by
Jeff Priddy
Compiled from
The Idle Babbler Illustrated
I interpret Scripture the simple, obvious way. Therefore, I do
believe in a literal, fiery, outer-darkness, forever, conscious hell of torment. I believe
in opposites -- extreme opposites. God is an all-powerful, holy rewarder of a terrific
heaven for believers. Satan is an unholy (to extreme), weak god of this world. The reward
for serving Satan is the opposite extreme of heaven. You present a good case, very good.
The greatest weakness in your case is the penalty for not serving God is only to
soul-sleep through the 1000 year millennium.
If you interpret Scripture the simple, obvious way, then why don't you
believe simple, obvious verses like 1 Tim. 4:10: "God is the Savior of all
mankind?" Or 1 Corinthians 15:22: "Even as in Adam, all are dying, thus also in
Christ shall all be vivified?" Or Colossians 1:20: "...through Him to reconcile
all to Him, whether those on the earth or those in the heavens?"
Do you admit that these obvious
verses conflict with the "obvious" verses you're alluding to? What could the
trouble be? One problem is that you don't appear to be a careful enough student to know
what's obvious. The only "hell" (in the KJV) consisting of fire is Gehenna. This
is not a place of conscious torment, but a depository of corpses (Is. 66:24).
"Outer darkness" (Mt.
8:11-12) has nothing to do with "hell," or with the mass of mankind. It concerns
only those unworthy "sons of the kingdom" (Israelites). who are alive at His
coming. This "outer darkness" can't be eternal, as Christ came to save His
people from their sins (Mark 1:21). Won't He succeed'? As for the word
"forever." it doesn't appear anywhere in a properly translated Bible. See
Young's Literal. or the Concordant Literal New Testament.
Reading between the lines of your
letter, you seem to want "the other guy" to get what's coming to him, and it
better hurt. Why else would yon ignore one set of verses that testify to the
reconciliation of all, in order to embrace another set that seems to deny it? Instead of
admitting to a puzzling contradiction and deciding to become a student in order to resolve
it, you embrace the bad news for the other guy, ignore the good news for all, and let
tradition, rather than study, be your master.
Besides, you seem to believe that
a "terrific heaven" is your reward for choosing Christ. Oh my, no. Salvation is
not a reward, brother. It's a gift. Read Romans 6:23.
As for your idea about extreme
opposites, you're right in that Satan is the extreme opposite of God -- now. You miss the
mark in imagining that this is a "forever" condition. Read 1 John 3:8 --
"For this was the Son of God manifested, that He should be annulling the acts of the
Adversary." Read 1 Corinthians 15:24-26, which says that Christ will nullify all
sovereignty and all authority, and subject all enemies under His feet. Read Colossians
1:20 again. This verse proves that Satan, himself, will be reconciled to God. These are
simple, obvious verses. Why don't you believe them?
Unbelievers do
"soul-sleep" through the millennium -- but not only. The Great White Throne
judgment follows this, of which I've made mention time and again. This will not be a
Sunday picnic, but a time of indignation, fury and affliction on unrepentant hearts (Rom.
2:5-10). This should cheer you. But this is corrective treatment, not eternal punishment.
At the consummation of God's purpose of the eons (Eph. 3:11, 1 Cor. 15:24-26), these will
be vivified in Christ (1 Cor. 15:22), that God may be "all in all" (1 Cor.
15:28). I hope this news makes you even happier.
My friend says that the law of Moses is finished forever. I say
that we're still required to do some of it. What do you say?
Will you feel bad if I say that you're both wrong'? The law never came
to the nations (Rom. 2: 145, so they can hardly be required to "do some of it."
As for the law being done away for Israel, it's untrue. Micah 4:2 assures us that the law
will yet fare forth from Zion. The big difference is that the law will not be forced on
Israel from without, but will be written on their hearts (Jer. 31:31)
I think your teaching on the "snatching away"
(commonly termed the "rapture") is ridiculous. Just think about the
impossibility of it. If all believers meet Christ in the air, they'!! all be flying off in
different directions. It just doesn't make sense.
I know what you mean. I'm still trying to figure out how a virgin can
give birth.
I have a hard time accepting your teaching that all will be
saved. 1, for one, do not want to spend eternity rubbing elbows with sinners.
Not to worry. I'm certain God has a special place for you. He may even
let you into the throne room occasionally to visit the sinners.
I know that, as believers, we are supposed to endure trial.
Does that mean we're supposed to pass sit by and do nothing?
No. We can endure trial even while looking for the light at tunnel's
end. A marathon runner endures the pain of the race even while hurrying to the finish
line. This is known as active patience.
Can you tell me, in five words or less, why the world is in the
trouble it's in?
Because God wants it that
Why won't there be marriage in heaven?
Because rice and birdseed can't grow there. Seriously marriage is part
of our training here on earth. It teaches us love, patience, and how to forget birthdays.
We experience lack now, which explains the pull of the sexes. In Christ, there is neither
male nor female; we are complete. We appreciate this by faith. Don't' live it yet or
you'll go to jail. When we return to Him, we'll enter into it. Don’t worry, it won't
be boring.
Is it true that you don't believe in hell?
Absolutely not! I believe in all three "hells!" The King
James and other translations have taken three distinct Greek words: hades, Gehenna and
Tartarus and lumped them all into the English word "hell." But I believe what
the Scriptures teach about these, not what men teach.
Isn't hades the place where people are eternally tormented?
