1. of the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ,
2. the finality of the Atonement at the Cross,
3. the glorious entry of Christ to unify with the Father in His presence at the Ascension,
4. the Sanctification of the believers via the Holy Spirit indwelling the church— the New Jerusalem— the temple wherein Christ dwells on earth, and
5. limiting the understanding of the New Covenant by keeping members within the Old Testament typology of an incomplete atonement and a limited justification as one works harder towards purification from all sin (referred to as The Investigative Judgment)!

The scripture teaches that your sin will find you out. Proclaimed as a prophet to never question, Ellen G. White has made other erroneous statements that do not line up with scripture to support the Investigative Judgement doctrine which is based on he 1844 error. One scripture misinterpretation leads to another. These became more evident in the information age.

This is only an example of how a misbelieving church can lead the followers of Christ down a wrong path away from the beautiful teachings of scripture. Some churches have shameless leaders who claim to have prophetic insight, implying that they are similar to Moses, Jeremiah, or the apostles, yet scripture warns us to beware even of those who claim to be prophet guides to the church:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21-23 NIV)

Most senior leaders within these groups have gained prestige and are highly honoured by the church. They have a looming retirement pension and years of shared fond memories with like-minded friends. Status quo has many psychological and physical rewards that can keep one from biblical honesty. Standing with error when revealed is a sin of unbelief. A heretic never says, “I’m a heretic.” A deceiver never alerts you to his true intentions, and a friend can turn on you at any moment. A family member, or even a spouse, can betray your trust Jesus taught. Authenticity and reliability are hard to find, and so are real friends — even within church groups bound to such erroneous viewpoints. And correctly asserting the truth, without standing in judgment of someone else, is decidedly difficult. Giving each other the benefit of the doubt is difficult where Scripture marks a decided division from the doctrinal norm.

We cannot truly know another person without first knowing ourselves in relation to Christ and His Word. And we cannot overcome our demons without first separating ourselves from the work of Satan’s deceptions and delusions—both inside and outside of the church. To be set free, we have to cut ties with the darkness—and Paul tells us how. To combat the darkness, Paul ultimately shows us a better way. We are not meant to pick up the threads of our old sinful lives in the world. We are also not meant to retain and incorporate false doctrinal threads into our beliefs at all; instead, we’re called to rebuild our lives on the redemption we find alone in Jesus according to the light of scripture which the Holy Spirit will lead us into. (Psalm 25:5; John 16:13) Peter was given the keys to the kingdom to build up the church of Jesus Christ, to discern and only teach scriptural truth led by the Holy Spirit which the Lord has agreed with:

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:19 ESV)

It is only in Christ that we can find completion—wholeness—not in doctrine muddied with errors which can delude others and lead them astray eternally—and certainly not in association with those that chip away at or compromise your relationship with Jesus. Anything less than the pure prophetic teaching of scripture and a relationship to our God will just leave us broken, wandering in delusive fractured guidance. False doctrine and people can’t fill the God-sized hole in our hearts.

Paul states that if we cleanse ourselves from defilement, then holiness will be brought to completion. “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).

We need our hearts to be cleansed by the living God—our minds cannot clarify truth when confusing or lying guidance is ranting at us, drawing us into its snare—“the Son of God who bled and died and rose again for me” must lead. Christians have to make many difficult decisions, and many of them are based in our relationships to churches and people. What relationships should we maintain? Which relationships are okay to let go of? And when should we cut ties with someone? Whenever we are being led astray from God, we must make changes, no matter how difficult those changes are. We must never go back to ungodliness, deception, lies, delusional doctrinal errors—anything that defies belief in Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives transforming us into His image as He leads us via His Holy Spirit.

Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? and ye are not your own”. (1 Corinthians 6:19 ASV)

In the old testament, we find that God began to teach Israel, about His holiness using symbols. “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” (Exodus 25:8 ESV)

It is only the presence of God with his people that had any distinction of holiness. This was seen when God was present at the burning bush at Mt. Horeb when Moses was called to lead Israel out of Egypt saying: “take off your shoes…the place where you are standing is holy ground”. Further, God promised Moses that He, though holy, would be with him to lead Israel out of bondage: “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”(Exodus 33:14 ESV)

In the tent sanctuary built by Moses as instructed by God, and later in the temple of Jerusalem, the holy place and further the most holy place was the habitation of God’s Holiness, was the centre of all God’s work to teach Israel symbolically using types, that living a holy life was dependent on His actual presence in the temple. Everything connected with it was holy. The altar, the priests, the sacrifices, the oil, the bread, the vessels, all were holy, because they belonged to God. “There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory…I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God.” (Exodus 29:43,45 ESV)

The place where God dwells came to be known as the holy place. All around where God dwelt was holy: the holy city, the mountain of God’s Holiness, His holy house, till we come within the veil in the sanctuary of old Israel, to the most holy place, also referred to as the holy of holies — the place where the High Priest would enter once a year during the day of atonement, when Israel would confess their sins and offer up sacrifices to the Lord. The holy place was holy, because it was nearer to God’s presence. But the inner sanctuary, where the Presence dwelt on the mercy-seat, was the Holiest of All, was most holy. Here is where the Shekinah glory (Hebrew: שכינה‎‎) visited. The English transliteration of the Hebrew noun means “dwelling” or “settling” and denotes the dwelling or settling of the divine presence of God’s glory.

To old Israel, God’s call to be holy was clearly stated: “For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy” and “Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God” (Lev 11:44; 20:7 ESV) The principle lesson of this still holds: holiness is measured by the nearness to God; the more of His Presence, the more of true holiness; perfect indwelling was perfect holiness, which we witnessed in the life of Jesus. There is none holy but the Lord; there is no holiness if there is no proximity to Him. He cannot part with a portion of His holiness, and give it to us apart from Himself. It is time, that we stop  thinking of God as up there in heaven, distant from us here on earth, when Jesus taught that “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21)

Christians are called to holiness. The New Testament developed the dwelling of God, to a much higher level moving from the shadow symbols of the Most Holy Place of the physical tent and house of God in Israel to the place of the believer’s spirit. It teaches us at the New Covenant level that the Presence of God makes the place holy where He dwells in His holiness via the Holy Spirit’s indwelling.

The New Covenant continues the call for holiness. God promises to make us holy by His indwelling if we cooperate with him willingly and obey: “but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16) and “my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” with the promise that it is the Lord present with you who is doing the progressive transforming work as you cooperate with him in willing obedience “for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12-13 ESV) We are to be conformed into the image of Christ as we obey the Word of God via the indwelling of His Spirt: “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29 ESV)

Have you ever noticed that there is a very close link between the character of a house and its occupants — the pictures, books, the knick-knacks, the music, all reflect the owner’s character or his likeness. Holiness expresses more than a quality or ornamental feature — it is the very personal being of God in His infinite perfection and goodness. His house testifies to this one truth, that He is holy, that where He dwells He must have holiness. Moreover, it is His indwelling that makes the place of His abode holy.

In His command to His people to build Him a holy place, God distinctly said that it was that He might dwell among them: the dwelling in the house was to be the shadowing forth of His dwelling in the midst of His people — His indwelling by His Spirit. The house with its holiness thus leads us on to the holiness of His dwelling among His redeemed ones. Jesus promised this to His disciples, that they would begin to realize this truth after His resurrection and ascension: “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you” (John 14:20 ESV)

If you have a love for Christ you will have a love for His Word, which speaks of Him and reveals His will. One must know His commands to love God and love one another and the manner of holiness taught by His apostles if one is to dwell in the presence of the master: “Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23 ESV) There it is, “we will come to him and make our home with him”.

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV) Christ’s death made it possible to approach the Father.  Contemplate Christ’s priestly prayer and you will begin to see that God’s dwelling with man in unity with Him predicates man’s potential to live abidingly with Him with a pursuit of holiness. In the parable of the vine, Jesus taught that without Him we can achieve nothing good. Again we can note the dwelling of the Father and our Lord are to be inseparably close to His followers.

