Hell's Population Clock

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Q: Isn't Judaism equally as useful as Christianity for sinners seeking God's forgiveness? Isn't that the whole purpose of Yom Kippur, a.k.a. the Day of Atonement?

A: Pinning one's hopes on the Day Of Atonement is futile. For one thing: there's no one to perform the ritual seeing as how there is neither a Temple nor a fully functioning Levitical priesthood on duty in Jerusalem at this time. In point of fact, neither of those two essential elements of the Day of Atonement have been in Jerusalem since 70 AD. But that's not the worst of it.

There is a special goat involved in Yom Kippur commonly called a scapegoat, which Webster's defines as a person who is unfairly blamed for something that others have done; in other words: a fall guy. But that does not quite accurately define Yom Kippur's special goat. It's actually an escaping goat; viz: a fugitive; here's why.

It's a biblical axiom that the soul that sins, it shall die, i.e. the wages of sin is death (Ezek 18:20, Rom 6:23). Well; the special goat is allowed to live rather than executed, so justice for the worshippers' sins remains pending; hanging over their heads like a sword of Damocles.

NOTE: Leaving a goat out in a wilderness place to fend for itself isn't a death sentence. No; far from it. Goats are survivors. They can get by in environments that quite a few other species would find quite disagreeable. And though the Jews were in a wilderness place during their wanderings, there was vegetation enough to nourish the herds. (Ex 34:3)

Yom Kippur's purpose then, isn't to exonerate the people; rather, to remind the people that although Yom Kippur's ritual sanitizes them as per Lev 16:30, their sins are still on the books, yet to be brought to justice.

● Ex 34:6-7 . . Yhvh, Yhvh God: compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving kindness and truth; who keeps loving kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished

● Nahum 1:3 . . Yhvh is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked

Looking at those two scriptures one cannot help but scratch their head and wonder how it's possible that God forgives the guilty, and yet at the same time does not acquit the guilty. Well; the answer to that is: forgiveness and acquittal are two very different things in the Old Testament.

In other words; though God forgave He did not forget; viz: the covenant that Moses' people agreed upon with God does not permit Him to expunge the guilty party's record; viz: forgiveness as per the covenant is merely a reprieve; which Webster's defines as: to delay the punishment of someone; such as a prisoner who is sentenced to death.

Christ's crucifixion is retroactive (Rom 3:23-26). In other words; all the sins that Moses' people committed in the past that could not be acquitted back then are acquitted by a human sacrifice that is far and away superior to Yom Kippur's.

● Isa 53:5-6 . . He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Yhvh has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

● Acts 13:38-39 . . My brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.

The koiné Greek word translated "justified" is dikaioo (dik-ah-yo'-o) which basically means to adjudge as righteous, i.e. innocent. So in Christ, people obtain both forgiveness and innocence, whereas in Yom Kippur the most they can obtain is forgiveness.

NOTE: Never, ever, wish your Jewish friends and/or associates a pleasant Yom Kippur. It's okay to wish them a satisfactory Yom Kippur but never a pleasant one because it's not a feel-good day like Christmas and birthdays.

Quite the contrary Yom Kippur is specifically a day to be depressed; viz: a day of sadness and self-affliction; as per Lev 16:29-31, Lev 16:31, Lev 23:27, and Lev 23:32, which is from a Hebrew word meaning to mistreat, humiliate, oppress, break the spirit, demean, abuse, weaken, injure, abase, etc. Jews that think and/or speak well of themselves on that day accrue an instant curse upon themselves. (Deut 27:26)
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I know of the Protestant pastor who was asked by Audie Murphy's widow Pamela to speak at her husband's funeral. Audie Murphy, as you may already know, was a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason and a Shriner; but he wasn't a Christian.

In amazement, the pastor asked Mrs. Murphy why she chose a Christian to speak at her husband's funeral.

Although Audie himself wasn't a Christian, Pamela was; and she explained that the Hollywood crowd would be there the day of his funeral, and having hob-nobbed with them during her husband's acting career, she was fully aware that many of them were rarely confronted with something serious about the afterlife.

