"To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20)
Respected Bible student: The following is a summary taken mainly from the pamphlet of the same name, “A Declaration”. It is recommended that you get this booklet which will enable you to read additional quotes and thoughts on these subjects. In the USA this booklet can be obtained from The Christadelphian Library, % Tom Graham, 2621 Riata Ct., Camarillo, CA 93012. The price is $1.75 each. I have summarized this booklet into a more simplified form as shown below. This summary will enable you to quickly read the “proposition”, with several short quotes proving the proposition. The quotes are taken exactly from the King James Version. Any comments are in brackets []. It is our prayer that this summary will be useful to you in your study of God’s Word. CY
Section One: The Things Concerning The Kingdom Of God
Gospel (Greek, euaggelion, signifying, ‘good news’, or ‘glad tidings’)
Mark 1:14 Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God.
Matt 4:23 23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
Luke 4:43 43 And he [Jesus] said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.
Luke 8:1 1 ¶ And it came to pass afterward, that he [Jesus] went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him.
Act 8: 12,14 & 25 12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women…14 ¶ Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John… 25 And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.
Act 19:8 And he [Paul] went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.
Act 28:30-31 And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, 31 Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.
Act 14:7 they [Paul and others] preached the gospel.
1Pet 1:25 this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
It will be a Divine, political, kingdom set up on the earth. It will have a king (Jesus Christ), a land area (the whole earth), a capital city, (Jerusalem), laws (the laws of God -see for example, Isa 2:3), etc.
Dan 2:44 the God of heaven [shall] set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Dan 7:13,14,18, 22, (27) I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed… 18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever…27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
Rev 11:15 The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Zech 14:9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
Rev 19:11-16 11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
IChr 28:5 And of all my sons, (for the LORD hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel.
2Chr 13:8 the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David.
2Chr 9:8 Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee [Solomon] on his [God’s] throne, to be king for the LORD thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice.
Ezek 21:26-27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him [Jesus Christ].
Hos 3:4-5 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: 5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king [Note: “David” means “beloved”, so this can mean, “their beloved king” and so refer to Jesus Christ]; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.
Ezek 36: 19 And I [The LORD] scattered them among the heathen [the Gentiles], and they [Israel] were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.
Luke 21:24 And they [The Jews] shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Act 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? [Christ’s disciples asked this of him after he was resurrected from the dead].
Luke 1:31 And, behold, thou [Mary] shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Act 15:16 ( & Amos 9:11) I [God] will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
Psalm 102:12 But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations. 13 Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come… 15 So the heathen [The Gentile nations] shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory. 16 When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.
Mic 4:6-8 In that day, saith the LORD, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; 7 And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever. 8 ¶ And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.
Act 15:16 ( & Amos 9:11) I [God] will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
Isa 11:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people [The Jews], which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Ezek 20:34-44 And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. …38 And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD…40 For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things. 41 I will accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen. 42 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers. 43 And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed. 44 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have wrought with you for my name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.
Act 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? [Christ’s disciples asked this of him after he was resurrected from the dead].
Ezek 37:21-28 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: 22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: 23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. 24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. 26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
Ezek 37:21-28 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: 22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: 23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. 24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. 26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
Jer 3:12-19 ¶ Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. 13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD. 14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: 15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. 17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. 18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers. 19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.
Ezek 36:22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen [The Gentile nations], whither ye went. 23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the heathen [The Gentile nations], and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
Zech 8:23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.
Rom 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: 27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. 28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.
Isa 24:23 the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
Jer 3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
Zech 14:16 all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
Matt 5:35 Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King [i.e. Jesus Christ]. Psalm 48:2 Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion [Another name for Jerusalem], on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
Mic 4:7-8 And the LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever. 8 And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.
2Sam 7:12-16 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever…16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. [This promise was made to David and referred to his offspring, Jesus Christ].
Psalm 132:11 The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne.
Psalm 89:3-4 (& 35-37) 3 I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, 4 Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations…35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. 36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. 37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.
Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King [Jesus Christ] shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
Isa 11:1-2 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD [Jesse was the father of David. The rod and the branch refers to Jesus Christ, David’s offspring].
Luke 1:30-33 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Act 2:29-30 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
Matt 19:28 And Jesus said unto them [his apostles], Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Isa 9:6-7 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Jer 33:11-16 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. 15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.
