Program 33: The Truth About Hell

Scripture presents only one eternally burning fire and that is the pure energy flowing from the presence of Yahuwah. It is not eternal life in torment for sinners.

Welcome to WLC Radio, a subsidiary of World’s Last Chance Ministries, an online ministry dedicated to learning how to live in constant readiness for the Savior's return.

For two thousand years, believers of every generation have longed to be the last generation. Contrary to popular belief, though, Christ did not give believers “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, he repeatedly warned that his coming would take even the faithful by surprise. Yahushua urgently warned believers to be ready because, he said, “The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” [Matthew 24:44]

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.

Part 1: (Miles & Dave)

Miles Robey: Hello! Welcome to WLC Radio! I’m you’re host, Miles Robey.

Dave Wright: And I’m Dave Wright. Thanks for tuning in.

Miles: You know my love of words. I always enjoy a good pun, a clever play-on-words.

Well, apparently, there’s this town in the United States named Hell.

Dave: “Hell”?! As in, “eternally burning”?

Miles laughs: Right! Except this town just happens to be located in the state of Michigan, right up next to Canada. So, they get dumped on during the winter: a lot of snow, severe cold.

Dave: I’m sure! If I remember correctly, Michigan is basically surrounded on three sides by the Great Lakes, so yes, they’d get some harsh winters.

Miles: In English, we’ve got this phrase, “when hell freezes over.” Sort of like the phrase, “when pigs fly.”

Dave chuckles: In other words: Never!

Miles: Well, apparently, one winter, Hell really did “freeze over.”

Dave: Hell, Michigan.

Miles: Yep. And it made all the news services, with pictures of icicles hanging off the sign welcoming visitors to Hell … (Michigan.)

Dave: I’d like to have seen that.

Miles: There was this army-recruiting officer who decided to take advantage of the opportunity. He printed off a picture of the town sign, buried in ice and snow, and pinned it up on the bulletin board inside the mess hall with a sign that said: “Now taking appointments with everyone who said they’d re-enlist when Hell froze over!”

Dave laughs: Now that’s creative recruitment! Probably didn’t work, though.

Miles: I wouldn’t think so, no. Anyway, that’s what I want to talk about today. The doctrine of hell is one that is absolutely terrifying, when you stop and think about it. The idea of being burned alive for, literally, eternity is gruesome.

Some Christians, of course, deny there is an eternally burning hell. So, what does Scripture mean when it speaks of hell? Does the weight of evidence support an ever-burning hell? I’m hoping you can shed some light on the topic for us today.

Dave: Thanks, Miles. It’s a problematic doctrine in that you’ve got two, very opposing interpretations. There’s no room for both schools of thought to be correct, as they’re diametrically opposite.

Miles: Oh! Just a moment before you go on. If this is the first time you’ve tuned in to WLC Radio, you’ll notice we prefer to use the original divine names of the Father and the Son. The Father’s name is Yahuwah, or Yah. The Son’s name is Yahushua.

Okay. Just wanted to clarify. Go ahead.

Dave: The doctrine of an eternally burning hell has caused more heartache, more confusion and led to more people rejecting Yahuwah than possibly any other single belief.

I mean, think about it for a moment. Name someone that is responsible for the suffering and agony of millions.

Even sinful human beings recoil at the thought of a “justice” that demands a limitless eternity of anguish as punishment for the sins committed during a single lifetime.

Miles: Well, considering the 20^th century, there are quite a few: Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge; Hitler and all those he deemed undesirable; George W. Bush and his fictitious “weapons of mass destruction”. Mao Zedong’s “Cultural Revolution.” Stalin.

Dave: All right. Take Stalin. Between purges, expulsions, the Soviet gulag, torture, mass murder, forced displacements and manufactured famines, he is responsible for killing literally millions. In 1989, one Georgian historian, Roy Aleksandrovich Medvedev, estimated the number to be 20 million, with an additional 20 million Soviet lives lost during World War II.

That’s probably the most conservative estimate. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn put the number at 60 million, while another Soviet historian and politician, Alexander Yakovlev estimated 35 million.

Miles: Whew! Whichever number you go with, that’s a lot of lives lost!

Dave: An incomprehensible number. But, for the sake of illustration, let’s strike a balance. Let’s divide the difference between the 60 million and the 20 million and go with 40 million.

Forty million lives lost, and it’s not like they were just suddenly snuffed out of existence. The ways in which they died were usually agonizing, after immense suffering.

