Article number R8056

7,000 YEARS OF
PREPARATION
By Joel Hilliker
Reprinted from the Royal Vision, September-October 2000
I
t was perhaps the most pivotal moment in history.
The entire universe was in chaos. The Earth lay desolate.
God surveyed the scene. And the earth was without form,
and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the
spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2).
In the Hebrew language, that verse says the Earth was tohu
and bohu. This was not the way God had originally created every-
thing. Isaiah 45:18 says, For thus saith the Lord that created the
heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath
established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhab-
ited: I am the Lord; and there is none else. The word translated
in vain is tohu. God didnt make the Earth or any other part
of the vast universe tohu and bohu. He made it perfect, and He
formed it to be inhabited! So what caused this state of destruction
in Genesis 1:2?
God had first created the angels, including that pinnacle
of created beings, Lucifer. To provide them an exciting life of
productivity, He created the material universe for them. That is
talked about in the first verse of the BibleGod had created the
heavens and the Earth just for them. They would first take care
of the Earth, and if they could do that, God would send them
out into the universe!
But it didnt work out that way. After some time, they chose
instead to follow Lucifer as he exalted himself against God and
staged a hostile takeover of that universe-ruling throne. They
didnt have the patience to allow God to give it to them. They
wanted it all right then and there. But such thinking always leads
to disaster. It takes character to rule rightly, and the angels
didnt have it. In the intense war that ensued, the beautiful Earth
was decimatedleveled and destroyedmade tohu and bohu.
Mr. Armstrong wrote in The Incredible Human Potential on
page 46, When [the angels] turned traitor on Earth, their sin
must have also brought simultaneously physical destruction to
the other planets throughout the universe, which were potentially
and conditionally put in subjection to them.
As God surveyed this cataclysmic tragedy, He must have
realized that since the highest, most perfect being within His
almighty power to create had turned to rebellion, it left God
Himself as the only being who would not and cannot sin.
This profound realization, a result of the tohu and bohu pic-
tured in Genesis 1:2, was the point when God crystallized a new
plan in His minda plan that would take 7,000 years to complete.
The Feast of Tabernacles pictures the seventh day of that
week of millenniums. The Last Great Day, the eighth day, is an
entirely separate holy dayand it pictures the culmination of
the entire plan. As we will see, Gods complete 7,000-year plan
is all preparation for what the Last Great Day pictures: the time
when all people who have ever lived will be given a chance to be
born into Gods family.
A New Race
Looking around at the destruction wrought by the angels, God
knew that the only way He could spread the joy of His government
and His family to the whole material universe was to reproduce
Himself. He wanted real childrenreal sons. Sons reared up
to exhibit His very own righteous character, who could be put
anywhere in the universe without supervision and remain totally
committed to the supremacy of the God Family, with the Father
at the head. God yearned passionately for a real Family!
At that point, God determined to create a new race of beings,
utterly unique in creation. Cast in His own likeness, and intended
to exhibit His godly character, this would be a race superior to
every other physical creature. It would dominate the Earth and, in
so doing, learn how to properly exercise power and authority. This
race would, alone, experience the joys of family lifemarriage,
creating and nurturing childrenand, in so doing, learn how to
use government to have peaceful and productive relationships
with one another. It would have a spirit to impart intellect, just
as God Himself has; it would be able to think, reason, judgeto
create! And that spirit God designed to combine with His own
Holy Spirit, enabling this race to understand the deep things of
God, and to love as God Himself does.
But this race would not be composed of immortal spiritnot
at first. Not like the angels. No, this new race would be flesh,
subject to death. They would have to prove themselves first and
voluntarily choose to live righteously before God would give them
eternal life. If they failed, God could just allow them to die and
return into the dust of the ground.
But to those who proved themselves, God would preserve the
righteous character within them, and, though their physical bod-
ies would expire and fade away, God could transform them into
spirit! Knowing, then, that they would use it for the good of the
God family, never to turn away and rebel as did Lucifer, God would
give them all the power that He Himself hasthe power to travel
throughout the limitless universe, the power to create and to destroy.
This was Gods plan! This is how He would reproduce
Himself, adding children to the God Family.