Well; they got both barrels that day, and were very annoyed because they were expecting the usual sappy, feel-good rhetoric to which pampered celebrities are accustomed.

Some may feel that hell isn't an appropriate topic at a funeral. But I think that, other than Xmas and Easter, you couldn't pick a better time to bring it up, especially since Christ said that the majority ends up there.

● Ecc 7:2 . . It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of gaiety, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this seriously.

According to the Bible; not many great people are called (1Cor 1:26). If that's true, then we have to expect that the majority of the world's best and brightest achievers-- the really big names in sports, science, medicine, law, politics, technology, business, industry, religion, entertainment, and education, etc --don't, and won't, make it to safety when they pass on.

As I watched some of the splendor and pomp of President Gerald Ford's funeral back in January of 2007, I couldn't help but wonder if he was in a position to really appreciate it; as I suspect people in hell would certainly no longer really care anymore whether they were given an unknown pauper's disposal in a City incinerator, or reverently placed in a grand tomb in the National Cemetery with world-wide television coverage.

POP CLOCK UPDATE: 38 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are in the ball park, then something like 2,224,064 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 11, 2018.

NOTE: The average width of an adult human body measured across the shoulders is 1½ feet. Were 2,224,064 adults stood shoulder to shoulder, they would make a picket fence 631.8 miles long. A car driven at 55 mph would take roughly 11½ hours to go from end to end.
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● Deut 27:26 . . Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.

One thing that must be emphasized is that the curse is irrevocable; so it's very important to come to grips with it; and the sooner the better.

● Matt 5:18 . . For assuredly, I say to you: till heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle will by any means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.

In other words: whoever deserves that curse is absolutely certain to get it.

In point of fact, Deut 27:26 is grammatically present tense rather than future, indicating that the curse is instant-- no delay and no waiting period. i.e. it's already on the books hanging over people's heads like a guillotine blade just waiting for an officer to give the executioner a signal to let go the rope keeping the machine in check.
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OBJECTION: The Old Testament's God abhors human sacrifices. Therefore, He couldn't possibly approve of the New Testament's cross. For example: Jer 32:33-35 and Deut 12:31.

RESPONSE: The Old Testament prohibitions related to human sacrifices all pertain to underage children rather than consenting adults, e.g. Lev 18:21, Lev 20:2-5, Deut 12:31, Deut 18:10, cf. 2Kgs 16:3, 2Kgs 17:31, 2Kgs 23:10, 2Kgs 21:6, Ps 106:34, Ezk 20:31, Ezk 23:37, Jer 7:31, Jer 19:4, and Jer 32:35.

The Old Testament predicted human sacrifice; with God's full approval and participation no less.

● Isa 53:6 . . The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

● Isa 53:10 . . It was The Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer . . .The Lord makes his life a guilt offering.

POP CLOCK UPDATE: 40 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are in the ball park, then something like 2,341,120 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 11, 2018.

NOTE: 40 is an interesting number in the Bible; for example: Noah's flood was caused by forty days and nights of rain; Moses was forty days and nights with God chiseling the Ten Commandments in stone, and his people were punished forty years for not entering the promised land when they should have; Jesus was forty days and nights without food and water in the great outdoors while put to the test by the Devil; and Jesus was forty days with his followers prior to being taken up to heaven after his resurrection.
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POSIT: The Bible says that God has never actually desired sacrifices and offerings. For example:

"For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them, saying: Obey My voice, and I will be your god, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you." (Jer 7:22-23)

"In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required." (Psalm 40:6)

"For you do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; you do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart-- these, O God, you will not despise." (Ps 51:16-17)

"For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." (Hos 6:6)

RESPONSE: The posit's interpretation of those passage effectively invalidates the entire God-given book of Leviticus; and also makes Christ look pretty stupid because it was his belief that not one jot nor one tittle of Israel's covenanted law would pass away until all is fulfilled. (Matt 5:17-19)

The point is: God prefers that people not sin; but rather, conduct themselves in a manner that needs no atonement. In other words: atonements are a contingency rather than the ideal; viz: an ambulance sent to a train wreck. Well; it's preferred that trains remain on their rails rather than going off.

