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Emiliano Martinez, the 6’4” tall, Argentine Goalie, faced 14 penalty kicks in the Penalty Shootout stages of the 2022 World Cup. He made six saves. One kick went wide. This kind of success rate in saving penalties is simply phenomenal! Swaroop Swaminathan explains what makes Martinez successful: “He is probably the world’s best because of his confrontational style. You can argue it makes for ugly scenes but research has held that putting extra pressure on the spot-kickers does have the desired benefit. Extra pressure here includes everything from engaging in some trash talk to making the players wait…Against both sets of players (France and Netherlands) at the World Cup, his usual shenanigans were visible. Either speaking with them or trying to shake hands or celebrating wildly. Before Aurelian Tchoumeni’s kick, he actually threw the ball away, forcing the youngster to wait longer.”
Martinez’ tactics reminds us of a key Christmas truth. We too must have an confrontational, combative attitude when it comes to fighting Satan who tried to kill the Christmas baby Jesus through Herod (Rev. 12:4). This Revelation 12 Christmas chapter climaxes with this verse where there is a clarion call for Christ-followers to keep battling the Devil: ‘Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring – those who keep God’s commands and host fast their testimony about Jesus’ (Rev. 12:17). This battle between believers and the dragon will go on till the day of judgement which is talked about using the earth swallowing imagery (Rev. 12:16).
The believer has multiple enemies during his wilderness journey: the world, the flesh, the Devil, false teaching. And the believer must show the kind of aggressiveness that Martinez showed against Netherlands and Argentina during the knockout stages of the 2022 World Cup, against these enemies! Peter’s call to wage war against the flesh is memorable: “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul” (I Peter 2:11). We have to wage war not only against the enemy of the flesh, but also the enemy of Satan, the World and False Teaching! Christmas is not just about a celebration! It is also about a collision against the Devil, the World, the Flesh and False Teaching!
(The author’s ministry is reader-suppported. WhatsApp him at +91-8886040605 for more details
WOWED BY A WIDE-LENS VIEW OF CHRISTMAS BY A STUDY OF THE REFERENCES TO CHRISTMAS/INCARNATION OF CHRIST BY OTHER NEW TESTAMENT WRITERS APART FROM MATTHEW AND LUKE
Rev. Dr. Duke Jeyaraj
Different writers of the Bible used various styles and imagery to describe the Christmas story. Using Holy Spirit-inspired colors they painted the Christmas Story in a wide range of colors! Yes, Matthew and Luke narrated the historic Christmas story. But other New Testament writers – notably Paul, John and the Hebrews-author – go back to the same Christmas event and explain its theological meanings and implications. Let us look at Christmas using a wide-lens, taking into account the writings of as many different New Testament writers as possible!
Not just Luke and Matthew. Paul, John, and the Hebrews-writer talk about Christmas! We have a mention of Christmas even in the book of Revelation! This article focusses on the non-Matthew, non-Luke stories of Christmas!
Paul described Christmas this way: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman..” (Gal. 4:4). For Paul, Christmas was all about the impeccable TIMING. Jesus came to the planet at the time designed by the Trinity. If God came to the earth as a sinless, perfect human at the right time, he knows the right time to remove that sickness you are presently enduring and give you the promotion you are eagerly expecting! We must learn to salute the Sovereignty of God who is always “on time” when it comes to working miracles on our behalf even though, at times, he may be “four days late” (John 11:39) (as one song-writer memorably put it).
The miracle that God has planned for you, will come at the ‘right time’ – God’s time!
John portrayed Christmas this way: “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling (tabernacle) among us…” (John 1:14). For John, Christmas was about the TABERNACLE. This world is not our home and we just tabernacling – passing – through this world! As Jonathan Edwards put it, we go about our earthly tenure with ‘eternity stamped on our eyeballs’.
The Hebrews-writer envisioned Christmas this way: “Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil…” (Heb. 2:14). For the Hebrews-writer, Christmas was all about TERROR-REMOVAL. Jesus was born so that he would die and rise again and thereby open the door to remove the commonest fear among humans – the fear of death. And to die, he needed flesh and blood like us, humans. And during the first Christmas, he chose to cloth himself with flesh and blood! So no fear needs to grip us – the fear of an examination, the fear of a job-loss, the fear of another crippling pandemic, the fear of not being up-to-the-mark in the responsibilities given to us, the fear of …. !
Christmas happened that our fear of death will be gone! Hebrews-writer’s point!
John wrote again about Christmas choosing another thing to focus upon in 2 John. He wrote there: ‘For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist’ (2 John 7). For him, here, Christmas was all about TRUTH-GAURDING. By being born in the flesh – born as a baby into our planet – Jesus was showcasing the importance of the human body. The one who filled the universe would now live inside the body of a woman – her womb! And once he came out of her womb, he would exist in a human body coping with all its restrictions of having to be in one place at one time (something that was strange for the God who was everywhere present)! The human body cannot become a playground for sexual immorality. If you did not believe in Christmas – God’s coming in the flesh – then it would not be a big deal for you to indulge the flesh! So, if you really believed in Christmas, you will motivation to live a sexually pure life! That was John’s point in 2 John.
2 John has a verse about Christmas/Incarnation that encourages us to overcome sexual sin!
John was not tired of writing about Christmas time and again! He kept coming back to Christmas to expound the theological implications of Christ as the Spirit of God prodded him to. He gives us a peek of Christmas in Revelation 12, I believe: the Sun-clothed woman’s baby was about to be devoured by Satan the moment he was born (Rev. 12:4). Remember how Herod tried to finish off the new born baby Jesus? This Revelation 12 male child, obviously Jesus, was “destined to rule the nations” (Rev. 12:5). Satan also was keen on waging an ongoing battle with the “rest of the children” of the sun-clothed woman (Rev. 12:17). The rest of the children of the sun-clothed – symbolic of believers and Christ-followers – were to hang in there for 1260 days in the wilderness (Rev. 12:14). 1260 days! Does the number ring a bell? It certainly rang a bell among the original readers of John’s letter! They knew that was a code word used by the apostles often to remind believers of those days to become more and more like the One who ministered on this earth for 1260 days, i.e. three and half years – even Jesus! So, the call of Christmas, from John, from Revelation 12 is that of a TRANSFORMATION – a call to be transformed in character like Jesus’ character, more and more in our “wilderness” journey!