A Huge Family
Before we continue with how He planned to implement this plan,
we should realize how huge was the size and scope of the family
vision God had.
COPYRIGHT 2011 PHILADELPHIA CHURCH OF GOD
Gods plan for having a real Family of billions
T h e T r u m p e t Da i l y S e r i e s
2 7,000 Years of Preparation the Trumpet Daily Reprint Series
Mr. Armstrong wrote, So the angel potential was to take
over the entire universeto improve and finish the billions of
physical planets surrounding the uncountable stars (Incredible
Human Potential, p. 50). Scientists say that there are 100 billion
galaxies, and every galaxy has 100 billion stars. Thats 10,000
million million million stars! Unfathomable!
This is the level God was thinking on when He was contem-
plating this new race of potential gods called human beings. He
created this incredibly expansive universe, fully intending for
it to be inhabited! He wanted a huge family. Not one or two
or 10 or 20 children, but multiple billions of God children! All
exhibiting His righteous character, the perfect character required
to appropriately handle universe rule.
So, how would God carry out such an ambitious plan?
Obviously it would require immense preparation. The millions
upon millions of angels had all been instantaneously created as
separate beings. This time, God laid out a plan that would take
7,000 years to unfold, and it would all start off with just two
peopleone marriage, a man and a woman.
The Deception
As the story continues in Genesis 1:3, God renewed the face of the
Earth, filling it with raw materials: water, soil, fire, wood, stone.
He populated it with fish, birds and animals.
Then, He placed upon it the first two of these potential gods:
Adam and Eve. They were full-fledged adults, with no knowledge,
no understanding yet. Just cast in Gods own likeness, and ready
to learn. God placed them in the idyllic Garden of Eden and began
to educate them, to prepare them for their incredible human
potential. They would be the physical progenitors of the mul-
tiple billions God would ultimately seek to have in His family.
Satan must have been intensely jealous of these two people,
knowing that God was preparing to exalt them to a position he
had never been offered. He wanted to do whatever he could to
confound Gods intentions.
God allowed Satan into the garden, and this adversarial being
went right to work. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye
shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat
thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods,
knowing good and evil (Genesis 3:4-5). You can be God right now!
he said. You dont have to wait for God to exalt you! Remember
what God has been teaching you about your incredible human
potential? Why wait? Just take it!
That argument proved too compelling to resist. People can be
very short-sighted. Eve gave in, Adam went along, and suddenly
everything was awry. These were supposed to be the beings that
would take over where Lucifer and the angels failed! They were
supposed to eventually rule the universe! And they had suc-
cumbed to the first temptation that came their way. This became
the foundation of present civilization. From that point, man would
build things his way.
Man Cut Off
But Gods purpose was not to be deterred by the wrong choice of
two individuals. He allowed mankind to continue to reproduce
and multiply, creating generation after generation more of these
potential God beings.
Here is where so many religions get off track. God was not
thinking, Well now what am I going to do? The worlds religions
believe God is trying to save all mankind now, frantically trying
to keep Satan and his deceptions at bay. But read verses 23-24:
Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden,
to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the
man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims,
and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of
the tree of life.
God is not trying to save mankind now! In actuality, He cut
them off from access to His Holy Spirit! God Himself has closed
their ears and shut their eyes to spiritual understanding. Why?
Why would God subject virtually all of mankind to the devils
evil influences, consigning him to a life of misery, generation
after generation, with unhappiness, suffering and bloodshed
multiplying continuallyuntil things would get so bad that the
whole race of them, these wonderful beings of such fantastic
God-plane potential, would be ready to blow each other off the
face of the Earth? How could such a nightmare possibly serve as
preparation for mankind entering Gods family?
The answer is at the heart and core of the Last Great Days
meaning. The truth is, God cutting man off from His Spirit was
a calculated move of such strategic brilliance that people cant
comprehend it without having that Spirit.
Clues to one of Gods reasons for His decision can be found
in Isaiah 6:9-10. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye
indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and
shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their
ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
This is the same story as Genesis 3:24God doesnt want people
to understand, to see the truth. Not yet! It is His purpose to keep
them blinded for now. Why? Look at the next verse.