As for Hos 6:6, the mercy that God desires is not His extended to you, but yours extended to your fellow man; viz: rituals are unacceptable substitutes in lieu of things like kindness, charity, lenience, sympathy, courtesy and/or compassion.

Ps 51:16-17 requires an explanation because it's a special case. David penned it as a result of his tryst with Bathsheba and his engineering of the death of her husband Uriah. God allows no atonements for premeditated murder and adultery: both are unforgivable death offenses under the terms and conditions of the covenant that Moses' people agreed upon with God.

● Ex 21:13-14 . . If a man schemes and kills another man deliberately, you shall take him away from my very altar and put him to death.

● Num 35:31 . . Do not accept a ransom for the life of a murderer, who deserves to die. He must surely be put to death.

● Lev 20:10 . . If a man commits adultery with another man's wife-- with the wife of his neighbor --both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.

● Deut 22:22 . . If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die-- both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman --so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.

In other words: If the covenant that Moses' people agreed upon with God stipulated sacrifices for premeditated murder and adultery; David would have offered them.
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Q: Can you cite an Old Testament example where God approved human sacrifice?

A: Abraham lived a pretty good number of years before Israel's covenanted law was instituted. Therefore, he wasn't obligated to comply with it because biblical law doesn't have ex post facto jurisdiction; viz: it isn't retroactive. (Deut 5:2-4, Rom 4:15, Rom 5:13, and Gal 3:17)

So then, Abraham was in a position to offer a human sacrifice without incurring guilt; which he did.

● Gen 22:1-2 . . Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him: Abraham! And he said: Here I am. And He said: Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.

Did Abraham slay Isaac? No, but did Abraham offer Isaac? Yes.

● Gen 22:9 . .Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.

You see, once a gift dedicated to God is placed on an altar, it's a done deal-- whether the offering is dead or alive makes no difference. In point of fact, the letter to Hebrews credits Abraham with offering his son in obedience to God's command.

● Heb 11:17 . . By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son

Had God disapproved human sacrifice, He would've stopped Abraham before Isaac was laid on the altar.

So then, the next question is: was Isaac a consenting adult?

Well; according to Gen 22:6-7, Isaac was old enough to shoulder a load of wood; so he wasn't a little boy like so many people like to think he was. Plus, he was mature enough to understand the particulars of a burnt offering.

If the narrative's chronology is tight, then the next event in Isaac's life was the death of his mother at 127 (Gen 23:1-2). She was 90 when Isaac was born (Gen 17:17) making him quite possibly around 37 at the time of the Akedah.

Another Old Testament example is located in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah.[/size]

NOTE: According to Gen 18:23-33, Abraham wasn't above challenging God's sense of right and wrong. Had the old boy seriously believed that offering his son Isaac as a burnt offering was wrong, he would've said something; in point of fact, he had three days to think about it. (Gen 22:4)

POP CLOCK UPDATE: 40 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are in the ball park, then something like 2,458,176 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 11, 2018.
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● Ex 20:5 . . I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me.

Q: How is that fair? holding children responsible for what their parents do?

A: Ex 20:5-- along with Ex 34:7, Num 14:18, and Deut 5:9 --is often construed to mean that children are held responsible for their parents' sins; but that isn't it. What we're looking at here is collateral damage. It is apparently God's prerogative to get back at people by going after their posterity and/or the people they govern.

There's a horrific example of collateral damage located at Num 16:25-34.

Another is the Flood. No doubt quite a few underage children drowned in that event due to their parents' decadence.

The same happened to the children in Sodom and Gomorrah.

Ham's punishment for humiliating his father Noah was a curse upon his son Canaan.

During Moses' face-off with Pharaoh, God moved against the man's firstborn son along with all those of his subjects.

There are times when God chooses to judge people by going after not only themselves; but also the things that pertain to them; including, but not limited to, their progeny. I don't quite understand the logic of that kind of justice; but then again: I don't try; I just go along with it; primarily because it's futile to find fault with God-- it's a foregone conclusion that you'll lose.

