Published by Maybe they are afraid too because of (Rev.22:18) “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plaques that are written in this book.” Revelation is a book not understood by many. Some people are afraid to open up the book and read it because the end times sound scary and rough. Revelation speaks of tribulation. When it comes to the Bible, what you don’t know can hurt you. Revelation needs to be read and studied so we will not be lost and deceived. (Revelation 1:3)
“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” Revelation verse three is saying that we will be blessed for reading and hearing the words and keeping the things that are written. So there is nothing to fear if you are doing your best for God in this life. If you are not doing your best and refusing to learn of him or accepting him, then be afraid.
Jesus is coming back real soon. Some people think that he is never coming back or don’t exist. Some people have evil hearts and will never change or accept the Lord. (Rev.16:9) “And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over the plaques: and they repented not to give him glory.” (v 10-11) “And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongue for pain, (v11) And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.” Isn’t that something? Being scorched with heat, gnawing the tongue for pain, and blaspheming God is evil to the extreme. Think about it.
So, how can we say that God is not the kind of God that will punish you? There is a hell for these people. (Rev.20:13-15) And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. (v14) And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (v15) And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
What does the Bible say about the unjust and the righteous? (Rev. 22:11) “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy let him be holy still.” (Rev. 22:12-13) And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. (v13) I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
(Rev. 22:14-15)
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. (v15) For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murders, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Love the Lord and do good. There is nothing to fear.
I learned something new, thank you Gail!
You’re welcome, Lucy, and I thank God for showing me.
People fear revelation because of many reasons, the Unbelievers fear revelation because acknowledging it’s validity and the existence of almighty God would require people to repent and many people love their darkness.
on the other hand though I have noticed many believers and preachers themselves avoiding the book of revelation, they should speak of the gospel with boldness and God will help them minister to the people.
There is no condemnation for those that are in Christ, they that believe not are condemned already, God does not send people to hell, unrepentant, unbelieving hearts are what send people to Hell it is not God’s will that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
I agree. God did not intend for man to die and go to hell, but there is a hell, and people will be going there if that is what they choose to do. God intends to get rid of evil. Hell don’t exist for nothing. If God let evil go on, he wouldn’t have a kingdom and there would never be any peace.
** Ignorance is no excuse **
Lack of perspective in both time and space harms everyone who remains ignorant about history of religion, sociology of religion, psychology of religion, and philosophy of religion. Stop operating on a narrow intellectual bandwidth.
Take note atheists and theists alike — studies of worldwide cultural phenomena known as “religions” cannot be dismissed or ignored.
At the root of Western religiosity do lie the disgusting doctrines of return, revenge, punishment — but “the” apocalypse?
There are *apocalypses*, plural. The ecpyrosis of Stoic philosophy is a fiery end-of-time when time begins again to unroll itself exactly as before. Norse myth tells of a very different end by fire, Ragnarok — the Twilight of the Gods. Hinduism proclaims vast cycles of cosmic death and rebirth.
Of course, religions more local in time or space dominate cramped thinking. Xianity looks important because it’s too close. So, step back for a better look.
Among Near Eastern religions, zoroastrianism invents apocalyptic. The World Savior comes to renew his creation, raise the dead, punish the wicked, and dwell with his “children of light” forever in a blessed realm.
The revenge filled doctrine of a terrible judgment to be visited upon the unrighteous gets taken up into judaism, appearing in the book ascribed to Daniel. Thereafter, judaism produces two important apocalypses: Jubilees and 1Enoch. Xianity draws inspiration from these hellenistic jewish documents to produce the vendetta inspired “Apocalypse” of John of Patmos.
They key to understanding all apocalypses within the Near Eastern group of religions lies in realizing that each gets created during a time of foreign invasion, occupation, and sectarian violence. Each is a product of a desire for revenge which cannot be expressed except in words, words veiled in obscure symbols and arcane references.
Norman Cohn’s excellent starting place for understanding when, how, and why apocalypses appear in the West is “Cosmos, Chaos, and the World to Come” Yale Univ. Press.
bipolar2
c. 2007
Gail as I said Ignore the blasphemous God-haters 1 timothy warns of such people who have had their consciences seared with a hot iron
1 Timothy 4
1Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
Great Article Gail, be strong and fervent in the Faith, You know what the Word of God says and that is what matters
Okay Jonathon and thanks for your kind comments in Christ.
very welcome, I enjoy reading your articles very much by the way
There are many religions and many ideas. It is good to have an open mind and think for yourself. We have our mind to think with, so looking at all the options and ideas and judgeing for ourselves is all we can do. I think about all the killings done in the name of religion, that are still being done today, and I think the best we can do is accept one another as we are, and understand we all have different upbringing and cultures. Live in peace and don’t try to push our ideas on others. If we did that we would have a peaceful world to live in.
