Bittersweet Refinements: CHapter XXVI

The following is a rewritten chapter from Bittersweet Refinements.  If you would like to read the entire book, from start to finish and in the proper order, please go [here].

Chapter XXVI

Somewhere In Between

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

[Hebrews 9:27-28 NAS]

No, not everyone in the Christian community [Matthew 7:21] humbly accepts [2 Corinthians 5:7] that there are only two places that we can go after our own time as a part of this world comes to an end [Revelation 20:11-15].  For they have been led to believe [2 Timothy 2:24-26] that there is also Purgatory, which is supposed to be where those who have not knowingly [1 Timothy 1:13] committed a mortal sin [Proverbs 6:16-19] can go to do whatever they need to do so that they can eventually enter into our Heavenly Father’s Kingdom of Heaven [1 Timothy 4:1-5].

Yes, there would be good reason for us all to pay close attention to what has been taught about Purgatory if it really was expected of us to prove ourselves as being worthy of our Heavenly Father’s favor [Ecclesiastes 3:18].  For it is written: The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.  All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. [Psalms 14:2-3 NIV]

However, since our Heavenly Father has known since the beginning what would be in the end [Isaiah 46:10], it should be rather obvious [John 8:12] that there has never been a need for such a place as Purgatory is supposed to be like to exist [Matthew 6:7-8].  After all, how can anything be proven to the One [1 John 5:8] who already knows everything about everything [Matthew 6:5-8]?

Yes, it could be argued that any stopover in Purgatory would not be so much about proving oneself as it would be more about completing all of the necessary requirements [Romans 10:1-4], but to make such an assertion is (in effect) the same as to accuse our Heavenly Father of being a liar [1 John 5:9-12]—be assured [John 14:15-27]!  For He promises that: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.  For what 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, in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. [Romans 8:1-4 NAS]

Alas, there are some who would still point to the verses in our Heavenly Father’s Holy Bible that appear to be referring to souls not being left in Hell [Psalms 16:10] as being sufficient proof in and of itself that Purgatory does indeed exist—albeit only as another part of the place [Deuteronomy 32:22].  Be assured that these verses are actually referring to the grave—not Hell.  For in what way would a change in location really change anything?  After all, either the Lord Jesus Christ paid the price in full that was required to redeem all of us from having to pay for all of our own many, many transgressions of His Law ourselves or He did not [Hebrews 10:1-18], and if He did, then the truth about us being accepted into our Heavenly Father’s Kingdom of Heaven as heirs to all that is His in glory [Romans 8:17] would have to be that: It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. [Romans 9:16 NIV]  For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. [Ephesians 2:8-10 NAS]

Yes, many would argue that grace can only go so far [Isaiah 55:8-9].  For it is the way of this world that nothing comes for free.

On the other hand: But if it is by grace—His unmerited favor and graciousness—it is no longer conditioned on works or anything men have done.  Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace—it would be meaningless. [Romans 11:6 AMP]

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Bittersweet Refinments: Chapter XXV

The following is a rewritten chapter from Bittersweet Refinements.  If you would like to read the entire book, from start to finish and in the proper order, please go [here].

Chapter XXV

Some Choice

For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. [Romans 8:20-21 NIV]

No, none of us are given a choice of whether or not we want to be physically born into this world as we naturally are, and if what is of this world was all that there would ever be to our existence, our outrage would be most justified.  For it is written: The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: "Meaningless!  Meaningless!" says the Teacher.  "Utterly meaningless!  Everything is meaningless."  What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun?  Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever.  The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.  The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.  All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full.  To the place the streams come from, there they return again.  All things are wearisome, more than one can say.  The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.  What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.  Is there anything of which one can say, "Look!  This is something new"?  It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.  There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow.  I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.  I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven.  What a heavy burden God has laid on men!  I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.  What is twisted cannot be straightened; what is lacking cannot be counted.  I thought to myself, "Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone who has ruled over Jerusalem before me; I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge."  Then I applied myself to the understanding of wisdom, and also of madness and folly, but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind.  For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief. [Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 NIV]

On the other hand, we are given a choice of whether or not we want to be one of our Heavenly Father’s children by faith, and with this comes a promise of much glory.  For it is also written: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. [Romans 8:28 NIV]

Therefore, let us not tarry.  For unless it is personally revealed [Luke 2:25-35], no one knows when their own end of this world will come to pass [Ecclesiastes 8:7]—let alone when it will be too late [Matthew 25:1-13].