So, what’s fair? If Stalin burned one year for every life lost, he’d be burning for 40 million years, but that’s okay! Eternity is plenty long enough for that.

Miles: As long as that is, it hardly seems fair that he’d burn for only one year per life lost. Not when you take into account all the suffering that accompanied each life lost, as well as the suffering of those who loved them, seeing them suffer and die.

Dave: Fair enough. Let’s say that Stalin burns 50 years for every life lost. What’s 40 times 50?

Miles: Uh … two thousand.

Dave: Okay. So Stalin burns alive for two billion years. That’s getting up there, to amounts of time that kind of make your brain start to wobble a bit, but we’ll go with that. Say that after two billion years of burning alive, justice is satisfied.

But … he keeps burning. All right. Because Yah feels everything we feel, maybe that’s fair. So he burns another two billion years, suffering in agony. But at the end of four billion years, he’s still burning! Still screaming in agony. Another four billion years go by, and another. And another. Justice was served billions of years ago, but he’s still burning, still suffering.

As we said, eternity is a mighty long period of time. At what point does justice cease and vindictive vengeance begin?

Miles: I think we’ve all got people who’ve wronged us. But I can’t imagine any of us wishing such a fate even on our worst enemy. I know I can’t.

Dave: I can’t either. Even as fallible, sinful human beings, we know that such a punishment isn’t just! And yet, millions of Christians believe that is just what’s going to happen. The very injustice, the sheer cruelty, has led many to reject, not the doctrine, but the God they’ve been told would exact such a punishment in the name of “justice.”

Miles: It really does contradict what Scripture says about the character of Yah. I mean, right there in 1 John 4:8 it lays it out: “Yah is love.” Condemning someone to an eternity of suffering as punishment for the deeds of a single lifetime isn’t just!

Dave: It’s important to remember that Yahuwah is both love and justice. He’s the perfect combination. You can’t have one without the other. And Scripture does declare that Yahuwah is just. Would you turn to Jeremiah, chapter 9, and read verses 23 to 24 for us?

Miles: Sure. Uh, “Thus saith Yahuwah, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am Yahuwah which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith Yahuwah.”

Dave: This is an important point! Notice, He isn’t simply just, but He delights in justice! Yahuwah is not going to condemn anyone to burn alive for all eternity regardless of what they did during their short life span on earth.

Miles: I agree with you, Dave, but there are some, well, problematic verses in the Bible. Take, for example, Revelation 14, verses 10 and 11. This is one that a lot of people base their belief in an ever-burning hell on, and I have to admit, it certainly sounds like it.

Let me read it really quick, and maybe you can explain what is meant here if there isn’t an ever-burning hell.

Dave: All right.

Miles: Revelation 14, 10 and 11. It says: “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of Yah, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”

Dave: It’s important to remember when studying any topic in Scripture that all other verses on the topic have to be taken into account. Look at them all, and then ask yourself where the combined weight of evidence lies?

Repeatedly throughout Scripture, we have verse after verse that declares that death is the punishment for sin.

Miles: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of Yah is eternal life through Yahushua our Lord.”

Dave: Romans 6:23. Very clear statement that death is the consequence, or the “reward” for obstinately continuing in rebellion. But it’s not the only one. Read Ezekiel 18:4 for us.

Miles: Ezekiel 18:4 … “Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die.”

Dave: There are others, too. There’s Ecclesiastes 9:5.

Miles: “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.”

Dave: Notice that not once in Scripture, not a single time does it say: “For the wages of sin is eternal life in torment.”

Miles: Ha! Nope! It doesn’t!

Dave: The “hell” referred to in Scripture has to do with the punishment received by the wicked which ends in their destruction. Not simply a continuation of their lives while suffering under indescribable torment.

Malachi is very clear on this. Turn to chapter 4 and read verses 1 to 3.

Miles: “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up, says Yahuwah of hosts, that will leave them neither root nor branch. But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out . . . You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this, Says Yahuwah of hosts.”

Dave: Ashes are what is left when something has been completely consumed. Now read these verses from Psalm 37.

Miles: “Evildoers shall be cut off; . . . For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it shall be no more.

. . . the wicked shall perish; And the enemies of [Yahuwah], Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away.

“Wait on Yahuwah, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. I have seen the wicked in great power, And spreading himself like a native green tree. Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; Indeed, I sought him, but he could not be found.” [Psalm 37:9, 10, 20, 35-36]

Dave: The very worst crimes receive the very worst punishments. The worst punishment that can be administered is the death penalty, because it is irrevocable.