Saints, as used in the scripture, are all those who have entered into covenant relation with God. For example: Ephesians 1:1 “Paul,…to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.” It has nothing whatsoever to do with who Roman Catholic Apostasy call saints. (See also Psa 50:5).
Dan 7:18 & 27 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. 27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
Rev 5:8-10 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9 And they [The saints] sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
Luke 13:28-29 ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. 29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
Matt 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Psalm 149:5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds. 6 ¶ Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand; 7 To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; 8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; 9 To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.
Gen 12:1-2 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed… 7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land:
Gen 13:14-17 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: 15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. 17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
Gen 17:8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. 9 And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
Rom 15:8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:
Gal 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen [The Gentiles] through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham…16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ…29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Gen 26:3 [Isaac] Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
Gen 28:13 [Jacob] And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
Heb11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises.
Act 7:5 And he [God] gave him [Abraham] none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.
Rom 15:8 Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:
Luke 1:68-73 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, 69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; 70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: 71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; 73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham [This was spoken by Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist].
16A. To all nations
Isa 32:1-4 Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. 2 And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. 3 And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. 4 The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly.
Jer 3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.
Isa 2:4 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Psalm 72:2 He [Jesus Christ] shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. 3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. 4 He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor… 8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth…17 His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.
Zech 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. 10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen [The Gentile nations]: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the ends of the earth.
Isa 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
16B. To inherit the land of promise
Lev 26:42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
Joel 2:18,21 Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people…21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things.
Ezek 36:34-36 And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. 35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. 36 Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.
Isa 51:3 For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
2 Tim 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
Act 3:20-21 He [God] shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: 21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. [RSV – 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old].
Luke 19:15 And it came to pass, that when he [The nobleman, Jesus Christ] was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him.
Act 1:9-11 And when he [Jesus] had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
Matt 25:31-34 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Jam 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
Luke 13:28 Ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. 29 And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
1Thes 2:12 That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.
Rev 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
1Cor 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Tim 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
Deut 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
Isa 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: 6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
John 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Gen 1:2-3 And the Spirit [rauch] of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Gen 6:17 I do bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath (rauch) of life.
Psalm 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
Job 33:4 The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
2 Pet 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost [pneuma].
The “Holy Spirit” is God’s spirit used for a particular or holy [set apart] purpose. Spirit in the original is rauch in the Hebrew and pneuma in the Greek. “Ghost” should uniformly be translated “spirit”. See for example, Young’s Literal Translation.
Luke 1:34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. [Here the word “ghost” is “pneuma” in the original and means “spirit”. Notice that God’s spirit is a “power”, and in this instance is “holy” in that it is used for a particular or ‘set apart’ purpose].
Act 10:38 God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost [ pneuma, spirit] and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil;
Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost [ pneuma, spirit] is come upon you:
Act 8:17-19 17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. 18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, 19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
Luke 1:31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS…35 therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God
Psa 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Matt 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Matt 3:16-17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
John 3:34-35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
He was of our flesh and blood Nature.
Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same…16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Heb 4:15 [Jesus Christ] was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
1Tim 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
John 1:29 The next day John [The Baptist] seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Act 10:43 To him [Jesus Christ] give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins [Here Peter was speaking to Cornelius].
Act 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Heb 9:26 he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself…28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Mark 16:1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him…5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted…6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
Act 2:24 God hath raised up [Jesus Christ], having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
Eph 1:20 Which he [God] wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Heb 4:14-15 We have a great High Priest that is passed into the heavens.
Rom 1:3-4 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
(“devil”- Greek ‘diabolos’- slanderer or false accuser) The “devil” of Scripture is the personification of sin in the flesh. It is not a person. Jam 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Rom 7:17 Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not…20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me…23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
1Tim 3:11 11 Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers [diaboloi], sober, faithful in all things.
2Tim 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers [diaboloi], incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good.
This concept is used in the Bible to describe imagined gods (idols), that the pagans and some Jews falsely believed to have special powers, and falsely believed would produce diseases and take possession of people.
Deut 32:17 They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
Psalm 106:37-38 Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, 38 And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with blood.
2Chr 11:15 And he [Jeroboam] ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.
Matt 17:15-18 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water…
18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
1Cor 10:19 What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? 20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
They believe that we are made up of a body and a soul (some add spirit); that the soul is immortal and indestructible, and at the death of the body, goes to heaven or hell; that at the judgment it will return and reunite with the body and be judged. This is pagan fiction.
a) That man is a creature of the dust
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
– “breath of life” in the Heb is ‘Nephesh Chaiyah’, literally, “living creature”, e.g. Kitto renders this “living animal”. This same phrase is used by God of animals.