Yes, this is a choice that is needed to be made.  For only those who truly want to spend all of eternity with our Heavenly Father in His Kingdom of Heaven as an heir to all that is His in glory will be welcome to do so after their own time as a part of this world has come to an end [Revelation 20:11-15].

No, it is not good enough just to want to escape eternal damnation.  For to think in such a way as this is (in effect) the same as to think that it would be better to be a member of a family (any family) than to be alone [Romans 8:15-17].

In other words, the choice that we are given to make is personal—both for our Heavenly Father and ourselves.  For it has always been His desire for as many as will to want to be one of His children by faith [John 1:12-13].

No, this world has never been about giving us opportunities to prove ourselves as being worthy of our Heavenly Father’s favor.  How could it be?  For aside from being a work of His hands [Philippians 2:13], He has known everything that there will ever be to know about each and every one of us since before we even came into existence [Jeremiah 1:5].

It is, however, about giving our Heavenly Father opportunities to receive love that is freely given from us all, which certainly includes us wanting to give Him the full benefit of our considerable doubts.  Hence: the real choice that we are all given to make [1 Timothy 1:5].

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Bittersweet Refinements: Chapter XXIV

The following is a rewritten chapter from Bittersweet Refinements.  If you would like to read the entire book, from start to finish and in the proper order, please go [here].

Chapter XXIV

The Wrath of God

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. [Romans 1:18-20 NIV]

Alas, is it not any wonder that our Heavenly Father would get so angry at those who do not want to even acknowledge His existence—let alone accept Him as truly being their own Heavenly Father?  For instead of just saying that He loves them enough to die for them, our Heavenly Father went ahead and actually did it by sending a full and equal part of Himself to suffer and die upon that cruel, cruel Roman cross at Calvary in order to pay the price in full that was required to redeem all of us from having to face the penalty of our own sins [Romans 5:6-11]!

No, that is not something that is taken into account, and this is something that needs to change.  For it would portray our Heavenly Father in a much better light if it was much more widely taught that the absolute truth of the matter truly is that the wrath that will poured out upon the ungodly, come Judgment Day [Revelation 20:11-15], has so much more to do with the anguish of a broken heart (His heart, to be exact [Jeremiah 3:12-13]) than it does with righteous indignation [Genesis 6:5-7].

Yes, from our own very limited ground-based points of view [Isaiah 55:8-9], that sounds rather petty.  For who from among us has the right to say of another, “If I cannot have them, then no one else will?”

On the other hand, are we not all the work of His hands [Psalms 139:13-16], and should He not have the right to do with what He has created for His own good pleasure [Philippians 2:13] as He sees fit?  After all, is it not a principle of common law that one has the right to do with their own property as they will as long as it does no harm to another’s property until it is deemed no longer lawful by a higher authority, and who has more authority than our Heavenly Father?  For it is written: “If he snatches away, who can stop him?  Who can say to him, ‘What are you doing?’’’ [Job 9:12 NIV]

In other words, we were all created by Him for Him [Colossians 1:16].  Therefore, our Heavenly Father has the right to do with us as He wills [Isaiah 29:15-16].

Nonetheless, let us not dwell upon the threat of destruction [1 John 4:16-19].  For we were all created to spend all of eternity with our Heavenly Father in His Kingdom of Heaven as heirs to all that is His in glory, and all who will but want to truly be who we were all created to be has His promise to look forward to [Romans 8:15-39]!

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Bittersweet Refinements: Chapter XXIII

The following is a rewritten chapter from Bittersweet Refinements.  If you would like to read the entire book, from start to finish and in the proper order, please go [here].

Chapter XXIII

The Descent?

Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.  (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?  He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) [Ephesians 4:8-10 KJV]

The answer to the proposed question is a resounding yes to many.  For they have been led to believe that the Lord Jesus Christ did indeed descend into Hell during the time between His crucifixion and resurrection in order to set all of His children by faith free from shackles of death.

The doctrine is primarily based upon a New Testament passage that addresses something that happened in the early days of the so-called Old Testament era.  For it is written: For Christ also died for sins once for all, {the} just for {the} unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits {now} in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through {the} water. [1 Peter 3:18-20 NAS]

Add to the mix the fact of Christ Jesus now holding the keys to Hell and death [Revelation 1:18], and there appears be little that can be said to the contrary.  For He would have had to have gone down there and get them—right?

On the other hand, is this not to look at things from a very limited point of view [1 Corinthians 2:6-16]?  For if it can be accepted that the water that flowed from the rock in the desert for the children of Israel during their exodus from Egypt [Exodus 17:1-7] came from the Lord Jesus Christ [1 Corinthians 10:1-5], how could it be so hard to accept that He was the One who went and made proclamation to those who are NOW in prison because of refusing to accept what He told them back then—albeit through His Holy Spirit in Noah [2 Peter 1:20-21]?