There is no place where people are eternally tormented. Anyone who
would examine what the Greek Scriptures have to say about hades, Gehenna, Tanarus and the
lake of fire. would find that out. "Hades" isn't a place at all. In the Greek,
the word means "unseen." It's simply impercep-tibility; the soul (our senses,
feelings, etc.) disappears when the spirit leaves the body at death. For example, if you
have a piece of blue cellophane and a piece of yellow cellophane--one repre-senting the
spirit, the other the body--and overlap them, what do you get? You get the color green.
But when you separate the two pieces of cellophane, what happens to the color green? It
disappears. It goes to "hades," that is, it becomes imperceptible. Thus also
with the soul upon death. That's all hades means.
Does every soul go to hades upon death, or just the souls of
the wicked?
Every soul "goes" there upon death. The Apostle Paul's soul
is in hades now, as is the soul of AdoIf Hitler. The soul of our Lord went to hades upon
death (Acts 2:31). Jacob said that he would descend to Sheel (the Hebrew equivalent of
hades), should he die (Gn. 37:35).
Is there consciousness of the soul apart from spirit and body?
No. Consider the case of Adam in Genesis 2:7. Adam was formed of the
soil. But not until the breath of life (spirit) entered his body was he considered a
living soul.
 |
Glossary of terms:
Dead: not alive.
Resurrection: "standing-up." Does not necessarily
imply immortality, as Lazarus.
Vivification: imparts immortal life with Christ. Eons:
longest time periods in Scripture; Greek aion.
Eonian: adjective form of "eon." Consununation: the end of the
eons (1 Cor. 15:23-28. I Cor. 10:11) |
I'm interested in your studies on sin. What about people
who believe Christ died for their sins but still are: drunkards, adulterers, idolaters,
fornicators, etc. They are still believers. Will they have eonian life or go to the great
white throne to be judged for their acts and go to the second death?
Incredible as it may seem, these believers still have eonian life. Why?
Because eonian life is a gracious gift of God (Rom. 6:23), independent of human works.
Believers did not gain it for themselves, and neither can they lose it. Romans 5:20 says
that "Where sin abounds, grace superexceeds." It's a fact.
In the resurrection, what is the difference
between believers who have led sin-filled lives and those who haven't?
As far as general salvation is concerned, there is no difference. But
there are varying glories of resurrection, as "star is excelling star in glory"
(1 Cor. 15:41). 2 Timothy 2:12 says that those who are enduring now will be reigning with
Christ. Not all endure. Some will not be enjoying the allotment in God's kingdom (1 Cor.
6:9). These will be saved, yes, but when it comes to an "allotment in God's
kingdom" (which has to do with ruling and reigning with Christ), they may be
disqualified. Only God can judge. But again, this is loss of something above and beyond
salvation. Believers have eonian life no matter how far they backslide.
The church I attended believed in tithing, or
giving 10% of our earnings. How does tithing apply today?
Tithing is part of the Mosaic law. Members of the body of Christ are
saved apart from law (Rom. 3:21). As a member of the body of Christ, you are under no
obligation whatsoever to tithe. If you would come under this obligation, you would be
under a curse, for "accursed is everyone who is not remaining in all things written
in the scroll of the law" (Gal. 3:10). As members of the body of Christ, we are to be
cheerful givers, giving from the heart. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 tells us how we should give.
Read this verse. This is the "tithe" of the body of Christ. It has absolutely
nothing to do with ten percent.
Does God control everything that happens in our
lives? My sister asks, "Where do you draw the line?"
Tell your sister that you don't draw the line. Anyone who draws a line
is making a mistake, being unaware of the power of God. God controls everything that
happens in our lives. Ephesians 1: 11 should settle all arguments.
Regarding 1 Timothy 4:10, you've opened up some great
revelations, one being that this verse is stating a FACT. It is finished. God’s the
Savior of all mankind. My question is, do you think this verse might be proleptic, that
is, calling what is not as though it were (Romans 4: 17)? If it is proleptic, can 1
Timothy 4:10 be both a non-fact and a fact?
In one sense (having to do with man's position in Christ), this verse
is present fact. In another sense (having to do with man's completion), it's proleptic.
Christ saved all at the cross. "One died for the sake of all, consequently all
died" (2 Cot. 5:14). And "one who dies has been justifted from sin" (Rom.
6:7). Certainly, Christ's death was not proleptic. Of His death it cannot be said,
"it was not." He suffered, died, did something. In this aspect, all were saved
and He is the Savior of all mankind.
First Timothy 4:10 is proleptic in that none save Him have yet enjoyed
deliverance from mortality.
Noah's ark may serve as a good example. While Noah and his family were
in the ark, they were literally saved from the waves. It was not proleptic. Being out of
the water was "what is," not "what is not." But they lacked salvation
in the sense that the water still tossed them. Perhaps Noah was seasick. Maybe Shem's wife
had to mop sea water occasionally. They were all saved, but none were completely removed
from the trial.
Full salvation for Noah came when the ark rested atop Ararat, dry land
appeared, the mop could be discarded and the families disembarked. Full salvation for
mankind comes whenever they shed these mortal bodies and put on immortality.
I'll say it this way: we are saved actually, but not completely. We're
in no danger of being lost for eternity, but we're yet en route to glory. First Timothy
4:10 is present fact as touching position, it's proleptic as touching completion.
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© 1996 by Jeff Pnddy May be
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