● Isa 45:9 . . Destruction is certain for those who argue with their creator. Does a clay pot ever argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying: Stop, you are doing it wrong! Does the pot exclaim: How clumsy can you be!
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Q: Doesn't Acts 2:24-33 say Christ went to hell at his death?

A: The koiné Greek word for "hell" in that passage of the KJV is haides [haw'-dace) a.k.a. hades, which is an ambiguous word for the netherworld-- an afterlife sphere where everybody goes when they pass on; both the good and the bad and the young and the old. Although haides can include fiery suffering in the afterlife (e.g. Luke 16:23) it doesn't always mean that because the netherworld location to which Christ departed was a pleasant location.

● Luke 23:39-43 . . One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed: So you're the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself-- and us, too, while you're at it! But the other criminal protested: Aren't you afraid of God? Not even when you're dying? We deserve to die for our evil deeds, but this man hasn't done anything wrong. Then he said: Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus replied: I assure you; today you will be with me in paradise.

The koiné Greek word for "paradise" is paradeisos (par-ad'-i-sos) which means: a park; defined as: 1) a tract of land that often includes lawns, woodland, and pasture attached to a country house and is used as a game preserve and for recreation, and/or 2) a piece of ground in or near a city or town kept for ornament and recreation, and/or 3) an area maintained in its natural state as a public property.

Q: If Jesus went to paradise on the day of his death, then why did he tell Mary Magdalene three days later at John 20:17 that he had not yet ascended to his Father?

A: Paradise is structured somewhat like the Pacific Crest Trail (a.k.a. PCT) which traverses the north/south length of three states-- California, Oregon, and Washington. No matter which of the three states you might encounter trekkers at any given moment-- whether south in Campo San Diego, or crossing the Bridge Of The Gods in Cascade Locks Oregon, or Snoqualmie Pass Washington --they're all on the very same PCT.

Paradise is sort of like that. There's a section underground (Matt 12:40, Luke 16:19-31) another in a celestial region that Paul labeled the third heaven (2Cor 12:2-4) and yet another section located up in God's neck of the woods. (Rev 2:7)

According to Matt 12:40, John 20:17, and Acts 2:24-32; Christ didn't go up during his demise, rather, he went down. I'm guessing the section of paradise to which he and the other guy departed was the very same one where Abraham and Lazarus were situated in the 16th chapter of Luke.

POP CLOCK UPDATE: 44 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are in the ball park, then something like 2,575,232 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 11, 2018.
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As if hell isn't bad enough, people are in it as their selves; viz: they are never going to be free from their own personalities-- their phobias, their hang-ups, their inner conflicts, their memories, their anger, their hostility, their rivalries, their prejudice, their bias, their angst, their gender issues, their resentments, their regrets, their disappointments, their bitterness, their animosity, their passions, and their appetites.

Hell is even more of a hell than you might think because, having missed out on the regeneration about which Christ spoke at John 3:3-8, people take who they are right along with them down there.

Thus; suicide is not a good way to relieve depression. Depressed people and/or despondent people, take that low state of mind right along with them to the other side; and their sorrow will be even more intensified in fire when they realize that as bad as things were up here on the surface, their situation up here wasn't nearly as bad as their situation down below.

You can escape poor health via death, you can escape credit card debt, you can escape an abusive spouse, you can escape taxes, you can escape a physical handicap, you can escape pimples, you can escape a bully, you can escape despots and tyrants, you can escape a life of neither promise nor future, you can escape prison, you can escape grinding poverty, and you can escape the Mafioso; but nobody can escape themselves.

"You've made this day a special day, by just your being you. There's no person in the whole world like you; and I like you just the way you are."
Fred Rogers, a.k.a. Mister Rogers

Well; I appreciate Fred's work with children; but the fact of the matter is: there are grown-ups out there who do not feel special nor do they particularly like the way they are; and that's never going to change should they end up in the wrong place when they leave this life.
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Q: What sane father would condemn His own children, the work of His creation, to eternal punishment simply because they don't agree with him?

