all the more. (Romans 5: 19 20) We call the first five Bible books the Pentateuch. Some say Moses wrote the whole thing, which others postulate four writers to do the job…affectionately called the J writer, the E writer; the D writer, and the P writer. Whichever view we take, the Bible begins with “In the beginning there was God,” and that’s the way we were intended.to read it.

 Grief, Guilt, Confusion, and Urgency for Understanding  Without the Law, it was impossible to examine what was pleasing to the Righteousness of Divine Being.

 Appearing to follow God’s advice, for years, Adam and Eve raised two sons with lucrative vocations, producing sacrifices of praise offerings pleasing to God.  Sharing an equality of nurture between the children, how could Abel be raised responsible in the eyes of God, and Cain, a murderer of his younger brother?  In Grief, Guilt and Understanding are answered, the Urgency of Confusion will continue to cripple and divide. No Law was given to adequately explain and answer the dilemma of Cain, Abel, and the First Couple. For this is an existential thing, and the First

Couple were seeking answers through their experiences of the children – each compared to the other. No Law was given to measure Perfection to imperfection, and there were no 1st; 2nd or 3rd degrees of anything, though all were guilty of Autonomy. But are we to assume because God had not yet said, “Thou shalt not conspire to Murder?” His Image did not know the action as evil?” Can we suppose we were ignorant of Lying, Stealing, Murder and a good Covet – not seen lacking the Righteousness of God? Dare we say until the time of Moses, we can wander around doing damn near anything we please? Of course not. But let us not forget the story of the First Family is tied to the metaphor and one basic Symbol – Fruit. We have the forbidden Fruit from the Tree of Good and Evil; Fruit from the Tree of Life; Fruit from the Tree we must nurture and grow ourselves; and the Fruit too imperfect to consume. The nature of inquiry must have been far greater than Thou Shalt Not Kill, and neither parent expected or suspected such a thing could happen. Worse, the First Couple never saw the seeds of such atrocity, happening under their noses. For until the Law Sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no Law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even those who had not sinned in the likeness of Adam’s offense, who is a type of Him who was to come. (Romans 5: 13, 14) From infinite Jealousy Cain would murder his younger brother – knowing he would be caught and shamed before God, his family and man. “To our knowledge, we brought them up the same. How could one turn out so evil and the other so good, and how in 14 years were we unable to see it? What did we do wrong?” Why did God not give the Law to Adam and Eve? Why wait until Moses? For if not the Law – what?

 Perhaps the Law was insufficient to provide the First Couple with the ultimate answers so desperately sought.  Perhaps the Law would have answered what the First Couple should not have done, but failed to answer why, how and where.  Perhaps God sought to teach the First Couple the Spirit of the Law before giving it?  And perhaps all the answers urgently sought by Adam and Eve would be found in the Principles of Relationship by which Father, Word/Son and Holy Spirit Eternally Exists.  If we must grow Fruit from our own Tree, by the Principals Of Relationship we plant, water, feed, nurture, prune, shape and protect - while growing into a reflection of God.  The Law would do little but tell the First Couple they were guilty of Sin, while the Principles of Relationship speak of ”when, how and why.”  Answers to all human problems reside in the Principles of Relationship, for they are Infinite Eternal Perfection.  God Is Relationship, Music Is Relationship. Ballroom Dance is Relationship. What do we get putting them together?  The Principles of Relationship is the Eternal Essence of God, without beginning or end from which creation sprang.  Adam and Eve were not searching for Perfection. The First Couple was searching for imperfection…their own.  Perfection must be Present for imperfection to be seen.

Perfect Love What is the difference between Perfect and imperfect love? Were we able to give Perfect Love equally to our children? Was Love given perfectly to one and imperfectly to another?

Did we ever withdraw Love as punishment? Did we ever use Love as incentives to encourage specific behavior? Did the children ever fear our Love might be withdrawn? Is it possible to cheapen Love by Loving too much? Can Love be bought and did we offer a price? What was our Fear Perfect Love cast out? Does Perfect Love mean…we have to Love Cain? Perfect Joy What is the difference between Perfect Joy and Joy? Did our kids see the Joy we had raising them? How is Joy made perfect? Did one child give us more Joy than the other? When in a state of Perfect Joy, are we always happy? Can we know Perfect Joy through the good fortune of another? Why is the Joy of the Lord our strength? How does a man give his Joy to another, and how did we give it to our children? Did we ever fake Joy when having a “bad” day, and did the kids know? Which child appears to have had the greatest amount of Joy in their lives and…why? Perfect Peace What is the difference between Perfect Peace and Peace? Can Peace be traded, bought or sold? Is the cost of Perfect Peace….blood?

Does Perfect Peace require sacrifice? Is it possible to be at Peace during severe emotional hardship? Of our two children, which noticeably had greater peace and why? Generally speaking, who needed greater Peace in the last fourteen years…the kids or us? Which child gave us greatest Peace and why? Does Perfect Peace require a teacher? Does Peace have a responsibility to those who do not, and if so, what is it? Perfect Patience Does Perfect Patience mean holding out until tooth enamel wears thin? Which child required greater patience and why? Which child disrupted Perfect Peace for lacking Perfect Patience, and was it noticed? Did our expectations of either child require greater patience for one and not the other? Was the value of either child ever determined by time taken to accomplish our expectations? Did we ever deem one child slower than the other? How much Patience is required to show Perfect Love? Did our children have Patience with us and each other? Did we ever give our children the inkling we possessed Time? Which of the children showed greater patience with the other? Perfect Kindness Can Perfect Kindness exist without Love, Joy, Peace and Patience? Ever Use a Kind act to pay a debt? Ever use Kindness to influence a service?

Ever use Kindness as a reward? Do Kind actions anticipate benefits? Having donated time and service to the business of both, I cannot remember whether Cain or Abel asked, “What do you want?” Do Deeds of Kindness generate their own Reward? Is the only reward for Perfect Kindness the Act itself? How did we show the children and each other Perfect Kindness? Was Perfect Kindness given the children equally? Perfect Goodness Did we contaminate Love, Joy, Peace, Patience and Kindness with hidden motives for the Deeds? If our motives were good but hidden, was not the deed good? Does the purity of a deed trump the deed? Can a deed be viable if it is not transparent? Can good deeds with hidden motives be construed as Lies? While motives may change the purity of Deeds, does Goodness have anything to change? Did the children ever question our motives for an apparent deed of spirit? What caused our son to lose his countenance before God and our family? What possessed our son to terminate his brother’s life and, is it inside of us? Can Goodness exist in a Love/Hate relationship? Perfect Gentleness Was there a difference between Gentleness and Humility? Were we so Gentile our opinions were meaningless? Was it possible to be too Humble?

We always thought Gentleness and Humility showed strength, but were we wrong? Can Gentleness and Humility hold greater power than a haughty aggressive approach? Was our Gentleness and Humility ever faked? What does “false humility” look like and who in our family appeared expressing it most? Can Gentleness and Humility be exclusive of the other? Did we treat one child with greater Gentleness than the other? Did our children express Humility to the other, and how many times did we fake it? Perfect Faithfulness Does Faithfulness mean we can’t change our Minds? Is to be dogmatically tunneled visioned an action of Faithfulness? Does Faithfulness begin…expecting the integrity of our own intelligence? Can Faithfulness exist without an open mind? Can we be Faithful to Principles of Evil as well as Good? Can Faithfulness be a weapon of both Spirit and Flesh? Is Faithfulness measured by the cost of a relationship? Can Faithfulness be a sacrifice? Is it possible we were too Faithful to one and less to the other? Which son…was more faithful to his visions and goals? (The reader needs to think about this one.) Perfect Self-Control Is Self-Control possible without Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness and Faithfulness?

