Question: I have recently been going through and reading the blog question and answers on the website. I find them to be thorough, insightful, well studied and helpful. I was wondering if you could steer me in the right direction, or give me some feedback regarding the blog on discrepancies about hell. I am currently rooming with a Sunday keeping Christian and in our conversations the Sabbath, the state of the dead, the second death and hell come up often. I would like to be able to study these topics together with her and be able to find answers from the Bible. I would like to be able to show her from the Word what the truth is. We both have the Strong’s Concordance for study. We thought we could look up the original Greek or Hebrew language on some of these words to help find the correct meaning, however, when I went and looked up the words forever, quenched, eternal etc., I found the meaning of hell, a forever to be a burning fire of torment. (For example: eternal fire from Jude 7 (perpetual); everlasting (perpetual) punishment (penal infliction; punishment, torment) Matthew 25:46; forever (the vanishing point, eternal, forever, perpetual) Exodus 21:6, Revelation 14:11 (properly an age; by extension perpetuity), Samuel 1:22 (nothing), 1 Samuel 1:28 (nothing); quenched. Jeremiah 17:27 (to expire or to extinguish; go out, put out, quench.) Do you have any suggestions on how I can learn to properly study the Word? I find it to be frustrating because I do not know how to study the Bible. I do not have any resources other than the Strong’s and I know we need much more, for instance, history. Where do you find out about the history of the day?  I would appreciate any feedback or direction regarding this subject and the study of the Word.

Answer: This is one of those situations where the Greek or Hebrew plays a smaller part in the interpretation of the Bible. In fact, we should not place too much emphasis on the original words when studying any subject. Let me illustrate, if I can, with your first verse from Jude:

Verse 7: as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

The fire is “eternal” because it is the fire of God. God is a consuming fire, and God is eternal. But Sodom and Gomorrah are not burning today. So to be punished with eternal fire does not mean that the object it is punishing is eternally burning. The fire is eternal but there is no evidence that the object is also eternally burning.

Matthew 25:46* “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.”

The punishment is everlasting; i.e. it lasts forever. If someone is killed, let’s say by drowning, they suffer for a while but they die forever (speaking in human terms). If the punishment was ongoing it would need to say everlasting punishing or something to that effect. So the punishment is death and the death is everlasting; i.e. they will never have life again.

Exodus 21:6, NKJV: “then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.”

This one example of many Bible texts that clarify that “forever” is used in the Bible to designate a limited time; i.e. the servant would serve his master for the rest of his life or until the servants dies. This would explain the suffering of the lost in Revelation 14:11 to be as long as they were living but to end with death. In other words, the wages of sin is death not eternal life in suffering.

Jeremiah 17:27, NKJV: “But if you will not heed Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.”

Unquenchable means that it cannot be put out, but it does not mean that it will not go out. The fire burns until it consumes what it is burning; i.e. Jerusalem stopped burning once it was consumed; the lost stop suffering once they are consumed or become as ashes Malachi 4:1-3, NKJV:
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” says the LORD of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch.
But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.
You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this,” says the LORD of hosts.

I hope this is helpful. Bottom line is that we cannot place too much emphasis on the Greek or Hebrew. The Bible itself is our main source of understanding the meaning of Scripture. By comparing Scripture with Scripture and rightly dividing the word of truth these verses begin to make sense.

Question: I have been using your website to study the book of Revelation and it has helped me a lot. However, I have a question: Where will the righteous be during the fall of the seven plagues? Please show me some solid biblical proof, as Revelation 15 seems to suggest that they will be in heaven. Thank you and God bless.

Answer: Thank you for your question, it sounds honest and important. Before I answer I just want to say that it is great that you have been studying Revelation. Many people struggle to understand this book yet we are encouraged to study it. God has even pronounced a three-fold blessing on it (Revelation 1:3). We are so thankful that you have been blessed by using our free studies on the website. Please tell others about this free resource.

Now to answer your question in brief, the righteous will be on this earth during the seven last plagues, not in heaven. Yet even though they are on the earth they will not be touched by the seven last plagues, but they will be protected from them.