Hi Jonathon,
I’m so glad you enjoy reading my articles. Are you writing articles? I’ve got to find your name if you are so that I can read some of yours.
Hi Ruby,
You are right. There are many religions and ideas and there is a lot of war because of religion. The war is people don’t won’t to accept the one and only true God. When we don’t treat God right, our world is not right. We have some that serve him, and some that don’t. We will never truly have peace until Christ comes. I understand where you are coming from, but when it comes to the Holy Bible, it is not a religion or an idea. It is God’s word, and it is more true than any book or man made religion in the world. We must live by it to make it to heaven. We must speak of the word, and all of those that don’t accept God, we can’t make them. God will not force us to do anything and neither will I with the Bible. I’m just talking about what the Bible said and what is handed down to our generation to go by. Everybody has their own opinions and take things differently. I write about the word of God because that is what I am lead to do even though I’m not perfect. I leave it up to God to do the rest.
Hi Gail, remember me? I have to get back to revieing articles on a regular basis. Glad to this one!
Hi Meri! Happy New Year! I remember you. Glad to hear from you.
“And the voice that I heard out of heaven is speaking again with me and saying: ‘Go, take the opened scroll that is in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the earth.’ And I went away to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me: ‘Take it and eat it up, and it will make your belly bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.’ And I took the little scroll out of the hand of the angel and ate it up, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; but when I had eaten it up, my belly was made bitter. And they say to me: ‘You must prophesy again with regard to peoples and nations and tongues and many kings.’”—Revelation 10:8-11.
John’s experience is rather similar to that of the prophet Ezekiel during his exile in the land of Babylonia. He too was commanded to eat a scroll that tasted sweet in his mouth. But when it filled his stomach, it made him responsible to foretell bitter things for the rebellious house of Israel. (Ezekiel 2:8–3:15) The opened scroll that the glorified Jesus Christ gives to John is likewise a divine message. John is to preach regarding “peoples and nations and tongues and many kings.” To feed upon this scroll is sweet for him because it is from a divine source. (Compare Psalm 119:103; Jeremiah 15:15, 16.) But he finds it bitter to digest because—as previously with Ezekiel—it foretells unsavory things for rebellious humans.—Psalm 145:20.
Hellfire—Is It Part of Divine Justice?
Have you ever seen someone tortured? We hope not. Deliberate torture is sickening and abhorrent. What, though, of torture inflicted by God? Can you imagine such a thing? Yet, this is exactly what is implied by the teaching of hellfire, an official doctrine in many religions.
Imagine, for a moment, the following horrific scene: A person is being roasted on a hot iron plate. In his agony he screams for mercy, but nobody listens. The torture goes on and on, hour after hour, day after day—without pause!
Whatever crime the victim may have committed, would not your heart go out to him? What of the one who ordered the torture? Could he be a loving person? In no way! Love is merciful and shows pity. A loving father may punish his children, but he would never torture them!
Nevertheless, many religions teach that God tortures sinners in an eternal hellfire. This, it is claimed, is divine justice. If that is true, who created that terrible place of eternal torment? And who is responsible for the excruciating agonies inflicted there? The answers would seem obvious. If such a place really exists, then God would have to be the creator of it, and he would be responsible for what happens there.
Can you accept that? The Bible says: “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) Would a God of love inflict torture that even humans with any measure of decency find revolting? Surely not!
An Unreasonable Teaching
Still, many believe that the wicked will go to a fiery hell and be tormented forever. Is this teaching logical? The human life span is limited to 70 or 80 years. Even if someone perpetrated extreme wickedness for his whole lifetime, would everlasting torment be a just punishment? No. It would be grossly unjust to torment a man forever for the limited number of sins that he can commit in a lifetime.
Who knows the truth about what happens after we die? Only God can reveal this information, and he has done so in his written Word, the Bible, referred to above. Here is what the Bible says: “As the [beast] dies, so the [man] dies; and they all have but one spirit . . . All are going to one place. They have all come to be from the dust, and they are all returning to the dust.” (Ecclesiastes 3:19, 20) There is no mention here of a fiery hell. Humans return to dust—to nonexistence—when they die.