Miles: I read that there are 58 countries that still have the death penalty on their books, and only four so-called “industrialized” countries that still execute criminals: The United States, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan.

Dave: Again, it’s considered the worst penalty because there’s no going back. There’s no possibility of repentance, even.

In speaking of those who obstinately continue in their sins, Isaiah states:

“Behold they shall be as stubble, the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame; it shall not be a coal to be warmed by, nor a fire to sit before! [Isaiah 47:14]

Again, death, not eternal life in torment, is the punishment of the wicked.

* * *

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* * *Part 2: (Miles & Dave)

Miles: Today we’ve been talking about hell. In our last segment, Dave showed from Scripture that death, not “eternal life in torment” is the wages of sin.

I get it. I think that’s clear. But then where did this idea come from and what do you do about all the verses in Scripture that refer to hell?

Dave: The doctrine of an immortal soul entered Christianity around the end of the second century. Greek philosophy became entwined with Christianity. Suddenly, you began to hear such phrases as: “perpetual existence” and “continuance of being.”

Then, around 240 CE, Tertullian of Carthage took it to the next logical step. He wrote that the endless torment of the immortal souls of the wicked, was a parallel to the eternal bliss of the righteous.

Everlasting punishment for the wicked is the logical conclusion if you’ve got an immortal soul that cannot die.

Miles: Yeah, but it’s not even Scriptural! Paul, in 1 Timothy 6 is very clear that only Yahuwah has immortality. He says it, right there: “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting.” [1Timothy 6:16]

Dave: I know. How simple it would have been if they had just let Scripture speak for itself and not brought in all these pagan ideas.

Miles: I’d like to get into what is actually meant when the Bible speaks of hell. We’ve only been able to skim the surface of the verses that establish that the ultimate punishment of the wicked, including that of Satan and his angels, is cessation of existence; ultimately, they will cease to exist. But there’s a lot more on our website. Check it out. There are articles and videos there that dig into the subject more in depth.

But for now, inarguably, the word “hell” can be found in Scripture. What does it mean if not the eternally burning variety we’re all used to?

Dave: The word “hell” in the Old Testament always comes from the Hebrew word, Sheol.

Sheol appears 63 times in the Old Testament. Thirty-two of those times, it is translated as “hell”. Another twenty-nine times it’s translated as “grave” and another three times as the word “pit.”

Remember the story of Joseph? When his brothers sold him into slavery and then told their father that a wild animal had killed him?

Miles: Yeah, he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” [Genesis 37:35] You’re saying the word translated “grave” there is actually sheol?

Dave: Yes. It doesn’t really fit to say, “I will go down into eternally burning hellfire to my son in mourning,” does it?

Miles: Not really!

Dave: There are a lot of other instances of Scripture. For example, Job 14:13: “O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!”

Psalm 88:3 says: “For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.”

Jacob, refusing to let Benjamin accompany his brothers to Egypt, said: “My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.” [Genesis 42:38]

Miles: Huh! Job would hardly ask Yahuwah to hide him in a place of endless torment as a way to get away from all of his troubles!

None of these make sense if you insert the concept of an eternally burning hell, do they?

Dave: No! And yet it’s the exact same word that, elsewhere, is translated as hell, as in Deuteronomy 32:22 where it says: “For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.”

Or Proverbs 15:24, which states: “The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.”

The word sheol was used figuratively for a state of degradation or calamity.

Miles: Not just death.

Dave: No, it could be from any cause, whether misfortune, or sin, or the judgment of Yah. The New Strong’s Expanded Dictionary of Bible Words says, quote: “Sheol is the netherworld. It is not used in one single passage for punishment after the resurrection.”

Miles: Wow, really? Well, I guess that blows that interpretation clear out of the water, doesn’t it?

Dave: When you take the time to look up every single use of the word sheol (hell, grave, pit) in the Old Testament, it becomes very clear that the word simply refers to the state of the dead, both good and bad. That’s all! The Old Testament doctrine of “hell” is not the doctrine of eternal punishment. It didn’t exist in their body of beliefs.

Miles: Okay, but what about in the New Testament?

Dave: There are three words translated "Hell" in the New Testament. They are: Hades and Tartarus, which are Greek. The word Gehenna is the Greek form of the Hebrew words Gee and Hinnom, meaning "the valley of Hinnom."