The Sun-clothed woman story narrated in Revelation 12 is a Christmas Story, according to me, calling us to become more and more like Jesus!
Using the “flood” from his mouth Satan (see Rev. 12:15) will try to drown believers. That reminds me of the “flood” of false teaching Satan has unleashed using the mouths of false-teachers who have surrendered their mouths to him. Using those Satan-inspired mouths the teach hell-populating teaching like hyper-grace, immortality on earth, hyper-supernaturalism, etc. to drown believers. John writes, ‘But the earth helped the woman and opened its mouth to swallow up the river that had poured from the dragon’s mouth’ (Rev. 12:16). This is simply another way of saying that one day the earth will open up and swallow Satan-inspired false-teachers the way it opened up and swallowed Korah and his rebellion gang in the Old Testament. It is an imagery of judgment: earth opening up and swallowing. It points to the hell-destination of false teachers and those who buy their theology, I believe. So understanding this seemingly-complex-yet-simple imagery of Revelation 12 brings us back to the message of TRUTH-GAURDING. Obeying the commands of God – holding onto the written Word of God and making it our basis for all matters of belief and behaviour – and holding onto our testimony – testimony via life and lips – is what enrages Satan, John writes he wraps his ‘Christmas’ commentary in the book of Revelation (Rev. 12:17). Let’s celebrate a Christmas where the focus is not on being ENTERTAINED by SANTA CLAUS but on ENRAGING SATAN!
Revelation 12’s thrust about Christmas brings us to this: Christmas is not about being ENTERTAINED by Santa Claus but about ENRAGING SATAN by safe-gaurding ourselves from false teachings he brings via false teachers/pastors/brothers!!!
This wide-lens view of Christmas is wow, isn’t it? This Christmas take time to read, meditate, chew, non-typical Christmas chapters such as Revelation 12, 2 John, Galatians 4, John 1, etc.!
(Rev. Dr. Duke Jeyaraj, a Agri. Engineer turned M. Div. Gold Medallist and Doctor Of Ministry Graduation Speaker, is the founder of Grabbing the Google Generation from Gehenna Mission, the G4 Mission. This is a para-church ministry to present-day people functioning from Chennai. God has graciously opened doors for him to preach in over 20 Indian states and in a few other nations right from the first time Duke preached, as a school boy of 16, in the year 1991. He has authored three books: Straight Talk (Sex, Love, Marriage, Porn, Phone Addiction, married-sex, etc., – what the Bible says), Daniel in Dell (practical study of the book of Daniel for modern working professionals), Goodnews for the Google Generation (the Gospel presented the way Jesus did in Luke 13 and the way Paul did in Acts 17). Reach him via emailduke@gmail.com or WhatsApp, +91-8886040605, in case you want to buy these or have a question. Duke is married to Evangelin, a Odisha Missionary’s daughter, and this couple are blessed with two children – Dale, 19, who is a student of St. Stephens College, Delhi, and Datasha, 15, who studies Class X. This article was published in the December 2022 edition of Aim magazine of Evangelical Fellowship of India. Duke’s ministry, the G4 Mission is a reader-supported ministry).
If it is not possible to overcome besetting sin in our lives as believers, the Bible will not even call us for it. But it does! Hear the writer of the letter to the Hebrews: “Therefore, seeing we also are compassed by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1 KJ21).
There are those who are merely satisfied with the cleansing work of the Cross. Does the Cross cleanse us from sin? Of course! Apostle John wrote, “the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all Sin” (I John 1:7 ESV).
The Cross of Christ does more than just PURIFICATION. It gives us POWER over habitual sin. The Cross of Christ does more than just WASH away sin. It gives us the wherewithal to WALLOP sin! The Cross of Christ does more than just CLEAN sin. It enables us to CRUSH sin’s grasp over us!
The connection between the Cross of Christ and victory over besetting sin is so clearly established in Scripture that we will have to be stone-blind or be heavily influenced by cultic hyper-grace hell-populating teaching not to notice it.
Apostle Peter expressed it clearly. He wrote, “He(Christ) himself bore our sins on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (I Peter 2:24 ESV). Apostle Paul penned the same thing using different words and imagery: “Those who belong to Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24). And when he wrote in Galatians 6:14, “the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and to the world” he was saying this: “thanks to the deep work of the Cross in my life, the besetting sin of worldliness is now dead (crucify here means death) in me!” Jesus died so that we might have victory over sin in our day to day lives.
Let me talk about various “P”s that help us understand how the blood of Christ gives us victory over daily, besetting sin.
PEACE & THE BLOOD OF CHRIST
Prophet Isaiah wrote, “the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him” (Isaiah 53:5). When we choose to sin against the Lord as a believer, the first result is a loss of peace. The knowledge that we will lose our peace when we sin should strongly deter us from walk down the familiar path of sin. Yes, that journey to watch a web series full of erotic scenes is not worth it for it destroys our peace which was given to us because of the work of the Cross. Yes, that online affair outside the boundaries of marriage is not simply worth it because our serenity goes for a Six (to borrow a Cricket imagery)! Apostle Paul wrote, “we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us” (Romans 5:1 NLT) on the Cross. “When I commit a wanton wickedness against my Lord, my peace will go for a huge Six. I don’t want that to happen. So, I will overcome the temptation before me by tapping into the power of the Holy Spirit!” That is what we should say. That is what we should do.
PRECIOUSNESS & THE BLOOD OF CHRIST
The Bible says, “You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ” (I Peter 1:18-19). When we realize the preciousness of the blood of Christ, we will realize how atrocious it is when we keep returning to same old sin (that porn-watching, that drunkenness, that abusive language, etc.).