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world (see John 17:22-24 ESV)

There is an antithetical aspect of God’s holiness in the old testament. God’s claim of His holiness was brought into sharp focus in the demand for cleansing, for atonement, for holiness, in all who were to draw near, whether as priests or worshipers. And God’s promise for the provision for making holy, was the sanctifying power of the altar, of the blood and the oil. The house presented two sides that are united in holiness, the repelling and the attracting, the condemning and the saving. By keeping the people at a distance, then by inviting and bringing them nigh, God’s house was the great symbol of His own Holiness as distinct from man’s sinfulness and his need for a mediating priest. Only the High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place.

In the New Covenant we see now that God’s working with Israel via the temple, was a symbol that through the sacrifice of Jesus and His High priestly ministry in heaven, we now — after His Crucifixion and Ascension — can draw near to God: ”

We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever” (Hebrews 6: 19-20 ESV).

This new access to God’s holiness was symbolized by the inner veil being ripped at the moment of Christ’s death: “And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split” (Matthew 27:51 ESV)

We are called to holiness. We must also understand that it is a progressive transformation of character over a lifetime. Progress only will occur when we allow Christ to indwell our Hearts by His Spirit. “Christ in you the hope of glory!” The apostle Paul made this clear: “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me” (Philippians 3:12 NLT)

For a deeper study click: Christ: Our High Priest of a New Covenant

Here is an introduction to our study on the role of the conscience.

• God gave Adam a conscience that was uncorrupted before he sinned. After his sin, it was depraved and corrupted, but not totally erased.
• Conscience serves as a witness to the truth (Prov. 20:27), but moral choice tells whether it has been obeyed (Josh. 24:15).
• A man’s own conscience accuses him of sin (Gen. 42:21; 2 Sam. 24:10; Matt. 27:3), and it will condemn him when the books are opened. Every mouth will be silenced, and God’s judgments will be seen to be true and just (Rev. 20:12-15).
• The believer who is walking in the Spirit will repent of, and confess any known sin. In this way, it is possible to have a blameless conscience that is void of offence. (Rom. 9:1; 14:22; cf. Acts 24:16). Conscience is educated and perfected by faith through the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus Christ. ¹

But the power of sin can erode the conscience to the point where it becomes a faint voice in the deepest recesses of your soul. By this, our consciences become hardened and callous, condemning what is right and excusing what is wrong. ³ We become a culture in trouble when we begin to call evil good and good evil. To do that, we must distort the conscience, and, in essence, make man the final authority in life. All one has to do is to adjust his conscience to suit his ethic. Then we can live life with peace of mind, thinking that we are living in a state of righteousness. ⁴

Our conscience testifies to our reasoning mind: that we have not aligned with the wisdom of this world but in accord with God’s grace and truth. A holy conscience renders a tranquil mind — peace with God, and with others, as we mirror the Righteousness of our Lord Jesus, who imputes his holiness via the Spirit. He gives us strength to stand firm to resist the devil who flees before such character — when one holds fast to the Word of Life, defined by the doctrinal Truth as revealed by the Spirit of Jesus (John 16:13; 2 Cor. 1:12; James 4:7) Our conscience must testify to the truthful witness of the Spirit as to how we live in mind, body and soul in accord with the truth of scripture. Why? Jesus Himself as he walked on this earth was the incarnate Word, wherefrom truth issues, now by His Spirit within us, in unity as His church wherein His kingdom is manifest in a fallen world. (John 14:6 Eph. 4:15) In fact Jesus said that his Spirit will guide us into all truth, directly from the heavenly courts. (John 8:31-32, 17.17) 

It is not just the imputed righteousness that we receive when we believe in Jesus Christ. We are also to participate in his righteousness through obedience to His Word. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! (Hebrews 9:14 NIV)

Such righteousness of Christ indwelling the godly one displays necessary integrity that guards a man or woman when tempted and brings our Lord’s bestowed favour & honour — withholding no good thing from those whose walk is blameless (Psalm 84:11) 

Be obedient to the entire word of God, in body, mind and soul ready to adhere to only His will. This will enable you to do and to be a holy representative to His glory’s loving goodness. The faculty of the conscience, is designed to operate well, only when the mind is established in the Word of God, through regular prayer and study.