Gen 7:21-22 And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: 22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. [Here again, “breath of life” is taken from the Heb ‘Nephesh Chaiyah’].
Psa 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
Job 10:9 Remember, I beseech thee, that thou hast made me as the clay; and wilt thou bring me into dust again?
b) That man is mortal (that is subject to death and dissolution)
Gen 3:19 [God said to Adam] In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
1 Cor 15:22 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
c) That the dead are unconscious
Eccl 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
Eccl 9:10 there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
Psa 6:5 In death there is no remembrance of Thee [i.e. of God].
Note:
Martin Luther (the founder of Lutheranism), commented on this passage in Debt of Grace, p. 258, “Another proof that the dead are insensible: Solomon thinks that the dead are altogether asleep and think of nothing.”
Psa 146:3-4 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. 4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
Isa 38:18 For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
d) That the “soul” is not immortal – it does not live forever (“soul” – Heb. ‘nephesh’, breathing; Gr. ‘psuche’, breath). The words “immortal soul” NEVER occur together in the Bible. Waller’s Concordance says, “In the 754 places where the Hebrew word nephesh (soul) occurs in the Old testament Scriptures, it is said in 326 places to be subject to death…in 203 places to be in danger of death, and in 123 places to be delivered from death, implying its liability to death.”
Ezek 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Josh 10:38 And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir; and fought against it: 39… and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein; he left none remaining:
Josh 11:11 And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them…14) neither left they any to breathe.
1Tim 6:16 (God) only hath immortality.
1Cor 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
e) That the “spirit” in man is not a deathless entity. (spirit – Heb ‘rauch; Gr ‘pneuma’, both mean “to breathe”). “Spirit” signifies breath, life, disposition, wind, etc. The translators sometimes translated “ruwach” spirit, and sometimes breath.
Gen 6:17 And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath [ruwach] of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
1Sam 1:15 And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit [ruwach].
Jam 2:26 the body without the spirit (pneuma, margin, ‘breath’) is dead.
Act 7:59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit [pneuma].
The doctrine of the immortality of the soul, not being in the Bible, the question is, where has it come from? It has been borrowed by Christendom from pagan teaching.
Herodotus Book 11; Section 123
He is often considered the oldest historian. He wrote, “The Egyptians say that Ceres (the goddess of corn) and Bacchus (the god of wine) hold the chief sway in the infernal regions; and the Egyptians also were the first who asserted the doctrine that the soul of man is immortal.”
Lateran Council under Leo X – Caranza, p. 412, 1681.
“Some have dared to assert concerning the nature of the reasonable soul, that it is mortal; we with the approbation of the sacred councils, do condemn and reprobate all such, seeing according to the cannon of Pope Clement the Fifth, the soul is immortal; and we strictly inhibit all from dogmatizing otherwise; and we decree that all who adhere to the like erroneous assertions shall be shunned and punished as heretics.”
Luther’s Works, vol ii., folio 107, Wittemburg, 1562
Martin Luther responded to the decree of the Lateran Council. “I permit the Pope to make articles of faith for himself and his faithful – such as the soul is the substantial form of the human body,- the soul is immortal, – with all those monstrous opinions to be found in the Roman dunghill of decretals; that such as his faith is, such may be his gospel, such his disciples, and such his Church, that the mouth may have meat suitable for it, and the dish a comer worthy of it.”
William Tyndall. He translated the Scriptures into English; martyred 1536.
“And ye in putting them in heaven, hell and purgatory, destroy the arguments wherewyth Christ and Paul prove the resurrection…The heathen philosophers denying that, did put that the soules did ever lyve. Ant the pope joyneth the spirituall doctrine of Christ and the fleshly doctrine of philosophers together, things so contrary that they can not agree, no more than the Spirite and the flesh do in a Christen man. And because the fleshly mynded pope consenteth unto the heathen doctrine, therefore he corrupteth the Scripture to stablish it.”
Gibbon, Chapter 5.
“The doctrine of the immortality of the soul is omitted in the law of Moses.”
Charles Gore – The Epistle to the Romans
“Careful attention to the origin of the doctrine of the necessary immortality of indestructibility of each human soul, as stated for instance by Augustine and Aquinas, will probably convince us that it was no part of the original Christian message, or of early catholic doctrine. It was rather a speculation of Platonism taking possession of the Church.”