Hosea’s wife left him to go to the Red Light area for prostitution. But that did not put a red light (stop) on his love for her. He bought back his wife from the Red Light District operators by paying 15 pieces of silver, five bushels of barley and a measure of wine (Hosea 3:2). These things were by no means cheap those days. They were very expensive. Exodus 21:32 and Zechariah 11:12 tells us that the price of slave in the Jewish slave market was 30 shekels of silver. Translate that into today’s world where to ‘buy’ a kidney also you need to shell out a bomb. Imagine the price of one full individual, then! Hosea paid this monstrous amount, part in silver (15 pieces), part in agricultural produce (five bushels of barley and a measure of wine). After redeeming her, Hosea told her not to return to the Red Light area as a prostitute (Hosea 3:3). She had to put a ‘red light’ (stop) on her life of sin having experienced a love from her husband which did not stop even though she went into the red light area! Having been bought with something far more precious that Prophet Hosea paid for his wife, which is the precious blood of Jesus, we must also take efforts to overcome sin. Since we were “bought” with a price – the utterly precious blood of Jesus – we must glorify God in our body, the Apostle Paul wrote (I Corinthians 6:20). We must stay away from sinful habits that destroy our souls and bodies – torrid habits such as masturbation coupled with porn-watching, alcohol/drug consumption, sexual activity outside marriage, etc.
THE PROFANING & THE BLOOD OF JESUS
The author of the book of Hebrews wrote these powerful lines: “How much worse punishment do you think will be deserved by the man who has spurned the Son of God, and profaned blood of the covenant by he was sanctified, and outraged the Spirit of Grace?” (Hebrews 10:29 RSV). And when do we profane the blood of Christ? The same author answers this question very directly: “when we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth” (Hebrews 10:26 NIV). So, when we are tempted to watch that profane web series that is showing in that popular streaming service (Netflix and the likes) we must tell ourselves this: “If I watch that, I would profane the precious blood of Jesus which I do not want to do. So, I will overcome that temptation empowered by the Spirit!”
Yes, it is possible to beat besetting sin through the blood of Jesus!
THE PERSECUTION & THE BLOOD OF JESUS
John observed in the Book of Revelation this: “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not lives even unto death” (Rev. 12:11). Yes, end-time believers overcame “the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” (Rev. 12:9) through the blood of the Lamb (the Lord Jesus Christ). The Devil tried to threaten these believers with severe persecution but because they were inspired by the blood of the Lamb they did not “love their lives so much that they were afraid of death” (EXB version of Rev. 12:11). Jesus was extremely bold as he marched toward the Cross. While his disciples ran helter-skelter when the Roman arrest party came, he very boldly marched towards them saying, “I am he (the one you have come to arrest)!” (John 18:4-6). His bold voice threw the arrest party on the floor. They were flabbergasted. He was that bold! So, his blood gives us the courage in the face of persecution that can came to us for saying ‘no’ to sin. Therefore when we say ‘no’ to sin inspired by the blood of Jesus this complaint that the writer to the Hebrews made about his congregation will be no longer true about us: “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood” (Hebrews 12:4 RSV). Instead of compromising with sin trying to escape the brickbats, inspired by the blood of the Lamb we will conquer sin despite the onslaught of severe persecution which may come from the Government, from your boss in the place of work.
Keep connecting the above-mentioned four “P”s – Peace, Preciousness, Profaning, Persecution – with the Cross of Christ! Habitual sin, which the Bible clearly warns us against (I John 3:6), will be a thing of the past!
This article was published in Evangelical Fellowship of India’s AIM magazine (April 2021 edition). Rev. Dr. Duke Jeyaraj, is the founder of Grabbing the Google Generation from Gehenna Mission. He has preached by invitation in over 20 Indian States and in five nations, in a ministry that has spread over three decades. His book, STRAIGHT TALK (on Sex, Love, Marriage, Porn, Sexting, Phone Addiction, wise life partner choice, happy marriage, and More), is seen by some as a Reference Text Book on what the Bible has to say on these Taboo Topics, and is available on Amazon and Google Books. Alternatively, you can reach out to him via WhatsApp at 91-8886040605 or email to emailduke@gmail.com to buy a copy.
Sound Doctrine and hell-populating false teaching seem very similar. The look alike for the shallow Bible Student. Like Hybrid Tomatoes and Desi Tomatoes appear very similar to the uninitiated grocery shopping husbands, true teaching and false teaching appear very similar to biblical illiterates. False Teaching’s ultra close similarity with Sound Teaching is what makes it so dangerous. The acid test is this: is this teaching leading me to become comfortable with sin in my life? If it does, it is hell-populating teaching most surely! It is not sound teaching then! Obeying that teaching will make you, hell-bound! The ‘Does-this-teaching-lead-me-to-become-comfortable-with-sin?’ Question was the measure used in Revelation 2:20-22 when, a person none other than the Lord Jesus, evaluates False Teacher Jezebel’s teaching! #falseteaching #cults #hypergrace #hopefuluniversalism #gay’believers’ #immortalitynow
A hopeful universalism cult false teacher who operates from South India quotes a verse from the book of Revelation to teach that people who live in hell can move to heaven.(1) He quotes this verse: ‘The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty com; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.’ (2) However, this is a clear case of taking the verse out of context. We must read just above this verse to understand the context. Revelation 22:16 says that Jesus was talking to John, the author of the book of Revelation. He asked John to carry these messages to the ‘churches’ (The plural used the author was talking about actual local churches, see Revelation 22:16). The plural used indicates that John was to carry a message to the local churches still on the earth. And what message did he have to carry? This message: ‘The Spirit and the Bride (the local church still on the earth) had to say, ‘Come’ (to the sinner on the earth, who is lost) (Rev. 22:17)! Revelation 22:17 is a call to the local church which is being prepared as a bride of Christ (see 2 Cor. 11:2) get involved in the work of evangelism here and now, empowered by the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8 teaches the Holy Spirit was given to empower church believers for evangelism). Revelation 22:17 does not teach the cultic doctrine of hopeful universalism (the teaching that even those in hell will come to heaven). Rather, it is a call for Spirit-empowered evangelism for believer in the local church here and now. Jeremy Royal Edward confirms this interpretation of Revelation 22:17 when he wrote, “With its repeated invitation to come and take the living water as a gift (i.e., that is free grace: see Eph. 2:8-9), Revelation ends with passionate evangelistic appeal.” (3)
Another confirmation that Revelation 22:17 is taken out of context by hopeful universalist is what we read following that verse. Revelation 22:20 records the words: “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon!’ Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” So, the evangelistic invitations like ‘come and drink’ is to be extended till the return of Jesus by believers of the local churches who are bride of Christ! After Jesus’ return, it will be too late to come to Him.
