August 2
HELL / PART 1
According to J. W. Hanson:
-"Does the Bible teach the idea commonly held among Christians concerning "hell"? Does the "hell" of the Bible
denote a place of torment, or a condition of suffering without end, to begin at death? What is the "hell" of the Bible? Manifestly
the only way to arrive at the correct answer is to trace the words translated "hell" from the beginning to the end of the
Bible, and by their connections ascertain exactly what the divine Word teaches on this important subject. It seems incredible
that a wise and benevolent God should have created or permitted any kind of an endless "hell" in His universe. Has He done
so? Do the scripture teachings concerning "hell" stain the character of God and clothe human destiny with an impenetrable
pall of darkness, by revealing a state or place of endless torment? Or do they explain its existence, and relieve God's character,
and dispel all the darkness of misbelief, by teaching that it exists as a means to a good end? It is our belief that the Bible
"hell" is not the heathen, nor the "orthodox hell", but is one that is doomed to pass away when its purpose shall have been
accomplished, in the reformation of those for whose welfare a good God ordained it." ( The Bible Hell, J. W. Hanson
)
-Before getting into the Hebrew and Greek words that were translated into the English word "hell", we will first
take a look at the origin of the English word "hell", and how it grew into its present meaning. Over the coming days we are
going to search for what the Bible actually teaches about "hell". We are going to study to show ourselves approved unto God
( 2nd Timothy 2:15 ). We are going to put our beliefs to the test in order to see whether or not the orthodox teaching
of Evangelical Christianity concerning "hell" is truth or tradition.
-After carefully examining the facts that will be presented, we will seek to prove that the modern day teaching
on "hell" is INCORRECT, and does in fact malign the character of our Heavenly Father, Who is not to be looked at as the eternal
torturer, but is in fact …
-THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD!-
