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Freed From Law and Saved by Grace not the other way round!

Rev.Jimmie Warren

Freed From Law and Saved by Grace not the other way round!

When you read your Bible, have you ever noticed that Jesus never condemns anyone except the religious leaders of the time? When they came to him and asked why he ate with tax collectors and whores,Jesus told them "That the well do not need a doctor."(Matt.9:12 andLuke 5:31) Jesus was trying to tell them that those who did not know the word of God needed to hear God's plan to save the world.They all knew the Law of Moses but He preached, "that if they would only believe what he was telling them,then they would be saved." Now one young man came to ask Jesus what else he needed to do to be saved. He had kept the law all his lifeand did not want to miss out on salvation, so he asked again what he must do to be saved. (Matt.19:16-20)
Jesus' reply was shocking to thepharisees. He said, "he who believes in me and the one who sent me shall be saved." (Romans 10:9)� Where is all the law stuff?? Yes,the New Testament does talk about keeping the Ten Commandments, but Jesus goes even farther saying that if you even look on a woman and lust, you have committed adultery. (Matt. 5:28) This is the Spirit of the LAW!
Most all of us have broken the spirit of the law in one form or other, haven't we? The Jews of that time did not get it. Everything had to be by the book letter of the law.��
They even killed Jesus using the Law of Moses. A lot of churches today Still go by the letter of the law ,not by the spirit of the law. Which one do you think God judges you by??

Look in the Bible yourself in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They all have the message of salvation there. "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son" so you and I could be saved. (John 3:16) That's GRACE folks, not LAW. Jesus' death means nothing if we can save ourselves by keeping some written law. Jesus even tells the people that the law is a curse to man and that no man can keep the law, not even the priests in the temple. Today some churches are still trying to get us back into bondage by keeping the old laws. They want us to keep special holy days, to eat or not eat certain foods, Keep this day or that day unto the Lord, to wear what they deem fit, to drive the appropriate car, to wear our hair at just the right length, etc. Where does the Bible say, tell my people what to wear?
Where does it say , lord it over my people until I get back? Why do some ministers insist onpreaching about giving money to this cause or that cause? The Bible clearly says what you receive freely, give freely, doesn't it? (Matt.10:8) Now, everyone knows, or should know, that it takes a certain amount of money to run a church, so everyone should give as God has blessed them to give. Paul says, "we should give from our heart. "God loves a generous heart, and it is true that you cannot out give God." (II. Cor. 9:7) Come on people, where is your heart?
If you think, "Do I have to give my hard-earned money to that church or that ministry ," then you don't get it!
God does not need your� money.
Do you love your church?Well to keep it going you need to give a tithe or love offering sometimes,it cost to open the doors and pay the electric doesn't it???
God loves a giving heart.
Take someone like the little old woman who gave her last penny to help others. (Mark12:42-44) Next time you give to God ask yourself,
�"Am I giving this because I want to, or because I feel I have to?". Our churches want us to give from the bottom of our pockets, but God wants your gift to come from the bottom of your heart. If all people would give this way, God would bless them hundreds of times over. Our churches would be debt-free. Our country would be debt-free.If all, rich and poor alike, would pay 10 percent of what they make,then we would owe nothing as a country or as a people. The churches of today are always trying to out do the other churches down the street, so they plead for more money. If every saint would help his fellow man, we could reach the world with the message of Christ. Too many ministers want to build their own ministries to be world famous.Then they get so wrapped up in doing the work that they forget who they are working for. JESUS is our boss,and if he wants you to do bigger things, HE will provide for your needs without pleading the money out of people who don't want to give it anyway. Remember this if God is behind you, then you will get the job done with all the money you need or not. I don't understand all these churches preaching about� old laws that Jesus took to the cross with him. JESUS did this so it wouldn't be hard to make it into God's kingdom.
�He said he did not come to do away with the law but to complete it. (Matt. 5:17)
�Look up the word complete in you dictionary see what it means to complete something !
Jesus last words where for us all "IT IS FINISHED" Jesus is the only man who could keep the law perfectly. We need to stop here and think...
"Why would the Son of God come here tohang on a tree and bleed to death, so we could live forever.?
"Why would he make laws so hard to keep that if we even try, we fail.(Gal.3) Is this a loving Father? Does any of this make sense? People wake up.
Read what your Bible says about salvation yourself.

Jesus says over and over that he who believes in me shall be saved (Eph.2:8-9).
Not he who works his way up the ladder in some church. Remember what Paul said in I Cor.{13:1-13.} "If you keep all these things and don't have love, you may not even be in the kingdom of God." He was talking about LAW ! Jesus said he gives two new commandments.These are to "love God with all yourheart" and "to love your fellow man as you love yourself." (Matt.22:37-40)�
This is all the law we need to keep, BY KEEPING THESE TWO YOU AUTOMATICALLY KEEP ALL THE LAW! Don't let some pastor bring you back under the old law.
Read it yourself what Paul says in these books of the Bible:Ephesians, Galatians, and Colossians. These are three books of your own Bible that you need to read to be truly free in Christ Jesus. I hope in some small way that the truth is here for all of you. Get your Bibles out, wipe off the dust, and read how simple salvation really is for you and me.
Below is from the book of Romans from the NASB Bible

NASB =New American Standerd Bible!

�

Rom:7:4 Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.

5 For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law,were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.
6 But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.
7: What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, " YOU SHALL NOT COVET.'
8: But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead.
9: I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died;
10: and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me;
11: for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.
12: So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
13: Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.
14: For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.
15: For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.
16: But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.
17: So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
18: For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
19: For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
20: But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
21: I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.
22: For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,
23: but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.
24: Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?
25: Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

Romans 8

1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
3: Forwhat the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did:sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
4: so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5: Forthose who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6: For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
7: because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
8: and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9: However,you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
10: If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11: But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
12: So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh
13: for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14: For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15: For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!'
16: The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
17: and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
18: For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy tobe compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
19: For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
20: For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope
21: that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
22: For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of child birth together until now.
23: And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
24: For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?
25: But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
26: In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
27: and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
28: And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
29: For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;
30: and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
31: What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
32: He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
33: Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies;
34: who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.
35: Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36: Just as it is written, " FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.'
37: But in all these things we over whelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.
38: For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39: nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
My Beloved brothers and sisters of the faith, do not let some church or some Man put you back into slavery by going back under the LAW that Jesus fulfilled and completed! Jesus himself said "I did not come to do away with the Law but to fulfill it"

JESUS Himself fulfilled that law which was completed when He died on the cross and took away all mine and your sins. Yes we live under the New Testiment not the Old which couldn't be lept except by someone perfect thus, Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God� kept it for you and me. Amen

UNDERSTANDING THE TIMES WE ARE IN

Jimmie Warren

Beloved brethren, as I am writing this to you, I feel the urgent call to shout out, " We are running out of time."