Hades appears eleven times in the New Testament. It’s translated as “grave” once and “hell” ten times.

In 1855, Thomas Thayer wrote, “The Origin and History of the Doctrine of Endless Punishment." Explaining the use of Hades in the New Testament, Thayer quoted another respected scholar, stating, quote: “It may be profitable first to consider what one of the most accomplished orthodox scholars says in regard to it. "In my judgment," says Dr. Campbell, "it ought never in Scripture to be rendered hell, at least in the sense wherein that word is universally understood by Christians. In the Old Testament the corresponding word is Sheol, which signifies the state of the dead in general, without regard to the goodness or badness of the persons, their happiness or misery. It is very plain that neither in the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, nor in the New, does the word hades convey the meaning which the present English word hell, in the Christian usage, always conveys to our minds.” Unquote.

Miles: What about uses of the word Tartarus.

Dave: Actually, there’s only a single use of the word tartarus in the New Testament and it’s translated as hell. Maybe you could read it for us? 2 Peter 2:4.

Miles: “For if Yah spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.”

Dave: The word itself comes from heathenism and Greek mythology. Obviously, Peter wasn’t trying to teach a heathen hell anymore than Yahushua was when He used the well-known parable of the rich man and Lazarus to illustrate the importance of surrendering the will to Yah while in this life, and not putting it off to some future time. It’s a figurative use of the word which simply represents the destruction that will come on them through their own stubborn rebellion and disobedience.

Miles: Well, that’s true. We often speak figuratively. You know, a kid will say, “Oh, my dad’s going to kill me if I don’t get my chores done.” He doesn’t mean his father will literally kill him. So, yeah. It’s a mistake to interpret it literally when someone is speaking figuratively.

What about gehenna?

Dave: That word is always translated as hell. It’s used 12 times in the New Testament. It means “Valley of Hinnom.” This was where the Israelites, in apostasy, sacrificed to the god, Moloch. And not just animals. They’d also sacrifice their own children. This was finally outlawed under Josiah but the area came to be regarded as an abomination. They’d throw the carcasses of animals there, as well as the unburied bodies of executed criminals.

To keep the putrefaction from infecting the air, they constantly had fires burning there to consume the bodies, and filth thrown there. So, ultimately, any severe punishment, especially one that resulted in an infamous death, came to be described by the word gehenna, or hell.

It’s completely inconsistent to impose the modern meaning of the word “hell” onto the New Testament uses of gehenna.

Miles: One thing I’d like to point out here, before you go on, is that the book of Acts covers the history of the early Christian church. It covers about 30 years from the ascension of Yahushua and yet, in all that time, there’s not a single use of the word gehenna! You’d think that such a serious consequence of being lost, if true, would be preached about! I can’t see the apostles failing to warn the early Christians of something so dire as endless punishment, can you?

Dave: Not at all. We’ve imposed our modern definition of the word onto the Bible passages, but it just doesn’t fit.

Revelation speaks of a lake of fire that will at last destroy Satan, sin, and sinners. But the most beautiful part of this passage is that it reveals death itself will be destroyed!

Why don’t you read it for us? Revelation 20, verses 12 to 15.

Miles: “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before Yah, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” [Revelation 20:12-15]

That’s beautiful! The place of the dead itself, the state of the dead is also destroyed so all that’s left is life!

Dave: The destruction of sin, Satan and death itself will make Yahushua’s triumph complete. As Paul says, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” [1 Corinthians 15:54, 55]

Even in the destruction of the wicked, we can trust our Creator to be what He has always been: infinitely loving, and unfailingly just.

Miles: As he says in Hosea 13: O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction!” [Hosea 13:14]

Don’t go away folks. When we return, we’ll be answering your questions sent in to our Daily Mailbag. Stay tuned.

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* * *Daily Mailbag (Miles & Dave)

Miles: We’re going to take a few minutes to answer some questions from our listeners. Our first question is from Kichida Hoshiko in Okazaki, Japan. She says: “At WLC, you put a lot of emphasis on the Jewish feast days and Sabbath. Doesn’t the first Jerusalem council talked about in Acts 15 confirm that the Sabbath and feasts are no longer binding for gentile believers? Thank you.”

Dave: I really like this question. Truth is consistent, so this chapter has to be factored in and the points addressed.

What Hoshiko is referring to here, of course, is the big controversy in the early Christian church over whether or not gentile converts should be circumcised. That was the primary focal point. You can read about it Acts 15.