In the world, we will be tested; in a sense, we are under probation — with our conscience either condemning or confirming our conduct — which begins in our mind, with reason weighing each circumstance for or against Christ’s Covenant of Grace. Regard the following text as a warning, that our mindset can be fixed on purity and holiness with the Holy Spirt empowering our obedience to the Word of God; or conversely, we fall prey to the alluring desires of Satan that the world presents, in sin:

To the pure all things are pure: but to them that are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.  (Titus 1:15-16 NAS) Further in Hebrews, we find that a pure conscience aligns us with Christ’s work of redemption: The One who makes people holy and the people he makes holy belong to the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. (Hebrews 2:11 NIrV)

^{1 Companion Bible Commentary.}

^{2 R. C. Sproul, How Can I Develop a Christian Conscience?, First edition., The Crucial Questions Series (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2013), 6.}

^{3 Ibid}

^{4 Ibid}

But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness,
let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;
neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting,
which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. (Ephesians 5:3-4)

When sitting in a restaurant, I prefer to hear instrumental music: classical baroque, flamenco, or light jazz. Unfortunately, I often hear young singers crooning out heart-throbbing lyrics related to wanting love, lamenting the loss of love; being loved, or making love.

The premise behind the music is a crying quest for love, albeit the fantasy of love to be or love despairingly lost. The world bases its love on what they get out of it. The lyrics, the movies, the romance novels, and TV series string people along into chasing an illusion of finding that perfect love. But that love is primarily selfishly conditional — it is full of lust, sexual innuendo, and self-pleasure — certainly not God’s intent for true marital love. It’s Satan’s perverted delusion of God’s love, which He prefers is shed abroad in our hearts. His love for His children is forgiving, unconditional, and self-sacrificing.

Little wonder the songs bellowing from these young singers sound so shallow, selfish, sensual, and often sexual.

The following is a sermon from John MacArthur:

Today it’s considered noble for someone to say they have an open mind. But is it really virtuous to leave our thinking so exposed? We have doors in our homes to keep some things out and other things in, and we open the doors at our discretion to make that distinction. A wise man guards his mind in the same way—only a fool would leave his mind open to anything and everything.

That’s why God’s Word places so much importance on discernment. Scripture takes the naïve, inexperienced, immature, uninformed, ignorant person whose mind is an open door and teaches him when to shut it.

The apostle Paul had that goal in mind when he instructed Timothy to “have nothing to do with worldly fables” (1 Timothy 4:7). “Fables” is a translation of the Greek word muthos, from which we transliterate the English word myth. Second Timothy 4:4 says that some “will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” So Paul considered truth and myths (or fables) as opposites. The Christian should gain spiritual nourishment from the truth and shun that which opposes it.

The identification of fables as “fit only for old women” (1 Timothy 4:7) has a cultural meaning. Philosophers used the phrase as a sarcastic epithet when they wanted to heap disdain on a particular viewpoint. It conveyed the picture of an old lady with aging faculties telling a fairy tale to a child. The expression also generally referred to things that lacked credibility.

The mind is a precious thing. God wants those who serve as spiritual leaders to have pure minds saturated with the truth of God’s Word. There’s no place for worldly fables or unholy contradictions to the truth. Yet somehow contemporary society would rather follow any of those than biblical truth.

The mark of theological scholarship in some circles is no longer how well a man knows the Bible but how well he understands the speculations of the secular, academic establishment.

