Truth Magazine

By Greg Litmer

And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove. For then would I fly away and be at rest (Psa. 55:6).

Who among us has not had thoughts similar to those expressed by David? Truly among the deepest longings felt by man is the fervent desire for rest. We long not only for the cessation of our toils, labors, and trials, but also for the enjoyment of the bountiful blessings to be found in sweet repose. For the Christian, just such a rest is promised, and indeed it serves as an “anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast.” And that rest is heaven.

A wonderful treatise on this rest is found in the first eleven verses of Hebrews 4. The Hebrew writer speaks of the time in which God rested from his labors of creation, that being the seventh day. He intimates man’s part in this rest through the weekly sabbath instituted at Mt. Sinai and given to the Jews as a sign between God and them. This sabbath rest was but a symbol, or a type, of something yet to come. The Hebrew writer also speaks of a fuller realization of that longed-for rest in the land which flowed with milk and honey – Canaan, the promised land. Yet, even as the new generation of God’s chosen people entered into the land of Canaan, it but foreshadowed the rest yet to be obtained. Then came our Lord Jesus and his promise of rest found in Matthew 11:28-30, in which he said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: And ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” As the Hebrew writer said, “We which have believed do enter into rest.” The follower of Jesus Christ does indeed enjoy rest now; rest from the guilt and the burden of sin, rest from the anxieties that plague us in this life. But even that does not truly satisfy all of our desire, all of our longing for that rest. Indeed, our life with Christ stirs within us intense and deep longing for the rest that it foreshadows – heaven. I am reminded of the apostle Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15:19, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” But thanks be to God “there remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God” (Heb. 4:9).

There are two different words that are used to describe this rest. In verse 3 of Hebrews 4, the emphasis is on cessation. The idea there is from the negative standpoint expressing things that will end. In verse 9, the word for rest indicates a sabbath rest, which implies considerably more than just cessation.

Let us consider some of the things with which we will no longer have to deal when we enter into that promised rest: (1) Heaven will be a place of rest from all forms of suffering. John expressed it so beautifully in Revelation 21:4 when he said, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (2) In heaven, we will rest from the constant struggle with sin and the trying association with sinful people. Again from Revelation 21:27, we read, “And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (3) Heaven will be a place of rest from our toils of life, and it will be a place where at last we will lay our burdens down.

Our promised rest, however, will not be a state of total inactivity, for there will be bountiful blessings to be enjoyed and service to be joyfully rendered. Think about it, my friends. When we enter into that promised rest, we will be forever and consciously in the presence of God. John said in verse 3 of Revelation 21, “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” This rest will be a time of continual service to God, freely and joyfully given. From Revelation 22:3,4 we read, “And there shall be no more curse; but the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him; and they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.” The faithful children of God, with their robes washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb, shall reign forever and ever.

The longing for heaven sometimes grows so intense as to be painful. It will be ours to enjoy. “Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief” (Heb. 4:1).

Guardian of Truth XXXV: 20, pp. 618-619
October 17, 1991

By Johnie Edwards

Our society is alarmed by the lack of pure water to drink. The crave for pure water has led companies to build water purifiers and sell bottled water all over this country. But I know of a place where there is a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal” (Rev. 22:1). Could I interest you in this place? Keep reading!

Life demands water. Vegetation and humans die for the lack of water needed to sustain life. The conversation Jesus had with the woman of Samaria points up the need for living water. A woman of Samaria was drawing water and Jesus said unto her, “Give me to drink” (Jn. 4:7). The woman was puzzled, she being a Samaritan, that Jesus being a Jew, would even speak to her. This led Jesus to say, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water” (Jn.4:10). We can learn from this story that Jesus is the source of living water and we must come to him to have access to the water and tree of life pictured in Revelation 22.

Jesus, being the source of living water, invites all men to drink. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). The call of the Spirit and the Bride is to drink. “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come, And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will , let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17). The invitation is world-wide in scope, in that all are invited to drink! Before one will have access to the eternal water and tree of life he must obey the gospel of our Lord by hearing (Matt. 17:5), believing in Christ (Jn. 8:24), repenting of sins (Acts 17:30), confessing faith in the Lord (Matt. 10:32), and be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). Then one is added to the church (Acts 2:47) and if faithful in serving God, can enter into that eternal rest in heaven where the pure river of water of life, clear as crystal is!

Rivers run throughout the Word of God having their beginning in the garden of Eden. “And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became four heads” (Gen. 2:10). The first river is Pison, the second is Gihon, the third is Hiddekel and the fourth was the great river, the Euphrates (Gen. 2:11-14). The prophecies of Jeremiah were associated with rivers (Jer. 46:2-10; Jer. 51:63).

