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 Chapter 1 Accountability and Speculation I dislike presenting only one side
of a speculation or
theory/doctrine because there are always other sides to be considered; especially
when one is dealing with truth or what is put forth as truth that there is an eternal hell.
In order to make a conscious choice with such dramatic consequences, one should examine
every available thought and supposition on the matter. There are many Christians whose
doctrine states that God will save all of His creation and take them to heaven, that God
being the very essence of love can do no less. Before I continue let me make it perfectly
clear that I believe that choices come with the gift of 'free will' and in turn consequences
come with choices. Enter the fact that we know the angels had free will and a third of them
chose to believe Lucifer's lies that they could become as God and rebelled. Jude 1:6 KJV and the angels which kept not their first estate, but
left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto
the judgment of the great day. Revelation 12:9 KJV and the great dragon was cast out,
that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world:
he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.  Do I believe there will be a judgment day? Yes, most
certainly I believe there will be a great white throne judgment at the end of the
thousand year reign of Christ after Satan is released for his last attempt at overthrowing
God. A judgment in which those whose names are not found written in the Lamb's Book of
Life will be cast into the Lake of Fire along with Satan.  If we are to believe the translation of the King James Bible
from 1611 and onward, that it is inerrant and God breathed (which I find hard to
accept since man was in a carnal state and had just come out of the dark ages) then
we must accept that those who die without accepting Jesus' finished work on the cross
will go to eternal punishment and torment in hell. Do I believe in the inerrantcy of the original manuscripts? YES, I most
certainly believe the writers of the original manuscripts received their revelation by the Holy Spirit direct from
the mouth of God. But, I believe man mistranslated from the original manuscripts the words such as 'gehenna' for the word
hell and 'olam' in Hebrew for eternal which were not the meanings in the original manuscripts. I like all of you have been raised to
believe in hell for the
unbeliever and have accepted that particular doctrine all my life even though it
left many unanswered questions to which I was told when I asked them that I was
lacking in faith or deep in sin. But you see we are told to not just accept man's
word but to search the scriptures for truth.  One thing I have learned is that man has figured out how
to manipulate God's words to suit his own purposes. Let me give an example:
I have heard many preachers say when we have the word 'ALL' in the Bible that
God is saying 'ALL' then when we come to the verse when God is saying He is not
willing for any to perish but 'ALL' come to salvation, all of a sudden it doesn't
mean 'ALL' anymore. Like God is not wise enough or powerful enough to save 'ALL' of
His creation if that was His desire. Are there things that are impossible for God to do? I offer the following for those like me who seek to
know the truth. Just what does God have in store for His creation? He wrote it all
down for us and it is you who must decide what you will believe. Will God torment a
great portion of His creation in a place called hell forever and ever or has He made a
way to bring every heart He created to a point where it will cry out to Him for salvation?
Will the great God of miracles perform another one that will bring all glory to Him? Since Satan and the angels are being held accountable
for their rebellion, I believe man will also be held accountable for His choices.
I do contend though that the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts did not give any
indication of a hell or hell being an eternal punishment. At this point I would like to refer you to information
that is provided in the links listed in Chapter 2 which are quite exhaustive in their
presentation of the fact that hell is never mentioned in the Old Testament.
Sheol is the word used and always referred to as the grave. 'Aion' is the
Greek word translated from the Hebrew 'Olam,' which the first King James Bible
translators, who relied greatly on the Latin 'Vulgate' translation, came up
with the idea of eternal or everlasting hell. If you are a seeker of truth
as I am and really want
to know what God has in store for His creation then I would ask you to
begin a study of how and why the idea of eternal hell came about. This
study is much too exhaustive for me to put here and I have neither the
wisdom nor the knowledge to present it to you, especially since so much
work was put into the study by others which are much more knowledgeable
than I am. What I ask is for you to read what is presented, pray for guidance
from the Holy Spirit, who Jesus promised would lead us into all truth, and then
make your choice about hell and eternal punishment. Please keep in mind that God
will NOT allow sin in heaven and remember these words of Jesus: John 14:6 KJV
Jesus saith unto him, I am the
way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.  1Timothy 2:5 KJV for
there is one God, and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; John 3:15-18 KJV
15That whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world
through him might be saved.
18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth
not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
No one will spend eternal life with God in heaven and
become co-heirs with The Christ without accepting Him as their Saviour!
This fact is made very clear and simple for all to understand. Just as I believe
that a righteous and holy God would not send His creation into an eternal hell of
never ending torment, I also believe He, as the righteous judge, will not allow those
who will not give up their sin and accept His sacrifice to enter into eternity with Him.
But as usual I'm getting ahead of myself; first read the information presented in the
next chapter praying for discernment as the Holy Spirit leads you and then we will
present the view we believe the scriptures are pointing us to. Bob Goulding © December 2007 Go to:
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