Faith First Media

Eternal Conscious Torture in Hell vs. Annihilation in the Lake of Fire

What Does the Bible Really Teach?

by Matthew Elton

copyright 2009 Matthew Elton

The concept of hades as a place of eternal torture for the immortal soul has its origins in Platonic philosophy and Greek Mythology, and is foreign to the Bible. The Old Testament Jewish Scriptu...

The following is an excerpt from the book Does the Bible Have Contradictions? by Matthew Elton, copyright 2009 Matthew Elton.

Question:

Apart from Jesus there was no-one else (John 3:13) or there were others (2 Kings 2:11) who ascended to heaven?

Answer:

In John 3:13, Jesus says that no man has ever entered heaven. What Jesus said was true. This supposed...

The following is an excerpt from the book Does the Bible Have Contradictions? by Matthew Elton, copyright 2009 Matthew Elton.

Question:

Apart from Jesus there was no-one else (John 3:13) or there were others (2 Kings 2:11) who ascended to heaven?

Answer:

In John 3:13, Jesus says that no man has ever entered heaven. What Jesus said was true. This supposed...

Luke 20:38 Commentary

by Matthew Elton

copyright 2009 Matthew Elton

Question:

Luke 20:38 states"Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live toHim." Does this mean that the deadare currently living with God in heaven?

Answer:

No. Take a look atthe context of Luke 20:38. Jesus wasspeaking to ...

What is Eternal Punishment?

by Matthew Elton

copyright 2009 Matthew Elton

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

--Matthew 25:46

Matthew 25:46 speaks of “eternal punishment” for the unrighteous. But what exactly is that punishment? Eternal torture? Eternal separation from God? Eternal death ...

You Are Not Going to Heaven!

Revised Edition

by Matthew Elton

copyright 2010 Matthew Elton

matt@faithfirstmedia.com

Long before Jesus, the concept of an immediate afterlife in heaven or hell began with the Greeks, and was later continued by the Romans. It is not taught in the Hebrew scriptures, and it was not believed by any of the early Jews, an...

“To Depart, and to Be with Christ”

by Dr. John H. Roller

Philippians 1:23 is often quoted by opponents of “soul sleep” as if it were some kind of proof that the Apostle Paul believed that his own death would immediately be followed by a disembodied “life” in Heaven with Christ. In my opinion, the verse teaches no such thing.

Three verses earlie...

The Rich Man and Lazarus

by Dr. John H. Roller

You probably either saw or participated in a production of Thornton Wilder’s three-act play Our Town when you were in high school. According to Wikipedia, it “is, perhaps, the most frequently-produced play by an American playwright. The play is set in the fictional community of Grover’s Corners, modeled on several New Hampshire towns…...

Paradise, Today?

by Dr. John H. Roller

Working as a newsletter and magazine editor has renewed my interest in the importance of correct spelling, punctuation, grammar and formatting. Several times, I’ve run head-on into the misunderstandings that can be created by a simple typographical error. For example, failure to hit the space bar can change the comforting statement “He is now here”...

Soul Sleep

by Dr. John H. Roller

“Be careful with that sample; it’s hot!” warned my lab partner, pointing to a petri dish in the middle of my counter top. I froze in confusion. What was Al trying to tell me? Did the sample have such a high temperature that I would burn my fingers if I touched it without wearing asbestos gloves? Was it radioactive, so that I would need to don protective...

Final Destination

by Dr. John H. Roller

On the way home from a much-needed vacation trip, I listened to the flight attendant’s familiar phrase: “We hope you enjoy your stay in Orlando, or wherever is your final destination.” It got me thinking. Orlando definitely wasn’t my “final destination” that day. For reasons totally unknown to me, my ticket said I was only there...

Jesus Shall Return!

by Dr. John H. Roller

In their concerted drive into the Pacific, the Japanese army landed on the northern coast of Luzon Island, in the Philippines, on December 10, 1941. The American and Filipino troops were slowly pushed southward until they were concentrated on Bataan Peninsula and on Corregidor Island, near the mouth of Manila Bay. General Douglas MacArthur was on Corregidor Isla...