When I was considering completing a doctoral degree in theology, the representative of the graduate program looked over my transcripts and concluded I had had too much Bible and theology in my undergraduate work. So he gave me a list of two hundred books I was to read before the school would admit me into its program. I ran the list by someone familiar with the titles and learned that the whole list contained nothing but liberal theology and humanistic philosophy—it was full of worldly fables passed off as scholarship! The graduate school also required me to take a course called Jesus and the Cinema. That involved watching contemporary movies and evaluating whether each was antagonistic to or supportive of what they termed “the Jesus ethic.” That course had reduced the divine Jesus to an ambiguous ethic. I met with the representative again and said, “I just want to let you know that I have spent all my life to this point learning the truth, and I can’t see any value in spending the next couple of years learning error.” I put the materials down on his desk and walked away.

Conversely, a friend of mine who lacked firm truth convictions went to a liberal seminary to prepare for ministry. He came out a bartender. The confusion of liberalism had destroyed his motivation to serve God.

I’m grateful to God that from the beginning of my training right on through to today, He has allowed me to fill my mind with His truth. My mind is not a battleground of indecision about what is true and what is false, over things “which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith” (1 Timothy 1:4). I can speak with conviction because there’s no equivocation in my mind. I have conscientiously avoided the plethora of supposed intellectuals and scholars who disagree with biblical truth.

Your mind is precious, and it needs to be kept clear from satanic lies. The faithful shepherd maintains his biblical convictions and clarity of mind by exposing himself continually to the Word of God.

(Adapted from John MacArthur’s The Master’s Plan for the Church and Final Word)

Recently Catherine and I noticed the day of Pentecost in our Christian calendar and determined to keep this day in remembrance of our Lord, not because of any church rule, but because we wanted to bask in the Trinity’s glory via Christ’s Spirit — with the Father, Son and in their Spirit.

At Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4) the Holy Spirit was made available to all who believed in Jesus. Jesus promised this to his disciples prior to his ascension, when he returned to heaven to sit down at His Father’s right hand.

I am going to send you what my Father has promised but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. – Luke 24:49 NIV

This gift is for every Christian believer who follows Jesus Christ as Saviour and Sovereign Lord in this wicked world. We all received the Holy Spirit — when baptized within him — when we receive Jesus Christ. The unifying baptism of the Holy Spirit must be understood in the light of his total work in a Christian’s life as He builds his church and sustains it.

The Spirit firstly marks the beginning of the Christian experience. We cannot belong to Christ without his Spirit (Rom. 8:9); we cannot remain united to Christ without his Spirit (1 Cor. 6:17).

We cannot be adopted as his children without his Spirit (Rom. 8:14-17; Gal. 4:6-7). We  are in the body of Christ insofar as we receive the baptism in the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13).

The Spirit empowers our new lives to overcome sin and remain united in Christ amidst our life’s journey — throughout the inevitable ups and downs. He begins a progressive, lifelong process of change as we become more like Christ (Gal. 3:3; Phil. 1:6).

By receiving Christ by faith, we begin an immediate personal relationship with God.  The Holy Spirit works in us to help us become like Christ.

The Spirit unites the Christian community in Christ (Eph. 2:19-22). And the Holy Spirit is to be experienced by all, as he works through all His church family. (1 Cor. 12:11; Eph. 4:4).

“In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 21:25).

During the time of the judges, the tribe of Benjamin had scoundrels that raped an Israelite woman who later died. They surround the house where the travelling couple were staying with the intent to have gang sex with her husband! However, the choice was made to toss the girl out the door to the dogs, so to speak.

Sound noble leadership in the current world is negligible. The Christian church is dwindling as the bible is not a standard-bearer for the majority. The gospel is not preached by leaders as it was in the days of Acts. It is often predominately promoting singular differences of doctrine in one church denomination over another. Christ is not heralded with vigour. The result: gender liberality, pornography, and disgusting misogyny abound.

The other tribes got together and attacked and decimated the tribe of Benjamin. The Israelites had sworn thereafter: “Cursed is he who gives a wife to a Benjamite.”

How low can a leadership stoop?

When there are no leaders who are walking in the covenant of  the Lord, chaos ensues: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 21:25).