We have all at one time or another felt out of control for what has been pent up inside, but what of the others did we miss the most? When we are out of control, but in order of priority, what of the others were missed the most? Does the lack of Self – Control reminisce a snowball picking up steam as it rolls down a steep snow laden hill? Does losing Self - Control make the greatest enemy ourselves? When did we recognize Cain was out of control? Which child was more inclined to lose control of himself? What could have we done to help him avoid the loss of himself? What is most humiliating about losing control of oneself? Was Cain humiliated before family and God for murdering his younger brother – and did he deserve it? Does Self-Control mean we still must Love Cain? But if you are led by the Spirit you are bit under the Law. No the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality; impurity, sensuality; idolatry; sorcery; enmities, strife; jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissention, factions, envyings; drunkenness; carousing’s and things like these, of such I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness and Self –Control…Against such things there is no Law. (Galatians 5: 18 – 23) Engaging Spiritual Fruit Putting a Button on each Fruit of Spirit, which should we press first and why? Quite simply: which Fruit contains all the others? Love is Patient; Love is Kind and is not Jealous; Love does not brag and is not arrogant; does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own; is not provoked; does not take into account a wrong suffered; dies not rejoice in rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth; bears all things; believes all things, hopes all things; endures all things. Love never fails. But if there are gifts of prophecy they will be done away. For we know in part and prophecy in part, but when the perfect comes the partial will be done away. When I was a child I used to speak as a child; think as a child reason as a child; when I became a man I put away childish things;. For now we see through a mirror dimly, but then face to face; Now I know in part but then I ahall know fully just

as I also have been fully known. But now abide faith, hope and love, these three, but the greatest of these is Love. (1 Corinthians 13: 4 – 13) We have just finished tendering each Fruit as a singularity relative to ourselves, but this is just the beginning Fruit Salad As God Is Relationship, so is the Fruit of His Perfect Nature, and our fruit is compared to the Fruit of Divine Being. Aromatic, Pure; Perfect in texture and color; ripe; without blemish or the slightest hint of rot; compared to the salad we pour out of…our can or jar. Is the mix proportional, healthy fruit or a salad you would not feed the dog? Adam and Eve needed answers and reasons for their imperfection. They had to compare themselves to Perfection, and sought their own darkness in the death of their innocent son. They were not afraid to face the truth. There was likely little compunction to avoid or hide the truth, for they had already lost their family to unspeakable circumstances. Was this their fault? How can they be the progenitors of both good and evil? Divine salads are made fresh each day with ripe pears, fresh juicy peaches; oranges and grapefruit; apple; and triple cherries; surrounded by the aromatic nectar of the gods - proportionally specific to our daily needs. As imperfect fruit is compared with God’s Perfection, we are compelled to reach and stretch for the same, for there is nothing impossible with Divine Being…or His Image. Imagination dangles visions and dreams, with tomorrow’s thoughts formed today. We are the Past. We are the Present. We are the Future –passing through everything in between. How we pass…depends on the fruit salads we make. Are we stingy with the cherries; too much grapefruit; peaches overwhelm the pears; oranges okay; Pineapple too chunky; apples Granny; with juice more a syrup – will our salad work for today? Why or why not? Though each day be different according to situations faced, we are the Salads created. Taking a closer look at the Fruit, we begin with the one inclusive of the other eight, or Love. Now let’s start one by one, pulling each of the other eight…out.

 Pull from Love…Joy. What do we get? Joyless Love. Not impossible…if your husband is addicted to heroin.  Alright now give Joy back to Love, and pull out Peace. What do we get? Fear of losing the source of Peace.  Return Peace and pull Patience. How does impatient Love look and feel?  Return Patience and pull Kindness. What do we have? Unkind Love: what does it look like and how does it feel?  Return Kindness and Pull Goodness. What do we have? Suspicion and lack of Trust.  Return Goodness and Pull Gentleness/Humility. What do we have? The book Humility and How I Attained It…for Dummies.  Return Gentleness/Humility and Pull Faithfulness. What do we have? Open Marriage.  Return Faithfulness and Pull Self – Control. What do we have? Acute Narcissism; Anarchy; Paranoia and the like. While we are responsible for its manipulation, the resolution to all problems of relationship, big and small, are found in the Principles of Relationship – aka the Fruit of the Spirit.

The Law The Law began a necessity when Moses led the Jewish slaves from Egypt, destroying in the process a good part of Pharaoh’s Army. Thousands of Jewish slaves followed Moses into a divided Sea, while a pillar of fire stopped Pharaoh’s pursuit until the Jews reached the other side. As the pillar died, Pharaoh commanded pursuit, The waters came back together destroying the Egyptian Army. This was a bad day for Egypt. Thousands camped at the foot of Mt. Sinai, and Moses was called by God to a burning bush that was not consumed. It was here God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, and the beginning of Law.

This was a huge turnout with lots of heathen celebration. And so while Moses was receiving the Law from God, his people were breaking it. Thousands of slaves led from bondage – but what do we have? How many believe in Pagan gods. How many sell their images? How many bow to more than one God? The Ten Commandments (Decalogue)  Then God spoke all these words saying: I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of Slavery – You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourselves and idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath. Or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for the Lord your God is a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments.  You shall not take the Name of the Lord your God in Vain for the Lord your God will not leave him unpunished who takes His Name in Vain.  Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it Holy. Six days you shall labor and do your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord you God; In it you shall not do any work, you or your son or male servant or your daughter, your male or your female servants or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For In six days to Lord made Heaven and Earth, the sea and all that is in them , and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath Day and made it Holy.  Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.  You shall not murder.  You shall not commit adultery.  You shall not steal.  You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his servant; or his female servant or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor. (Exodus 20: 1 – 17) Make no mistake about it. God takes this Decalogue stuff seriously – a dividing line between Life, Death, Punishment and Reward. “Because of God’s Moral Character, He hates sin and is provoked by it to consume it in judgement. Simply to dismiss divine punishment for sin is impossible, for He cannot deny Himself. (2 Timothy 2: 13) In the Old Testament the nature and function of the Law revealed to Israel the necessity of a satisfactory atonement for sin, because is also revealed the necessity of God’s punishment of sin. When we turn to the Old Testament Scriptures, we find that the Old Testament Law placed either Promise or Penalty, and blessing or cursing before the people.” (Dr. Robert Morey, Death and the Afterlife) See I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today, and a curse if you do not listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, but you turn aside from the way in which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known (Deuteronomy 11: 26 – 28) See I have set before you this day life and prosperity, and death and adversity, in that I command you this day to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgements, that you may live and multiply and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You shall not prolong the days in the land where you are crossing the Jorden to enter and possess it. (Deuteronomy 30: 15 – 18) The Decalogue may be seen to divide between the First Four and last Six. The First Four Commandments have to do with Holiness, Power and Uniqueness of God defining Who it is we must worship, while the Second Six deal with the behavior of His Image to each other. It is valuable to note our behavior toward each other worthy of discussion, for we know disrespect to parents; stealing; murder; lying and coveting: Repute does not make. We know we should not do…what we do not want done to us. But it’s in the First Four we screw up every time, for finite autonomy seeks to replace the God it abandoned.  We have an infinite imagination with a finite growing mind.

 We make gods of everything we do not possess, and worship those who have.  We will pay for repute with both money and relationship.  While we can create a Symbol of an infinite work, we cannot create an infinite work.  The infinite work of today will be obsolete tomorrow.  No finite work can define the infinity of imagination, for tomorrow, everything may be different.  Between Thee and Me…there is a void.  Through finite means I will seek a Bridge to the other side.  Maybe we can coerce the Holy Spirit to build a wall across the void, and make Jesus Pay for it…which appears to be exactly what happened. Where God was, we place ourselves, unable to assuage human infinity. We puppet each other, pulling the strings of our own destiny. Reason becomes excuse and self - deceit. Replacing Union with Separation, Love is consumed by Fear. Stridently following suit, we eventually become emotional train wrecks running for President of the United States……….I’m just sayin. Bottom line – God Is Relationship. It is impossible to have Fellowship with Jesus and not the Father or Holy Spirit. Likewise with the Decalogue: He who keeps the whole Law but stumbles in one place, he has become guilty of all. (James 2:10) Doesn’t seem fair does it? If we are talking percentages, we would perhaps have a case, but we are speaking of God: Perfection to imperfection; Purity to what we seek; and the impassioned capacity to reach for it. Perhaps a few of the many reasons God Loved, Died and Rose for Fellowship with the World. The Law Defines and Expands We have seen how the Law identifies and punishes Sin. Ignorance is no longer an excuse. By the time of Moses, Israel was God’s Nation…and without question – the State of Divine Being. Divided into Twelve Tribes, the most significant was Levi from

which came the brother of Moses known as the Priestly class, and, the Tribe of Judah from which would come the King and eventual Messiah. It has been said “Larger the Nation, the greater the Law” but when speaking of God’s People, Israel could not be called to cleanse Canaan from Heathen Blasphemy without themselves becoming cleansed. It is interesting to note the first sacrifice upon leaving Egypt was not animal but like Cain, vegetable. In no case however should this conclude the slaves of Egypt had yet to be exposed to blood sacrifice, and the Jews were well aware of an atonement to escape the last decree of Pharaoh, i.e. all the firstborn of Israel shall be put to death, which God turned against Egypt. Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the Land of Egypt, “This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying,” On the tenth of this month. They are each month to take a lamb for themselves, according to their father’s, a lamb for each household. Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to the house shall take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man shall eat, you are to divide the lamb. Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly for the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight. Moreover they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts, and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. And they shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and legs along with its entrails. And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning you shall burn with fire. Now you shall of it in this manner; with your loins girded; your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat in haste –it is the Lord’s Passover. For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the Land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments – I am the Lord. And the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood, I will Passover, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 12: 1 – 13) Having given Israel the Decalogue directly after Moses led them from Egypt, it should not be surprising God’s people were finally indicted unclean before the

