When David passed away I was reassured by most that David went home to be with the

Lord. That he was in a better place. That he was saved. Some, after telling me all of
this would stop and think and ask me… David was saved, right? David had accepted the
Lord, right? What a horrible question in light of the inferred alternative… Of course, if I
asked what has become of David if he wasn’t saved or hadn’t accepted the Lord I was
reassured that David must have because he was a good kid and was raised in a Christian
home and if that failed, David had not reached the age of accountability. So I had
nothing to worry about David – the real David, his soul/spirit had left his body and was
now in heaven. It’s interesting that despite the common teaching that most of all of
God’s creation is doomed to eternal damnation, defined as conscious torment in hell for
ever and ever that so many were confident that David was part of that fraction of
humanity fortunate enough to be saved and go to heaven.

In considering what had become of David I had to consider the alternative. After all the
same religion that says most are doomed to hell even before they are born if you aren’t
elected to become saved or accept Jesus or follow a set of church rules was the one that
attempted to reassure me that David was in heaven. I was and am grateful beyond words
to all the friends who attempted to bring me comfort and understand their motives were
sincere and out of love. However, I wasn’t satisfied with just accepting that David was in
heaven if the odds were stacked against that. For many years I studied the scriptures and
believed I understood the matter of salvation, but now felt unsatisfied. I had hoped to
raise David in the fear and admonition of the Lord and hopefully in time David would
work out his salvation in fear and trembling. I ran out of time and now, although Dave
expressed some interest in God and we had many talks on the matter, I couldn’t be sure
that David understood his need for God and what Jesus had done to save David from the
wrath of God, namely hell.

I couldn’t understand how God could allow most of His creation to go to hell, a place that
He created that would become a torture chamber for all of eternity for most of His
creation. The thought that so many would go to hell when they were predisposed to sin,
born with seared consciences and dead in their trespasses didn’t seem right. According to
these promoters of the hell doctrine we are in this mess because Adam was given free
will and he chose wrongly and now we as Adams children inherit this predisposition to
sin. Should we then be held accountable? Why create a hell if most would not choose
the right path to salvation? Couldn’t God think of a better plan than this? Ultimately,
this all has come from the mind of God. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and
it’s effect on Adam and his offspring, the serpent, Adam’s “free will”, death, hell… all
God’s planning that came up with what has become a huge mess. Something just doesn’t
seem right about this because ultimately while mankind is sinful and corrupt we do see
good and so must conclude that our designer must be good. I thought that the best thing
to do was to submit all to scrutiny and approach the scriptures without preconceptions to
the best of my ability.

My beliefs have been redefined in the following areas:

Immortality of Man
The Purpose of the Fall of Man

Hell

Salvation

I believe that the preconception that man is immortal is to blame for our belief in hell. For
some peculiar reason we have come to believe that death is not the opposite of life. We
prefer to believe that only are bodies are subject to death and that our spirit/soul
continues to live. And we continue to live after we die we must go somewhere if we are
no longer in this earth and dimension. So we believe that we can be alive and dead at the
same time as illogical as that may sound. We see the physical evidence of death but deny
that death is the end of life. In order to truly understand death we must understand what
animal life is and God’s process of creating it. When creating animals the scripture says
that God “And God created great whales, and every living breathing creature (chay
nephesh) that moves… “, Gen. 1:21 When creating man we read, “And the LORD God
formed man [of] the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;
and man became a living soul(chay nephesh), so we like animals are chay nephesh; living
breathing creatures. We see that living creatures are things that move and breathe. When
we die we cease to move and breathe, so it is obvious that we are no longer breathing
living creatures – souls. When God made man we see that He used two elements that
when combined – became a living soul. When the two elements, dust of the earth and
breath of life are separated it would be reasonable to conclude that our becoming a living
breathing creature/soul is now undone. If we were to combine hydrogen and oxygen we
would get water. If we were two separate these elements they would return to their
original state and the water would not survive. A soul is what we are not something we
have that survives our deaths. It is the sum total of man – dust of the earth + breath of
life = a living breathing creature or a soul. While most believe that upon death our souls
leave our bodies and go to heaven or hell we can see that upon death the deceased is no
longer a living, breathing creature/soul. That which animated it, the breath of life has
returned to its source - God and the body is destined to return to dust. It is interesting to
note that the soul (a living breathing creature) needs to eat earth (food) and breathe air to
sustain the two elements that compose us and ensure the continuity of the soul. Upon
death, our soul/life ends and this is what death is. Scriptures says that the soul that sinneth
it shall die and so it is. Psalm 164:4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in
that very day his thoughts perish. God gave Adam life and warned that if he ate of the
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil he would die. The serpents lie is that he wouldn’t.
Today the effects eating of that tree and believing the serpents lie continue. God says
that we die … the serpent say we don’t and most have preferred to believe the serpent.
Upon eating of this tree God intervened to correct man’s new condition by ensuring His
death. This death was necessary so that man not live in his new condition forever. Gen
3:22 says, And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know
good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and
eat, and live for ever: 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.

Once man lost access to the Tree of Life he could no longer live forever and so would die
just as God warned. God defines death to be what it naturally implies, the end of life.
Man would not eat of the tree of life and live forever. To believe this applies only to our
bodies is to read into the text something that isn’t there and certainly would be an
ineffective way of ensuring that man not live for ever in his new sinful condition. It
would be like us protecting our homes by closing the door but leaving all the windows
open. To ensure the death of the body but leave an immortal life to continue in its sin is
inconsistent with God’s objective of ensuring man would not live forever.