Disdain for the honour of women continues

The Israelites later came up with a game plan that would sidestep the vow. Their gambit would eliminate any loving romantic relationship for many of the father’s unfortunate daughters.

The Benjamite men would be allowed to randomly sneak up and kidnap the Israelite daughters during the girls’ happy dancing at a festival. Why? So the Benjamite tribe would not shrink into oblivion, as there were few if any Benjamin women left after the war with the rest of Israel who attacked them for the sordid rape by the Benjamite gang. Here is their backsliding disrespect for the women:

“But look,” they said, “there is a yearly feast to the LORD in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel east of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.” So they [the Israelites] commanded the Benjamites: “Go, hide in the vineyards and watch. When you see the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, each of you is to come out of the vineyards, catch for himself a wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. When their fathers or brothers come to us to complain, we will tell them, ‘Do us a favour by helping them, since we did not get wives for each of them in the war. You have no guilt since you did not actually give them your daughters. ” (Judges 21: 19-22)

Sad calculation by the leaders of Israel of their daughters’ value as children of the Lord: Since you did not actually give them your daughters, you have no guilt.

The Benjamites did as instructed and carried away the number of women they needed from the dancers they caught. They went back to their own inheritance, rebuilt their cities, and settled in them. Judges 21: 23

With the environmental concerns taking a predominant amount of attention, I thought this would be worth taking a look at. ¹

1. The new creation includes the world we live in. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). If God’s eternal purpose was merely to fill heaven (a spiritual, disembodied realm) with souls, then why not start with that? If the physical world has no part in God’s eternal plan, then how do you explain the Bible’s conclusion when John reveals, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth…and I saw a holy city, new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven…?” The last chapters of the Bible describe the world as God intended it to be from the beginning. And clearly, the new creation includes the world in which we now live.

2. The Creator is committed to restoration.So committed to his physical world that to restore and redeem it, he sent his Son to be born as a real man in a real body to live a real life and die a real death (Luke 2:7; Luke 23:33-49).

3. God resurrected the body of Christ. Maybe the greatest demonstration of the Creator’s commitment to his created world is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (Luke 24). It was not merely the soul of Jesus that was resurrected—but his body as well. During the 40 days following the resurrection, Jesus publically modeled what a resurrected life would look like. He could be touched (Luke 24:39), he ate food (Luke 24:43), and he was recognized by those who knew him before his death.

4. Jesus ascends in physical form. Finally, consider Jesus’s ascension. When Jesus makes his kingly processional to return to his throne (Acts 1:9), he does not shed his physical body to do so. At this very moment, Jesus, who remains fully God and fully man, sits at the right hand of the Father (Colossians 3:1) and for all of eternity will never cease to be the human God-man, the Son of God the father whom we worship.

I’d also like to add that Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and will be our judge to whom we must answer and to whom every knee shall bow, answering for our stewardship of His earth, especially created for mankind to abide with stewardship care. For example we were never to farm the land incessantly but allow it to rest one out of every seven years. Only the creator knows best, not Big Agricultural’s corporate conglomerates like Monsanto who seek to make increasing profits and who do not obey scripture. (Genesis 9:7, Leviticus 25:4)

John’s prophecy in Revelation points to a special reckoning by the Lord for mismanaging the beauty of the earth and its continued ability to sustain man: The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth. (Revelation 11:18)

^{1 Excerpts from Crosswalk}

The following is the beginning of a rather large undertaking, as I study the few theological views of Hell, without any foregone conclusions. I’ve put this off for years because I knew it would be time-consuming, and annoy some for even doing so. I start with the following study. Why? When in seminary studies in a predominantly Baptist, Pentecostal, Wesleyan, student body, during lunch gatherings, there arose a very interesting academic discussion on Annihilationism as a view on Hell, which many mainline theologians have adopted, including one of my favourite Calvinist theologians, deceased B B Bruce.