Then said I, Lord, how long? Isaiah asked God, How long
must mankind remain cut off from you? And he answered,
Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses
without man, and the land be utterly desolate (Isaiah 6:11).
We begin to see one reason for Gods strategy: God wanted
man to prove something to himself. By maintaining a hands-off
policy for a full 6,000 years, God would show man just how evil
things could get under rulership without character, under
unrighteous people who cannot handle power. Again, it takes
character to rule rightly. If Satan had seized control of the
universe, it would have remained tohu and bohu forever. With
mankind as the ultimate authority on the Earth, eventually the
cities will be waste without inhabitant, the houses with-
out man, and the land utterly desolate. If you dont believe
that, God said, just stick aroundI ll let you see it with your own
eyes. Hes giving mankind one chance to prove to himself how
incapable he is to hold authority without having God as his Head.
Later well see Gods primary reason for this hands-off
policy. Again, this is all preparation for bringing as many of these
beings into the God family as possible.
Firstfruits
During this time of mans civilization, God did call out a few.
To these few, He gave His Holy Spirit, as He had intended to
with the whole race of human beings from the very beginning.
These were Gods firstfruits. Called for a special purpose, called
to positions of greater responsibilityand therefore required to
overcome under conditions of greater stress.
These few were allowed to understand the mysteries of God.
And that meant there was the possibility they could reject them.
Remember, in the overriding plan, God wants every individual
to make the choice to obey and to prove their loyalty. That means
we are each given one chance (Hebrews 6:4-6).
Once we have tasted of the heavenly gift, we are under
Gods judgment. What are we going to do with that gift? Thats
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the question God will demand of every human being, every indi-
vidual in this human race that He wants to exalt to the God level.
Again, right now, while the world is in the throes of Satans
oppression and mans unjust rule over man, God is giving only
a very few people that choice. Think in terms of God wanting
as many of these multiplying billions of humans as possible to
enter the God family, and you begin to see that He has to be highly
selective of whom He calls and chooses right now. There is a great
deal of risk involved, because times are so dangerous, and the
chance of those individuals succumbing to Satans attacks, as
Adam did, is so high.
Look at the Laodicean era, which God Himself prophesied
over and over. He knew, as He was building the Worldwide
Church in the Philadelphia era, that He would lose probably half
of the people He placed into that Churcheven that perhaps 95
percent would get swept up in that rebellion clear up until the
Tribulation. God knows that with the firstfruits, He is putting
eternal lives at risk!
Why Satan Is Still Around
This raises an important question: With all this risk, if God is
really interested in saving all men, why doesnt He just get rid
of Satan now? Our lives would be much easier if we didnt have
to deal with the devil.
Think about this: Just the fact that Satan is still around right
now ought to demonstrate to anyone that salvation for mankind
isnt Gods intent right now. Because when God does want to save
mankind, He doesnt need Satan around anymoreand He will
simply lock him up! God has the power to do that any time He
pleases. Christ has already qualified to replace him. Revelation
20:1-3 show that when the time comes, God will say, Okay, take
him away. Satan will be gone during the Millennium. God will be
accomplishing something quite different to what He is doing today.
So what is God doing today? Well, as we learn on Pentecost
each year, God is calling the firstfruits now because He needs
help in the Millennium (see Revelation 20:4). The Church today
is a teachers college.
Consider Christs soon-coming responsibilities. He will come
to claim the Earth-ruling throne that is rightfully His. He will
clean up the planet after man has made everything tohu and bohu.
He will reeducate the whole world. He will build a new society of
millions of people from the ground up. A tremendous amount of
responsibility is about to fall on His shoulders. God knows His
Son needs a helpmeet. He needs a wife.
Now consider the rate of failure among Gods people. You
would think God would be tempted to give up on the human
race! Yet the fact that He keeps working with us and raising up
more people to do His work should prove just how much He
needs help!
Its easy to think, Christ is perfectHe is spirit. He can do it all
Himself. But even on a physical level, a marriage would fall apart
if the wife had such an attitude. Husband and wife should be one
flesh, working together toward the same goal. Christ needs us
for this great plan to work. Otherwise we wouldnt be here, and
our lives wouldnt be nearly so hard. We have difficulties, trials,
tests and sufferings because God needs us, and needs us to be
perfect, to have the character to rule rightly, for Him to
succeed in this great plan.