In order to be tormented, an individual has to be conscious. Are the dead conscious? No. “The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they anymore have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5) It is impossible for the dead, “conscious of nothing at all,” to experience the agonies of hellfire.
A Harmful Doctrine
Some maintain that the teaching of hellfire is useful, true or not. Why? They say it serves as a deterrent to wrongdoing. Is that true? Well, is the crime rate in regions where people believe in hellfire lower than in other places? Hardly! In fact, the doctrine of hellfire is very harmful. Will a person who believes that God torments people view torture as something abhorrent? Why should he? Those believing in a cruel god often become cruel like their god.
In whatever way a reasonable person may look at the matter, he cannot accept the existence of a hell of torment. Logic rebels against it. Human nature is repelled by it. More important, God’s Word does not say that such a place exists. When a person dies, “he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish.”—Psalm 146:4.
What Punishment for Sin?
Does that mean that we are not punished for our sins? No, that is not the case. Our holy God punishes sinners, but he does not torture them. And when sinners repent, he forgives them. What is the punishment for sin? The Bible gives a forthright answer: “The wages sin pays is death.” (Romans 6:23) Life is a gift from God. When we sin we no longer deserve that gift, and we die.
You may ask: ‘How is that just? Why, everyone dies!’ That is true because we are all sinners. In effect, no one deserves life. “Through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned.”—Romans 5:12.
At this point you may be thinking: ‘If we all sin and so we all die, why should we try to be virtuous? It seems that the wicked man is treated exactly the same as the man who tries to serve God.’ But that is not the case. Although we are all sinners, God forgives those who sincerely repent and try to change their ways. He rewards our efforts to ‘make our minds over’ and to do good. (Romans 12:2) These truths are the basis of a marvelous hope.
A Reward for the Good
We cease to exist when we die. But that does not mean that everything is finished. The faithful man Job knew that he would go to the grave (Sheol) when he died. But listen to his prayer to God: “O that in Sheol you would conceal me, that you would keep me secret until your anger turns back, that you would set a time limit for me and remember me! If an able-bodied man dies can he live again? . . . You will call, and I myself shall answer you.”—Job 14:13-15.
Job believed that if he was faithful until death, he would be remembered by God and resurrected. This was the belief of all of God’s servants in ancient times. Jesus himself confirmed this hope when he said: “The hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment.”—John 5:28, 29.
When will the resurrection begin? According to the Bible, very soon. Bible prophecy indicates that in 1914 this world entered into its “last days.” (2 Timothy 3:1) In what many call ‘the end of the world,’ God will very shortly remove wickedness and establish a new world under heavenly rulership.—Matthew, chapter 24; Mark, chapter 13; Luke, chapter 21; Revelation 16:14.
The result will be a paradise covering the whole earth and inhabited by those who have sincerely tried to serve God. Wicked people will not burn in hellfire, but they will have no place in the coming Paradise. At Psalm 37:10, 11, we read: “The wicked one will be no more; and you will certainly give attention to his place, and he will not be. But the meek ones themselves will possess the earth, and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.”
Is all of this just a dream? No, it is God’s promise. In the Bible we read: “I heard a loud voice from the throne say: ‘Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his peoples. And God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.’”—Revelation 21:3, 4.
Do you believe these words? You should. God’s word always comes true. (Isaiah 55:11) We urge you to learn more about God’s purposes for mankind. Jehovah’s Witnesses will be delighted to help you. If you would like their help, we invite you to write to one of the addresses below.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Bible quotations are from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures.
[Footnotes]
In the world of Islam, the Bible consists of the books known as the Torah, the Psalms, and the Gospel. At least 64 verses of the Koran say that these books are the Word of God and emphasize the need to read them and to carry out their commands. Some people assert that the Torah, the Psalms, and the Gospel have been distorted. Those claiming this are saying that God is unable to preserve his own Word.
Peace my friends
we entered into the last days in Acts chapter 2 not 1914…peter said in Acts chapter 2, this is what the prophet Joel preached, that in the last days God will pour out His
spirit on all flesh…SO IF PETER SAID JOEL SAID THE LAST DAYS START WHEN THE SPIRIT IS POURED OUT ON ALL FLESH IN ACTS 2 THEN THE LAST DAYS STARTED IN ACTS 2 NOT 1914…PLUS 1 JOHN 2:18 SAYS WE ARE IN THE LAST DAYS…SO U R A FALSE TEACHER AND I READ ABOUT YOU IN 2 CORINTHIANS 11:13…REPENT or perish!!!!!!