“I can only imagine…”
Friends, allow me to take up the topic of the Word of God…and other topics related….
How do you read the modern bible that we have? Do you trust that it is the faithful rendering of the scriptures that God intended for us to have? Do you see contradictions in the bible? Do you think the Holy Bible is just created by men? Have you grown up all your life hearing preachers say the verse ” That all of scriptures are God-breathed and are useful for teaching, etc. etc…. and told never to question the scriptures? Well, I have come to a few conclusions that I want to pass on as hopefully helpful to you.
I believe that we have a fairly good representation of the original scriptures, but that the fact that we have so many versions out there speaks to the fact that it is translation issues that are probably causing most of our questioning of certain passages that are seeming contradictions, etc. The conservative (afraid of change) type of person is threatened by the thought that we may not have 100% of God’s intent in our modern translations. I am aware of at least several possible translation errors and I could prove them if you will allow me… but that can be at a later time… With the debates going on over evolution vs. creation and how old the earth is, etc. who can prove one way or the other? The most powerful testament to the fact of the creation is the evidence of DNA and the complexity of life, such as the wonderful eyeball with which we can see so much more of the creation. Have you also ever wondered how life could have evolved without there being bees or similar to pollinate? So much of the circle of life is interdependent on each other for the sustaining of life…. To walk out into a deserted area and find an airplane or similar complex object and wonder how long it took to evolve into an airplane is kind of stupid, no? A watch is made by a watch-maker, etc. But whether or not God created it all in 6 literal days or not is probably not as extremely important as the next issue….
The most important thing is what we believe about God’s goodness and whether or not he has a good plan for us instead of just putting the universe into motion and then not caring how it all turns out. To look at the event’s surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus Christ is also very important. Was Jesus a myth, a liar, a lunatic, or is he who he claimed to be… the Son of God, the way, the truth, and the life, the exact representation of the Father, the door (to heaven), the bread of life, the water that would make us never thirst again, and so many more descriptions of his character and nature. He said I and my Father are one. If we would look at another historical figure like Abraham Lincoln, for example, and question that he ever existed, that would be weird, since history pretty much proves he was a president of the U.S.A. years ago, although we can’t see him now. Jesus also said blessed are those who would believe in him even thought they don’t see him.. So it is pretty evident from historical accounts that Jesus existed… The next question would be is he lying ? or is he a crazy lunatic?
Yet most of us admire his sayings such as blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are the peacemakers, etc. So if Jesus believed and taught the scriptures of the Old Testament as truth, shouldn’t we also trust it as well?
The Bible also refers to Adam as though he was a literal first created man on earth through whom we all inherited our sinful depraved nature from… from which we need to be rescued and given a born again nature… a fresh start living with God’s spirit in us to help us overcome the sinful desires we crave for and evil deeds we are capable of. Where in the world did man come up with the idea of war and killing others and even quarrels and fights? It is pretty obvious that mankind is sick and needs help from a higher power. Jesus said that “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” He also claimed that he came..”to give you life and have it more abundant (to the full)! The old Testament talks of days ahead when all the earth will see the salvation of the Lord… the plans he has are good for us and not to harm us… etc.
I have come to see that it is possible that mankind has also tampered with the Word of God and that we currently don’t have a 100% accurate translation of the bible. If you place more stock in the “King James Version” of the bible than you do on God’s spirit leading you into all truth, you may be placing a book in the same kind of idolatry position as the people of the Old Testament.. anything we regard as more holy than God is an idol to us…
I have listened to what the Apostle Paul said would happen and I think it applies to the scriptures as well… He said that ” I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock…. and that “Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.” I can believe that the scriptures being twisted for the comfort of a few or the coffers of the rich churches or whatever reasons could be very possible. The fact remains that God’s word is debated and questioned and many see contradictions in passages of the bible, etc. to the point where it should make us all question what is truth? The bible itself tells us to not just accept the witness of one, but that every matter should be tested by two or three witnesses.. So when I find a single scripture seeming to say one thing, but four others agreeing, I should go with the majority.. Problem is what if many parts of scripture have been slightly mistranslated to all seemingly agree on a point? The point I am referring to is “Hell”… I can now look back on the past and grin at how gullible I was to believe that a merciful God could somehow torment/burn in flames millions of his wonderful creation “forever” and “ever”… both badly mistranslated words. The “forever” words are often coming from the Greek word “Aeonios” which can mean a time period of undetermined length or an eon, or an age. Look at Jonah 2:6 and you will see an obvious mistranslation in many versions where Jonah says he was in the great fish “forever”. “I descended to the roots of the mountains. The earth with its bars was around me forever, But You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God.” This could most possibly mean that Jonah was there for an undetermined time period, as he had no sun as a reference point. Jesus told us he was there for three days and three nights, which is definitely not “forever”… Jesus said there is no forgiveness for the “blaspheming of the holy spirit “in this age or in the age to come… At least it did not get translated as “forever” and thankfully there is hope for someone who rejects Christ’s spirit’s work even after this life is over. The mercy of the Lord endures “forever” and ever, which are most likely translated correctly. This age was referring to the present