God uses Satan to help build that character in us. He can get
rid of him at any time, but right now Satan serves an important
purpose in helping us to qualifyto make our lives hard. Because,
as Mr. Flurry always says, there is only one bride! And she
has to be one exceptional lady. To hold that exalted position,
we must overcome Satan as Christ overcame (Revelation 3:21).
No one else will ever have to qualify in this extremely dangerous
and risky way. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first
resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they
shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a
thousand years (Revelation 20:6).
Again, all these events are pointing toward the Last Great
Day. Right now, Gods purpose is to prepare for His Son a bride.
Christ must have a wife before He assumes His responsibilities
on the throne of world rule.
The Millennium
What will be Gods intent during the Millennium? Consider the
projects well be undertaking. With great effort we will be rebuild-
ing whole cities, entire nations. Raising up colleges. Erecting
homes and farms. We will be creating utopia, ruling from that
magnificent headquarters temple in Jerusalem.
Before we go any further, sneak a glance at Revelation 21:1.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven
and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Wait a minute. This is just ahead in the story, and it is talk-
ing about the whole surface of the Earth being purified with
fireeverything burning up, to the point where even the seas are
completely evaporated! That means all these beautiful new cities
we just spent 1000 years building upall the homes and parks
and businesses, all the churches, even that glorious headquarters
templewill be made ashes!
That fact provides us a better perspective when we talk
about the Millennium. We spend seven days during the Feast of
Tabernacles celebrating it, and then on the eighth day we celebrate,
in part, the fact that everything we built will be burned! What
is Gods intent for having that thousand-year period, building
a utopia that will all just burn up?
Lets back up just a few verses. There is one last thingsome-
thing very importantthat God uses the Earth for in its present
form, what Revelation 21:1 calls the first earth.
Throughout the Millennium, as we instruct people in righ-
teousness, as we teach them out of books like Mystery of the Ages
and The Incredible Human Potential, as we clear land and level
mountains and make more arable soil and farmland (Isaiah 41:15-
20), we will be preparing people for a huge event.
Here is the final act of preparation: And when the thou-
sand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his
prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in
the four quarters of the Earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them
together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea
(Revelation20:7-8).
Things are beautiful in this utopia, and people are treating
each other right, and most of the population of the Earth has been
born during the Millennium, and they have never experienced
Satan. But God isnt finished with Satan just yet. He must be
loosed. Why? Because even after 1,000 years of utopia, during this
little season (verse 3) Satan is able to deceive so many people,
their number is as the sand of the sea! Yet another monumental
failure by men!
And they went up on the breadth of the Earth, and com-
passed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and
fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire
and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [were], and
shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever (verses 9-10).
That is the last this world will ever see of Satan. And that
purging of those weak, rebellious people who succumbed and then
4 7,000 Years of Preparation the Trumpet Daily Reprint Series
tried to make war against Gods headquartersthat is the very
last act of preparation required in this great 7,000-year plan.
Second Resurrection
What happens next is what well have been telling the millions
of people about throughout the Millennium. What happens next
is the whole purpose for everything weve been building for 1,000
years. What happens next is the greatest responsibility any of
us will have ever faced. What happens next is the moment God
has been anticipating ever since He surveyed the tohu and bohu
brought about by the angelic rebellion, the moment Hell be able
to offer all of mankind that choice.
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it,
from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there
was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great,
stand before God (verses 11-12).
Everyone who ever lived, cut off from God. The horribly
sinful men who were burned up in Sodom and Gomorrah will
be there. All the people who mocked Noah and then drowned
violently in the deluge. Korah and those who followed him, whom
God swallowed up in the Earth, and all the rest of the hard-
headed Israelites who died in the wilderness. The Pharisees and
Sadducees, Pilate and Caiaphas, who murdered the Son of God
and knew not what they were doing. Those who through the ages
have cruelly tortured and martyred Gods saints, and spat upon
Gods message. Men whose last instant of life was spent in hatred
and fear, as a soldier on one of a thousand, thousand battlefields of
this weary Earth. The billions who have lived and died in atheist
Russia, or pagan China. All those who spent their lives under the
boot of a dictator, who knew nothing but the worst of the evils
of mans rule over man. And the dictators themselves, who used
power as a weapon, and who never had to learn to submit. All
the exalted men of history, educators, scientists, inventors, phi-
losophers, false prophets, whose greatness of intellect served only
to further distract and deceive a race already pitifully ignorant.