Awhile back, as I was praying, a voice came to my mind, not an audible voice like a person talking, but as clearly as though someone was speaking directly to me. Now during this prayer time, I was praying for others and their needs, when I heard again " You are running out of time." It was unnerving to say the least. At first I thought it was only my mind trying to put off time of prayer, as our minds do when we get tired or want to quit praying. Anyway as I kept asking for God to intervene in the life of a fellow brother in the faith, I heard the voice once again, " Running out of time." At that moment I had to stop and think about what I was hearing, and why?

I have written an article, "ARE WE OUT OF TIME," and in it I explain more about this dream.
Some of you may not have read this interesting article on our web site at WWW.simplesalvation.org. If not, then please take the time to read it. I think you will find it most helpful in your hunt for end-time issues.

I started asking myself ,"WHO IS RUNNING OUT OF TIME?"
Is it me; am I, or are we as people running out of time? It still bothers me, and to this day in the back of my mind I can still hear the words, "RUNNING OUT OF TIME." See (Luke 12:39-40)

I talk to a lot of people through the Internet, some in the body of Christ and others seeking to be a part of Christ. I have talked to some people who don't care about churches or religion at all; yet all of them talk about how this world is going to Hell in a hand basket.

People are scared to death about what's going on in Iraq, China, North Korea, and all this talk about dirty bombs. How could you not be worried with all that is going on around us today?

Read (Luke 12:54-56). Jesus was talking of His coming at that time. But, I believe He is warning us of this time and age, right now! Some ministers preach and believe that Matthew chapter 24 was only talking about the 70 AD destruction of the temple. However, how do they explain verses 27-31?

Jesus did not return in 70 AD, did he? . We have no record of the sun turning dark or the moon turning blood red as the signs of His coming is told to us in the end time. If even one of these events would have happened, the astronomy of that time would have recorded the event. So we are to assume that this is talking about another time, our time.

This means that a new temple must be standing in the end time. Well sisters and brothers of the faith, I have good news for you. A new temple is being readied right now in Israel. Right now they are getting ready to put it together on the Holy site.

Be on guard, get ready. Read (Luke 12:47-48).
Are you the servant in verse 47,the servant who knows what his master wants him to do, but does not get himself ready to do what his master wants. He will be punished with a heavy whipping.

To all of you my fellow brethren, I say we need to get busy telling everyone we can that we are running out of time. We are coming to the day of our Lord Jesus Christ's return. Are you doing your job? Are you ready to meet God and tell Him what a good job you have tried to do for Him?

Do not be like the servants in (Luke 12:45). Don't think, "Yeah, I"ve heard all this before; I even heard my grandmother talk about the return of the Lord, so what? " Woe unto the men who say the Lord delays His return. Well I am writing this to show you that the time of the end, or as I prefer to say the time of a new beginning, is upon us. (Matthew 24: 42 )

Do you know that in Israel 18 months ago, the Sanhedrin (which is the religious court of the Jews) was reborn? All their priests have their holy garments made and have been taught their duties for the temple, to preform all the duties of the mosaic laws of old? These priests of the court have given their OK for a new temple to be built. The four corner stones have been made according to rules set up by their old ways and are ready to be moved to the temple mount anytime they wish. KEEP YOUR EYES ON ISRAEL!

Read (Revelation 11:1-2). This is talking about the end time temple; it will be a fact one day soon! ARE YOU READY for what is about to happen? Well are you? ( Matthew 24:44-51 )

You see, all the other times that people talked about the end coming, the Jews had not come back home yet. There was no land of Israel until a 1947.The nation of Israel was born, and now they are planning to rebuild their holy temple and sacrifice to their God to ask for His protection on their nation. They are looking for their Messiah to save them and for Him to return to His people. Well, He is on His way back and they will know Him when they see the nail prints in His hands and feet.

As soon as the Jews build their temple, then we are in the count down to ARMAGEDDON, the end time war just before the Jew's Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ, returns. Hallelujah! If you know it or not, we are running out of time. Just look around you; you can see it if you will open your eyes. Read (Matthew 24:14), then read Daniel chapter 11 then Revelation chapter 11.
Also read Matthew 24:14 with Luke 21:7-19.

I know this is a lot of reading to do, but your life, and all those you love, may depend on you knowing this. Read more in
(Luke 21:20). Jesus was speaking of the 70 AD time here but also about the end time verses 25-28. How close do you think we are now?

My brothers and sisters, we must get out and do something to spread the news about Jesus and His soon appearance on this planet of ours. Read (Romans 10:11-13).
Everyone can be saved! (Romans 10:14-15) is what we all need to share with everyone who will listen, before it is too late. Look at (Romans 12:1-2). Life in God's Service, are you there yet? While reading this chapter of Romans, starting in verse four and five, replace the word parts with the word churches. Now read verses 6 - 21. This is talking about all of us, so don't play around anymore, because we are out of time.

Watch your news; pay very close attention to what is happening in the nation of Israel. Be praying all the time, not just at bed time or at church, but all the time. Our sisters and brothers of the world need to know what time it is.

Ask yourself about things like:
1) NATIONAL I.D. CARDS /CHIPS
2) NEW WORLD ORDER
3) Jerusalem becoming a world capital city.
4) WORLD WAR III
5) One third of all mankind killed, (THAT'S 2 BILLION PEOPLE ON THIS PLANET.) Any of this sound familiar at all? If not, you need to pay more attention to what is going on around you. It is time to quit playing religion, don't you think?

Going to church every Sabbath (Saturday or Sunday) makes no difference if you are just playing church. Are you in church because you want to be with our Father God and His son Jesus Christ? Are you in church because you want to be a part of God's everlasting kingdom? Maybe you are just going to church because it's a tradition in your family? Maybe you are in church because you did something wrong or are doing something wrong now. I don't know, but you are running out of time my friend; you better ask yourself some of these questions while you can.