age/time period. The age to come will be the 1000 year reign of Christ where only believers will be raised to life to rule and reign with him when he makes the world live under his “rod of iron” dictatorship kind of rule. Of course there can be no forgiveness yet for someone who is still sleeping in the grave (the true Hell) or Hades. After this epoch of time, the bible declares that there will be a second resurrection, which would include all those who did not come to accept Christ as king in their lifetime here in this present age”. They will be judged and sentenced fairly… an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is Go’d standard. All will not receive the same reward or the same punishment. I don’t know exactly what the “lake of Fire” (or second death is all about, but I no longer believe it to be a place of eternal torment. I see it more as either a figurative speech of the Lord or more likely a proving/testing/corrective measure that gets the bad out and the good in… That’s a separate topic… but the fact remains that God himself is declared to be the savior of all mankind, the savior of the world, etc.. and that when he finally puts all his enemies under his feet, or brings everything into subjection to his will, there will be a new heavens and a new earth (doesn’t mention a “hell” here…) and no more pain or sorrow, for the former things are done away with and all things are made “new”. To me it now seems highly likely that our scriptures have been tampered with and that we need to weigh carefully the ones that seem to talk of “Hell: against all the other verses that are about our eternity. I believe that God preserves his word, but that he allows man to tamper… In heaven we will once again have the scriptures exactly as God intended…he won’t let a jot or tittle fall out of his eternal word. But maybe we will be pleasantly surprised that what the bible in heaven actually is will not have been exactly what man has now. If it is, which version would you trust? And how are we to translate the bible into another language to give to the Chinese, or the Indians, or the Philippines, or to Indonesia? Each translator is trying to give an accurate rendering, but if 100 men where to all translate an English version into Chinese, none of them would agree 100%. Do you see my point? The original scriptures were written in Hebrew, Greek, and a bit of Aramaic. How can we trust that man translated into Latin, then English, the present versions that we as English speaking people have come to believe are so “infallible”. Hogwash. None of the versions are exactly the same. To trust this kind of work of man is to have idolatry. Only God can preserve his word faithfully. He also will judge some for adding to or deleting/taking away from his word. Do you think it is possible that the translations we now have are going to be the same ones that God will judge those people for their tampering? Very possible.. Anyways, it is always best to check one verse against another, and especially when it comes to the word “hell” found in the bible…. I believe that it is not consistent with the rest of scriptures or the character of the God I find elsewhere in the Bible to believe in a place of eternal torment. One example is the verse that says that “There will be no more pain….nor sorrow.
another one is that He has “come, not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.” 1 Timothy 4:10 says “That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.” and another one is that he is the savior of the world.. 1 John 4:4: “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.” … John 4:4: “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” … 1 Cor. 5:22 says “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. … Christ, to whom, in whom, and for whom are all things will reconcile all things unto God (Colossians 1:15-20). He makes all things new. (Rev. 21:5) He is Heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2) all flesh shall see the salvation of God (Luke 3:6)…. and many more passages tell me of the wonderful future we all have to look forward to, after we have repented, and believed the truth, of course.. So passages about the wicked being destroyed have to be weighed against these other scriptures as to how it all fits together. Surely God would not destroy the wicked only to raise them back to life, to torment them forever.. Would he not rather destroy the wickedness in them through a purifying process, that eventually gets the evil out? The bible describes many as not finding the way to life, and also describes some as escaping, though as by fires… humm? Any possibility that God is similar to a loving parent who sits his son or daughter in the corner to “think about it” or spanks his child to make them remember next time not to do it? The bible says God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance… He is also come to seek and save that which is lost. “For God so loved the “world” that he gave his one and only Son, that “Whosoever” believes on him shall be saved. One day every knee shall bow and every single tongue proclaim that He is Lord, to the glory and praise, and happiness of God the Father. I maintain that this could in no way be a forced coercion of knees bowing and tongues proclaiming since the scriptures also say clearly that “No one (and that means N0 ONE) can say that “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. And no one can come to the Son unless the spirit draws them, so how do any of us ever get saved? It is truly only by the grace and mercy of God.. Not by works, lest anyone should boast. We find in scripture also that “every creature which is in heaven, and on earth, and UNDER the earth saying blessing and honor and glory and power be unto Him that sits upon the throne and unto the Lamb (Rev. 5:13).
Truly the God of this Created world is much smarter than we are and has a much better plan for the ages than any we could have ever dreamed up. His sacrifice on the cross showed the depths of his love and mercy. His healing ministry on earth showed that he cared. His Word that he left for us, even though it may be slightly tainted by man’s ineptitude or selfishness, or whatever, still cannot hide the facts of what I have explained above… That God loves us with an “everlasting” love, even though it may be a disciplinary love at times, but he has what is good for us in mind as Jeremiah 29:11 and John 10:10 would indicate to us. . He ” has shut all up unto unbelief, in order that he may show mercy upon all (Romans 11:32). And so I can only imagine what heaven will be like… the surprises that await… the joy that we will have when we realize our dearly departed “unbelieving, sinners, atheists, and the like will all be there finally saying “blessing and honor, and glory…. and we will no longer have to say good bye any more to anyone, ever… I can only imagine…..