In fact, why don’t you read that for us? Verse 24.

Miles: All right … I’ve almost got it … “Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment.”

Dave: The Jews, with their works’ oriented mindset, had long felt superior to the gentiles. The fact that their pride stemmed from being circumcised can be deduced by the fact that they disparaged the gentiles as “uncircumcised.”

Miles: Talk about a works trip!

Dave: I know, right? So the dispute in Acts 15 was really over salvation by works, versus salvation by faith. These works-oriented Jewish coverts to Christendom had gone around behind Paul and Barnabas and told the young converts that they had to be circumcised in order to be saved.

Miles: Salvation by works: always more desirable to the human heart, rather than salvation by faith!

Dave: The apostles discussed the issue, but they understood that circumcision was part of the old system of blood sacrifice that looked forward to the Saviour’s death. So they sent a response. It’s fairly long, but let’s just read the closing. Verses 28 and 29.

Miles: “For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.”

Dave: This is the basis for Hoshiko’s letter. She’s asking: “Why are you, WLC, saying that the law is still binding, why are you emphasizing the Sabbaths and the feasts, when even the apostles, right here, say all we have to do is don’t eat food with blood in it, don’t eat meat that has been strangled or offered to idols, and don’t fornicate.”

Miles: Basically, the gentile shortlist.

Dave: Exactly! The gentile shortlist. So why is WLC adding to it? This is often quoted as “proof” that the Old Testament laws of Moses, including the Feasts and Sabbaths, aren’t to be applied to “Gentile believers”. However, if we look at everything in the chapter, we’ll see that this is an incorrect understanding.

Miles: All right.

Dave: First, let’s take a look at verse 10. Would you please read that for us. Actually, go back and start at verse 8.

Peter is speaking here and he’s arguing against requiring the gentile converts to be circumcised. You got it? Okay, go ahead.

Miles: “And Yah, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.”

Dave: Right here we’ve got proof that circumcision is no longer a binding requirement after the cross. Why?

Miles: Because Yah put no difference between the Jews and the gentiles.

Dave: Right.

Okay. Keep reading. Next verse.

Miles: Now “therefore why tempt ye Yah, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?”

Dave: The yoke the apostles decided not to put on the gentiles was this faulty concept that we can be saved by our works. Any attempt to teach that we must do certain works to be saved, is placing a yoke on Yah’s people. This is what the apostles meant in what they declared in their first council.

Miles: Paul, too, was always adamant that we’re saved only by faith in Yahushua's merits and sacrifice. Circumcision by itself without faith will never justify anyone.

Dave: The letter the apostles sent out from Jerusalem, is recorded in verses 23 to 29. But for a complete understanding of what they were thinking when they wrote the letter, it’s necessary to read their discussion, too.

We won’t take the time to read all of it, but again, let’s read their summarizing statements. Verses 19 to 21.

Miles: “Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to Yah: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.”

Dave: Now this is where most people stop reading and say, “Oh! I’m a gentile! That’s all I have to do. The law of Moses doesn’t apply to me.” But keep reading. Read verse 21 now.

Miles: “For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day.”

Wow! I have to admit I never really noticed that before. I kind of skimmed over it.

Dave: Most do, but note the clear assumption being made here: they didn’t have to teach them the other binding requirements because they were already being taught! Furthermore, they were being taught in the synagogues on the Sabbath day, and what was being taught was the law of Moses.

Miles: So what this shows is that it was assumed knowledge that the law of Yah was still binding.

Dave: Yes. They didn’t need to reiterate the rest of the law of Moses because it was already being kept!

But that’s not all. Other places in the New Testament confirm that believers are still to keep the commandments.

Miles: Well, Yahushua himself said so! In Matthew 19, he said: “Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is Yahuwah: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” [Matthew 19:17]

A lot of Christians today argue that all of the commandments should be kept except the Sabbath commandment, because all the other commandments, they say, were “repeated” in the New Testament, but the Sabbath commandment wasn’t. So that’s why they say it’s no longer binding. But right here, Yahushua says “keep the commandmentSSS.” He doesn’t say, “keep all the commandments but the fourth.”

Dave chuckles: True!

Miles: Revelation 22:14: "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."

Dave: That’s very clear. So, all of this combined shows us that the apostles weren’t setting up one standard for the gentiles and another for Jews. Just like it said in verse 8: Yah put no difference between Jews and gentiles, so the apostles weren’t going to take it upon themselves to do so, either!