No, it is not the intent of what I have been given to say (nor that of my own personal desires) to unfairly demean, embarrass, nor insult anyone in any way for whatever they may have come to accept as being the truth about anything, but did He not suffer enough [Ezekiel 18:4] without having to also go down into the pit of Hell [Mark 9:43-48]?  For the anguish that He subjected Himself to [John 10:18] was more than what any of us can even start to naturally comprehend—be assured [Luke 22:42-44].

Yes, it can be argued that it was surely a joy for Him to display His power over the forces of darkness [John 14:30] by taking the keys of Hell and death from Satan, but have they not always been in His hands [Hebrews 13:8]?  For it is written: For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. [Hebrews 4:12-13 NIV]

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Bittersweet Refinements: Chapter XXII

The following is a rewritten chapter from Bittersweet Refinements.  If you would like to read the entire book, from start to finish and in the proper order, please go [here].

Chapter XXII

The Price

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 6:23 NAS]

It is a principle that should not be foreign to any of us.  For when someone breaks a law, it is said that they owe a debt to society.

Be assured that it is the same with our Heavenly Father’s Law.  For when it is broken, a debt is owed to Him [Ezekiel 18:4].

In fact, it is for this reason that the laws of this world were established.  For they were given to prepare us for judgment [Romans 13:1-7].

Some judgment—huh?  For even the slightest indiscretion carries with it the penalty of spiritual death [James 2:10].

By the way, do you really understand what a slight indiscretion is in our Heavenly Father’s sight?  For it is written: “You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'  But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” [Matthew 5:27-28 NIV]

Yes, it was established in our Heavenly Father’s Law that a sacrificial offering for the atonement of sins could be made, but even during those days, it was understood that it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to wash away sins [Hebrews 10:4].  For it is written: Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; {Then} my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.  O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare Your praise.  For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. [Psalms 51:14-17 AMP]

Therefore, any pretense of saving ourselves is pure folly [Psalms 49:7-9].  For if the price to be paid is spiritual death, then only spiritual death can pay the debt [Ezekiel 18:4].

Therefore, are we not all in need of a Savior [Romans 3:23], and do we not have One in our Heavenly Father’s only begotten Son [1 John 5:9-12]?  For it is written: For the Law, since it has {only} a shadow of the good things to come {and} not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.  Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?  But in those {sacrifices} there is a reminder of sins year by year.  For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.  Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, "SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME; IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND {sacrifices} FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE.  "THEN I SAID, 'BEHOLD, I HAVE COME (IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME) TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.'"  After saying above, "SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND {sacrifices} FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU TAKEN PLEASURE {in them}" (which are offered according to the Law), then He said, "BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL." He takes away the first in order to establish the second.  By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.  Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET.  For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.  And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, "THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART, AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM," {He then says,} "AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE."  Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer {any} offering for sin. [Hebrews 10:1-18 AMP]

In other words, our Heavenly Father’s only begotten Son, who truly is the Lord Jesus Christ [Matthew 3:13-17], paid the price in full that was required under His Law by offering Himself up to be crucified [Hebrews 9:11-15] upon that cruel, cruel [Isaiah 52:13-53:12] Roman cross at Calvary [John 19:16-30], and all who will place their hope in Him shall never be put to shame [Isaiah 45:17].  For nothing has ever been truer than what is written: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.  He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” [John 3:16-18 NAS]

Yes, our Heavenly Father could have just issued a general pardon of sorts, but in doing so, He would have been (in effect) declaring that His Law was meaningless and not worth upholding.  For in the case of a pardon, the penalty for the crime is set aside.

No, that was not something that our Heavenly Father was willing to do.  For His Law is most certainly not meaningless [1 Timothy 1:8-11], and it is most certainly worth upholding [Matthew 5:17-18].

Nonetheless, let us not get caught-up in legalities [Matthew 5:19-20].  For it was in order to prove just how much our Heavenly Father truly loves us that His Law was fulfilled instead of merely being set aside: For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath {of God} through Him.  For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.  And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. [Romans 5:6-11 NAS]

Yes, it would be different if it was all for show, but it was not— be assured.  For in order for the Lord Jesus Christ to truly pay the price that was required, He had to actually spiritually die, and for those few moments when He was truly separated from the love of our Heavenly Father and His Holy Spirit, They [1 John 5:8] were all in more agony than we can even start to naturally comprehend [Matthew 27:45-54].

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