Creator. Further, how can an unclean Nation be led by the Angel of the Lord to attack and exterminate the sinful blasphemous cities like Babylon, Nineveh and Jericho without earning the repute of hypocrisy? How do the unclean purge the unclean…when everyone needs a bath? The promised Messiah would not appear for about 4000 years, and just letting sins pile up was not feasible to cleanse a dirty Nation needing it now. But the Jews knew when God makes a Promise – it is as good as done, despite how long it takes. Yet, there must be something to fill the gap; supporting Divine Promise with Faith that presently cleansed Indictment from the Law. Thus Israel would become known as the Nation of Blood Sacrifice. And all the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen, but let not God speak to us lest we die.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin. So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was. Then the Lord said to Moses “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, “You yourselves have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven. You shall not make other gods besides Me; gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves. You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen, in every place where I shall cause to be remembered. I will come to you and bless you. (Exodus 20: 18 – 24) For Israel, the Laws of God were written with the Divine Hand and The Lord expected they protect it. Let us remember before crossing Jordan, Israel never went anywhere without the Iconic Tablets and Mosaic Writings. And they shall construct an arc of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, and one inch and a half cubits wide and one and a half cubits high. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and you shall make a gold molding around it. And you shall cast four gold rings for it, and fasten them on its four feet of acacia wood and over lay them with gold. And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the Ark with them. The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it. And you shall put into the ark the testimony which I shall gave you. (Exodus 25: 10 – 16)

How serious is God about His Law? Life and Death; Blessing and Curse; Perfection and imperfection; Light and Darkness; Spirit and Flesh; Eternal and finite; Omniscience and omniscience; Good and Evil… and a national witness though imperfect, given purity and power to purge and eliminate those refusing to obey, for he that does not live by the Law…shall die by the Law. And so we return to the question, “How serious is God about His Law? The readers are urged to read Exodus chapter 25 through Exodus chapter 30 and answer the question for yourselves. As Israel grew, so did the Law, adding greater restrictions for each commandment. For example, dishonoring parents could lead to stoning. Adultery could be seen as stealing one person from another. Lying challenges the repute of Confessions before God. The measure to which God is Holy, is the measure to which is the Law. Led by the Angel of the Lord, it would not take long before Israel’s repute began to spread. Beginning each Battle with the zealous cries of thousands, “Hear O Israel, the Lord thy God is a Unified One” were led to holy battle by the Angel of the Lord…aka a Theophany. But these were not battles for wealth and profit. These were battles to purge God’s Land from whatever offends His Law. These were Battles that took no prisoners, destroying every man, woman and child in the city…even livestock could not escape the sword. God cannot partially wipe out an abomination. Sodomy constituted the most familiar method of Rape, including sexual attacks on angels. A culture of barbarism blaspheming God’s Law, Babylon was a abomination to holiness bearing a Divine Mandate to be removed from the face of the earth. A well trained army of thousands led by Joshua and the Angel of the Lord, Israel would, by the Power of God be the Instrument purging evil and darkness from a Holy Land of Promise. Surrounding the mighty walls of Jericho, on cue Israel sounded her trumpets and horns, and the walls came tumbling down. Time was given Israel to finish her mission of cleansing abominations, as Joshua commanded the sun stand still for a day.

A Nation of prophets and holy priests, Israel would be known as a Theocracy until asking God for a King. Jonah Though all the cities in Canaan were barbaric abominations to God's Law, not all would suffer a penalty of death for disobedience. Slaughter was not the pastime of God or His Nation if repentance could be seen possible. From the Tribe of Levi, the Priests were called of God to interpret and carry out the sacred Laws of sacrifice for the regular cleansing of God's people. A prophet could be called from any tribe to address a specific situation or circumstance needing knowledge, wisdom, understanding and guidance for resolution. While many perceive the Prophet's message likened to a prognosis of the future, prophetic utterances should not be likened to fortune tellers.

Pursue Love, but desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especilly that you prophesy. For one who sspeks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands, , but to his spirit he speaks mysteries. But he who prophesies speaks to men for edification, exhortation and consolation. (1 Corinthians 14: 1 - 3) Edification builds and expands the meaning of the Law relative to the circumstance. Exhortation challenges the faith and emotions to believe the Law, and consolation brings comfort in confession and practice. The voice of a Prophet weaves in the Name of God, all three aspects of a sacred and holy message into what is said to the people. Not so with Jonah.

The Word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Amittai saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh the great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me. (Jonah 1: 1) A faithful Prophet of God and strict observer of the Law, Jonah gave little leniency to wicked abominations disparaging its sacred holy intent, and perhaps a greater Fundamentalist than Divine Being Himself. Yet, rather than standing before the God of his calling, he chose not to argue with the Divine Message. "I disagree with what you are asking and though respecting the purity of the Law, debate is nothing less than distraction against intended abomination against Your Holiness." Besides, winning or losing an argument with God tends to invalidate the veracity of a Prophet's calling.

Rather than sit there and stonewall God's calling, Jonah chooses the next best option...a choice of "Do what God says despite your imposition, or, RUN”...bringing us to the first lessons God intended a now, rogue Prophet. But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship that was going to Tarshish, , paid the fare, and went down into it to go to Tarshish to escape the presence of the Lord. And the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a great storm upon the sea so that the ship was about to break up. Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried to his god and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah has gone down into the hold of the ship, lain down and gone to sleep. So the captain approached him and said, “How is it you are sleeping? Get up and call upon your god. Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish. And each man said to his mates,” Come. Let us now see on whose account has this calamity struck us? So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then they said to him, “Tell us now. On whose account has this calamity struck us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you? And he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of Heaven Who made the sea and dry land." How could you do this?" For the men knew he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord. Then "Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will be calm for you. Then the men prayed, "Do not let us perish on account of this man's life, and they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped raging. Then the men feared the Lord greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish for three days and three nights. (Jonah 1: 3 - 17) And so to go with the metaphors of the day, what might Jonah have thought in this situation of bad sushi and an abondagris 3 day bath. As "Life of Riley" William Bendix used to say: 1. What a revolten development this is, I don't have a set of spare robes, and this is it for my underwear. 2. Paying my fair share of the trip, I get blamed for a little bad weather and can't even catch a few hours’ sleep. 3. And a storm threatening to split the ship in half...a bit of exaggeration. 4. Facing multiple rude inquisitions attacking my heretage, it assumes no matter what befalls them - my humble fault. 5. Landing an oceanic voyage in the belly of a fish for three days swimming, the wrong damn way. 6. And most likely the whole world will know about it.

I cried for help from the depth of Sheol. Thou didst hear my voice for thou didst cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas. So I said, “The earth with its bars was around me forever. But thou hast brought up my life from the pit, Oh Lord my God. While I was fainting away, I remember the Lord; and my prayer the faithfulness vowed I will pray. Salvation is from the Lord. Then the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah up on dry land. (Jonah 3: 1 - 10) What a complete and total mess. Jonah was right. The Heathens of Nineveh of course heard this story. We know how sailors talk and this was big news. But to add insult to injury, the fish vomits up Jonah onto their pagan shores. There wasn't a Barbarian in the city that did not want pictures of this event. We talk a lot about beached whales, but Nineveh got a beached Prophet. Again, for Jonah, "what a revolten development this is." The first and only lesson for Jonah: Prophets cannot run from their Calling, without suffering the consequences. On the other hand, this was also a lesson to Nineveh: We cannot ignore the message of a Prophet without suffering the consequences. Now the Word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: , saying :"Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and proclaim to it the proclamation I'm about to give you. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three day walk. Then Jonah began to go through the City one day's walk and he cried out and said, “Yet forty days and Nineveh will be overthrown. (Jonah 3:1-3) Were we to ask Jonah if he believed in the message of God, he would have likely responded with "absolutely?" But were we to ask this rebel Prophet whether this great city of Barbarians deserved God's message, he would have likely responded with, "Yeah...I guess." Cutting God's Message, the Prophet's only interest appears to get to the other side of this great city as fast and possible, issuing nothing of repentance, and only a warning, "In forty days Nineveh will be overthrown. Take it or leave it." But the issue for the People of Nineveh was no longer the Message of Jonah, as skimpy as it was. The issue was what his God had to do to get the Law to their pagan shores.