The generally accepted, historic position of the church has been that after the final resurrection and judgment, mankind will either live blessedly in the presence of God or live in conscious torment in the fires of hell away from the presence of God forever. Jesus seems to have much support for this viewpoint.

Let’s first test the hypothesis of the view of Annihilationism.

The View of Annihilationism

The following is only a beginning, on this viewpoint. I will be digging deeper into the subject, from most every theologian in support of Annihilationism. Then I will go on to look at the Traditionalist view.

The theological term “Annihilationism” offers up a view of God that will rid his kingdom of all the unrighteous for eternity, which means that he will not punish them torturously for eternity. This doctrine has another theological term to define those that follow this viewpoint of hell — they are referred to as “conditionalist”. They hold strong biblical arguments falling into three broad categories: 1) the biblical vision of eternity, 2) the biblical vocabulary of divine punishment, and 3) the biblical concept of justice.

Annihilationism’s biblical vision of eternity The Bible speaks glowingly of the ultimate victory of Christ over all His enemies, resulting in a universe free from all the effects of the curse, including rebellion, sin, death, and suffering. Many would argue that the traditional view of hell—according to which most of mankind will be endlessly tormented, dwelling in an infernal state of continual rebellion and hatred toward God—does not square with such a vision. It leaves some major business unsettled—or else settled in a very unsatisfactory way.  ¹ Well respected mainline theologians agree:

This is one of the major pillars upon which the theologian, John R. W. Stott built his case for annihilationism. He wrote: The eternal existence of the impenitent in hell would be hard to reconcile with the promises of God’s final victory over evil, or with the apparently universalistic texts which speak … of God uniting all things under Christ’s headship (Ephesians 1:10), reconciling all things to himself through Christ (Colossians 1:20), and bringing every knee to bow to Christ and every tongue to confess his lordship (Philippians 2:10–11), so that in the end God will be “all in all” or “everything to everybody”, even to those everywhere – even “under the earth” (Philippians 2:10); see also )1 Corinthians 15:28). After surveying various scriptures about the reconciled creation, Stott further remarked: “These texts do not lead me to universalism, because of the many others which speak of the terrible and eternal reality of hell. But they do lead me to ask how God can in any meaningful sense be called ‘everything to everybody’ while an unspecified number of people still continue in rebellion against him and under his judgement.” ²

Clark Pinnock echoed this same sentiment: “History ends so badly under the old scenario. In what is supposed to be the victory of Christ, evil and rebellion continue in hell under conditions of burning and torturing.… The New Testament says that God is going to be ‘all in all’ (1 Cor. 15:28) and that God is going to be making ‘everything new’ (Rev. 21:5).” ³ In the common traditionalist view that sinners remain in a state of rebellion against God forever in hell, the creation is never really free from sin at all. Rebellion has not been conquered. It has only been marginalized and contained in one compartment of the creation. Nor has any final justice been served, since the punishment continues endlessly and is never completed. According to annihilationists, though, all those who remain impenitent to the end will be removed from existence, leaving only such a remnant as would fit the biblical descriptions of a reconciled world and humanity. Hence, the glorious vision of an undefiled eternity is realized by the complete elimination of the contaminating element. ³

Philip E. Hughes, a convinced conditionalist who lectured at Westminster Theological Seminary and was one of the editors of Westminster Theological Journal, wrote: The conception of the endlessness of the suffering of torment … leaves a part of creation which, unrenewed, everlastingly exists in alienation from the new heaven and the new earth. It means that suffering and death will never be totally removed from the scene.… To this must be objected that with the restoration of all things in the new heaven and the new earth, which involves God’s reconciliation to Himself of all things, whether on earth or in heaven (Acts 3:21, Col. 1:20) there will be no place for a second kingdom of darkness and death. ³⁴

_{1 Steve Gregg, All You Want to Know about Hell: Three Christian Views of God’s Final Solution to the Problem of Sin (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2013), 200–202.}

_{2 Theologian, John R. W. Stott}

_{3 Theologian, Clark Pinnock}

_{4 Theologian, Philip E. Hughes, a convinced conditionalist who lectured at Westminster Theological Seminary}

“To him, that overcomes…even as I also overcame” Rev 3:21

Here is a list of good virtues that I assimilated from Benjamin Franklin, which he had sketched for his son.  As a new Christian, in my 20s, I heard about this book from Mark Johnson, a pastor-friend. I read Franklin’s list and added a biblical perspective with scripture attending and stuck it in my bible’s flyleaf.