For biblical proof we will site a few Scriptural references:

#1—In Revelation 16, as the plagues are being poured out, the message is given:

“Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon” (Revelation 16:15, 16).

Notice that this message that Jesus is yet to come “like a thief “is given between the 6th and 7th plagues. These verses indicate that after six plagues have been poured out Jesus has not come to take His faithful home yet.

#2—In Matthew 24 when Jesus shares a basic outline of the end of the world and His second coming He uses Noah and the flood as a summary.

“But as the days of the Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37).

Noah was a type of God’s people in the end of time. Noah and his family were the saved from the flood, but they remained on the earth during it. They were, in fact, in the midst of the flood. Jesus is saying that as Noah was protected from the plague of the waters that flooded the earth, so will it be in the time when Jesus returns. God will protect His people from the plagues that will fall before Jesus returns.

#3—In Psalm 91 we are promised God’s protection from plague and evil.

“No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling” (Psalm 91:10, NKJV).

#4—According to Luke 17:26-37 there are two groups of people when Christ returns—those who are “taken” and those who are “left.” In the context, the taken are the lost and the “left” are the saved. This sounds contrary to popular Christian fiction, but remember the “Left Behind” series is “fiction” not fact. (The Authors themselves acknowledge this.) The “taken” in these Bible verses are those that were taken by the flood waters and by the fire from heaven—those who died. When the disciples ask “Where, Lord?” (Where are they taken?), Jesus responds, “Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together” (Luke 17:37). In other words the “taken” are the dead, both in Lot’s day and in Noah’s day, their lives were taken by the flood waters and by the fire, while the saved remained alive. In fact, Paul, speaking of Christ’s second coming says also, “then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Those who are “alive” and “remain” are caught up to meet the Lord, not those who are taken.

The Bible also indicates that at this same Second Coming event when we are caught up to meet the Lord in the air, all the lost will be destroyed (2 Thessalonians 2:1-8; Revelation 6:15-17).

This is an important point to consider. When God’s people are caught up to meet Christ in the air there is no one left alive on this earth. Those who received the mark of the beast receive the plagues (Revelation 16:2). Then when Jesus returns during the seventh plagues, God’s people are caught up to meet Him in the air while the man of sin and the wicked who have survived the plagues so far will then be destroyed by the brightness of our Lord’s second coming. No one is left alive on earth at that time.

So what about Revelation 15:2-4? These verses give us a picture of the saved in heaven on the sea of glass. Because the verses are found between Revelation 15:1 and the pouring out of the plagues in chapter 16, we might assume that these verses indicate that God’s people are in heaven when the plagues are poured out. This assumption is based on the idea that Revelation is written in order of events, but this is not the case. If so, Christ’s return would take place in chapter 1 (verse 7). Even the chapters themselves are not always written in sequence and we often find interruptions to the flow of thought. So how can we know when we being interrupted by another vision?

One of the basic transition identifiers in the book of Revelation are the phrases, “And I saw, after this I saw, and I heard, and after these things I heard, etc.”
Revelation 15:1 introduces the 7 last plagues with the phrase, “and I saw…” However, before John sees the plagues poured out he is introduced to another vision in Revelation 15:2 again with the phrase “and I saw…” This vision is given to encourage those who gain the victory over the beast and his mark and consequently do not receive the plagues. That this vision is future to the actual outpouring of the plagues is evidenced by the fact that this group is before the throne of God having gotten the victory over the beast, his image and mark when, in fact, the controversy is not yet fully settled for the lost are still alive and fighting against God (Revelation 16:13, 14).

The song of Moses that the saved in this vision sing before the throne of God also prove this vision to be future to the outpouring of the plagues because they ask “who shall not fear Thee and glorify Thy name,” and then state in part that, “all nations shall come and worship before Thee.” If this were taking place before or during the plagues it would not be true for many nations will yet refuse to repent and worship, fear and glorify God. It is clearly then a summary statement of a people who sing this song of victory before the throne after all the lost have been destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming. It is a vision that looks forward to the final victory the redeemed are about to experience just after the plagues are poured out. This is further substantiated by the fact that previous visions give a similar picture of the redeemed in heaven singing the song of victory (see Revelation 7:9-17; 14:1-5).