Jonah was never reluctant to preach God’s Law, but hated the idea of preaching repentance, lest the people of this abominable city should believe and act accordingly. When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the ashes. And he issued a proclamation and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, “Do not let man, beast, herd or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water. But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth, but let man call on God earnestly that each may turn from his evil way, and from the violence which is in his hands. Who knows, God may turn and relent, and withdraw His burning anger so that we shall not perish. When God saw their deed that they turned from their wicked ways then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it. (Jonah 3: 6 – 10) The story of Jonah was perhaps the most ironical event of God’s cleansing the Holy Land. Neither Angel of the Lord, Joshua or the vast armies of Israel ever offered repentance as an alternative to the cultural abominations scattered across Canaan. “He that does not live by the Law – shall Die by the Law.” While Jonah fully embraced this, he did not believe the barbarians of Nineveh deserved the Message and so Ran rather than preached the Truth to which he was called. His hatred of the city was so great, he could not fathom preaching the Law might cause them to repent. Rather than take the risk, he ran from God’s calling. For Nineveh, Jonah was a prophet forced to take the risk, and knew he would rather be silent than say anything concerning the Law, much less repentance. Nevertheless, rather than face another fish, decided to, though half – heartedly, enter the city and preach what he hoped would be useless to these hated people, paying no attention to his Message. But it was too late. The people of Nineveh knew before the Prophet stepped into the city what the message was, and his silence was indicative of the truth. Had Jonah put aside all this fish stuff and simply full throatily preached the Law, Nineveh would likely have never repented. But for a Prophet to hate this Barbaric City and run from his calling, made whatever was received perhaps at once believable. Jonah was not a Prophet in

need of any apologetics. He could have walked into the Pagan City and said the sky is green, and people would have likely believed him. And so a few observations before closing the book on Jonah. 1. We look at the story of Jonah as what God put him through, but rarely speak of what the Lord had to do to get him there. 2. When a Prophet is forced to speak his calling, the Message is more than likely true. 3. Cleansing the Holy Land, because of Jonah, Nineveh was the only city Israel spared. 4. Nineveh repented before Jonah. 5. God turned the hatred of Jonah into the Salvation of an abomination. Having completed his watered down version of God’s Message, an angry Jonah went to the east of Nineveh, built a shelter and sat down to ruminate. A private though uncomfortable place to be, the heat relentlessly bore down upon Jonah. So the Lord God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant. But God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day, and it attacked the plant and it withered. And it came about when the sun came up that God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he became faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying, “Death is better to me than life.” Then the Lord said,” You had compassion upon the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow which came up overnight and perished overnight. And should I not have compassion on Nineveh the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as the many animals? (Jonah 4: 6 – 11) While there is no record Jonah ever answered the question, how does the reader think the rebel prophet responded? The Land would be cleansed in one of three ways, Obey the Law and Live; Disobey and die; or Repent. The Nation of Israel would become known as the Land of Priests, Prophets and Kings. The Priests would command the Laws of Sacrifice; the Prophets would edify and exhort the Laws of Priests; and the King would be the authority carrying them out. The Nation would hold the Law for four thousand years, and scattered across

Palestine, would return to Judea, a province of the Roman empire, to their capital of Jerusalem…to which Christ would born their long awaited Savior.

The Purity of Finite Justice What is Justice? Pay a fine according to the law broken? Foreclosure? Jail? Prison? Capital Punishment? Life with no possibility of parole? a. Justice enforces responsibility to the laws of society. b. Justice preserves society from Anarchy, i.e. we can do what we want and answer to none. c. Without Justice, unrighteousness is meaningless… d. Without Justice, laws, morality and ethics would be superfluous. e. Without Justice, people could never be made even partially whole. f. Justice puts cost to actions. g. Justice exacts penalty according to the transgression. h. Justice is based upon decisions of reborn man. Do any one of you when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more matters in this life? If then you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account to the church? I saw this to your shame. Is it so that there is not among you one who is wise able to decide between the brethren? But brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers? (1 Corinthians 6: 1 – 6) i. Without Justice, the Atonement and Resurrection are meaningless.

j. Without Justice, Fear would replace Trust. k. Without Justice we’re on our own. l. Justice demands relationship by which God Created man. m. As God Is Relationship, so by the nature of Divine Being is Justice. n. Death brings us to One Place: Into the presence of the Lamb Who is the Justice of God. o. Justice is the Infinite Eternal Quality of God by which men were created. The Impurity of Finite Justice a. Lying under oath is a crime against Finite Justice. b. Justice can be bought or sold. c. Finite Justice may deem the guilty innocent, or the innocent guilty. d. Finite Justice may cause the innocent to suffer, all the way to death. e. Finite Justice may not exact penalties equal to the crime. f. Based upon the Laws of Privacy, Finite Justice may be forced to ignore the Truth. g. Though Finite Justice may find basis in what is seen, it cannot consider what is not. h. Finite Justice is based upon the integrity of who judges the case. i. Finite Justice is based upon Laws that may change. j. Finite Justice may be based upon the prowess of an expensive Lawyer.

k. Finite Justice depends upon the opinions of one or twelve. l. Finite Justice means an “eye for an eye” without reasonable doubt. m. The Messiah was crucified by Finite Justice. n. In today’s world, Finite Justice does not consider Spiritual Sin a crime. o. Finite Justice places monetary cost on a human life.

The Body, Soul and Spirit of Man This has been a major issue of Christion Debate, and the writer has come down on the Trinitarian Trichotomy view of man – Body, Soul and Spirit. For the Word of God is quick and active, sharper than a two edged sword and piercing even as far as the division of soul and spirit of both joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4: 12) To what does consciousness depend? What makes the difference between the consciousness of an elephant, bear, snake, whale or parrot? Might it be the DNA of the organism relative to the development of a Brain and nervous system? If from the Genesis account we see God created Heaven, Earth and all things of Nature therein, does not the body of all things create the consciousness of each? And so we turn to God’s predestination of Himself, namely: Let us make man in our Image, after Our likeness. And so God created man in His own Image, male and female He created them. (Genesis 1: 27) Though it may have taken 100,000 years to produce a body able to receive the Breath of God, time has little meaning to an Eternal Being. But finally, the day came.

Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the Breath of Life, and man became a living spiritual being. (Genesis 2: 7) The importance lies with what man was doing while his evolution was going on. It was here man likely developed a contemplation of who he was becoming, ending with a finite conscious psyche called the soul. This was not something popping out in a 24 hour day, for the Image of God, like a fine wine, had to be nurtured and aged before the Breath (Pneuma, Spirit) of Divine Being would make him metaphysically alive. Adam would awaken sharing God’s Eternal Infinite Innocence as his own. This would continue until separated, he became Autonomous. Now may the God of Peace Himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved and complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5: 23) We have seen though Adam and Eve became autonomous, God did not disappear from their lives, neither was He silent as they went from the garden. Man was Body/Soul divided from the Spirit of his own infinity. The Spirit of man will not allow or accept a finite definition of itself. At Death we have another separation, as the body ceases and the Soul disappears. But the Soul does not disappear, for man’s relationship with the human Spirit continues accordingly. Tis this relationship that will ultimately determine the fate of human consciousness for Eternity. Though Dr. Robert Morey is a Dichotomist, he perfectly describes relationship between the Soul and Spirit at death, or, not. 1. Man’s Soul/Spirit is viewed as being separate from the body. (Eccles. 12: 7) 2. Death is said to occur when man’s Soul/Spirit leaves the Body. (Genesis 35: 18)

3. Man’s Soul/Spirit is the seat of his intellect. (Proverbs 23: 7) 4. Man’s Soul/Spirit is the seat of his will. (Exodus 35: 21) 5. Man’s Soul/Spirit is the seat of his emotions. (Genesis 26: 35) 6. Man’s Soul/Spirit is the place of inner worship. (Luke 1: 46, 47 cf. Matt: 22: 37)

The Cerebral Cortex We have seen how righteousness and darkness begin in the mind, or the way we think. We are created with Six – Sensurround perceptions to what the brain is exposed. We see, hear, touch, smell; taste; and kinesthetically move as part of a relationship to our environment. Collectively and moment by moment, these form the existential and emotional experiences of our lives. The human Cerebral Cortex is a mass of over 6 billion neurons firing synaptic impulses of what from six senses, the human brain records. A piece of this and a piece of that times six billion, it is here we experience human infinity.

It has been said the storage capacity of the Human Brain is greater than every book in the New York Public Library. But it does not stop there. We might say all of our experiences in Life provide the data base for imagination, plummeting worlds we have never seen or directly experienced. We can go where no man has gone before…and who’s to say it is not there?