Slaves, harlots, pirates, gang members, thieves, drug addicts,
illiterates, suicides, people formerly possessed by demons. People
who never knew love in their familieswho maybe died at the
hand of an abusive husband, or father, or mother. All the children
in Africa who never lived a day with real food in their bellies. All
those in poverty and squalor. Those who lived in absolute dark-
ness as to why they were alive, the purpose of their existence. The
people you went to school with, whom you worked with. The boss
who gave you trouble over the Sabbath. The family members who
could never understand your religion. Brought to life again, in
their minds instantaneously after their last, probably painful
moments of life in Satans world, resurrected to physical flesh and
blood, in the Second Resurrection. Even, probably, the majority
of those who died fighting us and our Husband, the glorified
Christ, 1000 years before in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. We see
them all. Standing before us, with all of their ideas and hatreds
and dysfunctions. The cumulation of a failed race. Probably about
50 billion people or more.
Can we grasp the magnitude of the job that awaits us?
Teaching people in the Millennium was a piece of cake compared
to what faces us at this moment.
The Largest Audience Possible
Continuing in verse 12 we read, and the books were opened:
and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the
dead were judged out of those things which were written in the
books, according to their works. Finally the books of the Bible
are opened to their understanding. All of these people are no
longer cut off from Gods Holy Spirit. They may freely take of
the tree of life.
For the first time, these people are experiencing a world
ruled by a righteous King. Satan, the great deceiver, is gone. The
scales can now be removed from their eyes. It will finally be time
to reeducate all mankindthe entire human racein Gods way
of life. To give them Mystery of the Ages, The Incredible Human
Potential, The Missing Dimension in Sex.
Do we realize what a huge responsibility this will be? It is so
big that though its over a thousand years away, we are already
preparing for it!
The largest audience possible! We hear that phrase all
the time, but do we realize that ultimately its the Last Great
Day that were talking about? When we meditate about this, we
can begin to understand why God went to such tremendous
trouble to make sure we are prepared. One thousand years is
not one day too long for us to get the Earth ready to handle this
massive population explosion, with this many problems all com-
ing up at one time.
In fact, we cant do it ourselvesnot Christ with the whole
collection of God-beings who make up His helpmeet. The job is
too big for us.
We need the assistance of all those we taught through the
Millennium, who by this time have also been changed into God-
beings, on the child level. This is the great event we were preparing
them for during the Millennium.
Just as we understand and constantly hear and have rein-
forced in our minds that were not here to get salvation, but to
prepare to teachthats the same thing people will be hearing
for 1,000 years in the Millennium: They are not there for their
own salvation! The Ambassador College Bible Correspondence
Course calls them Second Fruits! Their purpose is to prepare
for the Great White Throne Judgment! Thats the reason
we build that utopian society that will just burn up when its all
said and done. The Millennium is merely the teachers college
for the Second Resurrection.
All Men
God the Father has been preparing from before He created man
for the 100-year period of the Great White Throne Judgment.
Now, the 7,000 years of preparation is complete. God will already
have a tremendous family: He has His loyal, faithful Son at His
side. And Christ has His helpmeet at His sideHis wife who has
made herself ready. And they have their huge family of millions
of children, all trained up in the way that they should go, all
God-beings, a dynamic team of educators, ready to assist Him.
And now, Christ will have multiple billions more potential chil-
dren, standing before Him expectantly, for a 100-year judgment
period, a 100-year education period. And they will all be taught
and given the understanding of the incredible human potential
that God purposed for them when He created this remarkable
race. All given the choice to accept it or not. His Spirit will be
poured out on all flesh. Every man.