Some Vivid Descriptions

Heaven is a most beautiful place as we often sing, “How Beautiful Heaven Must Be.” Man does not have the words to describe this ever-longed for place. John’s enraptured view is such a vivid picture of the blessings of God for the Christian (Rev. 22:1-5).

1. A Pure River. In Revelation 22:1, John tells us that the river was pure, clear as a crystal river. The place the writer had in mind had no pollution. It was crystal clear.

2. In The Midst of the Street. As a member of the church and in heaven itself, the Lord’s people, without respect of persons, can have access to the water and tree of life (Col. 3:25).

3. The Tree of Life. The tree of life is pictured as bordering the banks of the river of life. The fruit of the tree of life was life-giving, and its balm was soul-healing. The spiritual supply was perpetual and perennial in that the tree of life bore fruit every month. The “tree of life” is found twice in Genesis referring to the tree placed in Eden that if man would eat of it he would be immortal (Gen. 2:9; 3:22). This symbolic language such as “leaves for the healing of the nations” shows that God himself is the source of all life.

4. No Curse Any More. No accursed person has access to the water and tree of life. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us! for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Gal. 3:13). Nothing accursed can abide in the presence of the throne of God and the Lamb.

5. Serving Servants. Children of God are now servants of God (Rom. 6:22) and serving him will continue in eternity. “And his servants shall serve him” (Rev. 22:3). Christians shall be able to serve God continually forever!

6. Shall See His Face. The yearning to see God has been expressed by man from in the beginning. The redeemed can behold his face, seeing him as he is (1 Jn.3:2). In reference to our King, we often sing, “We Shall See The King Some Day.” We ought to long for that day.

7. His Name in Their Foreheads. Those who overcome were to have his name written upon the foreheads (Rev. 3:12). These are the Lord’s people! They have submitted to the Lord’s teachings and they are his.

8. No Night There. Those who obey the gospel and walk in the light will have access to the water and tree of life. “For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:11).

Walking in the light while here, we will be able to enjoy a place where there is no night. John said. “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light” (Rev. 22:5). What a place as compared to “outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 25:30).

9. Reign For Ever. Those redeemed by the Blood of Christ will reign in heaven unlimited by time. Paul said, “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him” (2 Tim. 2:12). Eternal glory ought to be the ultimate goal of every one. Jesus said, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matt. 25:46).

What a blessing to be in the Lord’s church and have heaven as our home after awhile! Be sure you are in Christ (Gal. 3:27) so you can “abide in” him, (Jn. 15:1-6) and then you can be ready to “die in the Lord” (Rev. 14:13), to enjoy the most wonderful place – Heaven.

Guardian of Truth XXXV: 20, pp. 616-617
October 17, 1991

By Jim McDonald

Among the many blessings of eternal nature that faithful Christians expect to receive is to be in God’s presence. While we know not yet what we shall be, -we know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him, for we shall see him, even as he is” (1 Jn. 3:2). Such a passage as this doubtlessly inspired the words of the familiar hymn: “Face to face with Christ my Savior, face to face, what will it be?” God has promised that there we will dwell in his presence and that he and the Lamb will be our eternal light (Rev. 21:23).

Such promises are pregnant with comfort! Paul believed that to depart and “be with Christ” was far better for him than to dwell in his uncertain, troubled state (Phil. 1:23). When he wrote to strengthen the Thessalonians, because some had had loved ones to die, the assurance he gave them was that when Jesus comes: “. . . the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we that are alive, that are left shall together with them be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:16-17). Jesus sought to assuage his Apostles’ sorrow by assuring them that although he was going away, it was but to prepare a place for them: he would come again to receive them unto himself that where he was, there they might be also (Jn. 14:1-3). Such a hope was not intended exclusively for the Apostles: Paul said that his hope of the crown of righteousness would be equally realized by “all them that have loved his appearing (2 Tim. 4:8).

Who can comprehend what it will mean to be in the presence of God? Such is as incomprehensible as is the watchful, providential care God extends to us in this present life. The Psalmist said: “Such knowledge is too high for me, I cannot attain unto it” (Psa. 139:6). The Christian is confident that God’s caring, attentive eye is on him even now for his eye is on the sparrow, he clothes the lilies of the field: surely he cares; he sees and supplies the needs of his children! We demonstrate littleness of faith when we forget these things (Matt. 6:30). David viewed God as his Shepherd, furnishing his needs, protecting him from danger, watching as he slept: ready to guide him through death’s dark passageway (Psa. 23). With such refreshing hope and blessings arising like water from a spring, David was prompted to exclaim: “My cup runneth over” (v. 7). Christians draw comfort that even now we “dwell” in his presence and in David’s anguished, penitential prayer he earnestly besought God, “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy Spirit from me” (Psa. 51:11).

