Bible Questions and Answers

What you are describing here is the false doctrines acquired by the Church as it fell into apostasy. The Bible teaches no such thing.

God made the earth to be inhabited.

Isaiah 45:18 For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: "I am the LORD, and there is no other.

His purpose is to fill the earth with his glory.

Numbers 14:21 "but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD—

His glory will be in the form of men and women raised to the divine nature and made equal to the angels.

2 Peter 1:4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Luke 20: 35 "But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; 36 "nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.

They will inherit the earth, restored to its former glory.

Psalms 37:9 For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth.

Psalms 37:11 But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Psalms 37:22 For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.

God will live in them and with them forever.

2 Corinthians 6:16 For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people."

The faithful do not go to live with God in heaven – God will live in and with them on the earth.

Revelation 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.

We do not possess an immortal soul, we are a soul – the soul is the complete being.

Genesis 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.

Souls die.

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.

When we die our soul dies.

When we are buried our soul is buried.

Psalms 89:48 What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave?

In death we remain unconscious.

Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing,

Psalms 6:5  For in death there is no remembrance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks?

Psalms 146:4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

No one other than Jesus Christ goes to heaven.

John 3:13 "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.

Jesus Christ ascended to heaven after his resurrection to immortality.

His stay in heaven is temporary.

At God’s appointed time he will return to judge the world.

Acts 17:31  "because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."

At this time, he will raise and judge the dead.

John 5:28 "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29  "and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

2 Timothy 4:1  I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:

He will restore the kingdom of Israel as the kingdom of God.

Luke 1:32 "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.

He and his saints will rule over the mortal population for 1000 years.

Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

The prophecy of Isaiah will be fulfilled

Isaiah 1:1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2  Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD’S house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. 3  Many people shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4  He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.

At the end of this time there will be a second resurrection and a final judgment.

Revelation 20:5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

At both judgments the faithful are given eternal life and the unfaithful are condemned to die again — the second death.

Hell is the translation of the Hebrew ‘sheol’ and the Greek ‘hades’ both of which refer to the grave.

Hell is also the translation of the word ‘gehenna’ which refers to the valley of Hinnom, where rubbish was burned. It is used as a figure of complete destruction, not eternal torment.

A similar figure – a lake of fire – is used in the book of revelation

Only the faithful are given eternal life.

The unfaithful are condemned to die again, and not possessing eternal life they cannot be subject to eternal torment.

The punishment for all sin is death, - complete destruction - not eternal torment.

Those who die without knowledge of the purpose of God are perished forever and will not be raised to judgment.

The hope of the faithful is eternal life in the kingdom of God on earth.

In conclusion, eternal torment in a place called hell is a fiction, based on the falsehood that in death we don’t actually die but continue in a conscious existence, despite the fact that our faculties cease to function.

In death we do not go to heaven or ‘hell’ – we remain in the grave, corrupted into dust, awaiting resurrection when Christ returns.

The earth will not be destroyed – a new earth is figure of speech denoting a complete change in the present earth which at the end of the millennial reign will be restored to how it was before Adam and Eve brought the curse upon it by their disobedience.

It will be the abode of the faithful for eternity who will live joyfully with their God as the angels currently do.

Revelation 21:4 "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." 5 Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." 6 And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 "He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

Revelation 22:3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

I hope you find this helpful.

God bless,
Glenn