A: According to Matt 5:9, people who quarrel with God, and/or argue and debate with Him, do not qualify to identify themselves as His own children. They're identity thieves.

FYI: While true that the God of Genesis created everybody, that does not eo ipso make everybody His children. For example: just because Eli Whitney is the father of the cotton gin, and Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak are the fathers of the Apple II computer, doesn't make those machines their progeny.

In other words: the God of Genesis is everybody's creator, yes; but He is not everybody's parent. No; by default, everybody is merely an organic creature constructed from dust to become members of Adam's family rather than God's.

It's necessary to undergo a special birth in order to get in God's family. All other claimants are frauds, and have no right whatsoever to say God is their father.

● John 1:12-13 . .To all who accepted him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- children not born of natural descent, nor of human decision, nor of a husband's passion, but born of God.

Bottom line: God doesn't condemn His own children to eternal punishment; but He won't hesitate to condemn yours if they neglect to follow Christ's instructions.

● John 3:3 . . I assure you: unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God.

● John 3:6 . . Don't be surprised at my statement that you must be born again.

POP CLOCK UPDATE: 46 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are in the ball park, then something like 3,696,888 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 11, 2018.

NOTE: The diameter of a US dime is .705 inch. If 3,696,888 dimes were laid side by side, they'd form a daisy chain long enough to cross the full length of the Brooklyn Bridge 36¼ times.
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I was once challenged by an Atheist that if I believed so strongly in the existence of a hell; then what was I doing for people down there.

Well; I had to tell the Atheist that although it isn't God's wishes that people end up suffering in hell, it is His wishes that they suffer once they get there. So that even if it were in my power to do something to make their situation a bit more tolerable and/or a bit more comfortable-- which it isn't --I wouldn't dare attempt to circumvent God's wishes; and neither would Christ.

● John 4:34 . . My food is to do the will of Him that sent me.

● John 8:29 . . And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

● John 10:30 . . I and my Father are unified.

● John 17:11 . . Holy Father, keep them and care for them-- all those you have given me --so that they will be united just as we are.

That means Christ wouldn't have protested, nor interfered, in either Noah's Flood or the fiery destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; even though a number of infants and underage children went to their deaths as collateral damage in both events.
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Many years ago-- when I was a young single guy in my early twenties, living alone in a cheap rental --as I was listening to a radio preacher talk about hell, something in my mind took over; and I had the strangest sensation of falling off the earth into an abyss and nobody cared, nor did anybody miss me, nor did my disappearance cause any alarm nor make any difference.

The freeways remained busy with frustrated drivers and honking horns, people still got up to go to work, shoppers crowded the supermarkets and department stores, kids caught their buses to school, birds kept right on chirping, grass kept on growing, ocean waves went on rolling onto the beach, trains kept running, airlines kept flying, clouds moved across the sky; and all that.

My absence changed nothing nor disturbed anyone nor anything. The world was utterly indifferent; it kept right on turning, clocks went on ticking; and nature and man went right on with their business as usual without the slightest hiccup. At that moment I realized just how alone and how obscure people must feel when they exhale their final breath and cross over to the other side.

Back in March of 2015, Andrew Getty, an heir to J. Paul Getty's oil fortune, died at the age of 47. In life, Andrew had many friends. You know how many accompanied him on his journey across the river Styx? Nary a one.

You gotta walk that lonesome valley,
You gotta walk it by yourself,
Nobody here can walk it for you,
You gotta walk it by yourself.
(Woody Guthrie)

POP CLOCK UPDATE: 48 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are in the ball park, then something like 2,809,344 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 11, 2018.
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When people waken at night within a burning home, and the hallways are obscured by smoke and fire: at that moment, all things-- appointments, charge card balances, student debt, retirement, the glass ceiling, GMO, women's rights, LGBT marriage, Obama care, abortion, water on Mars, immigration reform, Hillary's emails, Trump's tweets, ISIS, Kim Jong-un, Carrington events, the San Andreas fault, Dancing With The Stars, who's at fault for Benghazi, or who's playing in the Super Bowl; whatever --pale in comparison to the importance of finding a way out before it's too late.

