There are Christians who will honestly try to tell you that there is no hell. In a book I recently purchased, the author spends the entire tome attempting to convince you that hell is not real, but merely an illusion. He writes a chapter—chapter 2—aptly entitled "Debunking Hell", which starts out with the following words:
One illusion of the concept of hell is that if there is no threat of eternal conscious torment, most people won't serve God. That's a lie. What does that say about our hearts toward God? Are we Christians because we love God, or are we Christians because we are intimidated by the threat of hell if we don't? The truth is that I've found the opposite to be true. When people get a hold of true grace, their love for God, commitment, and devotion to Him go deeper. The same is true about this illusion of hell—once the threat of hell is gone, the love and appreciation for the Father will skyrocket! Why? Because we realize we can fully trust Him and have nothing to fear from Him.
Do you think he's not calling hell an illusion, but that the illusion is using tactic of using hell to scare people into obeying God?
It has always troubled me that we would believe the lie that God, who is unconditional Love, could throw people into a place of eternal torment.
I am sorry that Don is troubled. What I am even sorrier for is that he—even as a "Christian"—is suffering from and troubled by strong demonic attacks and lies on his mind, thinking, and reasoning. He has bought into twisted demon logic that seems right, sounds reasonable, but is a lie designed to take him and others to a place that he calls "illusion" and "debunks".
Moreover, do you think he doesn't stress this inane demonic view as a core of what he is pumping out into unsuspecting people, especially weak, childish, and vulnerable Christians? Think again.
For example, as a human father, would I ever, regardless of what my two daughters did to me, put them into an eternal, customized torture chamber where they would be burned for eternity while I partied upstairs with my friends? Is that a good father?
It might not make sense to a demon-influenced, fleshly, weak, small, and blind earthly father, but that's not the question and that's not The Father of heaven, is it? You can know what kind of Christian you are by how you answer that.
Allow me to continue with more thoughts below, but first—watch this 30 minute video from Coleman Luck at Thorncrown Studios. Mr. Luck shares three vivid accounts of three people who went to hell and came back to tell the tale—atheists all, who are now rock solid in Christ.
NOTE: Increase the playback speed to 2X and it will only be 15 minutes.
As I watched this video this morning, my mind and heart went back to these two books and the thousands who buy them, read them, and then buy into this trash of hell being an illusion. You know—it's bad enough that atheist are demonically lied to and deluded into believing that there is no God, that hell is not real, and that when they die they will just "snuff out", be annihilated, obliterated forever.
To think that people who name the name of Christ fall for this garbage as well is quite maddening. Yet—there they are! The pre-school class of infant Christians—naive, gullible, vulnerable, and being led by Pied Pipers into the waiting clutches of demons who literally shriek with glee once they have you.
1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:
2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,
4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Other voices - eyewitnesses
Let's talk a moment about NDEs (Near Death Experiences).
We would all be wise to not believe every NDE story we come upon. There are plenty. For example, we can all quickly and easily locate NDE stories on YouTube. They are a dime-a-dozen and cheaper by the hour (literally).
I recall one NDE video in particular of an atheist man who died and went to hell after drinking bad water that gave him cholera. He received some amazing insight through not only an experience of hell, but a demonic tactic designed to fool people into believing false NDE stories.
Demons and dark forces are real. They are also far more devious liars than we know. In this tactic of hell, unsuspecting people—Christians and non-Christians alike—are drawn into fake and phony "Bliss Experiences", where each person is left to conclude that their beliefs, thoughts, words, and actions have no eternal bearing. The man relating his story likened it to some kind of cosmic Star Trek holodeck experience, where the entire NDE was lie designed to lead people into false security around death (i.e., "everyone goes to heaven!"—aka, Don Keathley and company).
The story of special interest is "Dear Pudding". Click here for link.
This leaves but a single question that I want to address.
Do you think NDE stories where people describe going to hell and then being rescued or coming back are being made up—by them? by devils? by God? Just who is doing the "making up" part of the story? Why would they lie? What purpose?
I can understand the made up and concocted lie of "false bliss", easily. The story I cannot call a lie is that of people dying and returning with a horror story of a hellish place, demons, torture, rending of bodies, eating of flesh, screams, and the like.
Do you need to be frightened and sobered by it? Not everyone does, but quite a few do. I am not immune from thinking that I can do, be, say, act, and behave any old way I want and the Lord will somehow wink at it. Personally, I have come to believe and realize that when such thoughts enter me—they are not my own!
Whom will you believe?
So—now—just whom are you and I going to believe? Shall we believe the mortal man who has never died and tells us that hell is an illusion that he believes he can debunk? Are we going to believe that his lies are coming solely from his mind? Are we going to believe that there are no devils who would jump at the chance to put such "comforting" and "gracious" thoughts in our head so we can believe them in our blindness? Talk about the blind leading the blind into a ditch!
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
AFTERTHOUGHTS
The term "γεέννῃ" (Gehenna) in the Greek New Testament corresponds to the Hebrew term "גֵּיהִנֹּם" (Ge Hinnom), which means "Valley of Hinnom." This valley just outside the walls of ancient Jerusalem came to symbolize a place of judgment and condemnation in Jewish thought, particularly because of its association with the negative historical incidents involving idolatrous practices and child sacrifices during certain periods of Israel's history (see 2 Kings 23:10, Jeremiah 32:35).