Miles: All right. We’ve got time for one more, very short question. Frank Marini in Paterson, New Jersey in the United States says: “Where in the Bible does it explain how the luni-solar calendar worked? Could you give me a verse?”

Dave: That’s a great question, but … is it following the Word of Yah to hang all of one’s theology on a single text? Isaiah 28 instructs us: “But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little …” [Isaiah 28:13]

Miles: That’s an important principle to remember when you’re studying Scripture.

Dave: It is! Can you prove from Scripture the existence of an eternally burning hell?

Miles: Well … yeah.

Dave: Yes, you can and many churches do. However, it contradicts even more texts that clearly state there’s no such thing.

Miles: “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.”

Dave: Ecclesiastes 9:5. Right. And that proves my point. When a single text is taken from scripture, an entire theology can be extrapolated from that one text.

Miles: And it’s really easy to get off.

Dave: Truth will always go with the weight of evidence. You can trust Yah to keep you safe as you investigate new ideas with an open mind.

Miles: I just want to add one thought to that: we can glean clues as to how the luni-solar calendar worked from a variety of different Bible texts, but there’s no one specific verse that spells out all the rules of calendation.

The reason is simple: it was assumed knowledge. The Bible contains books of songs, poetry, prophecy, history. But no one bothered to write down how the calendar worked, because everyone already knew it.

Dave: Excellent point. Just like today: there are millions of books published, but unless it’s a book specifically discussing time calculation, it’s not going to talk about the calendar because it’s assumed knowledge. Everyone already knows how it works.

Miles: It’s inconvenient, but, hey. That’s life! It happens.

If you have a question or comment, we’d like to hear from you, too! Go to our website at WorldsLastChance.com and click on Contact Us. That’s WorldsLastChance.com: Contact Us.

* * *Daily Promise

Hello! This is Elise O’Brien with your Daily Promise from Yah’s Word.

Back in the gold rush days of the American “wild west”, one man discovered he had lucked onto a deposit of gold so vast it staggered the mind. It was believed he had found the largest deposit of gold in history! The man was soon joined by his nephew, a young man by the name of R. U. Darby. Together, the two men borrowed money from friends and family to buy the necessary equipment for mining the ore.

After the first car of ore was shipped to a smelter, the men learned that they had one of the richest gold mines in the state of Colorado. A few more cars of ore and they could pay off their debts. After that, they’d become two of the richest men in America! Their dreams of wealth and glory flew as high and as wide as the western sky.

Then, inexplicably, the vein of gold ore disappeared! Desperately, the men drilled on, trying to find another vein of gold, but none appeared. It was a crushing disappointment, not to mention financially devastating as they still owed money to friends and family. Finally, in utter discouragement, Darby and his uncle decided to just quit. They sold all the machinery to a “junk” man for a few hundred dollars and returned to the east.

The junk man, instead of immediately reselling the machinery, called in a mining engineer to examine the mine. After examining the mine, the engineer explained that the previous owners had failed because they didn’t understand “fault lines.” By his estimation, the vein of gold should reappear just 1 meter from where the men had stopped drilling!

And that is exactly what happened. A mere meter from where Darby and his uncle had given up, the new owner found gold again. He took millions of dollars in gold ore from that mine, while Darby and his uncle struggled for years to pay back every dollar they had borrowed.

This was a very hard lesson for Darby to learn, but it was one that stayed with him the rest of his life. Remembering that he’d lost a fortune in gold by giving up just one meter too soon, Darby told himself: “I stopped just three feet from gold. I will never give up again just because someone says, ‘No.’”

That determination to succeed and never give up resulted in R. U. Darby being one of the nation’s most successful insurance brokers. Darby joined a group of less than 50 men who sold more than a million dollars in life insurance annually. He’d learned the hard way to stick to his goals and never, ever give up and quit.

We have a goal, too: eternal life with our Creator. Hebrews 10 encourages us:

“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of Yah, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” [Hebrews 10:35-37]

You can rest your whole weight on the promises. They will never let you down. But whatever you do, don’t give up! The reward promised will be received by everyone who is faithful to the end.

We’ve been given great and precious promises. Go, and start claiming!

* * *Part 3: (Miles & Dave)

Miles: I have to say, it never ceases to amaze me, the many ways the devil deceives people and causes them pain. Just the very idea that someone you loved, if he’s lost, will burn alive forever. That’s sick! I wouldn’t wish such a fate on my worst enemy, let alone a loved one! And we’re supposed to believe a loving Creator, a Father would do that to His children?