We also cannot interpret the book of Revelation 22:17 in a way the interpretation violates the clear message of the rest of the book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation mentions that hell punishment is forever repeatedly (Rev. 14:11; 20:10) and there is no way one can assume that Revelation 22:17 was opening a way for escape from hell into heaven as this cultic Chennai pastor suggests.
Let us return back to the Bible and challenge Bible-twisting cults. Let us not join hands with ‘dogs’ (in Revelation 22:15 stubborn hell-populating teachers are compared to ‘dogs’ – see Phil. 3:2 where Apostle Paul also calls cultic false teachers ‘dogs’) who will certainly land in the lake of fire outside the city (heaven), along with their followers, if they and their followers do not repent from false teaching practice and broadcasting.
(3) Jeremy Royal Edward, ed., HCSB Study Bible: Large Print (Nashville, TN: 2015), 2230.
(Rev. Dr. Duke Jeyaraj is the founder of Grabbing the Google Generation from Gehenna Mission, the G4 Mission. This is a reader-supported Indian ministry. Find out more at http://www.dukev.org).
You must tell the Devil, “I am the righteousness of God”, when he brings temptation before you. That is the teaching of Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:21. This confession helps you to overcome temptation. “I am the righteousness of God. So, I will not lie! So, I will not watch porn! So, I will not use those Fs and Bs!” Yes, we can use these exact words during times of Temptation.
What the verse that is found after 2 Corinthians 5:21? It is found in the next chapter. Chapter and verse divisions were put in our Bibles for our convenience and were not inspired by God. This verse teaches that way we will not be guilty of using the grace of God in “vain” (2 Cor. 6:1/compare with Titus 2:11-12, Romans 3:8, Romans 6:1-2,15).
This is correct teaching.
However, if you and I fall into temptation, we should not foolishly continue saying, “I am the righteousness of God” (as Hyper-grace, heretic, hell-populating false teachers tell us to). The Bible calls those believers stubborn in sin with this names: “adulterers!” (James 4:4). Notice, the Bible does not call believers stubborn in sin as “Children of God!” We must repent and confess our sin immediately (I John 1:7-9, Compare with Romans 2:4-5). Hyper-grace false teachers tell us that there is no need to repent or confess our sins, even if we sin. False theology. Dangerous theology. Hell-leading theology. Because Hell is the place for unforgiven people.
(Duke Jeyaraj is the founder of Grabbing the Google Generation from Gehenna Mission. Find out more at http://www.dukev.org. WhatsApp him via +91-8886040605).
While we appreciate our true-to-the-Word-of-God teachers, we must also be wary of “false teachers”. This is what the Bible says about “False Teachers”: “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be FALSE TEACHER among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1, ESV). The ‘man of God’ you listen to Sunday after Sunday – if he teaches hyper-grace, immortality on earth and such salvation-affecting false teaching is a ‘false teacher’.
This verse says, false teachers are first of all ‘secretive’. That means they want to show that they are part of the main-stream Christianity while they are cultic. They vehemently deny that they are cultic (but they are secretly are indeed cultic, because ‘popular opinion’ and not the Bible is their final court of appeal; they don’t mind saying ‘The Bible is not the Word of God’). False Teachers are called ‘wolves’ elsewhere in the Bible (Matt. 7:15). Wolves (False Teachers) have a deceptive appearance. We can mistake them to be Labradors and pamper them (attend their church and support their ministry)!!! Beware! Don’t get fooled!!!!
This verse also says that false teachers bring in ‘destructive heresies’. The meaning? Unless they repent)(2 Peter 3:9), these false teachers are heading towards hell and taking people who follow them blindly also to hell.
In 2 Peter 2:4, just three verses below, Apostle Peter promises ‘hell’ for unrepentant false teachers.In the same chapter (2 Peter 2) – ‘They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children!’ (verse 14, ESV).
This brings to the fore two more characters of false teachers: they work up a theology that excuses sin, that excuses the ‘eyes full of adultery’ ‘after all – the grace of God is ALWAYS there’ (to put it in their words) (notice the word ‘entice’). Yes, they use the Grace of God as a license for immoral living as Jude explains (in verse 4).
Not only that. These false teachers twist the Word of God motivated by ‘greed’ (a love for money) as 2 Peter 2:14 says. They preach a God of love but won’t tell you about the wrath of God which the same Bible talks about, lest you get offended and won’t sent them an offering or stay in their church.
They will tell you about a hell, but give you hope that even from hell you can come to heaven, so that your ears are tickled and you feel good.
They tell you that Jesus will never return back to earth, till a generation believes in Immortality on earth (that is not likely to happen, so Jesus won’t ever come back, or come back anytime soon, and so you can live in sin in-effect, according to them).
Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, calls them ‘accused children’ (he knew they were already hell-headed, but he would not simply watch as believers follow them, so he wrote these words primarily not to warn these false teachers but the believers who follow them without second thought)!
Caption:
Wolves (False Teachers) have a deceptive appearance. We can mistake them to be Labradors and pamper them (attend their church and support them)!!! Beware!!!
“God is always smiling at you…. Even if you are in stubborn sin….no problem! The Holy Spirit does not convict believers of sin!” That’s a message that the hyper-grace/nonsensical ‘new’ covenant pastors/preachers want their unsuspecting audiences to hear. But is this true? But is this biblical?
THE ANSWER FROM THE BOOK OF ACTS
After an elaborate discussion in Acts chapter 15 the council of the Apostles came up with this decision: ” For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.” (Acts 15:28,29). Please note the phrase above which goes this way: “it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…” (v. 28). What seemed good? Abstaining from sexual immorality (v. 29). So, it can be safely concluded that both the Holy Spirit and the word preached by the apostles under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (like Heb. 13:4, ‘let your marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral…’) will convict us of sin, if we believers become sexually immoral.