I hope this has been helpful. Do keep studying the Bible and the Revelation of Jesus Christ. And feel free to ask us about any questions that may arise.

Question: What does 1 Corinthians 15:29 mean? What is Paul talking about?

Answer: Good question as our Mormon friends tend to take this to mean that living believers ought to be baptized for their dead (who may not have been baptized). The Bible indicates that baptism is a personal, individual decision that involves accepting the gift of salvation. We cannot be baptized on behalf of another individual any more than one individual can accept Christ for another (Ezekiel 14:14, 16). What then does the text, being baptized for the dead, mean?
A key to understanding the meaning of this text is found in the Greek definition of the word “dead.”
The meaning is both literal and metaphorical. Literally it means one that has breathed his last, lifeless. Metaphorically it means spiritually dead or destitute of a life that recognizes and is devoted to God, because it is given up to trespasses and sins.
The context indicates a metaphorical interpretation as Paul has earlier stated in 1 Corinthians 15:12-17, NKJV:
“Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up–if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!”
The idea, as Paul taught it, is that if we are still in our sins then we are “dead” in our sins.
“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1, NKJV).
When we are baptized we were baptized into His death:
“Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin” (Romans 6:3-6, NKJV).
An additional explanation that fits well with Paul’s line of reasoning revolves around the meaning of the word “for.” The Greek word is “huper” and the general translation is “in behalf of.” But there are exceptions to this meaning. Sometimes the word is used in the sense of “considering” or “in view of.” For example: “So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for [in view of] your patience and faith in all your persecutions…” (2 Thessalonians 1:4). Here Paul is saying, “We ourselves glory in you (considering, or in view of)… your patience and faith.” Again in Romans 15:9, “And that the Gentiles might glorify God for [considering] His mercy.”

Please notice that this same word “huper” (for) is used in 1 Corinthians 15:29. “Else what shall they do which are baptized for [considering or in view of] the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized, for [in view] of the dead?”
So Paul’s basic point in 1 Corinthians 15:29 can be understood by this paraphrase:
“Otherwise, what will they [all the believers] do who are baptized for the dead [in view of their old sinful lives], if the dead [those who are united in the likeness of His death by baptism] do not rise at all? Why then are they [believers] baptized for [in consideration of] the dead [old sinful lives]?”
This meaning of the word “for” allows the text make sense and harmonize with the rest Scripture. Paul’s whole theme in the chapter is the resurrection-its importance and necessity. He is saying, “Why even be baptized if there is no resurrection from the dead? The very meaning of baptism would be nullified. With no resurrection the entire symbol of death, burial and resurrection in baptism would be reduced to an empty ritual.

Question: Do you believe that we can overcome sin?

Answer: Yes, we believe in overcoming sin, in fact, to believe otherwise is to toss the Bible. This is because every book and epistle of the New Testament teaches that we can overcome sin – with no exceptions. (Matthew 5:48; Mark 12:29-31; Luke 6:36; John 14:15; Acts 20:32; Rom 8:4; 1 Cor 1:8; 2 Cor 10:5; Gal 5:16; Eph 5:27; Phil 3:15;; Col 3:5-10; 1 Thess 5:23, 24; 2 Thess 3:3; 1 Tim 6:11; 2 Tim 3:17; Titus 3:11, 12; Philemon 5, 6; Heb 12:1, 2; James 1:4; 1 Peter 4:1; 2 Peter 1:10; 1 John 2:1; 2 John 6; 3 John 3, 4; Jude 24, 25; Rev see below). The real issue is not whether the Bible teaches that we can overcome—it does—but the question is whether WE will believe that we can overcome. Many do not and for good reason—they don’t know how. It can be very frustrating to be told you must do something but not know how to do it (Remember algebra). Therefore the real question is not—can we overcome sin— but rather HOW can we overcome sin.
And the answer to that question is both simple and profound. Hebrews chapter 12 gives us the clearest understanding:

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds” (Hebrews 12:1-3).