Mosheim – Ecclesiastical History, Vol 1, p. 86
“Its first promoters argued from that known doctrine of the Platonic School, which was adopted by Origen and his disciples, that the divine nature was diffused through all human souls.” [Plato was a Pagan Greek philosopher who lived about 400 BC]
1. To be bestowed only on the righteous
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Rev 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.
John 10:28 [Jesus said] My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
2. At the resurrection by change of body
1Cor 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Cor 15:51-53 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Dan 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
John 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Luk 20:37 [Jesus said] Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
3. To be enjoyed on the earth
Matt 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Psalms 37:9-11 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. 10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. 11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Rev 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. [This is a song, sung by those found acceptable by Christ after the resurrection and judgment]
Isa 60:21 Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
Prov 2:21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. 22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
Matt 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Psa 115:16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.
Psa 37:29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
Gen 17:8 And I will give unto thee [Abraham], and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.
Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
The word translated “hell” almost always means, “the grave”. It is usually translated from the Hebrew ‘sheol’ and the Greek ‘hades’. It should uniformly be translated “the grave”.
Eccl 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave [sheol], whither thou goest.
Ezek 32:27 And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell [sheol – the grave] with their weapons of war:
Rev 1:18 [Jesus said] I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell [hades – the grave] and of death.
Jonah 2:2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell [sheol] cried I, and thou heardest my voice.
Act 2:27 For David speaketh concerning him [Jesus Christ], I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in
hope: 27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell [hades], neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption [i.e. God would not leave Jesus in the grave, but would resurrect him before he saw corruption].
1Cor 15:55 O death where is thy sting? O grave (hades) where is thy victory?
Gehenna is another Greek word translated “hell”. It means literally, “The Valley of Hinnom”. It is taken from two words, Gai, a valley, and Hinnom a person who once owned this valley. This was a valley outside of Jerusalem which had been made into a trash dump. Worms would continually eat the dead animals and criminals were thrown there, and fires would burn the trash. It symbolizes an ignominious grave resulting in total destruction.
Parkhurst-Greek Lexicon- Gehenna, “Had been the place of those abominable sacrifices in which the idolatrous Jews burned their children alive to Molech, Baal, or the sun.”
Jer 19:5 They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind: 6 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter.
Jer 7:30 For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it.
31 And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
Mark 9:43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell [Gehenna. the valley of Himmom], into the fire that never shall be quenched: 44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
They shall be destroyed, and cease to exist in death.
Eccl 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
Psa 146:3 Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. 4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
Psalm 37:20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
2 Thes 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
They will pass away in death, and never see the light of resurrection.
Psa 49:20 Man that is in honour and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.
Isa 26:14 They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.
Jer 51:39 In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD [spoken of the Babylonians].
Prov 21:16 The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.
Eph 4:17-18 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
Jesus Christ will return to the earth and summon before him for judgment all those who are responsible to his judgment, both the faithful and the unfaithful. The responsible dead will be resurrected, and the responsible living taken.
2 Tim 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
Matt 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
Act 24:15 There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.
Dan 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Rev 11:18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
Baptism is an act of obedience required of all who believe the Gospel. It is a bodily immersion in water. It is translated from ‘baptizo’ which means, to immerse, or to dip.
Mark 16:15-16 And he [Jesus] said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Act 8:12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Act 22:16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Matt 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Matt 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Jam 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
1Cor 1:26-27 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
Act 28:22 But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.
Matt 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Note: These topics have already been covered in other sections of this work.
2Tim 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
1Tim 4:1-3 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
2Thes 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [hindereth] will let [hinder], until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Act 20:29-30 [Paul said] For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Rev 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. 4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration [better, astonishment]. [Here John saw a ‘ wealthy, blasphemous, abominable, filthy, immoral, murderous religious system’ that had developed out of true Christianity]
Mat 7:15; Mat 24:11; Mark 13:23 ; 2 Pet 2:1 & 1John 4:1 [ Each of these quotes speak of “false prophets” that would develop out of Christianity].
Only when Jesus Christ returns to the earth, establishes the Kingdom of God, and His judgments in the earth will deliverance come.
Isa 26:9 When thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
Hab 2:14 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.
Zech 8:22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.
Isa 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. 3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
Matt 6:9 Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.