The Lobes The Cerebral Cortex, also known as the Cerebrum is the largest portion of the brain located right under the forehead and is divided into two parts, the right and left hemisphere. They in turn have a total of four lobes – the frontal; Parietal; Temporal; and Occipital Lobes. The Cerebral Cortex controls movement, speech, memory, and intelligence. John Hochfelder The Occipital Lobe: At the very posterior of the Cerebral hemisphere lies the Primary Visual Cortex. The Occipital Lobe sends visual information to the Parietal and Temporal Lobes. The Parietal Lobe: Receives information from the rest of the body corresponding to light touch information; deep pressure information; and a combination of both. The Parietal Lobe also maintains representations of the body’s and head’s position in space. This permits the rest of the brain to interpret what it is experiencing when it sees and feels things happening. The Temporal Lobe: Lies on the side of each Cerebral Hemisphere. On the superior margin (top) of the Temporal Lobe lies the Primary Auditory Cortex, the tissue which is central to the understanding of spoken language. Other parts of the Temporal Lobe are involved in recognition of faces and objects. Other emotional and motivational behaviors are involved with the Temporal Lobe. The Frontal Lobe: Lies anterior to the central sulcus and superior to the Temporal Lobe. It contains the Motor Strip, or precentral gyrus from which motor instructions are sent to the voluntary muscles of the body. The tissue in the foremost part of the Lobe .is called the Prefrontal Cortex. This Cortical area receives projections from the entire cortex, and involves executive planning and judgmental roles. (Dr. Craig Freudinrish.)

The Mental Books of our Lives Two books are mentally written in the scope of a normal life: The first is our record written by the soul/Psyche and body of man: We think of what made us; we contemplate what we heard, saw, missed, or chose to ignore and Why…conveniently forgetting how much of our stupidity has been left out of the picture. This is not to suggest there is no truth in Book one, but it is a highly mixed bag of taboo talking points. The Book is shorter than the second for normally, we do not write about failure to see details important enough to remember. Book one is usually about the best mental legends of our mind. Yet, like it or not and despite what we try to ignore or forget, “We are omniscient to our actions.” We know where bodies are buried or put out of sight. We know what we don’t want to talk about, and how to camouflage things we wish we had not done. The first book is the finite version of our lives, complete with Technicolor excuses, lies, and sleight of hand conspiracies believable enough to deceive ourselves. The second book tells the story of our lives through “all seeing eyes of human infinite spirit.” We cannot escape what we know, in spite of cherry picking a good case of self-deceit…choosing to remember a more comfortable conclusion to the experience. Brought together we stand, an omniscient record with pictures of blessing and indictment. It’s All a Matter of Time Just when we think we know it all, somebody drops a mask. I can’t wait for next summer’s vacation. In six months I can legally drink, drive and

vote. It’s a four year school but academics through the summers will get me out in three. Have you ever experienced the power of a single moment? Between Birth and Death, God has given us a span of years to develop purpose, meaning, priorities, ethics, self-worth and repute. Yet, despite the most well laid successful plans, and perhaps with the exception of St. Paul, few of us ever sit back saying, “Okay, that’s it; I’m ready to die.” I am a strait betwixt two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ which is far better, yet to abide in the flesh is more needful to you. (Philippians 1: 23) Paul welcomed Death as a door to the intimate Presence of his Calling. Few of us see Death this way, but for the Reader’s inspiration, I suggest the cinema classic, “Meet Joe Black.” Believer or not, passing into Eternity is a perceptual shock to the system, but in all cases, it appears the very first issue regards our relationship with Christ. If we say we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness , we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship one the with other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sine, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess out sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have no sin we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (1 John 1: 6 – 10) All this ends when we Die, or what I call “stepping into Eternity.” Stepping into Eternity means we pass into what has had no beginning or end, where past, present and future are seen in a single moment. No longer can we become better or worse, for there is no longer Grace or Repentance.

Stepping Into Eternity a. To step into Eternity means we see God as God sees us. b. To step into Eternity incarnates our relationship with Jesus Christ. c. To Step into Eternity is to step into the Light, where nothing can be hidden. d. To step into Eternity steps into the Fire and Holiness of the Holy Spirit. e. To step into Eternity means to find Darkness in our Shadows. f. To step into Eternity means we finally have the perfect definition of what our lives made. g. To step into Eternity means the Books of our Lives have been made spiritually Pubic. h. To step into Eternity means stepping into spiritual public reckoning. i. To step into Eternity means the experience of past, present and future…in a single powerful elongated moment. j. To step into Eternity means finite moments of Time by which we govern ourselves…turn to visions of infinity. Writing Revelation We should note the Apostle wrote what he saw without interpretation. Was the Apostle saying Hell was what he saw, or, were these metaphors and symbols pointing to something deeper? While most profess the latter, there are more interpretations of Revelation than Angels on a pin. I suggest this because John never gave one.

Revelation is a Book that writes past, present and future events, symbolically all the way to the end of time and beginning of eternity…backed up by the Book of Daniel. The Apocalypse is a Book of Visions called forth by Divine Words spawning Technicolor mental pictures, spreading out to timeless infinity. Face to face with the Lamb, we begin with the Books we have mentally written. We stand as an indictment of who we are and what has been done with our lives. We are the Lies told ourselves and what it took to believe them. There can be no excuses in Heaven or Hell. There is no sin in Heaven and no righteousness in Hell. We are immutably what we have made ourselves, standing proud or in shame. We are the steps of our own evolution. Choosing substance and direction, we predestine ourselves into Eternity, Boxing up the Apocalypse

The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place; and He sent and communicated it by his angel to His bond-servant John who bore witness to the Word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed are those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near. (Revelation 1: 1-3)

Identifying the Lamb. Revelation 1: 10 - 20)

The Spiritual Evaluation of the Seven Churches – (Revelation 2: 1 – 29 – Revelation 3: 1 – 23

The Throne and Worship of the Creator (Revelation 4: 1 – 11)

The Book of Seven Seals is Opened (Revelation 6: 1 – 17 – Revelation 7: 1- 17 – Revelation 8: 1 – 13)

The Trumpets (Revelation 8: 1 – 13 – Revelation 9: 1 – 21)

The Angel and the Little Book (Revelation 10: 1 – 11)

The Two Witnesses (Revelation 11: 1 – 19)

Michael (Revelation 13: 12 – 17)

Rise of the False Prophet and Antichrist (Revelation 13: 1 – 18)

144,000 and 666 (Revelation 14: 1 – 11)

Marriage of the Lamb (Revelation 19: 7 – 10)

The Second Coming of Christ: (Revelation 19: 11 – 21)

Armageddon: (Revelation 19: 11 – 21)

The Thousand Year Reign of Christ: (Revelation 20: 1 – 6)

Satan Freed and Doomed: (Revelation 20: 7 – 10)

The Great White Throne: Revelation 20: 11 – 14)

The New Heaven and Earth: (Revelation 21: 1 – 9)

The New Jerusalem: Revelation 21: 10 – 27)

The River and the Tree of Life: (Revelation 22: 1 – 9)

The Final Message

And He said to me, do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong, and let the one who is filthy still be filthy, and let the one who is righteous still practice righteousness; and let the one who is holy, still keep himself holy. Behold I am coming quickly and my reward is with me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and Omega the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who was their robes that they may have the right to the Tree of Life and may enter by the gates of the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and practices lying. I, Jesus, have sent my Angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and offspring of David, the bright morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say “Come, “And let the one who is thirsty Come. Let the one who wishes take the Water of Life without cost. I testify to everyone who hears the words of this book: if anyone adds

to them, God shall add to him the plagues written in this book. And if anyone adds to the words of prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Tree of Life and from the Holy City, which are written in this book. (Revelation 22: 10 – 19)

Observations

1. For being the last book in the Bible, Revelation packs a whopper punch greater than any other.

2. Neither the Angel nor St. John authored the Book, but the Word of God…Jesus Christ Himself.

3. John only wrote what he saw and heard, untethered by any interpretation.

4. Though most books in the Bible contain some form of prophecy, Revelation is ALL prophecy.

5. While John was neither Prophet; Priest or King, God called him to edify, exhort and comfort the church.

6. Central to the Apocalypse is the Lamb, and the reasons He deserves our most Holy Worship.

7. Revelation clearly teaches the Lamb is our God, Savior, and Author of Justice in the battle against Evil.

8. The greatest lesson of the Apocalypse is: “Best not mess around with the Lamb.”

9. It’s not that John had a lot to say. It’s that Jesus did.

Heaven Without Death, no one has seen or experienced Heaven and we would virtually know nothing about it. On the other hand: a. Jesus died, rose, and ascended to the right hand of the Father.

b. Elijah and Enoch are said to have been taken to heaven without Death. c. The writings of St. John in the Book of Revelation.