How about this one, you are going to church for the family, or your mate says you have to go. What I am getting at is, where are your heart and mind? Are you trying to get closer to God to serve Him, or are you there just for show?

I am telling you now, you should be in church or starting a church to spread the Good News of the coming of the Lord. We are out of time to just go to church to please anyone except Jesus, the only one who counts. If you are in church for any other reason you are wasting time. WAKE UP! It is time for all of us to quit playing religion don't you think?

At anytime a terrorist will set off a dirty bomb or spread germ warfare, and the world as we know it will be in anarchy. Just think of what will happen when one or two nukes go off here in America? Remember what the people did during the hurricanes this last year? Shootings, robberies, vandalizing, killing, roving gangs-- all this was happening only a short time ago. Remember? Now think about millions dead and dying in the streets of a major city. What are people going to do then?
What are you going to do?

Where are you going to be when this happens? (Notice I didn't say if this happens, I said WHEN.)
Believe it or not beloved ,we are in the end time talked about in Matthew and Daniel and Revelation. We are almost out of time to help save our fellow man. Are you working hard for the Lord? Are you doing your job? Are you sitting on the side lines figuring someone else can tell them about this? If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, it is your duty to spread the word of Jesus to the world. Even if it is only in prayer every day-- as long as you are doing something.

If you are one of those Christians sitting on the side lines waiting to be taken to a place of safety, ask yourself, "Am I really ready for the Lord's RETURN?" Is Jesus coming back for you or to judge you? Are you sure you are close enough to God to be protected from all that is coming soon?
ARE YOU PRAYING DAILY TO ESCAPE THESE THINGS?
(Luke 21:36)
Please take a long moment here and ask yourself honestly, "Am I ready; am I doing all I can do to serve the Lord?"

How to get prepared for these times:

First---PRAYER. Are you praying every day?
Second---Serving. Are you serving others?
Third---Sharing. Are you talking to all who might hear the word of the Lord?
Fourth---Giving. Give your time helping anyone in need.
Fifth---Listening. Are you willing to listen to others when they tell you about the end time?
Sixth---Seeking. Are you truly seeking God's kingdom every day, putting it first in your life?
Seventh---Understanding. Do you read God's Holy Word (the Bible) every day, and most importantly, do you understand what it is saying to you?

Forget all the religious garble others have told you. Read it for your own peace of mind. Wisdom comes from God; God gives you faith, and faith gives understanding, which gives you wisdom.

Let us pray, "Heavenly Father, we come before you in all your glory and understanding and ask by your mercy that you would walk with us in mind and spirit. Father God, you know our hearts and minds and that there is no deceiving you. Open our minds and soul and abide within us in our time of need. Father God, you made us. Remember how weak we really are. Hold our hands and keep us on the right track as we run this race called life. Let us, through your son Jesus, be like Him that we too may be in your kingdom forever and ever. Amen."

Now that you have prayed, I emplore you to share the message that Jesus Christ is coming very soon and that we all need to be ready. This way when time is up, we will all be ready to start our new life in God's everlasting kingdom.
Thank you for reading this message, and may our Lord Jesus be with you in all the time you have left. Amen and Amen.

Happily Ever After

Jimmie Warren / Marian Warren

Happily Ever After
by Jimmie Warren and Marian Warren

Most movies, books, songs, plays, and especially fairy tales, end with Happily Ever After, don't they?

Beloved brethren, did you know that the Bible ends this way also? I bet you didn't. I know there are a lot of very horrible things in the Bible, especially in the book of Revelation. But, read chapters 21 and 22. Jesus Christ defeats Satan the devil, and God comes down to earth. All, and I mean all, evil is erased! This is the Happily Ever After in God's word.

We may all have to go through hell down here on earth, and Satan may win most of the battles, but he has already lost the end game. Yes, Satan has lost all that he was after; that would be you and me, folks.

We all need to concentrate on the end game, and what is the end game? It is the race that Paul speaks about running; it is The End Time.

(Revelation 2:26, Hebrews 12:1-2, and I Corinthians 9:24)

What is going on here, and most importantly where are you and I going to be? Have you thought about this, at all? Even if you or I die, we are still going to be facing the Living God and His judgement. Are you ready for this meeting, and the start of the happily-ever-after part of your spiritual life?

Let's take a look at this story in the book of Revelation. We are now, yes right now, entering the time of the end of man�s rule on this planet. Do you know what is going on around you; have you even been told about the end time? Does your church even teach about the end time, or does it just teach how to live now. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but we are all running out of time. (See our article "OUT OF TIME")

With this Iraq war going on and the things that are happening in the Holy land we need to be paying a lot more attention to our Bibles and to the book of Revelation and the book of Daniel. These two books of the Bible tell about the events that are happening right now. Look at what's happening in Europe and with the China-Taiwan thing; you can see that things don't look so good, do they?

Beloved, I want you to know about the good news of the world tomorrow that God has planned for you and me. Read about the defeat of Satan and his cronies in Revelation chapters 18 and 19.

Read more about the victory of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God and about the 1,000 years of peace on this globe.

We are coming to the great battle of Armageddon that is predicted in your own Bible. Were you told about this war, or have you heard about it somewhere before? Can't you see the events that will start the last seven years of this age happening now? Wake up before it is too late people; we are out of time. Most churches are asleep about these events, are you?

Read your Bible for yourself, and you will be ready!

In Revelation the 17th chapter, we see four spirits of evil coming up out of the river Euphrates. Ninety percent of this river is in Iraq, and the Bible says one-third of mankind will die because of a war from that area. That's over 2 BILLION people who will die because of this war. Are we in this end-time war now? Did 9/11 2001 start this end-time war in motion? Take a look at Irvin Baxter's web site endtime.com and read what he has to say and teach about this end-time war.

Have you heard about how Russia, China, India, Uzbekistan, and several other Russian satellite states have all gotten together to sign an agreement to tell Mr. Bush to get our troops out of Afghanistan?

China has told Mr. Bush to leave Taiwan alone when they come for it, or they will fight with all their weapons. They also asked him what he thought about Los Angeles being worth Taiwan?

The Chinese have threatened the United States with their nuclear weapons and have stated that they could destroy hundreds of our cities whenever they want. Are we ready for this kind of war; can anyone ever be ready for that kind of mass destruction anytime? Do we want to lose our cities for this little island?

