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Death and the Afterlife, Part V: Three Degrees of Hell

There are three degrees of Hell for man.  The first Hell is when man and woman are cursed and cast out of the Garden of Eden to be separated from walking with God.  Earth and existence itself are a form of hell by which we are outside Heaven.

The second degree of Hell is Sheol, where those not living in Christ go when they die.  It is a place of torment because man is not only separated from God, but is stripped of those things which make him in God’s image, like God.  He has no ability to do anything, think, hope, or commune with others.  His only hope is the grace of God reaching down and touching him, and hopefully lifting him out of Sheol.  God tells us through Ezekiel that He gives those living in Christ the power to enliven these dead.

The third and final degree of Hell is the Lake of Fire, called the second death.  Here all those who refused God even after being given more chances to turn to Him will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Death and the Afterlife, Part IV: The Lake of Fire

The Lake of Fire is the final persecution for the enemies of God.  It burns with brimstone, which is also known as sulphur.

The first tenants of this agonizing place will be the beast and the false prophet who worked signs in his presence and will be cast alive into it (Rev 19:20).  The second tenant with be the devil (Rev 20:10)  The third adjunctants will be Death and Hades, after they deliver up the dead to be judged by God (Rev 20:14).  Finally, anyone not found in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be cast into the Lake of Fire.

Paul’s Thorn…

May have been his guilt over condoning the stoning of Stephen.  This memory would have necessarily kept him humble, and was perhaps a main factor in his mission to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles.

The Bible and Me: A Random Reading Book by Book

Originally posted on February 5, 2012

So, I never read the Bible growing up, as it seems like everybody else did.  I Tried.  But I never got very far.  And, yes, I tried starting at the New Testament and that didn’t help much either.  I just always found other ways to spend my time.  Indeed, I didn’t really read much for fun outside of school until I was a teenager, and then Zane Grey and Harlequin Romances beat out the Bible, I’m afraid.

My grandfather gave me this beautiful King James Version in 1976, and it is, as you can see, a special Bicentennial edition, bound in white leather?, and adorned with red and blue foil embossing, and gold leaf pages.  I adore it, and keep it by my bedside.  But in attempting to really read the Bible now, as I am poised on my precipice of change and heading into my new life, I found the KJV to be a bit too unwieldy for me to wade through, and therefore impractical, because I have to re-interpret so much of what I read, that I find myself not wanting to read it.

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So I purchased at Wal-Mart the New International Version next to it in soft lavender leather with silver leaf pages–and just for Girls!–and I find it quite enjoyable to read, and pick it up at least a couple times per week. 

Update: I ended up giving this girl bible to my daughter, Meghan ❤