THE ANSWER FROM CORINTHIANS
Raad 2 Corinthians 12:21. It goes this way: “I am worried that when I come to visit that my God will humble me somehow before you, that I will have to grieve over all those who have sinned before and then refused to turn away from their addictions to impure practices, immoral sex, and reckless perversions” (2 Cor. 12:21 The Voice). If Apostle Paul was grieved at the stubborn sin of the Corinthian believers, what makes us think that God the father, God the Son, and God the Spirit who inspired his writings was happy when the same thing goes on in the modern believer – stubborn, unrepentant sin (2 Tim. 3:16)?!
THE ANSWER FROM EPHESIANS Paul writes this very clearly elsewhere: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption…” (Eph. 4:30). Again the context of this verse is sin in the life of the believer – sin for which there is no repentance – See the verse above and below: Eph. 4:29-31: “29Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.” If the Holy Spirit is grieved over stubborn sin in the life of the believer, what makes us think that God the father will be smiling? He certainly is not!
THE ANSWER FROM THE BOOK OF JAMES
The hyper-grace cult teaches that the Holy Spirit only convicts the world of sin – he never convicts believers of sin (John 16:8). But the fact of the matter is that even believers can become worldly (See James 4:4). So when believers become worldly, the Holy Spirit will definitely convict them of sin (if they are sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit). And believers who are stubborn in sin are called, ‘adulterers’ in James 4:4 – not children of God. And those stubborn in sin will not inherit the Kingdom of God (I Cor. 6:9,10).
THE ANSWER FROM REVELATION
Come with me to the book of Revelation to understand this further. These are the words of Jesus to the church believers/leaders of Thyatira who tolerate sexual sin and won’t repent from it: ’20But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21Even though I have given her time to repent of her immorality, she is unwilling. 22Behold, I will cast her onto a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer great tribulation unless they repent of her deeds. 23Then I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.’ (Rev. 2:20-23). If Jesus is upset over unrepentant sin among the believing folk and, at times, may even release punishment for it, here and now (not to forget the ultimate punishment of hell) as seen above, then what makes us think that God the Father is smiling at us when we are in stubborn in sin without any mind for repentance?
Do not believe the hypergrace/nonsense ‘new covenant’ teachers and go to hell with them!
If you are living in stubborn sin, repent right now! Otherwise we store God’s wrath – not pleasure – for us down the line (Romans 2:4-5). If you are wondering, where such a teaching is found in Romans – a letter written for believers, here are the verses I refer to: ‘Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed’ (Rom. 2:4-5).
In the book of Revelation, we clearly see that the Holy Spirit is convicting church believers of sin and calling them through Jesus for repentance. The phrase ‘he who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’ is often repeated by Jesus as he addresses different church believers in different locations, in the book of Revelation (Rev. 2:7,11, 17,29; 3:6, 13,22). And what was one thing that Jesus repeatedly told church believers/leaders (in sin, including the sin of sexual immorality, See Rev. 2:20-22)? This: REPENT (Rev. 2:5,16, 21,22; 3:3; 3:19). So, the Holy Spirit does the work of convicting believers of sin and calling them to repentance.
Do not believe the lies of the hyper-grace cult teachers and go to hell (which is where they will go, if they do stop teaching their lies).
(Duke Jeyaraj is the founder of Grabbing the Google Generation from Gehenna Mission. Find out more at www.dukev.org).
Dr. Duke Jeyaraj examines this bizarre teaching put forth by a Chennai Hyper-Grace cult pastor in biblical light
During a seminar in Hyderabad, a Chennai based hyper-grace pastor used a combination of Revelation 21:25 (a verse that says heaven’s doors will not be shut) and Revelation 22:17 (a verse that says, ‘The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”’) to elucidate a point that there is a real possibility for those who have gone to hell (‘the lake of fire’) to make it to heaven. Here are the two verses in question printed in full: Revelation 21:25 – “In the daytime (for these will be no night there) it gates will never be closed”(NASB); Revelation 22:17 – ‘The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost’(NASB).
The question here before us is this: Can those in the lake of fire, when they positively respond to the “come” of the Spirit and the Bride (which can be taken to mean the church)(Rev. 22:17), move from hell to heaven? Is this ‘hell to heaven’ teaching (that is the phrase I will use in the rest of this article for this teaching), straight from heaven? Is it from God? Is it Biblical?
I want to use the acronym H-E-L-L to give an answer that is not only scriptural but also, hopefully, is memorable:
H-IS TEACHING (JESUS’ TEACHING) ON “HELL TO HEAVEN” TEACHING:
I am referring to Jesus’ teaching here. From Jesus’ teaching, we know without a shadow of doubt that those in hell, cannot come to heaven. Once a person goes to hell, he cannot come to heaven. Jesus’ understanding about this is reflected in His narration of the conversation between the Rich Man who went to Hades and a beggar named Lazarus who went to Abraham’s side. Hades is just one of the many phrases Jesus used to refer Hell and Abraham’s side for Heaven [I say this based on Revelation 20:14 which says, ‘Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire(another name for Hell)]. The Rich Man was in torment – thanks to the flames in Hades that behaved like any flame we know would, causing intolerable heat (Luke 16:23). He did not request for a fire-engine be sent from heaven to extinguish the flames in hell. All that the rich man wanted was a few drops of water from the fingers of Lazarus who once eat what fell from the rich man’s fingers when he was on earth (Compare Luke 16:21 and 24). What a reversal – previously, when they were on earth, Lazarus eat whatever fell down from the Rich Man’s table. Now, on the other side of eternity, with Lazarus in heaven and the Rich Man in hell, the Rich Man is willing to lap up anything that fell from Lazarus’ table in heaven – including a drop of water!!!! But this ‘water-drop’ request was cropped by Father Abraham – cut off, refused. Abraham makes a key observation in this Jesus-narrated incident. Abraham told the rich man in Hades, “You ARE in agony!”(Luke 16:25). He did not say, “You WERE in agony!” The message of this passage is clear: the punishment for those who reject Christ is an on-going process in their after-life period – it will never end! And to quench and quell the hopes the hell-dwelling Rich Man had about crossing over from hell into heaven, Abraham told him: “And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from HERE TO YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE, AND THAT NONE MAY CROSS OVER FROM THERE TO US.”’ (Luke 16:26). This Jesus-narrated event teaches us that once a person goes to eternity without repenting and trusting in Jesus, he can never enter heaven after his death. The same person cannot escape from hell and get into heaven. Jesus, at this point, could have easily chosen to mention about any such opportunity. He could have said, “The Holy Spirit in heaven, along with other believers (‘Spirit and the Bride’) keeps on saying, ‘Come!’ Do you hear their voice, rich man? Repent from your sin of loving money more than me! Confess your sin. Put your faith in me. Then you too can come to heaven, even though, at this point, you are in hell!” No, Jesus did NOT say that! Why? Jesus knew that NO CHANCES or OPPORTUNITIES would be given to anyone who dies and goes into a Christ-less eternity to come back to heaven/God’s very presence, afterwards!