What is going to happen over Taiwan or Iraq or Israel? Let's look in our Bible at the books of Daniel chapters 11&12, with Revelation 11&12, 17 & 18 and chapters 19-20. I know this is a lot of reading on your part, but it is the real story of what is coming, and I mean coming soon.

We all need to be ready, don't you think? Yes, even if we know that God wins the last battle, this old world will have to go through hell before Jesus gets back. Read about it friends! Your life and those of all you love are going to be right in the middle of it all. You will have to go through the wrath of Satan first, then the wrath of God falls on man. (Revelation 17&18 and Matthew 24.)

Read Luke 21:36. Are you going to be caught up in the middle of the worst nightmare mankind will ever know? Think about it!

Where are you right now in your walk with Jesus Christ? Forget all the religion you have been taught, (most of it is wrong anyway.) Read all about the end time and make up your own mind. You still have a short time to get to God and ask for His protection. If you haven't accepted Jesus into your life yet, now would be a perfect time, before it's too late! Go to the front page of simplesalvation.org and say the sinner�s prayer. Give your life to the Lord now. Be ready for yourself and for all those you love. Get yourself prepared, because even if you die, you are still going before the Lord. You are saved, aren't you? Better ask yourself and know for sure; it is your eternal life.

Beloved I am worried that many of you are being lullabied into a false hope that everything is going to be OK. Have you read or heard the scripture "peace, peace, then sudden destruction?"

(I Thessalonians 5:3) We are there now! Some may say " OK, things may look a little bad, but they are not so bad as to be the end time yet." These people are in a delusional frame of mind. We are running out of time, my friends, and Jesus is on His way back very soon.

I am not one of those guys who sets dates, but I can tell you to look in your newspaper, listen to the news, and look on the Internet for all these things I have been describing for you. You can't help but see the buds are blooming on the bushes. This is just what Jesus told his disciples to look for before His return. ( Matthew 24:1-14)

If you can't see it, then you better be praying for a better understanding of the end time because we are there my friends! Even if we have twenty more years (I don't see how, ) but say we do have twenty more years, that is still a very short time, isn't it?

I want you to take a moment and to look back 20 years to where you were and where you are now. Are there any kinds of changes in your circumstances or your life? Are you closer to God now than you were back then, or not? Are you in the same old place of not knowing what to do or where to go in your life? It is time to change, my friend, and to get your spiritual life in order.

You may be turned off to religion right now. You might be one of those Christians that was hurt by your church or minister. It is time to put all that pettiness behind you and move towards God and His everlasting love for you. Ask questions of your church leaders, or better yet read your own Bible for yourself and see, that it is time to change, to get ready to meet the Lord Jesus.

Things are happening faster than I can keep tract of. Lets take a look at a couple of these things:

A) Chips in OUR driver�s licenses (Already several states have them in them, like California to name one.) Mr. George W. Bush has already signed a new law, passed by our own Congress, making it a law that all state driver�s licenses must comply with this ID chip before the year 2008.

B) Electronic chips in everything we buy (see Irvin Baxter's endtime.com site for more on these chips)

This man (George W Bush) may be the one who will take us to the brink, if not all the way over the edge, to eternal DEVASTATION and DESTRUCTION.

What's next, a chip under your skin to be able to buy or sell? SOME SPECIAL CLUBS HAVE THESE CHIPS FOR THEIR MEMBERS TO GET IN THE DOOR. Maybe you heard about a mark like this before, like maybe the MARK OF THE BEAST. READ Revelation in the chapter 13.

Are you ready to make that kind of decision that will effect your eternal life? Will you take this mark or chip when told to? Read what God says about taking the mark of the Beast. (Revelation 14:9-11) Yes, my fellow Christians the time of the end is upon us; are you ready?.

One more time I ask, have you turned your life over to Jesus Christ? Have you asked Him into you thoughts and prayers? Have you asked Him to forgive you from all your sins? I am telling you this in all love and affection; get close to God before it is too late! Go to the sinner�s prayer page here on our site; ask Jesus into your life NOW!

IT'S TIME TO GET REAL, forget about religion, build your faith!

Forget all the mess you have been told by false religions or that you have heard, because you are in the time of the end.

But, this article is entitled "Happily Ever After." What is the real happily ever after? The happily ever after is coming, and his name is JESUS! (Revelation 19:11-16)

The wonderful world of God's Kingdom is at hand. What will it be like?

Revelation 21 verses 1-7 says: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son."

Don't you want to be ready for this? Read and pray everyday while you can, and be ready for this glorious future with God and Jesus Christ! Amen!

Warning For America--Wake Up Before It's Over

Garner Ted Armstrong

America is no longer a God-fearing country. We are not a Commandment-keeping people. Sure We give lip service to God, but as a nation we will not OBEY Him or His word!

WE ARE unthankful, Without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers,incontinent, fierce,
despisers of those that are good,Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
Paul wrote," This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unholy
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away". 2 Timothy 3:1-5

Our leaders have a form of godliness.They mention God frequently in statements like "God bless America," or "May God continue to bless America." This enrages many Americans who have gone to court to expunge all mention of any deity from the Pledge of Allegiance or public buildings.

Millions of those who use the generic title "God" neither know the true God or His son Jesus, nor obey the word He gave. How do we deny the power of God? By failing to rely on Jesus Christ, and Him alone, for our protection and our salvation as did Jehosaphat and all his people. Read 2 Chronicles Chapter 20

David's greatest sin was depending upon the size of his army, and forgetting to depend instead upon God! Read the account in 2 Samuel 24:2-10. Because of his lack of trust and faith, thousands of his citizens died! If we DID rely solely on God, and if we were an obedient people to His Son and the Bible, here are His promises to us:

"And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God,
to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day,
that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth".

"And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee,
if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God."
"Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field
Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground,
and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kind, and the flocks of thy sheep."

" Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in,
and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out."
"The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face:
they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways."

"The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee."
"The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways.
And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD;
and they shall be afraid of thee."

"And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body,
and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground,
in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee."
"The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure,
the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season,
and to bless all the work of thine hand: and
thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow."

"And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: "And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them". (Deuteronomy 28:1-14).