In the intertestamental period, influenced by Persian dualism, Jewish eschatological thought began to articulate more fully ideas about individual judgment and an afterlife. By the time of Jesus, Gehenna had become idiomatic for the place of divine punishment in the afterlife for the wicked. The late Second Temple period literature, like the Dead Sea Scrolls, reflects this development.
Jesus used this term to refer to spiritual damnation, drawing from popular Jewish understanding of the term. When he used Gehenna, His Jewish audience would have understood it as a powerful symbol of God's ultimate judgment, punishment for the wicked, and a destiny to be avoided.
This term, therefore, provided Jesus with somber imagery to express the severe consequences of rejecting God's kingdom and righteousness. Just as the valley was associated with evil and judgment, so too would be the fate of those who reject God's way.
Interestingly, hell as a physical place of torment is a largely Christian concept (because of Jesus). Jewish thought (erroneous in this case), while acknowledging Gehenna as a place of purgation for the wicked, also conceptualizes it as a temporary state, with most souls undergoing a period of purification there before eventually being admitted to Olam Haba, or the World to Come.
More inane logic
Tragically, hell’s illusion has polluted this abundant life that Jesus came to give us. Our mission in life and our understanding of salvation have been reduced to making heaven and avoiding hell. All because two theologies (Calvinism and Arminianism) took four words, sheol, hades, tartarus and Gehenna, and redefined them to fit the narrative of eternal conscious torment. It was never allowed to be questioned, but that has changed now. This concept of hell has distressed people for far too long, and it's time to expose it for the illusion that it is.
The above quote is from Hell's Illusion and Keathley will go on to argue that Gehenna is just a temporary place (see my previous note in this afterthoughts section)—that the illusion is of "hell-is-forever". He will argue that you don't have to worry about a place of eternal torment—and even if you do—it's a sort of Jewish purgatory that you will suffer for a little while and then Jesus will come and rescue you from it and take you to eternal bliss.
And I have that proverbial bridge to sell you and some swampland in Florida too!
Note to Don Keathley—people need to be distressed. They need to know that not being loyal to Jesus means loyalty to fallen creatures who will be destroyed in a conscious lake of eternal fire and separated from God. They won't be annihilated and obliterated, which is the same lie atheists believe. People who follow in loyalty to fallen dark demonic hellish beings will burn right along with their demon lords. DO NOT BE DECEIVED! For whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap!
False NDE's
5168 Aridai STE - Evidence for fake NDE?
Vishnu and not Jesus ought to be the first clue!
1. "Yet, I was standing in front of Vishnu." — A demon would never present themselves as Jesus, would they?
2. "I grew up in an extremely catholic family. Logic tells me that I should have seen Jesus in my hallucination or something Christian instead of Vishnu." — More evidence of a marginally religious person.
3. "I felt validated; I don't fear death anymore." — and here this person is, doing exactly what a devil wants: Lies about an all-encompassing love in an afterlife where no one goes to hell (because that's just an illusion to debunk, right?).
ANALYSIS:
[a] "Did you encounter or become aware of any beings who previously lived on earth who are described by name in religions (for example: Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, etc.)? Yes Vishnu" — and not Jesus? There is a demon or a fallen Watcher presenting as Vishnu, no?
[b] "During your experience, did you gain information about premortal existence? Yes When I saw Vishnu I realized that I am more than my earthly identity and the prejudices and the culture and all those concepts." — of course they did? Can you see the demonic lie?
[c] "During your experience, did you gain information about universal connection or oneness? Uncertain Yes, we are all part of God that came here to experience everything life offers." — does this sound like demon reasoning?
[d] "During your experience, did you gain information about the existence of God? Yes I saw a God and he explained to me that he doesn't need anything from us and he can't intervene because we are free to do whatever we want and we basically are somehow part of him." — God? Not proof of loyalty? He cannot?
[e] "What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Large changes in my life I still believe that [a] God as is taught by religions does not exist. The difference is that now, [b] I think that God is something that we can only understand through ourselves, [c] maybe God has the same doubts and inquiries as we do, maybe [d] he's not all powerful but [e] he definitely isn't someone who punishes us or who allows bad things to happen, [f] only us are responsible for the state of the world and the way we act towards each other, we could be more respectful, more responsible, more compassionate but some choose not to and decide to blame [g1] God or the Devil which ultimately could be the same being since [g2] there's no evil nor good." — Notes:
Template of evil, not Jesus in NDE!
[a] God of religions not exists — true, but untrue (Christ).
[b] Understand God through ourselves — demon lie.
[c] God has doubts — demon lie.
[d] God not omnipotent — demon lie.
[e] God doesn't punish — demon lie.
[f] We are responsible — demon lie (they started it).
[g1] God/Devil same thing — demon lie.
[g2] No evil/good — demon lie.