This is not the only time when Jesus taught that hell punishment is forever and that there is no escape from it. In Matthew 25:41 He used the phrase “eternal fire” when He talked about hell punishment for the Devil and his angels. Jesus also taught that there is no escape from this hell punishment is recorded in Mark’s Gospel also. In this Gospel He taught us to be ruthless in our dealing with temptations to sin, if we want to avoid ending up in hell, “where fire never goes out” (Mark 9:43 NIV) and where “worms that eat (body parts of humans who died stubbornly in the sin of lust like the eye) do not die” (Mark 9:47-48 NIV). In other words, Jesus was teaching that there is NO WAY anyone could worm their way out of hell, ever!!! Robert Peterson after noting that Jesus used the word ‘Gehenna’ three times in Mark 9:43-48 summarized this passage thus: “hell is a place where fire goes on and on. So it is worthwhile depriving yourself of a hand, a foot or an eye if by doing so you can go to heaven, because those are temporary deprivations, whereas the torment of hell is eternal.”
Jesus repeatedly used one phrase to describe life in hell. This phrase: “a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.” He uses that phrase a stunning four times in Matthew’s Gospel itself. Check that out in Matt. 8:12; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30. If Jesus believed in the ‘hell to heaven’ teaching put forth by this Chennai Hyper-Grace cult pastor, he would have slightly modified this phrase. He would have said, “Hell is a place weeping and gnashing of teeth till you say, ‘I’m coming’ in response to the ‘come’ invitation of The Spirit and the Bride!” But He did not say that. The “ing” in the phrase that Jesus used for those who will dwell in hell – “weeping and gnashing of teeth” – implies ongoing, eternal torment. In other words, those in hell will forever regret for having rejected Jesus when they had so many opportunities to so on earth. And they will express their sadness through weeping and anger through gnashing of teeth! This would be non-stop!
Let’s move to the next Biblical argument to understand why how this bizarre “hell-to-heaven” teaching by this Chennai hyper-grace cult pastor is false.
E-PISTLES TEACHING ON “HELL TO HEAVEN” TEACHING:
Not just Jesus, but the epistle-writers of the New Testament too ensure that the word “eternal” prefixes the description of the fearful fate of those who reject Jesus after their death. Apostle Paul writes that “those who do not know God and do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 1:8) will pay “the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thess 1:9, NASB). The above-mentioned hyper-grace cult pastor in Chennai struts, “Paul did not ever use the word, ‘Gehenna’ in all his 14 epistles. If Paul can present the Gospel without using the word ‘Gehenna’ why can’t we also do that?”
Well. Well. Well. For those of you, who do not know, ‘Gehenna’ is the Hebrew word Jesus used for hell. Chaim Milikowsky writes, ‘In the New Testament the Gehenna appears eleven times, seven times in Matthew, twice in Mark, and once each in Luke and James…it is a place of punishment in the last judgment’. Gehenna was actually a real place during Jesus time – a place outside the city of Jerusalem where the city’s waste was dumped and set to fire, burning continuously in order to consume the waste. Peter Kreeft writes, “Gehenna, the word Jesus used for hell, was the valley outside Jerusalem that the Jews used for perpetual burning of garbage because it had been desecrated by heathen tribes who used it for human sacrifice.” While Paul and the other apostles obeyed Jesus’ command, “teach them (those who become Jesus’ disciples through their ministry) to observe everything I taught you!” (Matt. 28:19), they were under no compulsion to do so using Jesus’ language or vocabulary. Jesus used the ‘Gehenna’ imagery to talk about hell, because he ministered mainly to the Jews. And Jews could immediately connect with the Gehenna imagery the way Chennai folks would have readily connected with the Kodungaiyur Dumpyard or Perungudi Dumpyard. A movie-reviewer called, Ilyaghilli, recalls a scene in the 2010 Tamil movie, Endhiran (released in several other languages), starring Rajinikanth, which featured a dumpyard in Chennai this way: “Scenes like dumping the dismantled robot in a corporation dustbin and showing that it is taken to a dumpyard of normal garbage look totally bizarre in today’s era of e-waste disposal campaigns and considering the fact that a robotic scientist cannot dispose his years of work just like that. Add to it that fact that the robot can reconstruct itself even at such a crippled stage!”
Coming back from the Endhiran movie dumpyard to the dumpyard our Master talked about – Gehenna… James, the half-brother of Jesus who ministered to Jews primarily (‘the twelve tribes scattered among the nations” – James 1:1) used the very same word (‘Gehenna’) when talking about hell in his epistle (see James 3:6). But Paul’s ministry was among Gentiles primarily (Acts 9:15). Gentiles, that is, non-Jews, may not have grasped the usage of the word ‘gehenna’ to depict hell, the same way, even someone from Hyderabad may not grasp well the usage of the imagery of Kodungaiyur/Perungudi dumpyard to depict hell. So, Paul was under no compulsion to use the word, “Gehenna” like Jesus did or James did! But did he teach about eternal conscious punishment like Jesus did? Absolutely, as we just saw in 2 Thessalonians 1:9! Peter’s name for hell was ‘Tartarus’ (2 Peter 2:4). While the names which different Spirit-inspired Bible authors gave for hell was different (one Bible Scholar notes that there are twenty-six total references to hell in the Bible), the reality of it and the gruesome gravity of the on-going suffering of those who go there, can never be in doubt!