Such fabulous blessings cannot be imagined. Rain in due season That would mean no deserts, no droughts, no crop failures huge WEALTH for farmers. Obedience to God would mean no infant mortality (and no abortion!), no crib death, no childhood disease or any other kind of disease; it would mean an end to heavy taxation and the introduction of God's tithing system; a ten-per-cent flat tax across the board;
every laborer would keep NINETY PER CENT of his or her earnings!

It would mean no crime, no divorce, no pornography, no kidnapping, no child molestation! It would mean happy, healthy families; long lives, happieness, joy ,love, lasting marriages, full lives!
What are we reaping,instead? And what is the underlying CAUSE?
"it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God,
to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day;
that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

"Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store". "Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body,
and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out".

"The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand
unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly;
because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me".

"The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee,
until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it".
"The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever,
and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning,
and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew;
and they shall pursue thee until thou perish".

"And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass,
and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust
from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed".

The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies:
thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them:
and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.
And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air,
and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away".

"The LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, where of thou can not be healed. The LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: "And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee".

"Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house
and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof".
"Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them".

"Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand". "The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see".

"The LORD shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head.The LORD shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone".

"And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword,
among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee".
"Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field,
and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it.
Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them,
but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes;
for the worms shall eat them ".

"Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit. Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity. "All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume".

The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low.
He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail".

"Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee" Deuteronomy 28:15-45.

God also said, "And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me,
then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
And I will break the pride of your power..." Leviticus 26

We need to wake up before it is to late. People we need to be on our knees today,
are you prepaired for what's to come? If you haven't given your life to Jesus Christ,
Now would be the TIME!

If you feel this article has impacted your life and you want to make a donation to help others, please do so.
Any amount, large or small, will be greatly appreciated.

Donate using Paypal
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OR:
Send check or money order to:

Rev. Jimmie W. Warren
P.O. Box 8585
Spokane, WA. 99203-8585

MY NAME IS SARAH AND I'M ONLY THREE

My name is Sarah I am but three,
My eyes are swollen I cannot see,
�I must be stupid, I must be bad,
What else could have made My daddy so mad?

I wish I were better, I wish I weren't ugly,
Then maybe my Mommy Would still want to hug me.

I can't speak at all, I can't do a wrong
Or else I'm locked up All the day long.
When I awake I'm all alone
�The house is dark My folks aren't home.

When my Mommy does come I'll try and be nice,
So maybe I'll get just One whipping tonight.

Don't make a sound! I just heard a car
My daddy is back From Charlie's Bar.
I hear him curse My name he calls
I press myself Against the wall.

I try and hide From his evil eyes
I'm so afraid now I'm starting to cry.
He finds me weeping He shouts ugly words,
He says its my fault That he suffers at work.

He slaps me and hits me And yells at me more,
I finally get free And I run for the door.
He's already locked it And I start to bawl,
He takes me and throws me Against the hard wall.

I fall to the floor With my bones nearly broken,
And my daddy continues With more bad words spoken.
"I'm sorry!", I scream But its now much too late
His face has been twisted Into unimaginable hate.

The hurt and the pain Again and again
Oh please God, have mercy! Oh please let it end!
And he finally stops And heads for the door,
While I lay there motionless Sprawled on the floor.

My name is Sarah And I am but three,
Tonight my daddy Murdered me.

There are thousands of kids out there just like Sarah. And you can help. If you know anyone harming their child, then it is your duty to act. Tell somebody else if your afraid to act.

If you feel this article has impacted your life
and you want to make a donation to help others, please do so.
Any amount, large or small, will be greatly appreciated.

Hell: Satan's Biggest Lie

Eric Stetson

Hell: Satan's Biggest Lie

by Eric Stetson

Why the devil wants us to believe God tortures people forever in hell

Sobs and spastic cringes convulsed my body.... I raged. My mind was burning with anguish. Sorrow and shame swept over me in waves of liquid fire.... "I hate you, God! You're full of empty promises and even morefull of cruel threats! I hate life! I wish I had never been born!"...Helpless fury raged inside me. What horror! What injustice! Being called into existence in a world wracked with pain, catastrophe,and abuse -- and then -- hauled into judgment and sentenced to fiery torment. Forever without hope! "What hypocrisy! You call Yourself a Godof love. So why did You invent a hopeless hell for Your cherished creatures?"... White-hot hatred mingled with despair and sorrow coursed through my body. Why had I wasted a moment of my life even trying toserve Jesus Christ?

~ Pastor Charles Slagle, before he found the truth of Christian Universalism

Many Christians assume that Satan wants people to believe there is no hell and that God saves everyone regardless of their sins and religious beliefs. The thinking goes, "If the devil can get people to stop worrying about hell, then he can trick them into doing things and believing things that will send them there!" Belief in hell is supposed to keep people faithful and righteous, while universalism is supposed to be a dangerous heresy that is designed by the devil to lead good Christians astray. Even just rejecting the idea of eternal hell is enough, according to some Christians, to guarantee that a person will spend eternity apart from God, burning in a lake of fire and brimstone.Satan knows this, they say, and that is why he tries as hardas possible to get people to deny the reality of a hell of eternal torment.

God's justice, or Satan's blasphemous lie?
According to many Christians, a saintly
non-Christian such as Mahatma Gandhi
has been burning alive in hell for decades
already. The pain is unimaginably intense,
and it will last for millions and billions of
years with no hope of relief -- forever.

But is this a correct assumption, or is it the opposite of the truth? Could it be that Satan actually prefers it when people believe in hell,because their fear, sadness, anger and confusion about this terrible doctrine will hold them in bondage and make it harder for them to know and love God? Is it possible that the doctrine of eternal damnation actually increases Satan's power and diminishes people's ability to commune with their Creator?

Satan literally means"adversary" -- Satan is the adversary or opponent of God. Regardless of whether we interpret Satan to be the fallen angel Lucifer, a force of evil, or any being working against the Holy Spirit, one thing is clear:Satan's goal is to turn people away from God, reduce God's power in people's hearts and lives, and prevent people from even coming to know God in the first place. Satan wants people to focus on him instead of God, his power instead of God's power, his plan instead of God's plan.Satan is also a great liar.Spreading lies about God is a very effective way to work against Him.