In the face of imminent death; with the flames of hell already licking around your naked legs; it's at a time like that when you'd better hope to God that your spiritual leaders haven't steered you down the wrong road because there will be neither time nor opportunity to seek a second opinion.

POP CLOCK UPDATE: 50 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are in the ball park, then something like 2,926,400 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 11, 2018.
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● Gen 6:5 . .And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

It's freaky to contemplate that the Bible's God has a way to eavesdrop on one's mental processes on a level with which we are mostly unfamiliar.

● Matt 15:18-19 . . For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts

So then, it's not how your mind works that defines you, no, it's how your heart works that defines you; and a man's heart is easily capable of hoodwinking his own consciousness.

● Jer 17:9 . . The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

There is a part of us that psychology labels the subconscious; which in Freud's opinion is a repository for socially unacceptable ideas, wishes or desires, traumatic memories, and painful emotions put out of mind by the mechanism of psychological repression. However, the contents do not necessarily have to be solely negative.

In the psychoanalytic view, the subconscious is a force that can only be recognized by its effects-- in other words: your mind's thoughts can be construed not as replicas of your hearts thoughts; but rather, as symptoms of your heart's thoughts.

The key word in the above is repression. God is able to de-suppress those repressed contents and submit them as evidence in the prosecution's case against the accused. That means He will be confronting people with things that they never before really knew about themselves; and that's why I sometimes say only a fool would take their chances with the Bible's God. They have no clue the extent of the psychological tsunami they're walking into.

POP CLOCK UPDATE: 52 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are in the ball park, then something like 3,043,456 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 11, 2018.
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● Luke 12:15-20 . . A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. And he told them this parable:

. . .The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself: What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops. Then he said: This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself; You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.

. . . But God said to him: You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?

That is one of the futilities of success in this world. Everybody knows it, but moguls like Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Phil Knight, Paul Allen, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffet never seem to take it to heart until they've got one foot in the grave.

I once heard a story about a very wealthy man who died. His surviving relatives were all called to the reading of the man's will while the media waited outside. When the reading was over, the media asked the man's kin how much he left. They replied: He left it all.

Yes, of course he left it all; even the clothing he wore to his own funeral.

The paintings of Gustave Doré, illustrating portions of Dante's Inferno, depict lost souls 100% stark naked-- with nary a stitch --as they should be because no doubt they are.

The Beetles once complained in song: Money can't buy me love. Well; it couldn't buy them time either-- John is gone, and so is George.

● Ecc 2:14-16 . .The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both.

. . .Then I thought in my heart: The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise? For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die.

POP CLOCK UPDATE: 54 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are in the ball park, then something like 3,165,912 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 11, 2018.
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According to Siddhartha Gautama, the inventor of Buddhism, there is no personal "soul" that continues to exist beyond the demise of one's organic body; ergo: one's original self no longer exists after death.

Q: So then in Buddhist rebirth; what is reborn if not the person?

A: Buddhist rebirth is not a resurrection, rather, a reincarnation; viz: a rearrangement of the karmic matter that was once a particular individual. The complete teaching is a bit complex but in a nutshell, Buddhists can expect to return as either gods, asuras, hungry ghosts, hell beings, animals, and/or humans.

In addition: reincarnation doesn't stop with one event; but is potentially a cycle of birth, misery, and death called samsara.

Christianity allots but one physical return per person (Dan 12:2, John 5:29, Rev 20:5-6). So then, those who undergo a second death in the reservoir of brimstone depicted at Rev 20:10-15 won't be coming back for a do-over because they will have used up their one allotted resurrection in order to face justice at the Great White Throne.

POP CLOCK UPDATE: 56 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are in the ball park, then something like 3,277,568 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 11, 2018.
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[Adziilii]

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Q: Since God created us the way we are; then He is ultimately responsible for our conduct; right?

A: Some years ago I went into a music store in San Diego and noticed that one of the store's glass display cases contained a rather large variety of curious bottles. So I asked the clerk what they were. He said they were bongs. You mean for smoking dope? I asked. He replied: Yes; that is their purpose. So I responded: But isn't dope illegal? He replied: Yes, dope is illegal, however we don't sell dope; we only sell the means to smoke it. You see; the responsibility for smoking dope was on the end-users of bongs rather than upon the sellers of bongs.