Not just Apostle Paul but the other epistle writers also spoke about ‘eternalness’ of hell-punishment thereby totally negating the wrong teaching on ‘hell to heaven’ this Chennai Hyper-grace pastor was teaching then. The epistle-writer to Hebrews (it could have been Apollos or Barnabas or Priscilla or someone we do not know) stitches together the word “eternal” with “judgement” in Hebrews 6:3. So, in his view, once a person is judged, he goes to a place and STAYS in that place “eternally”! There can never be escapism from the place of his stay, which we know is hell from other portions of Scripture, to heaven!
Not just the Hebrews-writer, the epistle-writer Jude also teaches that ‘his hell-to-heaven’ teaching is wrong. He talks about “eternal” punishment for the stubborn-till-death, homosexuals of Sodom and Gomorrah in his letter (verse 7). So the hell-dwellers from Sodom won’t hear a ‘come’ from heaven! Sodom is doomed forever! So the hell-dwellers from Gomorrah won’t hear a ‘come’ from heaven which will make them go, “hip, hip, hurray” in anticipation of switching their dwelling-place from hell to heaven!
Moving onto the next Biblical argument against the crazy ‘Hell to Heaven’ hell-taking wrong teaching put forth by this particular Chennai hyper-grace cult pastor. We are using the acronym H-E-L-L to outline these points. H-is-teaching. E-pistles teaching. The next letter in this acronym is “L”.
L-ONG LOOK AT REVELATION ON “HELL TO HEAVEN” TEACHING:
A long look at the Book of Revelation will reveal that this ‘hell to Heaven’ teaching is wrong. If it can be convincingly shown that in the view of John, the Apostle, who wrote the Book of Revelation, that there was a route to escape from hell, then this ‘hell to Heaven’ teaching can be accepted. But if one were to read the book of Revelation in full-LENGTH (all the 22 chapters, and not just chapter 21 and chapter 22), he or she will understand that it never entered John’s mind that there would be any escape route out of hell or a supposed invitation from heaven-dwellers to hell-dwellers to migrate their location from hell to heaven.
Read Revelation 14:10-11. This is the punishment for those who worship the Anti-Christ and follow him: “the smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshipped the beast (the Anti-Christ that is) and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name!”(NLT). The smoke from hell will forever keep rising as this Scripture in Revelation teaches, because despite the fire constantly burning the bodies of the hell-dwellers, their bodies don’t get burnt as they keep writhing away in unspeakable discomfort! John Walvoord writes, “The ultimate convincing argument for eternal punishment is found is Revelation 20:11-15…. In this passage…the beast and the false prophet, cast into the lake of fire at the beginning of the millennium (Rev. 19:20), are still there a thousand years later and are declared to join Satan in the torment which will continue “day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10). After describing that all pain would forever end when people reach heaven’s shores in Revelation 21:3-4, Apostle John, writes that the ‘cowardly, the faithless, the murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, liars,’ will end in the ‘lake that burns with fire and sulfur’ (Rev. 21:8 ESV). Based on Revelation 20:10 where John writes that in the lake of fire that will be ‘torment for day and night forever’ we can confidently be sure that even in the lake of fire mentioned in Revelation 21:8 after folks have entered heaven, there will continuous torment in hell for its inhabitants, after all there is only ONE lake of fire! There will not be a way of escape from hell as this Chennai Hyper-Grace cult leader/pastor suggests at that point – after people have reached heaven!
So when there is a clear teaching by the Spirit-inspired writer of the book of Revelation that hell punishment is forever (as seen above), there is no way he would have meant that there will be an ongoing opportunity for people to keep entering heaven all thro’ eternity when he wrote, “on no day will its gates be shut, for there will be no night there” (Rev. 21:25 NIV). The key phrase in that verse is the word “for” – “for there will be no night there”. The meaning can be this: ‘only on earth, you lock your doors at night; this is heaven – there is no night here, so there is no need to lock doors here; evil has been once-for-all eliminated!’ Also read two verses below –Revelation 21:27. It goes this way: “Nothing impure will ever enter it, not will anyone who does what is shameful and deceitful, but only those who names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” This verse is talking about the qualification to get to heaven. It is this: repentance from sin while on earth (‘nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful and deceitful’) and placing one’s faith in Jesus who died on the Cross when still on earth (‘only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life). I included the words, ‘when still on earth’ for this reason – the Scripture says there, ‘only those who names ARE WRITTEN in the Lamb’s book of life,’ and not, ‘those who names WILL BE WRITTEN in the Lamb’s book of Life!
Does John the Revelation writer mean that those in heaven – the Holy Spirit and church believers (‘the Spirit and the Bride’ – will invite those in hell with the words, “Come!” POST the Second Coming of Jesus (Rev. 22:17)? No. Read this verse above. Read Revelation 22:7. That verse records Jesus’ statement, “Look, I am coming soon!” (also repeated in Rev. 22:12) Notice the tense here: I AM COMING SOON! The portions below Revelation 22:7 is talking about the time BEFORE the Second Coming of Jesus! Rewind back to Revelation 22:6, this already evident truth will be even more evident. That verse says, “And he said to me: “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.” Revelation 22:16, which is just one verse before Revelation 22:17 – the verse under our microscope – is also strikingly similar. So, all the verses from Revelation 22:6 and below are talking us back to the situation that is described in Revelation chapter 1 where John is in an island seeing visions, hearing from Angels, hearing Jesus speak about “what you have seen, what is now, and what will soon take place later” (Rev. 1:19). In other words, John is addressing the material from Revelation 22:8 and below to present-day believers – believers who are still on earth awaiting the return of Jesus Christ! So when we read, “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come!’” in Revelation 22:17, that is applicable to us, present-day believing living before the Second Coming. We (the Bride of Christ) are called to join the Holy Spirit in the ministry calling people to Christ (see 2 Cor. 11:2)! Our message today, empowered by the Spirit is this: Come to the one who said, ‘Come to me all you who are weary and heavy-leaden!’ That is how we live out Revelation 22:17. Revelation 22:17 cannot be lived out AFTER the Second Coming, after people have gone into heaven/hell as this Chennai hyper-grace pastor wrongly suggests.