Think about it. If you were Satan, what lie would you tell about God? What is the number one falsehood youwould want people to believe,to keep them away from a positive relationship with God, salvation and living in the fullness of divine love? Here are two options to consider:

God is nicer than He really is."Don't worry, God is good and would never throw anyone into hell for eternity. He loves all people and will eventually forgive, save and transform everyone, even people who committed heinous sins or followed the wrong religion." (Ha ha ha! I tricked you! When you die, you'll find out God is infinitely harsher and more severe than you thought.)
God is crueler than He really is."You'd better be very afraid, because God is a strict judge and will condemn everyone to burn forever in hell unless they repent of all their sins during this lifetime and figure out exactly which religion,church, and interpretation of the faith is correct." (Ha ha ha! I'm causing you to be tormented by all kinds of negative thoughts and emotions about God, yourself, and life in general. I've got you in hellright now!)

Option B is based on the premise that the real God is good and compassionate, and Satan wants to cover this up with a lie that God is cruel. It is easy to see how this could be an effective lie to prevent people from believing and trusting in God. If God is thought to be worse than He really is, people are less likely to follow Him except out of an animalistic self-preservation instinct to avoid pain -- which is not true spirituality. Many people lose interest in spiritual things or become atheists when they are taught that God is some kind of cosmictyrant.

Option A is based on the premise that God, in fact, is extremely cruel and vicious and allows people to be tricked into eternal damnation. He created a universe in which people are born knowing nothing about why they were created and what their destiny is, but must frantically search for the one and only way, among thousands of competing religions, to escape being endlessly burned alive by their Creator simply for being imperfect and human. If they die before they have the chance even to look for the answer, too bad! If they mistakenly make the wrong religious decision, influenced by family and friends, the culture they live in, limited information,limited intelligence, and the deception of the devil -- sorry, it's eternal hell anyway!

This is what passes for Christianity in most people's minds. How sad. It sounds more like Satan's sadistic fantasy than anything taught by Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ Is Saving All Souls

Do you know what Jesus really said? When talking to his disciples about his death on the cross and why he must be crucified, Jesus said, "I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." (John 12:32). Yes, he said all people. Not some, but all.That includes sinners and non-Christians. Unless Jesus plans to spend eternity in hell, it is safe to conclude that drawing all people to himself means drawing all into heaven.

The main purpose of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was to prove that God loves us so much that He was willing to become a man and die a horrible death, even the shameful death of a criminal, so that He could be resurrected and the power of sin and Satan can be defeated. It is through the cross of Christ that we see God's amazing, unfailing love for mankind. It is through the resurrection of Jesus Christ that we see that the powers of evil have already been overcome by God's omnipotent goodness. Jesus still lives, despite the best attempts of man and the devil to kill him. Jesus is still actively saving souls, just as he did during his time on earth -- and he will never stop working until all souls are redeemed and reconciled to God.

The Bible informs us that Jesus went and preached to suffering souls in the afterlife, after he had died on the cross. His sacrificial death would enable sinners to be released from punishment and reunited with God. "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous,to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the spirit, through which also he went and preached to the spirits inprison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built."(1 Peter 3:18-20). This is confirmation of Jesus's promise recorded in John 12:32 to draw all people to himself after leaving earth. Even in death, in the spirit� world, unbelievers and sinners can still have an opportunity to be saved by hearing the message of Jesus Christ delivered to them.

Of course, fundamentalists argue that Peter meant to tell us that Jesus went to hell to laugh at its prisoners -- not to release them by sharing the Good News of salvation for all people, but to inform them that he is saving some fortunate people but never them, just to add to their hopeless misery. Can you guess where such a perverted idea is coming from? Who in the universe is most likely to imagine that Jesus preaches to anyone to make them suffer even more?

Paul's Gospel of Hope

We find additional Biblical confirmation of Jesus's mission to save all souls in the writings of Paul. The Apostle Paul, whose letters comprise the largest portion of the New Testament, never mentioned hell in any of his messages to churches and individuals that came to be included inthe Bible. That says a lot right there. More importantly,he made several statements that explicitly rule out the possibility of eternal damnation and promote the idea of universal reconciliation through Christ. Here are ten scriptures of interest:

"He who descended [to earth] is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe."(Eph.4:10). After leaving earth, Jesus's mission is to fill the entire universe with his divine spirit. All God's creation is to be restored to glory and perfected through the power of the Word of God, who became flesh and lived among us. If the whole universe is to be filled with Christ, that leaves no room for a hell where people are permanently deprived of the Christ-Spirit. Notice the correlation of Paul's statement with Jesus's promise in John 12:32 to draw all peopleto himself after he is lifted up from the earth.
"Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."(Phil.2:9-11). This is not a prediction that all people will cry uncle and grudgingly accept Jesus as the Lord who forever condemns them to torture. Such a horrible outcome would not be to the glory of God.Also note that the word "should" in this translation means shall or will,not ought. The verse is saying that all knees will bow and all tongues will confess, not that they ought to. When they finally do, it will be in away that glorifies God, which means a true acceptance ofJesus,forgiveness and reconciliation.
"For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."(Col.1:20). Here Paul is teaching that God was in the man Jesus, who died onthe cross so that all conflict among men and between man and God canone day be reconciled and there will finally be peace in heaven and earth. Christ's sacrifice enables all sin to be forgiven. But if there existed an eternal hell where sinners forever curse God and writhe in agony, there would not be reconciliation of all things and peace would not reign throughout the universe.
"Consequently,just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous."(Rom.5:18-19). The sin of Adam caused all his descendents, the entire human race, to be tainted with original sin. The tendency of sinfulness is literally passed on in the genes. But the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ enables all people, the entire human race, to be forgiven and transformed by God. Paul prophesies that this will happen,just as certainly as all became sinners through Adam, not through any choice of their own. Note that the phrase "the many" refers to all human beings collectively, both in regard to the fall of man and the salvation of man.
"For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that He may have mercy on them all.... For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things."(Rom.11:32,36). Far from teaching absolute freedom of the individual human will, Paul teaches here and else where in his writings that God is incontrol. Human beings are currently sinners because this is part of God's plan. It is God who has made men disobedient, and it is God who plans to have mercy on all men, all of whom He forces to be disobedient for a time. God's purpose in doing this is to teach us to recognize ourown limited nature and our need for God at all times, in all things.Ultimately, God will forgive all people of their sins through His boundless mercy, and all things will return to God from which they came.
"For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn.... For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.... When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to Him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all."(1Cor. 15:22-23,25,28). "As in Adam all die" refers to spiritual death,the fall of man which also brought death of the body, mind, and soul."In Christ all will be made alive" refers to a total spiritual rebirth,the resurrection of body, mind, soul and spirit. "Each in his own turn"means that some people will be reborn before others: first the true Christians who pattern their life after Christ, and then other people later. Some people will be saved during their earthly life,while others will not be saved until after physical death. Eventually Christ will conquer all of God's enemies and transform them from a life of sin to the new life in Christ. The ultimate goal is for God to be "all in all," meaning that the Holy Spirit of God will be in all people. Paul states this as a prophecy, not a mere possibility.
"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all....Therefore,if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the newhas come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us."(2Cor. 5:14,17-20). Paul is explaining that Christians are specially chosen by God to receive salvation already, to lovingly share the Good News of universal reconciliation through Christ with everyone else. Notice that he refers to the Christian calling as a "ministry of reconciliation" and the Gospel as a "message of reconciliation." That is something quite different than telling people they are damned to hell forever unless they join the Christian church. As Paul says, Jesus Christ died for all, so that God would not look upon and keep count of people's sins.
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment -- to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory."(Eph.1:7-12). This passage describes the way God has saved the Christians through predestination and grace, for salvation in this life according to God's will. Furthermore, it states that God's will always becomes a reality in due time, and that His will and "good pleasure" is for all people to be brought together under the leadership of Christ.Paul emphasizes over and over again that this will be accomplished,in the same way God predestined the Christians to be the first people to believe in Jesus. Saying that the Christians are the"first" to praise God's glory also implies that there will be others who were not yet chosen by God for salvation, but will become part of the body ofChrist at a later time.
Icon of Saint Paul the Apostle
"This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and onemediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men -- the testimony given in its proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle -- I am telling the truth, I am not lying -- and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles."(1Tim. 2:3-7). Paul summarizes his message of the Gospel, and then asserts that he is a true apostle teaching the true Christian faith. In this summary, Paul mentions that God desires for all people to be saved and that Jesus died to pay the penalty of sins for all people. We already know Paul taught that everything God wills to happen will definitely come to pass. Here Paul explains that the visible testimony of the prophecy of universal salvation will come true in "its proper time" determined by God.
"This is a trust worthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things." (1Tim. 4:9-11). The Apostle Paul could not make the truth of universalism more clear than this. He stresses that we must trust and fully accept the idea that God is the "Savior of all men" and that believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ have a special type of salvation. This Bible passage unambiguously proclaims -- and tells us to "command and teach"-- that Christians are not the only people ever to be saved by God, butsimply more saved right now than everybody else. This teaching is totally incompatible with any concept of eternal damnation.

Paul� warned against Christians who come preaching a different gospel. In Paul's day, the main threat was so-called Christian leaders who argued that people must under go the Jewish ritual of circumcision and obey� Jewish dietary laws in order to be saved. In a broader sense,Paul's criticism of religious messages about Christ in opposition to his own would include Christians who preach that anyone is forever condemned by God, which clearly was not part of Paul's Gospel. As Paul wrote to the Galatian church, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel -- which is really no gospel at all.Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the Gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be anathema!" (Gal. 1:6-8). The Greek word anathema meant cut off or excommunicated, not eternally damned as some Bible versions translate it. It is especially ironic that popular translations of the Bible distort the clear meaning of Paul's statement-- that Christians who do not preach the Good News of salvation of all through God's grace� are not truly part of the Body of Christ -- and turn this passage in his writings into an example of a doctrine he� clearly opposed, which itself would qualify as anathema.

Satan the Slanderer

The spirit of antichrist was already in the world in the time of the Apostles, and has continued working ever since to pervert Christian teachings. Through false teachers, false doctrines, and false translations of scripture, the inspiration of the Adversary has been active in the development of Christianity, working in disguise. It isamore effective strategy to distort the Gospel rather than try to prevent it from spreading. Introducing a deadly germ into food can ruin the whole thing and turn it into poison instead. The message of universal reconciliation through divine grace is nourishing spiritual food for the human soul, but the doctrine of eternal hell is the germ that poisons the message of the Christian faith and kills the spiritual growth of those who are bound by man made ideology and tradition.

Satan's hijacking of Christianity begins with a return to a law-based understanding of salvation as Paul warned so strongly about-- the idea that we are required to earn God's love through correct theological beliefs, correct church membership, performance of religious rituals,avoidance of all sin and self-salvation by personal effort. It is important to realize that the Protestant concept of "salvation by grace through faith alone" is still a law-based message,because it requires a person to hold correct doctrinal beliefs in order to gain God's love and avoid eternal damnation. Affirming particular religious doctrines is itself a form of "works" -- mental works rather than physical works,but works all the same. The true Gospel proclaims that God loves all of us no matter what, and will Himself work to save us until everyone is finally saved. It is the belief in unconditional divine love and the omnipotent divine will to save all of creation that Satan most seeks to expunge from Christianity, for when we must look to ourselves for salvation, we in evitably end up in frustration and despair.

Belief in the traditional church doctrine of hell implies that Jesusis a failure, that Jesus cannot succeed in his goal of drawing all people to himself -- or else that Jesus will not help us, but leaves everything,including our eternal destiny of infinite happiness or pain, up to ourlimited, imperfect free will. Then there is Calvinism,which simplyignores (or twists beyond recognition) the passages inscripture that� teach God's desire to save all souls, and instead teaches that God� planned from the very beginning for some souls to be� forever condemned to fiery torment. All these beliefs tend to make people confused about the nature of God, disappointed, and reduces the strength of their� faith.

Some versions of the "Christian gospel" that have been� preached over the centuries by religious leaders, and are still being preached in some churches today, are so far from the Good News taughtby Paul that they are a completely different message -- a false gospel,a gospel in opposition to the God of Jesus Christ -- a gospel accordingto Satan! For example, consider the views of Jonathan Edwards, an influential 18th century American preacher and theologian. About God's� judgment, he wrote: "The world will probably� be converted into a great lake or liquid globe of fire, in which the� wicked shall be over whelmed, which will always be in tempest, in which� they shall be tossed to and fro, having no rest day or night, vast� waves and billows of fire continually rolling over their heads, of� which they shall forever be full of a quick sense within and without;their heads, their eyes, their tongues, their hands, their feet, their� loins and the irvitals, shall forever be full of a flowing, melting� fire, fierce enough� to melt the very rocks and elements; and, also, they� shall eternally be full of the most quick and lively sense to feel the� torments; not for one minute, not for one day, not for one age, not for� two ages, not for a hundred ages, nor for ten thousand millions of� ages, one after another, but forever and ever, without any end at all,and never to be delivered."