And I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; And in the middle of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across his breast with a golden girdle. And his head and his hair white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire; and His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been caused to glow in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of waters. And in his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp two edged sword and his face was like there sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him I fell at his feet as a dead man. And He laid His hand upon me saying, “Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last,” and I was dead and behold I am alive forever, and behold, I have the keys of death and of Hades. (Revelation 1: 10 – 18)

Symbols Suffice it to say, Revelation is not a book to read at a few sittings. The Apocalypse is a Book of Symbols, each pointing to something greater than itself. For example, the American Flag points not to itself, but to America, and the patriots who have died for it. To where the symbol points we go, and revelation can become a picnic in a beautiful part. I mean really dear reader. Why would God call the Apocalypse the Book of Revelation…if it were not so? Without understanding the symbols of John, we cannot see what Christ meant us to see…and the Book should be tossed. In the above description of Christ, we have whiter than snow wool, breastplate of gold; eyes like a flame of fire; feet like burnished brass; voice like the sound of waters; with a face like the shining sun.

Combining all of these, just what does your Jesus look like? How do all these symbols come together? What does each symbol mean and what does it add to others before it? Revelation should be read as slowly as we understand it. We are ready to take our next step. Heaven is a Spiritual State building a Spiritual Place according to the participants. For example, we worship the Lamb who sits upon the Throne in the middle of the lampstands of the churches. John speaks of ‘streets of gold’ and ‘decorator mansions’ extending to the pure righteousness of an infinity without Sin. Yet, apocalyptic riches appear to have little to do with accumulation of wealth, for in this spiritual state, what exactly is it we can buy? It appears what is considered riches are little but roads spiritually traversed to reach intangible wealth, or the perfection of knowledge. As long as Sin is present, “Be ye Perfect even as I am perfect” becomes impossible until completely taken away. Let us just consider how many spiritual things we might have accomplished in life were it not for Sin. Saved by Jesus but shortchanged by our own unrighteousness? None of this happens in Heaven, and we are set free to explore what has been missed under the burden of Sin. Heaven is a State of complete self-understanding, for through the eyes of Jesus, we see ourselves as He sees us. Heaven is a State of Light, and no longer can we hide from ourselves or others. Heaven is a State without restriction to Truth, Knowledge or Eternal Wisdom. In Heaven we are what we have spiritually become, and, CAN spiritually become. In Heaven we are not free to do what we want, but rather to do what we ought. A question has been raised why Revelation appears to contain greater coverage of Hell than Heaven? One answer might be the characters surrounding the Doctrine of Eternal Punishment. On the one side we

have Demons, Satan, Antichrist, the False Prophet…and Man, while on the other, Man. Dr. Robert Morey has proposed an even simpler explanation: People would rather die than await the end of life. Sacrificing children and the elderly for a better life may not be in this day and age, something unheard of. The Apostle Paul appeared to lean in this direction: I am a strait betwixt two, having the desire to be with Christ which is far better, nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful to you. Then too, how many times have we heard the relatives of someone who died, “He’s in a better place.” Depending on our Relationship with the Lamb…this is true. Preaching an Unpopular Doctrine Few of us awaken Sunday morning looking forward to a feisty sermon on Hell. Why then would a Pastor consider preaching the Doctrine at all? Does the Doctrine not appear to contradict the premise that God is Love? If so, then why did Jesus preach a warning against it? Satisfactorily answering this question will usually determine the call to preach, despite unpopularity. Though Doctrines may appear unpopular, they usually do not stand isolated from those offering positive genres supporting the reasons why? For example: a. God is Love: a meaningless statement unless we know and understand why. b. God is Holy: a meaningless statement unless we know and understand the purpose of His Law.

c. God is the Fire of Holy Spirit: Cleansing the afterlife of all unrighteousness. d. God is Infinite Atonement: an Eternal Sacrifice for transgressions opposing Divine Nature. There is little God creates, without the eventual appearance of an opposite. The Almighty does not create good and evil, for from the beginning, God saw everything as “very good.” The question is: “Can God give man what is “very good,” without man turning it to what is “very evil?” The creator of Atomic Power certainly hoped so, and understood the nature of his discovery to further the science of space travel, medicine, and an inexhaustible source of power controlling pollution and man’s needs for survival. Let us never forget the equations Albert Einstein drew on a blackboard were but a pittance of what was in his mind, including the possibility of evil. Atomic power could promote and extend God’s Image to an infinite universe, or, destroy the inhabitants of an entire planet. We have seen how death is a separation of soul/spirit from body, and into the immediate presence of our relationship to the Lamb. While such separation is likely seen by most as a shock to human consciousness, it does not appear the “chief of sinners” had a problem and even looked forward to the experience. In point of fact, it does not appear any Apostle feared bodily death. But let us not be foolish. In spite of our belief he is “in a better place,” we look at a body and naturally sense something terrible has happened to the deceased. We cry unstoppable tears while speaking of loss in a state of extreme grief. Perhaps something terrible HAS happened, but not necessarily to the deceased.

It’s All about Relationship As God IS Relationship, there is nothing in Creation that does not follow suit. Apart from Relationship, structure has no identity. Without Relationship, structure has no purpose or meaning. Apart from Relationship, we have no direction or need of growth. Without Relationship, neither Love nor Hate exist. Without Relationship, there is no need for the Law; Sin does not exist and the need for Atonement is abolished. Yet, as God IS Relationship, so the Divine Image was created a relationship of body, soul and spirit. We were made a relationship to be in Relationship with relationship – apart from which we simply take up space. We were not created to rival God, but as autonomy, have been given freedom to reflect His Nature and Essence, or. Sin. We can see Christ as the Firstborn Image of God representing us all, or, focus on differences bringing separation, prejudice, racism, partisanship, disrespect and scorn. We all face death carrying the baggage of our lives, but relationships determine how heavy or light…beginning with our devotion to Jesus Christ and accordingly, to others. For if “he that lives and believes in Me shall never die,” is true, Jesus must be speaking of relationships between believers, bound by a common Spirit. And so dear Christian Reader – let’s get real. If we want to face Death with any level of peace – let us confront our measure of Fellowship with Jesus. And what might the measure of that Fellowship be?

Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness. And you know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. (1 John3: 4, 5)

Little children, let us not love with word or tongue, but with deed and truth. We shall know by this that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him, in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God. (1 John 3: 18 – 21)

Beloved, let us Love one another, for Love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not Love does not know God, for God is Love. (1 John 4: 7, 8) So what is the problem? After all, it does not appear such a task goes without reward, namely, Love everybody and we won’t Fear Death. Developing Spiritual Fellowship in Life But let us go a step further, or the dynamics of relationships in Life. Can we become the immortality of another? A student of Zen asked his teacher, “Master: why can we know a person for twenty years, versus someone for 2 weeks and face greater grief for the passing of the latter?” “Because Grasshopper,” the Sage replied, “The soul does not measure itself in time…but growth.” Let us for the moment agree man is born body, soul and spirit, however, does this comprise our identity, or, does Life give us something else? Why is relationship important to human development? Why are we not “a rock or island?” Why is man threatened to death without human relationship? Are we endowed with six senses to remain isolated? Without relationship, what is the purpose of movement? Can man Love without relationship? Finally, can relationship exist without sacrifice, and, if not – what is it?

The Cost of Relationship

All relationship carries sacrifice…usually called cost. While such calculations could be monetary, we refer to deeper levels of consideration. a. Time: How much is needed to satisfy the participants. b. Uncommon Interests c. Levels of Intelligence d. Expression of Feelings e. Imagination and Goals f. Partisan Politics g. Priorities h. Morality and Ethics i. Giving and Receiving The list could be doubled or tripled, though issues may not have anything to do with the gravity of each. For example, Hod was kind and like a servant, insuring the comforts of company. His favorite phrase was “use me.” One year he wrapped all my Christmas presents and was always sensitive to the pain of others. But relationship with Hod carried a cost. He would go on for hours saying nothing in a deep bass voice that shook the floor, killed plants and simply would not quit. I used to tell him his gonads were in his throat. Yet, it was only when he died that I realized how much he became a part of me. All relationship carries a cost, and we must decide which is worth the price. And so dear reader let us assume of ten relationships, which one

of the above can determine the success or failure of spiritual fellowship? We are a marriage of many spirits determined by what has been given out and received within the scope of relational flow. Putting a first grade memory to the task, we are likely to remember a few “best friends” all the way to their facial looks and qualities that for us at the time – made them “best.” What we tend to forget and perhaps fail to notice are relationships developed since. To how many has our spirit been given, and how many spirits have been received? Looking back upon our lives, we perhaps seek the importance of those remembered most open, intense, and significant for what and who we have become today. We recall the teachers most respected, influencing sometimes the greatest critical directions of our lives. We remember a Pastor’s preaching; the words of a counsellor, and authors of books having changed our lives. And so let us assume a successful 40 year Marriage of giving and receiving, and one partner suddenly dies. What exactly has changed? a. The Bodily expressions of our beloved partner can no longer be received. b. Our Bodily expressions to the partner can no longer be given. c. Does relationship cease to exist with the death of the body? d. If not, where does 40 years of successful giving and receiving go?