This NDE is a great example of a demon lie told to a person who came back where the purpose of the lie is to disarm people from fear of hell and dying.
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[a] "God of religions not exists — true, but untrue (Christ)." - This point seems to suggest a distinction between religious constructs of divinity and the transcendent divine figure personified by Christ in Christianity. This concept is reflective of Christian theology, particularly as found in the New Testament (NT). This conception of God can be traced back to the monotheistic trend in Second Temple Judaism, Pauline Christology, and writings of the early Church Fathers.
[b] "Understand God through ourselves — demon lie." - This refers to the theological mistake of anthropomorphism, a prejudice mentioned in ancient Jewish texts such as those found at Qumran and some wisdom literature. Christian theology, however, acknowledges the finite human attempt to understand an infinite God.
[c] "God has doubts — demon lie." - In both ancient Near Eastern cultures and biblical narratives, God is usually presented as an all-knowing entity. The concept of an all-knowing (omniscient) God has roots in Second Temple Judaism and is expressed explicitly in New Testament writings such as in the Epistle of 1 John 3:20.
[d] "God not omnipotent — demon lie." - God's omnipotence is a standard feature of Old Testament, New Testament, and 2nd Temple Jewish writings. It's largely beyond dispute in the primary texts, so this conception of God being not omnipotent can be deemed erroneous from the viewpoint of primary sources.
[e] "God doesn't punish — demon lie." - Ancient Near Eastern and biblical narratives often depict God as a just deity who rewards and punishes. The concept of divine retribution is a central theme of the Old Testament, New Testament, and also makes up part of the narratives of the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Code of Hammurabi, to name a couple.
[f] "We are responsible — demon lie (they started it)." - The concept of human responsibility is a theme present in Old Testament and New Testament writings (e.g., Ezekiel 18, Romans 2). It is also found in other ancient Near Eastern cultures, such as the concept of "maat" (order, balance) in ancient Egyptian society.
[g1] "God/Devil same thing — demon lie." - The articulation of God and Satan as distinct entities can be traced to later Jewish thought in the intertestamental period and is evident in the New Testament (e.g., Book of Revelation, Gospel of Matthew).
[g2] "No evil/good — demon lie." - The dualistic principle of good and evil is found in ancient Zoroastrian literature, as well as ancient Near Eastern cultures and the Bible. The moral distinction between good and evil is essential to the teachings of both Testaments.
5168 Aridai STE 6/7/2023. STE 9591. Exceptional Experience from Mexico. I was standing in front of Vishnu. He was seated on grass in the lotus pose and wearing only a brown loincloth. Behind him there were clouds; the sky was pink and gold in color. At that moment I experienced a feeling that I cannot describe because I have never experienced it here on earth. I felt absolute peace; there was no pain, no suffering, and everything was fine. He explained to me that I was in a place that was above good and bad. Those things I saw are human but do not 'exist'.
STE during dream involving life review and encounter with Vishnu.
5114 Doug C — Evidence for false NDE?
1. No mention or meeting of Jesus.
2. Mixed declaration of faith (including Buddhism)
3. Quote clue: "I cannot say if I was communicating with God or something else ..." (he was not).
ANALYSIS:
[a] How do you consider the content of your experience? Entirely pleasant — Of course as this is a part of the deception.
[b] What emotions did you feel during the experience? Love, fullness, acceptance, non judgement, Happiness, wonder, curiosity. — Again, all a part of the deception for people to carry back to others as in "no hell, death is no big deal".
[c] Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? Incredible peace or pleasantness — ibid.
[d] Did you have a feeling of joy? Incredible joy — ibid.
[e] What was your religion prior to your experience? Christian- Protestant Raised in a traditional christian [sic] home charismatic faith. My NDE did not seem like what I would expect it to be from what I was taught in church. — of course! He has clearly abandoned Christ and Christ is not in Him. What else would one expect?[f] What is your religion now? Christian- Protestant Christian / Buddhism Mix — And here is the answer quite plain. Christ is not in him and he has gone after loyalties to demons and he is not even aware of it.
[g] Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes I do not participate in group religious events as much anymore. — Precisely! This experience related to him what he thinks is a logical conclusion: I can live like I want. I don't need church or Christ. I am not afraid of death. It's okay!
[h] What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Moderate changes in my life The biggest change for me is the lack of the fear of dying and the knowing that everything is connected. Also, I have lost many friends since then I am comforted to know that they are having the time of their lives in this eternal realm as well. I believe I will be able to see everyone again in this eternal existence. — And there you have it! The demon lie is tied up with a pretty bow for others now to read and relax before the slaughter begins!
5114. Doug C NDE 12/20/2022. NDE 9502. Exceptional Experience. I also remember being amazed that my sense of humor was still intact, and that I was still "ME" in this other place. I remember feeling so good and so light with no cares at all. I felt like I was finally going home and immediately was experiencing a presence through my being that I was communicating with instantly. It said to me first "Dont worry, we've got ya". Every thought I had was instantly answered as soon as I thought it. Time seemed to be irrelevant and I didn't care because I was enveloped in a blanket of what I could only describe as pure love and acceptance.
Exceptional NDE due to head trauma.