Immortality is an attribute that is only ascribed to God in the scriptures. 1 Tim 1:17. As
for us 1 Cor 15 shows us that “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this
mortal [must] put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” Until then we are all subject
to death and not a relocating of our lives/souls to another dimension, but simply death.

The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life. Eternal life is a gift not an
inherent human attribute.
We are told that Adam was given a free will to choose to obey God or not. However,
when we consider the tragedy of an outcome that was known by an omniscient God
before it happened one has to wonder why God would allow for this experiment to
proceed. God knew that if, no when Adam ate of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and
Evil that he would be subject to death. Not only would this affect Adam, but all of his
billions of descendants. Even worse if the ultimate consequence to Adam and all of
humanity was not only death, but to be kept alive in a place that He created to be
tormented why would God proceed. Couldn’t have God created Adam in such a way as
to not allow sin to pass on to his children. After all God did so in every other way. I
came into this world with two arms, if I lose one my children aren’t doomed to be born
missing a limb.

Did Adam truly have a free will? In order for this to be true God would have never
attached a death sentence to Adam’s act of disobedience. To do so is an imposition of
our freedom to do as we please. If a thief puts a gun to my head and says don’t turn
around am I truly free? The threat is an attempt to force their will on mine. Once a
higher authority commands us to do something our freedom has been compromised. Was
Adam’s will truly free as he contended with a superior adversary, the serpent. Once a
more powerful party attempts to impose their will upon ours, our freedom is hindered.
Adam and Eve were apparently created with an innate attraction to the fruit of this tree,
otherwise there wouldn’t have appealed to them. Gen 3:6” And when the woman saw
that the tree [was] good for food, and that it [was] pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be
desired to make [one] wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto
her husband with her; and he did eat.” If Adam and Eve had an inherent appetite for the
tree given to them by their Creator, how could we say that their will was truly free.

Adam, who did not know good from evil was given an assignment to choose rightly even
before knowing right from wrong, while subject to natural desires, the influence of the
serpent and God’s threat. The outcome should come as no surprise to us, much less to an
omniscient God who created not only Adam, but the setting for Adam’s fall. Common
religion would have us believe this was all a big accident and that God is working His
plan b in order to redeem mankind. However, I believe that this and God’s response is all
part of God’s original intent. In Romans 8 we are told “For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the
firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called:
and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also
glorified.” Here we see the unfolding of God’s process for making man in His own
image. When man was originally created to be in the image of God it was a work that
began and is culminated in man’s glorification, at which point he is conformed to the
image of his Son who is the image of God. Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the
power of darkness, and hath translated [us] into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom
we have redemption through his blood, [even] the forgiveness of sins.Who is the image
of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. It is when we are glorified that we
become the image of God. Had Adam been made the image of God at Eden He would
not have sinned. God made man a soul, but His ultimate objective is that we be made as
unto His image which is celestial and spiritual. 1Cr 15 [There are] also celestial bodies,
and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial [is] one, and the [glory] of the
terrestrial [is] another. So also [is] the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it
is raised in incorruption It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in
weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.
There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man
Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit. Howbeit
that [was] not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which
is spiritual. The first man [is] of the earth, earthy: the second man [is] the Lord from
heaven. As [is] the earthy, such [are] they also that are earthy: and as [is] the heavenly,
such [are] they also that are heavenly And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we
shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

God’s ultimate plan for mankind involved making him in his own image by a process that
involved a soulish, natural, earthy existence that would end in death and in the
resurrection that which was corrupt would be raised incorrupt in the glory of the image of
His Son, who is the image of the invisible God. We can see that God was well prepared
for His plan which involved the corruption of His creation and as such the death of God’s
Passover lamb, His own son was established from the very beginning and is not a
reaction from God to Adam’s actions, but in line with His plans from the beginning. 1
Peter 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and
without spot Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was
manifest in these last times for you,

It is interesting to note that God is not in the least bit preoccupied with Adam’s
disobedience, but rather is dealing with his new sin awareness – knowing good from evil.
Adam was naked before the tree incident but was not aware that anything was wrong
with this until after he knew good from evil. So that mankind would not live forever in
this condition God removed them from the garden and thus restricted their access to the
tree of life. Man would ultimately die and God’s plan of raising that which was corrupt,
incorruptible would be accomplished. We see clearly that God is not so concerned with
man’s free will as He is imposing His own by restricting access to the Tree of Life.
Apparently, God wasn’t worried about man choosing wrongly with the first tree and
while admonished Adam not to eat did not prevent it. Much more concerned with the
effects of the Tree of Life He removes Adam from the garden and guards it. Gen 3 And
the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and
now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
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. If in fact God is not willing to impose His will upon man and has given man
free will, Adam would have been able to choose whether or not to eat of the Tree of Life.

I don’t believe the events recorded in the first few chapters of Genesis that impact the
thousands of years of human history were an accident or the result of Adam’s free will.
Instead, I see a sovereign God leading mankind down a path for His ultimate purposes.
Ecc 1:13 It [is] a sad travail God hath given to the sons of man to be humbled by it.

God is working out His plan unhindered by outside influences. Neither the actions of the
serpent nor that of man has affected His purposes and plans in the least. We may
wonder why God has chosen this plan, but we can trust that in the end we will marvel at
the wisdom and greatness of God and His work with mankind. When we will be as He is.
1 John 3 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall
be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as
he is.