Our first reaction seeks the source of giving and receiving outside ourselves, but the beloved’s body is gone. She no longer is where she used to be. Walking down the street we pass our favorite restaurant, and reaching the place we used to dance, are drawn to enter for a brief moment of salutation. But we do not seek a partner. We seek a simple moment of her presence, facing only absence as the music plays and others dance. Tears fill our eyes as we choke back the pain. She is not there. She has died, and nothing we can do will bring her back. In her absence, we grieve what feels like the loss of ourselves. For forty years we have slept beside her, and seek an escape to dreams turning to nightmares as we reach for her from the darkness of our slumber. Human suffering from loss will continue as long as we seek her outside of ourselves. Yet, in this situation as fate would have it, we happen to run into her all-time favorite song, perusing the stations of a car radio. “There is someone, walking behind you; Turn Around, Look At Me.” Well thank God for soft Pop. And so let us ask one more time: Does a 40 year successful relationship of giving and receiving, at the death of a partner, cease to physically exist? If what we seek resides outside ourselves, our answer more than likely will be “yes.” On the other hand, no longer are we one spirit, but a union of two... residing in a single body. Does a 40 year successful relationship of giving and receiving at the death of a partner cease to spiritually exist? We must emphatically answer “no.” A graduate of Princeton University, Hod was a prolific writer with a vast vocabulary, creating magazine articles and advertisements for various

publications such as the Penny Saver. He was also an addict for Crossword Puzzles. I was about two years into writing Theological Essays for this website when he suddenly died of a heart attack. So many times I would reach an impasse in my writings, seeking a word befitting greater expressions of Theological Thought. On several occasions, his voice would invade my meditations with a single word, unfamiliar though striking enough to look up. This happened about six times – and what I found – always fit my need. Hell While there are many words for Hell in the Bible, each appears to have its own meaning and reference to Death; the Afterlife; the destiny of good/evil and man. Much of the following is drawn from Death and the Afterlife by Dr. Robert Morey.

Sheol and Hades – Hell on Earth? “The Hebrew word Sheol is found 66 times in the Old Testament. While the Old Testament consistently refers to the body as going to the grave, it always refers to the soul or spirit of man as going to Sheol. The international Bible Encyclopedia defines Sheol as the unseen world, the state or abode of the dead, and is the equivalent of the Greek: Hades.” While many have debated Luke 16 as Parable or an historical event used by the teaching of Christ, it nevertheless springs from continuity with Sheol as a place of departed spirits.

Now there was a certain rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, gaily living in splendor every day. And a certain poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table, besides

even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. Now it came to pass that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s Bosom and the rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades he lifted up his eyes being in torment and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, “Father Abraham, have mercy upon me and send Lazarus , that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame. But Abraham said, “Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, in order that those wishing to come over from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over to us. And he said, “Then I beg you Father that you send him to my father’s house – for I have five brothers – that he may warn them, lest they also come to this place of torment. But Abraham said, “They have Moses and the Prophets’, let them hear them. But he said, “No Father Abraham, But if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” But he said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead. (Luke 16: 19 – 31) “Perhaps the best way to clarify what the New Testament teaches about Hades is to first of all state what Hades does not mean. Once we have cleared away any misconceptions of the word, then we can present its meaning in the New Testament.” a. “Hades does not mean death, because the Greek word for death is Thanatos in the New Testament. Also, Hades and death appear together in such passages as Revelation 1: 18 where they cannot be viewed as synonymous.” b. “Hades is not the grave, because the Greek word, mneema, is the word for grave in the New Testament. Also, all the arguments which demonstrated that Sheol cannot mean the grave, apply equally to Hades, seeing that Hades is the Greek equalevant of the Hebrew word Sheol.”

c. “Hades is not hell, i.e. the place of final punishment for the wicked, because the Greek word Gehenna is the word for Hell in the New Testament.” d. “Hades is not Heaven, I.e. the place where the soul of the righteous goes at death to await the coming resurrection, because the Greek word Ouranos is the word for Heaven in the New Testament.” e. “Hades is not the place of eternal bliss for the righteous after the resurrection, because the new heavens and new earth, or the everlasting kingdom refer to this place.” (Revelation 21:1) (Death and the Afterlife; Dr. Robert Morey) Establishing what Hades is not, allows to clearly understand its development during the intertestamental period, through Christ, the Atonement and His Resurrection. a. Progressive Revelation: While Hades was consistently used as the Greek version of the Old Testament Hebrew word for Sheol, this does not mean Hades should be limited to the Old Testament meaning. The New Testament picks up where the Old Testament left off by progressively developing what happens to the soul of man after death. b. The Intertestamental Period: The Jewish concept of Sheol progressed to the belief in two compartments: a place of torment to which the wicked went; and a place of conscious bliss called Abraham’s Bosom or Paradise to which the righteous were carried by angels. The rabbinic understanding is the basis for Christ’s illustration in Luke 16. c. What is Not Literal - Makes the Point: We have seen this specifically in terms of Symbols. From the Talmud and Midrash

come numerous stories weaved around people having dialogue with Abraham that had no basis in reality, but nevertheless, pointed to greater truths than a literal text. Most see Luke 16 as Christ using the same method of rabbinic teaching. Few believe poor Lazarus sat on the Bosom of Abraham, or the rich man had parched lips able to communicate with Lazarus. “It is obvious Christ was not teaching we will talk with the wicked in the hereafter. He was merely using the dialogue method to get across the concept that there is no escape from torment; no second chance; and we must believe in the scriptures in this life unto salvation.” (Morey; Death and the Afterlife) d. The First and Second Dump: With the Death, Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, Hades and the Afterlife became much clearer. Where once Abraham’s Bosom was a depository for righteous souls after death, it emptied to an eternity immediately in the Presence of Christ. For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain, proclaimed the Apostle Paul. “In the New Testament, there is a development of understanding which took place after Christ’s resurrection. Before Jesus was raised from the dead, the apostles assumed that everyone went to Sheol or Hades. This Hades had two sections, one for the righteous and one for the wicked. “But Christ’s resurrection changed this picture. Thus Paul uses the language of transition when he speaks of Christ taking the righteous out of Hades and bringing them into heaven.” (Ephesians 4: 8, 9)” Ibid Morey. On the other hand, Hades became the precursor of collective conscious unrighteousness awaiting a resurrection to final judgement in Gehenna according to their works.

Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for that day of judgement. 2 Peter 2:9 Hades became a prison of contemplation to what was to come, holding unrighteousness captive until the final resurrection to eternal judgement. “When the final day of judgement arrives, Hades will be emptied of its inhabitants and the wicked will stand before God for their final sentence. (Revelation 20: 13 – 15) Thus we conclude that Hades is the temporary intermediate state between death and the general resurrection where the wicked are in conscious torment. Hades will be emptied at the resurrection, and the wicked will be cast into Hell. (Gehenna)” Ibid, Morey.

Gehenna: The Lake of Fire Found 12 times in the New Testament, Gehenna is correctly translated across the texts as Hell. While Sheol and Hades describes the temporary abode of the dead awaiting the final judgement after the general resurrection, Gehenna is the place of future punishment in the eternal state. But we should not fail to notice the omnipresence of Fire in the New Testament. Fire can be seen in the existential event of Baptism, cleansing and Rebirth, as well as purification, the destruction of Pagan cities, burnt offerings and punishment, all of which point to the Presence of the Holy Spirit. Let us take for example the Purification of works and deeds at the Judgement Seat of Christ.