That is the major reason why God cut mankind in general
off from understanding all these things that we now understand:
because He wanted to wait until He could create the
perfect conditions for offering all of mankind this
magnificent choice. And did you know that most of these
people, the people that we see every day around us, and interact
with regularly, are going to make it? This masterful strategy of
Gods, this 7,000-year plan, will bring in a large percentage of all
mankind who ever lived.
the Trumpet Daily Reprint Series 7,000 Years of Preparation 5
Its worth the risk for God to bring us in today, even if a small
percentage of mankind fails (including those firstfruits who rebel)
and are burned in the lake of fire. Its worth it because He needs us
to raise up others, so that all of us will be there for the 50 billion
children well help bring into the Family during the Last Great Day.
God wants all men to come to repentance, to be saved and
to come into the knowledge of the truth. All 50 billion.
The Hope of the World
God has a deep love for every person on this Eartheven as they
ruin their lives, so mixed up its like they cant even tell one hand
from the other (Jonah 4:11). If only they knew their awesome poten-
tial, if only they knew about their purpose for being alive! They are
all potential gods, and will one day be God! And God wants
to send them out into this universe to beautify it, and to
spread His government and peace everywhere they go.
Mr. Flurry wrote in the September-October 1999 issue of
Royal Vision, We are the hope of the world. No other hope
exists. The world has nothing to look forward to. Christs bride,
however, who is concerned about her future children, does
everything she can to help those people. We are Christs
helpmeet. We need to think about that a great deal more.
The work we do today is all preparation. This is why were
getting Mr. Armstrongs books out today. This is why we have to
work so hard today. This is why we have to develop the char-
acter to rule rightly. This is why we are making ourselves
ready as Christs helpmeet today! Its all preparation. Because
the better we do our job, the more teachers well have for the
Millennium. And the better we do in the Millennium, the better
prepared well be to handle the Second Resurrection. And the
better we do in the Great White Throne Judgment, the bigger
Gods family will be.
Lets take on this Last Great Day visionthis great family
visionin everything we do, and allow it to motivate us in our
everyday lives and in our interactions with everyone we meetall
our potential children in the great God Family. One day well help
give God the Family He is so yearning for!
6 7,000 Years of Preparation the Trumpet Daily Reprint Series
WILL THE WICKED
BURN IN HELL?
By Mark Jenkins
O
f all the tortures devised by mankind, perhaps the most
gruesome is the Christian depiction of an eternally
punishing hell fire. As horrifying as the rack, the iron
maiden, water torture, and dozens of other methods might be,
only religion offers a method of torture that never ends.
Could that be right? Would a loving God really plunge some-
one into hell fire for all eternity?
What about the victims of natural disasters who had no
chance to have their last rites read to them? Would they be denied
admission to heaven simply because their lives were cut short?
What of those who never knew of Jesus Christ at allincluding
every person who ever lived before Jesus Christ came to the Earth?
What crime would warrant eternal torment in a burning hell
fire, as most professing Christians believe?
On the other hand, the modern conception of heaven inspired
Isaac Asimov to say that whatever the tortures of hell, I think the
boredom of heaven would be even worse. The fear of an eternity
polishing our halos and tuning our harps might fit well in the
list of tortures for some people! And the truth is, most would
not claim to have a clear concept of what heaven is. Men know
exactly what constitutes hell, but heaven is far less defined, an
unknowable mystery not to be fully understood until the afterlife.
What is heaven? What is hell? What is actually on the other
side?
Origins of Heaven and Hell
The modern conceptions of both heaven and hell have their origins
in ancient Egyptian culture. The Egyptians believed that they
would stand before, and be judged by, the god Osiris upon their
death: When the verdict is favorable and he has been cleared of
any impurity, his heart is restored, and, after several other ordeals,
he is ushered into the bright Elysian Fields (the fields of Alu)
beyond the water. Henceforth, he enjoys the perennial life of
the blessed under the shadow of the tree of life, or the sycamore
of Nut, the goddess of the sky, a true Osiris (Kaufmann Kohler,
Heaven and Hell in Comparative Religion).
When the verdict was negative, the sinner experienced the
second death. He was then dismembered and subjected to the
fiercest tortures, including burning by hot coals, plunging into
deep waters, or cutting the body into pieces by sharp swords.
We have here the very origin of [Dantes poems] the Inferno
and Paradiso (ibid.).
