GEHENNA DOUBLESPEAK
God said this through King David…
“The Lord is good to everyone: and His compassion rests on all He has made.” (Psalm 145:9 HCSB).
God said this through Jesus…
“And if thy hand causes your downfall, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go to hell - the unquenchable fire, where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:43-44).
Did Jesus really say that? Not exactly. What Jesus actually said, properly translated…
“And if your hand causes your downfall, cut it off. It is better to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go to Gehenna – the unquenchable fire, where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched”
I have highlighted the one word that differs, but it changes everything.
Gehenna means “valley of the sons of Hinnom”. It was a real place outside the walls of Jerusalem at the time Jesus made the above comment. It was an unclean place to the Jews who used the site to burn dead carcasses of animals and criminals, and trash. Hell is the underworld of Greek Mythology.
The heretical Jewish and Christian teaching that Jesus used it as an illustration of eternal torment in hell is not only ludicrous – in light of Psalm 145:9 and other Scripture - but an embracing of pagan Greek mysticism.
Error intentionally introduced into the Church to control the masses is an example of George Orwell’s “doublethink”, sometimes referred to as "doublespeak". Jesus said to the "doublespeakers" of his day…
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna as yourselves.” (Matthew 23:15)
Jesus likened them to criminals who deserve the death penalty and the trash heep of Gehenna.
So what was Jesus teaching in Mark 9 above?
“The Lord is good to everyone: and His compassion rests on all He has made.” (Psalm 145:9 HCSB).
God said this through Jesus…
“And if thy hand causes your downfall, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go to hell - the unquenchable fire, where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:43-44).
Did Jesus really say that? Not exactly. What Jesus actually said, properly translated…
“And if your hand causes your downfall, cut it off. It is better to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go to Gehenna – the unquenchable fire, where the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched”
I have highlighted the one word that differs, but it changes everything.
Gehenna means “valley of the sons of Hinnom”. It was a real place outside the walls of Jerusalem at the time Jesus made the above comment. It was an unclean place to the Jews who used the site to burn dead carcasses of animals and criminals, and trash. Hell is the underworld of Greek Mythology.
The heretical Jewish and Christian teaching that Jesus used it as an illustration of eternal torment in hell is not only ludicrous – in light of Psalm 145:9 and other Scripture - but an embracing of pagan Greek mysticism.
Error intentionally introduced into the Church to control the masses is an example of George Orwell’s “doublethink”, sometimes referred to as "doublespeak". Jesus said to the "doublespeakers" of his day…
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna as yourselves.” (Matthew 23:15)
Jesus likened them to criminals who deserve the death penalty and the trash heep of Gehenna.
So what was Jesus teaching in Mark 9 above?
Pretty simply really. It is better to live righteously in this life without ones hands than to use them for criminal activity and be caught, convicted and sentenced to death – resulting in their dead carcass being cast into Gehenna to rot and be eaten by worms and burned with the trash.
Christ died as a "ransom for all" , even those criminals. As a result they will be saved and reconciled to God who is “good” and whose “compassion rests on all he has made”. Paul considered himself to be the "foremost sinner" for having consented to the murder and imprisonment of many believers before he was confronted by Jesus on the road to Damascus. He tells us what will happen to sinners - they will be saved...
“Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all welcome, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, foremost of whom am I…this is ideal and welcome in the sight of our savior God, Who wills that all mankind be saved…For there is one God, and one mediator between God and mankind, a man, Christ Jesus, who is giving himself a correspondent ransom for all.” (1 Timothy 1:15-2:1-7)
Paul did not DOUBLESPEAK!
Christ died as a "ransom for all" , even those criminals. As a result they will be saved and reconciled to God who is “good” and whose “compassion rests on all he has made”. Paul considered himself to be the "foremost sinner" for having consented to the murder and imprisonment of many believers before he was confronted by Jesus on the road to Damascus. He tells us what will happen to sinners - they will be saved...
“Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all welcome, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, foremost of whom am I…this is ideal and welcome in the sight of our savior God, Who wills that all mankind be saved…For there is one God, and one mediator between God and mankind, a man, Christ Jesus, who is giving himself a correspondent ransom for all.” (1 Timothy 1:15-2:1-7)
Paul did not DOUBLESPEAK!