For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble that we might know the things freely given to us by God, each man’s work will become evident. For the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as though fire. (1 Corinthians 3: 11 – 15) God need not rub two sticks together for fire. God is Fire. “The word Gehenna is Greek for the Valley of Hinnom, located just outside the city of Jerusalem. According to Thayer, it was the place where idolatrous Jews offered human sacrifices to pagan gods. Because of these horrible practices, the Valley was considered unclean by pious Jews.” “In Christ’s day, this hatred of Hinnom caused the Valley to become the town dump where all the garbage of the city was thrown. Unclean corpses as well as garbage constantly fed the dump; its fires never stopped burning and worms got a belly full.” “Ibid, Morey” After the Resurrection of Christ and by the time the Apostle wrote Revelation, Gehenna had developed to the place of final judgement; the Great White Throne; and Eternal Fire that burns but does not consume. But from the Talmud comes a very strange point of view. The literature states there are two kinds of people who descend into Gehenna: a. the disobedient of Israel who descend into Hell for 12 months in order to be cleansed of their sins in its Fire. They then ascend to the throne of Glory in Paradise where the righteous had already ascended at death; b. Idolaters and

Blasphemers remain in Gehenna to be punished for all generations. At first my reaction was, “Woe, there is an escape from Gehenna?” But the more I contemplated, the reality of such thoughts, the more I became aware of the greater impossibility. a. The act of repentance does not exist in the Afterlife. b. The act of forgiveness does not exist in the Afterlife. c. Apart from both, cleansing cannot exist in the Afterlife. Kind of reminds me of the Hotel California: You can check in any time you like – but you can never leave. Tartarus

For God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell (Tartarus) and committed them to pits of darkness reserved for judgement. (2 Peter 2: 4) We have seen how Hades is a waiting place of those lacking the atonement of Christ, awaiting the final resurrection to eternal judgement. So it is with angels who have fallen. The key word for man’s afterlife is Atonement apart from which those without, can only await the final Judgement at Gehenna. But as we have seen, Satin, Antichrist, False Prophet and Fallen Angels, are spirits without possibility of redemption. When the spirit and soul of man fall into sin before death, having embraced the Atonement, they can be cleansed and forgiven…For the Blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.

When the Word became Flesh, He did not die for a spirit but the soul of man. As man He lived by faith; died by faith, rose and ascended by faith – by which man, through faith was able to participate. He did not die for spirits tempting man to sin. He did not die for Satan; the Antichrist, False Prophet, or the dominions of angelic darkness…for there was no consciousness worth saving. Neither did He die for human consciousness after death, for even with faith, what is there to believe? Before death, the Atonement offered hope, repentance, forgiveness and cleansing. After death, the Atonement became an eternal indictment of what we chose…to lose. But the Angels…by their deeds chose by their works what they have become, and cannot change an afterlife destiny. They cannot turn the clock back. They cannot take away what they have said; who they have tempted; and what their actions have had to the economy of man’s relationship to God. Eisenhower once said, “When opportunity arises, keep your mouth closed.” Though we can repent and ask forgiveness, there is nothing by faith we can erase from our lives. We know what has been said and others have heard. What we do not know is how many ripples have been caused in life’s stream, river or ocean. Perhaps the best we can do before death is to send out other ripples of righteous works. After death, such possibilities become impossible.

Questions Most Frequently Asked About Gehenna And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened which is the Book of Life; and the dead were judged from the things written in the Books according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them, and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And if anyone’s name is not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20; 11 – 15) 1. Is Eternal Punishment for finite sin a just settlement? Well it sure doesn’t seem like it does it? But: a. Whether Heaven or Hell, we see what God sees, or ourselves all at once. b. Pain is a reality of what we deserve. c. We create the measure of our own suffering. d. In the Afterlife, Eternity cannot be measured in a finite way.

e. In the Afterlife, we are judged according to what sin has made us. f. In Gehenna, what we have become does not change. 2. Who holds the Thermostat for the Lake of Fire? a. We have said the Holy Spirit is the fire of God, but does this mean He controls the heat of the pit? b. Is there a different thermostat for each person in Gehenna? c. Does man hold his own thermostat? d. Though there be 10,000 in Hell, do they see and hear each other? e. Writing “No Exit,” Jean Paul Sartre depicts Hell as 1 room of four people, each designed to intimidate the others, and, in relationship, the room heats up.

3. Are there degrees of punishment in Hell? a. According to the Law, there has to be, for each commandment carries its own penalty

relative to the whole. However, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and “For whoever keeps the Law yet offends in one place, he is guilty of it all. (James 2: 10) tends to even things out. b. “According to thy works” would be meaningless were there no degrees of punishment in Hell. c. Once a thermostat is set, it is immutable. d. Beginning with what we have become, everything in Gehanna is hated. e. In Gehenna, we eternally hate what we know is deserved. f. In Gehenna, we contribute to the suffering of others. 4. Are we our own indictment? a. If we believe we are omnipresent to every existential experience of our lives – the answer is yes. b. If we believe our minds are mentally framed in two books written by Soul and Spirit, the answer is yes.

c. If we believe everything seen by the six senses have been mentally recorded and preserved in the brain, our answer is yes. d. If we believe our brain’s capacity is 4o times the information in the New York Public Library – bringing what we can experience as infinity…our answer is yes. e. If we can quietly allow the Brain to think for us, instead of ourselves straining to capture a new idea, we might begin to hear what the Cerebral Cortex has to say. The answer is yes. f. If we can plug into a mind able to be anything and go where no man has gone before – my answer is yes. 5. How does a God of Love also be the God of Hell? a. Holiness burns unrighteousness. Love sizzles hate. Perfection points to imperfection. Agape casts its burning rays on finite Love. I guess what matters is the perspective from which we look.

b. Holiness Is the Light that shines in the deepest darkness, almost like a Black Void from which no light appears to escape c. God Hates Sin. We have heard it said, “God hates the sin but loves the sinner.” Does this mean God Loves everyone in Hell? d. It has been said: Without Agape, there would be no Hell. Is this true and why? e. Without Hell, the Fruit of the Spirit could not be seen. f. Without Hell, God’s Love would be worthless. With Hell, men become the bearers of Good And Evil.

Preaching Hell Depending on what the preacher’s sermon seeks to accomplish – I would advise extreme caution, prayer and introspection. a. Is the message an evangelical plea for conversion to Jesus Christ? b. Is the message an objective study of doctrine? c. Does the message produce the desired feeling and emotion?

d. How about the timing relative to the spiritual maturity of the congregation? e. Are you called to preach it? f. Are you sure and why now? Let’s just call it as we see it people. There are many kinds of preachers and 80% are easily distinguished…provided they do not know we are making comparisons. Broadly speaking, Pastors speak more of Love than do ministers with a congregation of babies. On the other hand, Apologists may favor the eternal punishment gig. Teachers may go for either, but missionaries capture and speak more of eternal punishment first, proceeding to God’s atoning Love of Agape. For example, what do we say to a man who founded a Southern Baptist Church? Upon retirement, he began developing a vocabulary even sailors would throw overboard. He was a Pastor with many memory records any sane Image of God would prefer to delete. What we thought was the Pastor Testimony and witness… is it the same as now? Which was real would never be answered. He likely died of Alzheimer’s, but at the time, there were no tests for it. His wife kept coming in support of the Church. I suppose we can place what happened to this man on the disease. But for the moment, let us consider his life during the pastorate.

He was polite yet a grumpy old man without the peace his profession was supposed to preach. He lacked the luster of life, and could not be described a “Happy Camper.” He had little Joy, except when the church he founded screwed up. I don’t believe the Congregation was aware of their Pastor’s inner conflicts and struggles, but were likely to have seen his gradual changing behavior. Patience was not this man’s strong suit. Where did all that venomous language come from, and was retirement the cause? There was nothing to suggest he did not mean every ugly word. We give Life our own meaning, purpose and direction – sometimes kicking off with the wrong foot. We are our own election - able to change or add freeways and super-highways at any time. Dr. Allen Redpath faced the same thing while under anesthesia. People were stunned by the words coming from his mouth while under. While preferring to believe this to be a brain malfunction, we should not forget choosing the paths we elect to follow, a constitution of which determines our elected destiny. Elected Paths 1. Elected Paths may contain the poison of walking a wrong road. 2. Elected Paths may stimulate a greater election.

3. Elected Paths waste and want not. 4 .Elected Paths give opportunity to change and enhance the future of God’s Image. 5 Elected Paths give ability to slowly trace those leading to sin. 6. Elected Paths have the shield of Atonement. 7. Elected Paths raise Fruit and sheep from the field of the Lord. 8. Though Elected Paths may lead to sin, they also can lead us out of what feels like a maze. 9. An Elected Path best knows the future…by first knowing what lay before us today. We elect ourselves to Heaven or Hell, according to the paths we choose to follow. We determine our own destiny in the Afterlife, and prior to death, can change it at any time. When it comes to our lives, we are as God omnipresent to all we have thought or done. We are not predestined to Heaven or Hell. We were created to choose Fellowship with God. We were not made to sin, but were given the ability to do so. There are few surprises in the Afterlife, and depending on new choices of election, already we know whether our names are found written in the Book of Life. All in all, it’s a great time to adjust directions if we doubt.