In a similar incident, I went into an electronics store to purchase a mobile CB radio and noticed an array of devices in the display case that I didn't recognize. The clerk told me they were linear amplifiers; which, he said, are devices for boosting a standard 5-watt CB's signal strength. I asked the clerk if that was legal. He said no, it isn't legal to boost the standard signal. However, he said: it isn't illegal to own equipment with the capability to do so. In other words; the law placed the responsibility for boosting CB signals on the end-user of linear amplifiers rather than the sellers of linear amplifiers.

What I'm getting at is: God created humanity with the capability to make bad choices. But at the same time, He created humanity with the capability to make good choices too. In the incident involving the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; Adam chose poorly. Does it make sense to blame God for Adam's choice? No; he was fully advised of both the ban and the consequence.

But you see: so-called "product liability" is a convenient way of blaming others for our own failings. In other words: product liability's proponents insist that the availability of things like forbidden fruit, bongs, and linear amplifiers constitutes enablement. So these days instead of saying "The devil made me do it; therefore my conduct is his fault" now people say "I was provided the means to do it; therefore my conduct is the provider's fault."

Many of the liquid products we have under our sinks and out in the garage are toxic; so manufacturers put warning labels on them. Now; placing those products for sale to the public constitutes enablement, but they're assuming you're intelligent enough to read the warning labels they put on the containers. If you ignore the warning labels; it's your own fault for being stupid.

A smart man won't test the limits, nor push his luck, nor tempt fate; viz: he won't eat forbidden fruit, smoke dope, boost his CB radio's output above the legal limits, or swallow toilet bowl cleaner and Prestone engine coolant just because those toxic products are available.

POP CLOCK UPDATE: 58 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are in the ball park, then something like 3,394,624 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 11, 2018.
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[Adziilii]

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● Rev 20:11-15 . . I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

According to Rev 20:10, the lake of fire consists of brimstone; defined by Webster's as sulfur; which liquifies at around 239.38° F and boils at around 832.3° F.

Molten sulfur assumes a dark red color at around 392° F which, in all likelihood, enhances the lake's fiery appearance.

Q: What if people's execution in the brimstone isn't quick? I mean: the day of Adam's death began the moment he tasted the forbidden fruit; yet he continued to survive outside the garden of Eden for another 800 years after the birth of his son Seth. (Gen 5:4)

A: No response.

POP CLOCK UPDATE: 60 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are in the ball park, then something like 3,511,680 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 11, 2018.
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[Adziilii]

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Q: At Matt 16:18, Jesus said: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it." What is the meaning of that verse?

A: Basically it's saying that should one of Christ's true believing followers slip through a crack and end up in the wrong place, they will be able to stroll right on out of there like a tourist in Paris; likely guided on their journey by a celestial being, maybe similar to Peter's experience when he escaped jail in Acts 12:3-11.

I should point out that if any one particular church were the "my church" that Christ spoke of in Matt 16:18, then none of its members-- not one --would end up in hell; but I suspect that all churches, regardless of their denominational affiliation, expect to lose a number of their followers to an uncertain fate; which reminds me of a line from the movie AVATAR spoken by Colonel Miles Quaritch, played by Stephen Lang, that goes like this:

It is my job to keep you alive.
I will not succeed . . not with all of you.

POP CLOCK UPDATE: 62 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are in the ball park, then something like 3,628,736 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 11, 2018.
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[Adziilii]

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I once heard of a preacher asked by a young member of his congregation what he would have to do bad enough to wind up in hell.

The preacher answered: You don't have to do anything particularly bad to go to hell; no, just bide your time and you'll wind up there without even trying because hell is the default.

POP CLOCK UPDATE: 64 days have elapsed since beginning the thread. If the figures in post #1 are in the ball park, then something like 3,745,792 new arrivals have checked into the fiery sector of hades since Aug 11, 2018.
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