Revelation 22:14-15 goes this way: “Blessed are those who wash their ropes that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood”(NIV). Do these set of verse imply that the “Come” of verse 17, is for those in hell? No way! I like the way Eugene Peterson translates these verses to underline the finality of the fate of those who go to the City (heaven) and those outside it (hell). He writes, “How blessed are those who wash their robes! The Tree of Life is theirs FOR GOOD. But outside FOR GOOD are the filthy curs; sorcerers, fornicators, murderers, idolaters – all who love and live lies” (Rev. 22:14-15). Because, those outside the city are there “for good”, there is no logic in believing that the “come” of Revelation 22:17 was even directed to them as this hyper-grace, twisted Trinitarian Gospel preaching, taking-people-to-hell Chennai pastor suggests.
Revelation 22:16 goes this way: “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star!” This verse needs a closer look to determine the timing and direction of the “come” invitation by the Spirit and Bride in Revelation 22:17 (just one verse below). Revelation 22:16 basically says this: the supernatural revelations given John in the book of Revelation about present and future are actually a “testimony for the churches”. John needs to share this with the churches or church believers. The next verse is also talking about the church, albeit figuratively. The word used in the next verse for the church is “Bride” (see Rev. 22:17).[Apostle Paul compared the church to a bride in 2 Corinthians 11:2 – “For I am jealous as to you with the jealousy of God. For I have betrothed you to one husband, to present a pure virgin to Christ’(NASB)”].
Here is the full verse: ‘The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost’ (Rev. 22:17 NASB). So, this is what this verse teaches: The church which is the bride of Christ, empowered by the Spirit should cry out to the lost people here and now, “Come!” That’s what every reader of this book (‘the one who hears’ as John put it in Rev. 22:17) should also do. In fact the phrase, “he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the church” is mentioned several times in the Book of Revelation as a phrase to label any believer from any church who will chose to listen to the message of Revelation down through history up until his death or Return of Jesus (see Rev. 2:7; 2:11; 2:17; 2:29; 3:6; 3:13; 3:22). If that person has not yet come to Jesus, here and now, before the Second Coming or before that person’s death, should come to the Living Water Jesus (see John 4:14) in repentance and faith.
Now, we come to final letter in the acronym chosen to drive home the point that Revelation 22:17 is talking about “call” to be given here to the unsaved on this earth and not in the next life, undergirded by the Holy Spirit. That letter is another L.
L-OCKING OF ONE’S CHOICE BY GOD & “HELL TO HEAVEN” TEACHING:
Throughout the Bible, we see examples of how God would give ample choices to a person (Only God determines how many chances are enough for a person). But if that person, continued to defy God and/or reject Jesus, God would sort of “lock” that choice (to borrow a term from Amitabh Bachchan when he runs the popular TV quiz-program, “Koun Banega Crorepathi”). After this ‘locking’ is done, there is no chance for the concerned person to be saved even on this side of eternity. There are several examples found in the Bible that underscore this understanding:
Pharaoh repeatedly hardened his heart. That’s when God chose to actually harden Pharaoh’s heart. In other words, God ‘locked’ or ‘froze’ or ‘made Pharoah’s free will permanent’ so that he would not be able to turn from sin and come to the Living God! Tina Miller points out that ‘the first time we read that God caused Pharoah’s heart to be hard was when the sixth plague hit – the boils in Exodus 9:12.’ God gave enough chances for Pharoah. He did not freeze his free will till after the fifth miracle. But when Pharoah continued his stubbornness (made his heart, hard, in other words – please check out – Exodus 8:32), God decided ‘enough was enough’. But after God hardened his heart, Pharaoh could not repent. When this is the case, what makes us think that even after a person dies and lands up in hell, that person will have an opportunity to hear of “come” by the Spirit and Bride, as suggested by this Chennai Pastor and cult leaders? This is not a one-off story in the Bible. Read the stories of King Manasseh. The story of Judas in the New Testament [Jesus froze his free will / locked his stubborn choice to reject Jesus after giving him many changes to repent – chances he blew up – when he told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly!”(John 13:27)]. The story of the Pharisees and Sadducees whose stiff-necked ways made Jesus lock their choice to reject Jesus when he promised hell for them (Matt. 23:33). The story of the Devil and his angels, whose free will were also frozen by God after he gave them enough chances (Matt 25:41). The story of the hyper-grace teachers of biblical times who got themselves ‘designated for condemnation’ by God because of they constantly turned God’s grace ‘as an excuse for sexual freedom’ (Jude 4, ESV/GW). A reading of Romans 1 where were read, “God gave them up” thrice (Rom. 1:24,26,28) also brings forth the conclusion God does choose to lock the freewill of those who stubbornly give up on him. The phrase in Genesis 6:3 – ‘the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever…’ (NASB) – also teaches the very same thing if one were to check the similar context there.
These stories remind us of the many times God froze free will of stubborn folks before death, before the Second Coming of Christ, after giving them enough chances. When this is the case, why will God give those in hell another chance to repent (which is what this Chennai Pastor’s strange interpretation of Revelation 22:17 entails). Jonathan Edwards explained why infinitely-long torment in hell is a reasonable punishment for those who will go to hell: they have sinned against an infinite God!
So, if we considered the Biblical and theological arguments weaved around the H-E-L-L acronym, we will understand this ‘hell to Heaven’ teaching purported by this Chennai Cult Pastor is a lie, straight from hell! Yes, the hell to heaven doctrine, he teaches, is not from heaven! And as D. A. Carson put it well, he (and others like him), “gag God by silencing the severity of his warnings and minimize the awfulness of the punishment that justly awaits those untouched by his redeeming grace.” If they will not repent, this lot will go to hell, and take people there! This article is an earnest attempt to somehow stem this rot!
(Dr. Duke Jeyaraj, is the founder of Grabbing the Google Generation from Gehenna Mission, the G4 Mission. This is a reader-supported Indian ministry to presentday people. Find out more at www.dukev.org.)
