You're obviously not interested in what God's Word actually teaches about people being tormented for all eternity.
I am intensely interested in what God's word has to say on all subjects.....what I am not interested in are Christendom's twisting of scripture to prove old adopted doctrines that never existed in the Bible at all.
Like this scripture here:
Revelation 14:11
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Go ahead, try to explain this one way!
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I love Revelation so I am happy to explain this one too...
We will take the verse in context and not in isolation, as many seem to want to do to prove their points....
Rev 14:9-12....
"Another angel, a third, followed them, saying in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the wild beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he will also drink of the wine of the anger of God that is poured out undiluted into the cup of His wrath, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever, and day and night they have no rest, those who worship the wild beast and its image and whoever receives the mark of its name. 12 Here is where it calls for endurance on the part of the holy ones, those who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of Jesus.”
So taking this passage as a whole, what do we see? We see mention of "the wild beast and its image" and "those who receive its mark on their foreheads and on their hands".....the thing you notice is that this is stated in the present tense as though the visions in the Revelation presented to John were happening in real time. Where was John? God's spirit had transported him into the future (in the Lord's day) to see what would happen in the end times.
"If anyone worships" (not
has worshipped) "and receives" (not
has received) the mark of the beast, he will "drink of the wine of the anger of God" . . . . and "be tormented with fire and sulfur".....where was fire and sulfur used? In Gehenna...the place where Jesus consigned the Pharisees. (Matt 23:33) Fire and sulfur were synonymous with this place that came to take on an identity in Christendom that Jesus never intended. What does the "wild beast" represent and what is its "image"? Do you know?
You will also notice that the ones consigned to gehenna "have no rest, those who worship (not
have worshipped) the wild beast and its image and those who receive (not
have received) the mark of its name." These are still actively worshipping the wild beast, so they aren't dead. So this is taking place whilst they are still alive.
The torment is the truth that they fight against so vehemently....as seen on these very boards.
Also its the "
smoke of their torment that ascends forever and ever"....what is that representing? Have you ever been in a place that was decimated by a bushfire? What is left to remind you of its ferocity? Is it not the smouldering ashes...the after effects that serve to bring back to mind what happened there? The Revelation is full of symbolisms and this "smoke" is one of them.
Its easy to read over things instead of relating them to other scripture to furnish an more accurate picture of what it is saying....remember that the devil knows scripture too, and Jesus said it is he who sowed the "weeds" of counterfeit Christianity.
Getting rid of that outdated dinosaur of a Bible might help you understand plain modern English a bit better too, as we do not speak archaic English anymore, and the Bible was written in Hebrew and Greek with small portions in Aramaic....not in the King's English.
So you are depending on biased men to interpret God's word for you, rather than to do your own study. Advances in linguistics have improved our knowledge of ancient languages. Try doing some real research outside of your comfort zone....you might learn something.....but I cannot guarantee that you will like it.