The solution to overcoming sin is looking unto Jesus. The problem is we don’t. Abiding in Christ, connecting to Christ, united with Christ, this is the secret of success.
Let’s explore this further in the book of Revelation. The call to overcome is given to each one of the 7 churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. This means all of God’s people are called to overcome, but most of them have a problem. The first church of Ephesus has lost its first love (Jesus). The last church of Laodicea has Jesus outside knocking on the door waiting to come in. The point is that we can only overcome by connecting with Jesus. This truth is further illustrated in Revelation 5 where John is told to behold the Lamb who has done what no man in heaven, earth or under the earth can do—He has “prevailed” (overcome, Revelation 5:3-5). In the very next chapter this same truth is illustrated symbolically by the white horse and its rider:

“And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer” (Revelation 6:2).

The white horse represents God’s church (Zechariah 10:3) and Jesus is the rider. When Jesus takes the reins of our lives and we take His white robe of righteousness we go forth conquering and to conquer (Revelation 6:2). The word conquer is the same Greek word for “overcome” in the message to the 7 churches. It is also the same Greek word “prevailed” in the picture of the Lamb who takes the book in Revelation 5:5. So Jesus is the one who has overcome or prevailed. We overcome only as we are united with Him because our overcoming is by His righteousness not ours. It is faith in His blood (life and death Leviticus 17:11) that gives us the victory. This is further illustrated in Revelation 12:11 where it says:

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Revelation 12:11).

It is as we connect with Jesus, as we abide in Him, as we allow Him to direct our lives that we overcome—not us but Jesus in us. The devil knows this. Therefore he does all he can to take our focus away from Jesus. The pleasures of sin, life’s cares, perplexities and sorrows, the faults of others or our own faults and imperfections, to any or all of these the devil tries to direct our minds, anything to separate us from beholding Jesus.

So yes, every book of the New Testament teaches that we can overcome. But even more important, every book and almost every chapter of the New Testament points us to the gospel of Jesus Christ, His life, His death, His resurrection. Even Revelation 13—the mark of the beast chapter—directs us to the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). In the end the call to overcome is all about looking to Jesus, abiding in Him, supping with Him (Revelation 3:21). Contemplating Christ is the secret of success for the believer. Amen.

Question: I have struggled with the “assurance” of salvation for years and have never
had the peace or understanding of what it means. Is there a line in the sand
in which we can cross and have that assurance? I am continually questioning
whether or not I am saved, and I have anxiety about it at times, because it
seems to me that if I sneeze wrong I am lost. We all are sinners so where
does this assurance of salvation fit in? And can I have peace about it
without the constant agonizing question?

Answer: I can certainly relate to you question about assurance and the agony. My own journey for assurance began with whether or not such a thing as assurance of salvation was even biblical—something I had been led to question at one point. Answering this question then led to a clear understanding of why we wrestle with the idea—the devil does not want us to have assurance of our salvation in Christ.