These pagan beliefs became a part of modern theology
through the literature of Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), best known
for the Divine Comedy in three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio and
Paradiso. Dantes personal ideas about hell came largely from the
writings of the Greek philosophers Plato and Virgil. His Inferno
included a tour through the various levels of hell, where sinners
suffered by an eternally punishing fire. This story is the basis for
beliefs on hell among millions of professing Christians.
But what does the Bible really say about heaven and hell?
Heaven Defined
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host
of them (Genesis 2:1). This word heavens refers to two different
heavens. The first heaven consists of the Earths atmosphere. The
second heaven is the vast reaches of space beyond the atmosphere.
There is also a third heaven: the home of God. The Apostle
Paul saw this third heaven, where Gods throne is, in a vision
(2 Corinthians 12:1-2). This vision was so intensely realistic that
Paul was unable to tell if he was physically there, or if he was
seeing it in his mind.
In Hebrews 4:14, the phrase into the heavens, should be
translated through the heavens. We see that Jesus Christ passed
through the first two heavensEarths atmosphere and outer
spaceas He ascended to the third heaven. John 3:13 reveals that
no man has ascended to heaven except for Jesus Christ. Certainly
many have ascended to the first and second heavens by aircraft,
spacecraft and other means, so this verse can only refer to the
third heaven, where the Almighty God resides.
Some have said that Elijah ascended to heaven, which he
didbut not to the third heaven. He was taken by chariots of fire
up into the first heaven (2 Kings 2:11). The Hebrew word used for
heaven here is the same as in Genesis 2:1. Elijah did not die during
this experience. In fact, Elijah wrote a letter to King Jehoram years
after this event (2 Chronicles 21:12). Elijah had been miraculously
transported to another location on Earth.
Heaven is not, as some believe, the future home of any man,
righteous or not. Revelation 5:10 shows that Gods saints will reign
not in heaven but on the earth. Revelation 21 and 22 describe the
coming time when God the Father and heavenly Jerusalem will
come down to Earth after it has been purified. In other words,
man is not going to heavenGod is coming here!
Hell Defined
Many millions of professing Christians believe that sinners are
currently in hell. That is absolutely truebut not the hell most
would think of.
The word hell is used in the New Testament as a translation
for three different Greek words: hades, tartaroo and gehenna.
Hades refers to a grave or pit, and has no connection to fire. When
a person dies, he or she goes to this hell, better known as the grave.
Jesus Christ Himself went there. In Acts 2:31 we read, his soul
was not left in hell [but it did go there], neither his flesh did see
corruption. We can see here that this word hell refers to the grave.
In Ecclesiastes 9:5, we learn that the dead know absolutely
nothing: For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know
not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory
of them is forgotten. It is as though the dead person is asleep in the
grave, totally unaware of everything. Ecclesiastes 3:19 shows that
man dies just as the animals do. The Greek word hades is roughly
equivalent to the Hebrew word sheol in the Old Testament. Sheol
is the only word translated hell in the Old Testament.
the Trumpet Daily Reprint Series 7,000 Years of Preparation 7
The second word in the New Testament that is translated as
hell is tartaroo. This word is mentioned only once in Scripture:
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down
to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved
unto judgment (2 Peter 2:4). Tartaroo is used only in reference to
rebellious angels as a place of restraint. Nowhere does the Bible
mention human beings being placed in this hell. This tartaroo,
like hades, also makes no mention of fire; rather, it talks about
chains of darkness.
At present, all of the deadrighteous men and sinners
alikeare asleep in their graves (sheol or hades) awaiting res-
urrection. The Bible shows that all who dieeven those who
committed terrible sins in their lifetimeswill eventually be
resurrected. The question is not if a person will be resurrected,
but when. So says the Bible: For as in Adam all die, even so in
Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order
(1 Corinthians 15:22-23).
Jesus Christ was the first to be resurrected. He is the first-
born among many brethren (Romans 8:29) and has made possible
the resurrection of everyone who has ever lived. A careful study
of Gods Word reveals that there are actually three resurrections
yet to come.