The� following is an excerpt from the infamous 1741 sermon,"Sinners in the� Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards. Several� church members were� so terrified, they fainted during its delivery.

The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more� than� ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing buthis hand� that holds you from falling into the fire every moment....

O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in: it is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God, whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you, as against many of the damned in hell. You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashingabout it, and ready every moment to singe it, and burn itasunder; and� you have no interest in any Mediator, and nothing to layhold of to save� yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of your own, nothing that you ever have done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare you one moment. And consider here more particularly ...

That God will execute the fierceness of his anger, implies, that he will inflict wrath without any pity. When God beholds the ineffable extremity of your case, and sees your torment to be so vastly disproportioned to your strength, and sees how your poor soul is crushed, and sinks down, as it were, into an infinite gloom; he will have no compassion upon you, he will not forbear the executions of his wrath, or in the least lighten his hand; there shall be no moderation or mercy, nor will God then at all stay his rough wind; he will have no regard to your welfare... your most lamentable and dolorous cries and shrieks will be in vain; you will be wholly lost and thrown away of God, as to any regard to your welfare. God will have no other use to put you to, but to suffer misery; you shall be continued in being to no other end ...

It is everlasting wrath. It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it to all eternity. There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery. When you look forward, you shall see a long forever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your soul; and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all. You will know certainly that you must wear out long ages, millions of millions of ages, in wrestling and conflicting with this almighty merciless vengeance;and� then when you have so done, when so many ages have actually been spent� by you in this manner, you will know that all is but a point towhatremains. So that your punishment will indeed be infinite. Oh, who can express what the state of a soul in such circumstances is! All that� we can possibly say about it, gives but a very feeble,faint� representation of it; it is inexpressible and inconceivable: For "who knows the power of God's anger?"

Jonathan� Edwards was hardly the first or only major church leader to express� this fierce vision of the Christian God. The relish that Edwards showed� for celebrating God's fiery wrath was outdone by the sadistic glee of� Tertullian in the third century, who wrote: "HowI shall admire, how laugh, how rejoice, how exult, when I behold so� many proud monarchs groaning in the lowest abyss of darkness; so many� magistrates liquifying in fiercer flames than they ever kindled against� the Christians; so many sage philosophers blushing in red-hot fires� with their deluded pupils; so many tragedians more tuneful in the� expression of their own sufferings; so many dancers tripping morenimbly from anguish than ever before from applause."

A� big part of the joy of heaven was thought to be the delicious pleasure� of watching the agonies of the damned -- many of whom were just� ordinary sinners like anyone else -- knowing that you were priveleged�� by God to escape their hideous fate. Important religious men likeTertullian were instrumental in changing Christianity from the hopeful� Gospel of Jesus and Paul to a totally different message, a religionfull of intolerance, hatred, and vengeance that has spread terror and� destruction in its wake. Although the church fathers of the first andsecond century were predominantly universalist in their beliefs, aninflux of pagan converts to Christianity brought a gradual shift toward� non-Biblical ideas such as eternal torment. As the Roman Catholic� Church developed, the Bible came to be mistranslated to promote thosepagan ideas. All of this, of course, was part of the stealthy agenda ofSatan. What Satan wants more than anything else is to make us believe� God is just like him -- because then, whether we accept or reject God,we will be under the spell of the devil either� way.

A devilish� view of God is not restricted to Christian leaders of the past. On the� worldwide evangelical Christian TV station Trinity Broadcasting� Network, Pastor John Hagee preached a sermon called "The Seven Wonders� of Hell" in which he said, "Jesus was an� extremist, a fanatic. He was a right-wing Bible fundamentalist.Jesus� said your chances of living in hell forever are very good. The majority� of humanity will spend eternity in hell. For ever and ever all you're� going to hear are the screams and sobs and suffering for ever and forever and for ever -- and it's justice. Every man, every woman,everyboy, and every girl who dies without knowing Jesus Christ spends aneternity in a city where the fire is never quenched."

Notonly do preachers like Hagee grossly misunderstand and misrepresent who� Jesus was and what he taught, they actually end up� glorifying the devil� in their portrayal of God and Christ and the destiny of mankind. The� devil dreams of powers like Hagee describes to inflict endless pain on� the majority of human beings and keep them apart from God forever, but� thank God that is only the devil's sick dream -- and tragically alsothe perverted fantasy of many "Christians" who yearn to hear the� frenzied shrieks of those they disagree with.However, the sad reality� is that Satan does gain power over souls everytime ministers preachmessages such as this. Every time God is slandered by threats of� eternal torment in God's name, the name of Satan is unintentionally� being magnified. Every Sunday in evangelical,fundamentalist, and� pentecostal churches around the world, the deception of the devil� continues.

And it is not only the Protestants who have been deceived. The Sight of Hell: A Catholic Book for Children by J. Furniss, C.Ss.R., teaches that "The� fifth dungeon is a red-hot oven in which is a little child. Hear how it� screams to come out! See how it turns and twists itself about in the� fire! It beats its head against the roof of the oven. It stamps its� little feet on the floor of the oven. To this child God was very� good.Very likely God saw that this child would get worse and worse, and� would never repent, and so it would have to be punished much worse in� Hell. So God, in his mercy, called it out of the world in its early� childhood."

To teach children that God will be "very good" and "merciful" to them by only� throwing them into a red-hot oven instead of an even more ferocious� punishment, is breath takingly evil. Astonishingly, this book has beenused to teach Catholic children what to believe about their God. But itshouldn't really come as any surprise, because for many centuries Roman� Catholicism has taught eternal hell for anyone who merely fails to� confess a single major sin to an ordained Catholic priest -- despite� the� fact that no where in the Bible is an official Christian� priesthood� established, no where is confession to men required for God's� forgiveness, and no where is the idea of eternal torment even taught atall in the o