But to dwell in God’s eternal presence! Ah, like the eternal character of God we cannot fathom such: such a mixture of thoughts and emotions would surely rush through our soul; our whole being! Awe, fear, wonder, joy and peace all because we will be home, no longer strangers and pilgrims! Earth’s struggles, sacrifices, persecutions, disappointments with self and others; tears, doubts: we can cast all these aside with Paul as “light, momentary afflictions”(2 Cor. 4:17). We will join Abraham and others of his faith in the city they (we) sought, a city without foundation, whose builder and maker is God. Above all, God, our eternal, loving Father, will be there! “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and he shall dwell in them and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them and be their God: and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more” (Rev. 22:3-4). To be in God’s eternal presence might be somewhat similar to the comfort a sick child draws from mother’s presence at his bedside; the frightened child’s assurance by his father’s presence in a darkened bedroom; to the bridegroom as he sees his beloved make her way to him down the aisle; to the college student turning in the drive way to see her parents standing at the door to meet her; to the parents when all their brood: children and grandchildren, sit down at a table laden with the bounties of life, hold hands and give thanks: all this and more. Truly: “in thy presence is fullness of joy” (Psa. 16:11). Fulness of joy: every happy, joyful expectation realized in God’s presence!

What utter emptiness, loneliness and despair then must sweep upon the faithless when that awful sentence is sounded: “Depart from me, ye accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 15:41). To depart from Christ will mean banishment from his presence: a warning uttered by Paul who wrote that Jesus would render “vengeance to them that know not God and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus: who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thess. 1:7-9). All attendant joys to be experienced by the faithful will be unrealized by the faithless: forebodings, like mountains, will weigh down upon them in their wretched state.

Banished from his presence, banished from his care. We may be oblivious to God’s care now much as was Israel in Isaiah’s day (1:3). Still, whether we are thankful or unthankful; conscious or unconscious, God’s care is there sustaining, filling our lives richly with blessings. But that care will be removed in hell: we will suffer for our own devices, removed from the care we knew on earth.

Banished from his presence, not allowed to sing the new song; the song of Moses and the Lamb; the song of redemption: never privileged to blend our voices with earth’s redeemed ones for such a song I could not sing: I rejectea that redemption offered me by the Savior.

Banished from his presence, never again to cast our petitions into his ears whom once we knew would both hear and answer: the only response we could expect to receive will be silence; broken silence by shrieks and piercing wails of others who share the same fate as we: we rejected his call, there he will reject our calls.

Banished from his presence, no strength for my anguished state. No hope for future betterment, no relief from pain, no release ever from the state I chose for myself by rejecting the gospel and tasting for a little while, the pleasures of sin.

Divorce all punishment inflicted unon us in hell from simple banishment from his presence and the latter would be anguish overwhelming! God forbid that such ever be our plight! Oh, brother, sister: let us live and serve God; let us serve and help each other; let us so live, labor and love that never do we hear these tragic, fateful words: “Depart from me!”

Guardian of Truth XXXV: 19, pp. 586-587
October 3, 1991

By Tom O’Neal

Everyone believes in hell; no one at his funeral wants the preacher to indicate he went to hell, nor does the family of any deceased want the preacher to preach their love one there.

However, there are many people who deny the reality of hell. They think God is too good to send people to hell, that people don’t do enough bad to be sent to a place of punishment and that the place called hell in the Bible is only a figment of man’s fertile imagination.

Survey on Hell

When I was a young preacher there was a survey made concerning hell. George H. Betts surveyed 700 preachers and 200 theological students to find only 53 percent believed in hell. Those theological students are filling pulpits today! Of 1,309 ministers and students in five theological seminaries, 53 percent of the preachers and I percent of the students believed in hell. Of 100 theological students surveyed only 29 percent believed in hell. The late Episcopal bishop, James A. Pike said hell was a “myth.” (All information in this paragraph from Redbook Magazine, August, 1961.)

The Jehovah Witnesses think hell is the grave. “Hell, sheol and hades means mankind’s common grave” (Let God Be True, p. 99). “Hell means the grave” (Where Are The Dead? by J.F. Rutherford, p. 21).