The sheer evilness of such a doctrine just boggles the mind.

Dave: It does. Because even our fallible, human sense of right and wrong quails at the thought of such injustice. How can the wrongs committed in a single life time, no matter how terrible, equal an unending eternity of intense suffering? You’re right: it’s not consistent with what we know about the character of Yah.

The good news is, it’s not true. We can trust the Father’s love for us.

Miles: It reminds me of the story of Jonah. You know, Jonah finally makes it to Nineveh. He marches around the city telling them all that they’re going to be destroyed in 40 days because of their wickedness.

The 40 days comes and goes and the people repent! Yahuwah spares the city! But does that make Jonah happy?

Dave: Oh, no! He would have preferred for this enemy of Israel to have been wiped out!

Miles: He actually gripes to Yah that He’s too merciful. He says, “See? What’d I tell you? This is why I didn’t want to come in the first place!”

Dave: Incredible, isn’t it?

Miles: But what I really like is Yah’s response. It’s the very last verse of the book of Jonah. He says, Yah says to Jonah: “And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons [that’s over 120,000 people!] that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?”

Dave: It shows the true heart of the Father, doesn’t it?

Miles: It really does, because He adds: “And much cattle.” We’d expect Yahuwah to care about the people, and He does! He does. But He also didn’t want to kill even the animals! That’s the kind of deity we serve, and it’s a loving Father.

Dave: Another verse that came to mind, listening to you talk, is 2 Peter 3, verse 9. It says: “Yahuwah is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

He’s not willing that any should perish! That’s the kind of loving Creator we serve. Like you said: He’s our Father and He loves us.

Miles: Amen. Amen.

And the thing we get back to, over and over, is how important it is to know, and to love, and to trust the Father for ourselves. Because without that foundational knowledge, how will your faith endure when it seems the whole world is against you?

Dave: Well, how many of us even know the Word of Yah enough to be able to know what it says and doesn’t say?

Miles: Not enough! I know I could do better myself.

Dave: We all can. David said, “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee.” [Psalm 119:11]

We need to know the Scriptures for ourselves, not just so we’ll have a promise on the tip of our tongue to trot out in an emergency, but so that we can be taught of Yah what is true and what is false!

Miles: You’re right. But that’s just the thing! How many people, believing that He’s this vindictive power are even going to want to spend time in His Word? Forget that! How many are even going to want to get to know Him at all, if they believe He is so diabolical? So malicious and unforgiving?

I think that’s the real motive behind this doctrine of an eternally burning hell. If Satan can get people believing that about Yah’s character, they won’t even want to get to know Him for themselves.

Dave: You’re right, Miles. Because when it comes to salvation, it’s not so much what you know as who you know. And if we’ve inherited errors from our parents, our teachers, our priests or pastors, if those errors have given us an inaccurate understanding of the love of the Father, it can drive us away from Him.

Miles: And what we need to be doing is coming ever closer. Trusting that He loves us. Despite everything He knows about us—and believe me! He knows everything. Despite knowing all that, He still loves us with a love that’s, well, immeasurable!

Dave: Hidden in Isaiah 28 is one little verse that gives a startlingly profound insight into the character of Yah. It says: “For Yahuwah shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act.” [Isaiah 28:21]

Miles: Interesting use of the word “strange.”

Dave: It is. But to our loving Father, punishment, even the punishment of the wicked, is a strange work. It’s not something in which He delights because He is, first and foremost, love.

I know we’re out of time, but I want to end with one verse from a beautiful hymn. It goes:

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of Yah above
Would drain the ocean dry!
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky!

Miles: Because that’s who He is. And He doesn’t change.

Join us again tomorrow, and until then, remember: Yahuwah loves you . . . and He is safe to trust!

* * *

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This program and past episodes of WLC Radio are available for downloading on our website. They're great for sharing with friends and for use in Bible studies! They're also an excellent resource for those worshipping Yahuwah alone at home. To listen to previously aired programs, visit our website at WorldsLastChance.com. Click on the WLC Radio icon displayed on our homepage.

In his teachings and parables, the Savior gave no “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, the thrust of his message was constant … vigilance. Join us again tomorrow for another truth-filled message as we explore various topics focused on the Savior's return and how to live in constant readiness to welcome him warmly when he comes.

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.