The clearest answer for both of these ideas is found in Christ’s wilderness temptation when the devil questioned three times whether Christ was the Son of God (assurance). And he tried to get Christ to base His response on something (turning stone to bread/works) other than the word of God (This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased).
No true believer wants to have their faith undermined by lacking assurance of their salvation. There is almost nothing as disheartening as not knowing whether or not the believer has salvation in Christ. This is why the Bible affirms both powerfully and positively the absolute surety of the believer’s salvation in Christ. 
In 1 Thessalonians 1:5 God encourages us that there is assurance we can have of our salvation in Jesus Christ. “For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.” Assurance is a part of the new covenant experience spoken of in Hebrews 10:22, 23: “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful who hath promised).”
God is encouraging us to have assurance because “He is faithful.” God is giving us much assurance, yes; He is giving us full assurance, for He is faithful who has promised. And we need to be encouraged with the faithful promises of God.
“And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.  These things I have written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God” (1 John 5:11-13).
The reason that God has given us assurance is so that we may not only know that we have eternal life because we believe in Jesus but also that we may believe or continue to believe on the Son of God.
We can be assured that He will finish the work He has begun in us. Look at Philippians 1: 6, “Being confident of this very thing that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Can we be confident of that? Can we have assurance in that? Indeed we can. In fact, the word “assurance” in 1 Thessalonians 1:5 means “entire confidence” in the Greek.
This is to be the effect of righteousness, even the righteousness of Jesus Christ. “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever” (Isaiah 32:15, 17). God wants to instill assurance within our hearts so that we may continue to believe in Jesus Christ. He doesn’t want us going about doubting and wondering in darkness and unbelief.  He knows discouragement will press upon us, for he was once like us upon this earth as a man compassed about with temptations. He was “in all points tempted like as we are” (Hebrews 4:15).
The devil came and said, “If thou be the Son of God…” and Jesus went back to the Word: “It is written.” The devil came again and put him upon the pinnacle of the temple and he said “If thou be the Son of God…” The devil was pressing upon him the idea that he was not the Son of God. Have you ever experienced that? You’re not a son or daughter of God! Look at you, look at your weaknesses. Look at your cravings and desires! Look at the bents, the inclination of your heart. You don’t want to remain faithful to the word of God, your whole being craves these things that are out of harmony with God’s word. Isn’t that what Satan was saying to Jesus? You’re not the Son of God! In what could Christ trust? Where could He find the promised security of acceptance with God? 
Look back to Matthew 3:16 and 17. As Jesus was baptized and the spirit of God came upon Him, a voice from heaven said “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Here is Christ’s assurance. Here is given the “much assurance” that He was the Son of God. God spoke from heaven and he said, You are my Son. This assurance was given to Christ so that he could continue to believe that he was the Son of God through trial and temptation. Do we have trial and temptation?  Do you think God wants to strengthen and encourage us? Indeed He does. In fact you are going to find over and over again throughout the life of Christ as he was compassed about with temptations and with trials and darkness, God encouraged him with assurance of His love and acceptance. Christ went through the same struggle that you and I go through with assurance—but He conquered by faith in the Word not in Himself, His works or His circumstances.
Consider also Matthew 17:5, “While He yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him.” Christ was nearing the close of His ministry. He was about to endure some of His greatest trials. “Now is my soul troubled”— have you ever struggled, have you ever found it difficult to press through the darkness? Jesus knows what that feels like, His soul was troubled— “And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and I will glorify it again” (John 12:27, 28).
Jesus Christ needed assurance and so do we. Don’t we? God wants to encourage us with much assurance. He wants to encourage us that He started the work and He’ll finish the work. He wants us to understand that when we are compassed with darkness and trial; when we see the depravity of our own soul and the desire we have for those things that are of the world, He can and will rescue us. He wants to assure us that we are his children and that we can have hope in Him. Praise God for His blessed assurance

Question: I am stuggling to explain to my friend that Jesus is God because of the
verse found on Colossians 1:15-16.  She states that the verse proves that
Jesus was created by God therefore he can not be God because God has no
beginning.  can you please help me  with an explanation to this verse?
Thank you and God bless.
Answer: When Christ is called the “firstborn” (Hebrews 1:6, Romans 8:29, Colossians 1:15, Revelation 1:5), the term does not refer to a point of time, rather, it emphasizes importance or priority (Hebrews 12:23; Genesis 48:14, 18, 20). In Hebrew culture, the firstborn received the family privileges. So Jesus is the firstborn among men. He won back all the privileges man had lost (Romans 5:14-19). He became the new Adam, the new “firstborn” or head of the human race.
Also, the word “beginning” in some cases means “chief,” denoting more than a created being but the “chief” of creation. (See Strong’s Concordance—#746.)
For example:
The President is Commander in Chief of the armed forces, yet this does not lower his rank as President of the United States and make him an enlisted soldier.