We should weep as we read the words of the former preacher for the Broadway Church in Lubbock, Texas, and former President of Pepperdine University in California when he said, “A man can stand many stresses from within if he has harmony within his soul. For years I have lived with a developing pressure because of my intellectual conflict with the fundamentalistic dogmas and doctrines of the Church of Christ. For years, it has been increasingly difficult for me to accept the simplistic assumptions of the hellfire and brimstone fundamentalists which most preachers in this church teach” (Los Angeles Times, January 28, 1976, pp. 1,24,26).

Among us we should not forget Ed Fudge who departed the faith a few years back and wrote a book that denies the Bible teaching on hell.

U.S. News Article

The March 25, 1991 issue of U.S. News and World Report devoted several pages to the subject of hell. Some statements from this article are significant.

(1) “By most accounts it (hell, TGO) has all but disappeared from the pulpit rhetoric of mainline Protestantism” (p. 56).

(2) Kenneth S. Kantzer, a former Christianity Today editor confessed “he hadn’t preached a sermon on hell in more than three decades” (p. 56).

(3) Martin Marty, University of Chicago professor said, “Hell has disappeared and no one noticed. . . If people really believed in hell, they wouldn’t be watching basketball or even the TV preachers. They’d be out rescuing people” (p. 56).

(4) C.S. Lewis is quoted as saying, “Hell was not made for men” (p. 60).

(5) Mary Kraus, pastor of Dumbarton Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. said, “My congregation would be stunned to hear a sermon on hell” (p. 60).

(6) John D. Crossan of Chicago’s DePaul University said, “Once we discovered we could create hell on earth it became silly to talk about it in a literal sense” (p. 60).

(7) Avery Dulles, professor of theology at Fordham University in New York said, “It’s quite possible that no one will really go there” (p. 60).

(8) “In modern Judaism, the idea of a literal hell has been widely rejected since the 18th century Moses Mendelssohn, an influential German philosopher, propounded the idea that eternal punishment is inconsistent with God’s mercy” (p. 63).

In response to the above, letters were published in the April 8, 1991 issue. In one letter, one said they had “given very little thought to hell” and a preacher said “a burning everlasting hell has no redemptive purpose at all” (p. 8).

Christ and Universalism

Universalism teaches all will be saved, none will be lost in hell. However, this is not what Jesus Christ, the Son of God, said. One can not deny hell and be a Christian, a follower of Christ. He taught (1) there is such a place and, (2) people will go there.

The King James Version translates the Greek words hades, gehenna and tartaroo with the one word – “hell.” The American Standard Version makes a distinction in the uses of these words.

(1) Hades. In Matthew 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15 and 16:23 the King James says “hell” while the American Standard says “hades.”

In Acts 2:27 and 31 the King James Version says Christ went to “hell” while the American Standard Version says “hades.”

In Revelation the word is used four times (1:18; 6:8; 20:13,14) and is translated “hell” by the King James and “hades” by the American Standard.

Of hades, Vine says “signifying all-receiving” (v. 2, p. 187) and Thayer says “the nether world, the realm of the dead . . . the common receptacle of disembodied spirit” (p. 11).

From Luke 16:19-31 we learn of two men in hades, yet the beggar was in “Abraham’s bosom” (v. 22) where he was “comforted” but the rich man was in “torments” (vv. 23,25). In hades separating these two was “a great gulf fixed” (v. 26). Abraham’s bosom is the same as “paradise” (Lk. 23:43).

(2) Tartarus. The place in hades where people are “tormented in this flame” is called “torments” or “tartarus” (2 Pet. 2:4).

(3) Gehenna. This is the word translated hell twelve times in both the King James and American Standard Versions. Eleven of those times it is used by the Lord. See Matthew 5:22,29,30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,33; Mark 9:43,45,47 and Luke 12:5 for the Lord’s usage and then James 3:6 for the one other usage in the New Testament.

Jesus Speaks of Hell

Jesus said “hell fire,” people will be “cast into hell,” that people can be a “child of hell,” that people will receive the “damnation of hell” and that the fire of hell “shall never be quenched.”

Jesus said, “My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me” (Jn. 7:16); “the truth, which I have heard of God” (Jn. 8:40); “I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him” (Jn. 8:26); “as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things (Jn. 8:28). “For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak . . . . Whatsoever I speak therefore even as the Father said unto me, so I speak” (Jn. 12:49-50).

Jesus further said, “Whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that went me” (Mk. 9:37).

Therefore, when one rejects the teachings of Christ about the place he called hell, one also rejects the voice of God, his Father in heaven.

In the hereafter there are only two places all men will spend eternity – heaven or hell. Which will it be for you . . . and me?

Guardian of Truth XXXV: 19, pp. 580-581
October 3, 1991