In retrospect, it made a lot of sense for a young man with a growing family. It is interesting to look back at your life to see how you thought and applied scripture and lifestyle disciplines. Today, having worked in the Lord’s service as an elder, nearing 70, I realize that I prefer to let the Holy Spirit guide me in my planning, which allows for peaceful contemplation as I seek His will. I also recognize that Franklin’s wisdom had a place in time to help me learn basic discipline especially if the Word can stand behind the thesis without pushing legalism.

1. TEMPERANCE:  Eat not to dullness; gain sufficient sleep for the next day. 1 Cor 3:16, 17; Luke 12:45,46; Ps 127:2
2. PREPARATION:  Take the Word from the morning study with you after you have attained Love, Joy, and Peace in your heart through prayerful meditation. Gain possession of a strong purpose in Christ. Eph 6:12, 13, 17; Gal 5:22; Ps 143:8
3. HUMILITY:  Walk as Jesus did, free from pride and vanity. James 4:6,10; John 1:35-37; Prov 28:18; Ps 56:13; Ps 89:15,16; Ps 119:45, Isa 30:21; Rom 6:4; Eph 5:2; Col 2:6,7
4. SILENCE:  Speak not but when it is for the constructive edification of another, through a demonstration of the love of Christ.  If you speak, speak accordingly.  James 3:2; Eph 4:29, 30 James 1:26; Ps 139:4
5. ORDER:  Let all things have their places; plan each part of your business to have its time and priority. Practice regularity in rising, study, eating, work, exercise, and sleeping. Ps 119:133; 1 Cor 14:33, 40; Col 2:5; Ps 37:23
6. RESOLUTION:  Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.  Do not vacillate. Gal 6:9; Prov 22:29
7. INDUSTRY: Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions. The watchwords of enthusiasm: Love what you are called to do, assume your responsibility; do it now; Rom 12:10, 11; Prov 10:4,5; 18:9; Eph 6:5-8
8. FRUGALITY:  Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; waste nothing and stay within the constraints of income. Save 10-20% of your income. Prov 21:20; John 6:11-13
9. JUSTICE: Wrong no one by slander or hurtful deceit or by omitting any kindness within your power to bestow. James 4:11, 17; 2:14-17; 1 John 3:17-20; Isa 58:6-8; Prov 25:9; 10:18
10. TRANQUILITY: Patiently forebear resenting injuries so much even as you think another deserves.  Freely forgive all men. Eph. 4:31, 32; 2 Tim 4:5
11. MODERATION: Avoid dogmatic, critical opinion.  If you are right, persuade through words such as: I see; I imagine it to be…; Seems to me to be so; Seems to be some difference…; It appears to me at present, etc. rather than: no…; I think…; You should…; For sure…; That’s not true, etc. yet stand firm to principle using tact and skillful conversation.  Matt 10:16; Prov 25:11; 1 Thess 2:5
12. EXERCISE: Do not let a day pass without a twenty-minute walk outdoors and ten for leg raises situps and pushups. Ps 104:24; 3 John 2 
13. CLEANLINESS:  Tolerate no uncleanliness in body clothes or habitation.  Drink plenty of water. Fast occasionally 2 Cor 7:1; Luke 5:35
14. CHASTITY: Guard the mind against entertaining the lusts of the flesh.  Be aware of environmental influences. Gal 5:16; 1 Thess 5:6; Eph 6:18; Rev 3:2; 1 Cor 16:13; Matt 5:28; 1 John 2:16; James 1:14, 15

^{Flyleaf of my old Oxford KJV.}