Redeeming God

Some think that the unquenchable fire of Matthew 3:10-12 refers to hell. But the context shows that this is not what John the Baptist had in mind at all. The context clearly shows he is referring to the destruction of Jerusalem, which occurred in 70 AD.

Isaiah 33:10-16 is a text which helps us understand all the fire imagery in the Bible. It shows what the fire does, where the fire comes from, what goes into the fire, and what happens to the things that are burned by the fire. In the end, we learn that this passage is not about hell.

James 3:6 and James 5:3 help us see that hell is not a place of everlasting torture for the unbelieving dead, but is instead a kingdom of destruction here on earth now. It sets our lives on fire now. As such, the kingdom of hell is set in direct opposition to the kingdom of heaven as founded by Jesus Christ. As followers of Jesus, we must live and operate according to His kingdom, rather than the kingdom of hell.

The image of the Lake of Fire in the book of Revelation has caused much consternation about the living conditions for the unredeemed dead. The thought of swimming around forever in a molten lake of lava is extremely distressing. So what is the Lake of Fire? Is it hell? This article shows what (and where) the Lake of Fire actually is.

Is hell a good translation of the Greek word hades? No. It is not. While the most basic meaning for hades is similar to sheol, the grave, further development in the New Testament era reveals that hades can primarily be understood as the power of despair, decay, and destruction that enslaves human beings in this life.

This study considers the words 'abyss' and 'tartarus' to see if they teach us about hell. The answer is that they do not. Neither word tells us about the dwelling place of the unregenerate dead for all eternity. Unbelievers will not spend eternity suffering in the abyss or in tartarus.

The outer darkness in Matthew is NOT a reference to hell, but is instead a way of describing the profound shame and regret that some Christians will experience when Jesus returns physically to this earth. Rather than celebrate in the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, some Christians will be in the darkness outside the party. This article explains more.

This study is pulled from my book, What is Hell? This study shows that Gehenna was an actual place that existed in the days of Jesus (and still exists today), and so when we understand what Gehenna was, we better understand what Jesus was teaching when He warned people about going to Gehenna.

The word sheol occurs sixty-six times in the Hebrew Scriptures, and a few of these are occasionally translated as “hell” depending on which Bible translation you are reading. Yet “hell” is not a good translation of any of the occurrences of sheol in the Bible.

Frank Viola has a new book out titled ReGrace. I interviewed him about it, and in it, he said that some of my views are CRAZY. But I think some of his views are crazy too. And this is completely fine. We ALL have some crazy views, just like every other Christian in history. So rather than condemn each other for them, we can learn how to love and live together instead.

Millions of Christians have questions about church and how to find true Christian fellowship. In this podcast interview, Richard Jacobson and Jeremy Myers discuss how to be the church and why Hebrews 10:25 does not teach that all Christians must attend a church service on Sunday morning. Church fellowship is critical, but there are a variety of ways God leads us to find this fellowship.

I sat down with Eric Nevins today to discuss Mark 1:40-45, a passage where Jesus interacts with a leper. If you have ever felt like an outcast, or that people reject and despise you, you will really enjoy this discussion of the interaction between Jesus and the leper in Mark 1:40-45.

Did you know it is possible to have a relationship with someone, but not have any fellowship? God wants us to have BOTH a relationship AND fellowship with Him and with other Christians. Passages like 1 John 1:6-7 show us how.

Whenever I teach that eternal life is received by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, someone always quotes James 2:19 at me, that demons also believe. But if we study James 2:19 in context, we see that James is not refuting the gospel truth of faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. This study shows what James truly meant in James 2:14-26.

There are Christian books and teachings out there which say that the Greek word pistis is best translated as faithfulness or allegiance. But is eternal life gained by allegiance to Jesus? No. This is a gospel of good works, which is no gospel at all. Indeed, I believe that there is not a single use of the Greek word pistis in the New Testament which is properly translated as faithfulness.

The Bob Dutko Show (noon – 4pm, Mon-Fri) is Detroit’s number one talk Christian radio show. He is heard on radio stations across the country, making him one of the most listened to Christian talk show hosts in the United States. Today he interviewed me about my book, What is Faith?

Some Christians say that they don’t need reasons or explanations for what they believe, because they have faith like a child or childlike faith. When they say this, they mean that they don’t ask questions about their beliefs, nor do they wonder if what they believe is true. Childlike faith is often described as a faith that does not doubt, question, or seek explanations; it just believes. But this is not childlike faith. So what is childlike faith?

Faith is not a gift from God. Every person is able to believe in Jesus for eternal life just as they are able to believe any other fact or piece of knowledge that is presented to them. Not even Ephesians 2:8 teaches that faith is a gift from God.

Many people get confused when Jesus talks about great faith and little faith in the gospels. This article shows the difference between great faith and little faith, and uses the faith of the Centurion in Matthew 8:10 as an example of great faith.

In an attempt to get people to not be afraid of questions and doubts, some suggest that faith includes doubt. I disagree. But how then do we keep our faith from collapsing like a house of cards? We do this by using a better illustration for faith, namely, an Excel Spreadsheet. This post explains the illustration and uses John 11 as an example of the Excel Spreadsheet of faith at work in the mind of Martha.