The First Resurrection
The first resurrection is reserved specially for the dead in Christ
and those who are Christs at His coming. For the Lord himself
shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ
shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught
up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:
and so shall we ever be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
These are those who have repented and received the Holy
Spirit (Romans 8:9). These people will live forever and reign with
Christ throughout the Millennium, as shown in Revelation 20:5-6.
The Second Resurrection
Many of those who believe in an eternally punishing fire also
believe a few minutes of repentance at the end of ones life are suf-
ficient to erase a lifetime of evil. Moments before being executed
by the U.S. government for killing 168 people in the bombing of
a federal building, Timothy McVeigh was given his last rites by
a Catholic chaplain. Some would say that this deathbed repen-
tance gained him a place in heaven.
Could a few short minutes of repentance really have erased
the penalty for all of the death and destruction McVeigh caused?
Of course notbut neither did it earn him an eternity of
torment in an inferno. The Bible tells us clearly that all those
who have died will live again.
Revelation 20:5 shows when the second resurrection will
take place: But the rest of the dead lived not again until the
thousand years were finished. At the end of the thousand years,
everyone else who has ever died will be resurrected as physical
human beings.
Most of humanity will be brought back to life in this resur-
rection, as described in Ezekiel 37:1-14. They will then finally
have Gods truth revealed to them and be given their chance to
become a part of Gods Kingdom. The many billions of people
who did not learn Gods way during their lifetime will be given
the chance to do so. In His mercy, God will resurrect your loved
ones who did not learn the truth. The victims of natural disasters,
terrorist attacks and other crimes will live again.
God will also resurrect serial killers, sex offenders and other
criminals. Adolf Hitler, Attila the Hun and Timothy McVeigh
will be given a chance to learn Gods wayfor the first time.
This is not a second chance. These men simply did not under-
stand Gods truth in their lifetimes. In the second resurrection,
their eyes too will be opened to Gods truth. They will then be
expected to respond and repent of their evil waysto convert to
a new way of life. This period of time is called the Great White
Throne Judgment.
The Third Resurrection
The third resurrection is a resurrection to a second death. The
Prophet Daniel spoke of this resurrection: And many of them
that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting
life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:2).
Jesus Christ calls it the resurrection of condemnation (John 5:29).
It is in this resurrection that we read of a hell firegehenna.
A Dictionary of the Bible, edited by James Hastings, says this:
Gehenna: The word occurs 12 times in the New Testament. This
term gehenna represents the Valley of Hinnom (Nehemiah 11:30;
2 Kings 23:10, etc.). The place was a deep, narrow gorge in the
vicinity of Jerusalem, understood to be on the south side. It is
repeatedly mentioned in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 19:6, etc.).
It became an object of horror to the Jews, and is said to have been
made the receptacle for bones, the bodies of beasts and criminals,
refuse and all unclean things. The fires said to have been kept
burning in it in order to consume the foul and corrupt objects that
were thrown into it, made it a natural and unmistakable symbol
of dire evil absolute ruin. So it came to designate the place
of future punishment.
This gehenna, anciently, was a place of absolute destruction.
Anything thrown into this pit was utterly destroyed, leaving
nothing but ashes. The punishment for sinners will be death by
an all-consuming fire.
Does this mean that the wicked are writhing in agony for
all eternity, as Dante claimed? Absolutely not! The wages of sin
is death (Romans 6:23), not eternal life in torture.
Everyone will be given the opportunity to repent and
become a part of Gods Family, but not everyone will accept it.
Those who are not found in the book of life will be cast into a
lake of fire, ending their existence forever (Revelation 20:14-15).
The incorrigibly wicked will have died the second death, from
which there will never be a resurrection. This is a merciful act
on the part of their Creator. These people would be miserable
eternally if they had immortal life, so God mercifully ends
their lives, leaving only the smoke of their torment to ascend
forever (Revelation 14:11).
Many billions are in hell nowthat is, the grave. They will
remain completely unconscious until the resurrection of the dead.
Then, our Father in heaven will give everyone a chance at real
life, an opportunity to learn His way and enter into His divine
Family. Gods plan for mankind is only in its beginning stages.
In His boundless mercy, God does not want to give up on any of
His children. Everyone who ever lived will be given a chance in
the coming Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. What
a glorious vision of the future!