Nehemiah, Katrina, Indonesia, Haiti, and Rebuilding Our Lives

On January 12, 2010, and at 4:53 pm (Haitian Local Time), a magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastated the nation of Haiti. A region being referred to as the poorest country in the Northern Hemisphere. The response to this catastrophe is phenomenal. Prior to this, on December 26, 2004, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake caused a Tsunami that devastated parts of Southern Asia, East Africa, and Indonesia. Furthermore, on August 28th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the southern coast of the United States, flooding an estimated 80% of New Orleans and affected approximately 90,000 square miles of Louisiana and Mississippi. All three of these natural disasters affected the lives of a handful of millions of people. Displacing majority of them from their home, livelihood, and even cultural norms.

What then does Hurricane Katrina, Tsunami of Indonesia, and the more recent Haitian earthquake have to do with an Old Testament Prophet – Nehemiah? And, even more of an important question to ask ourselves, what do all four have to do with our personal lives, the lives of our family, community, nation, cultural identity, and even our own spiritual welfare? It is an answer that I have pondered since the news coverage of these natural disasters have occurred in our lives. Attempting to make sense of these tragic events strike raw nerves within us, questioning our own faith and why a Loving God allows such things to happen.

Some have outright stated that Katrina, the Indonesian Tsunami, and the Haitian Earthquake were all “wake up calls” to people that we need to reconnect back to the one true God of Christianity. That, these natural disasters were calling people to forsake their pagan idolatry, rituals, forsake their sinful desires and acts, repent and come back to Christ, or come to Christ.

Whether or not one accepts this notion is definitely what I will not focus here. Therefore, the relationship between these three catastrophe’s and the Prophet Nehemiah is very real. It is about rebuilding one’s identity, rebuilding one’s life, rebuilding one’s spirituality into a newness of life and redemption.

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shusan the palace, That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

Here, we have Nehemiah, an Israelite/Hebrew who is serving in the palace of a Foreign King. The context of this first chapter is where Nehemiah is asking about those who survived the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. The Jewish Virtual Library discusses the history and nature of the Exile of 597 – 538 BC:

The Chaldeans, following standard Mesopotamian practice, deported the Jews after they had conquered Jerusalem in 597 BC. The deportations were large, but certainly didn’t involve the entire nation. Somewhere around 10,000 people were forced to relocate to the city of Babylon, the capital of the Chaldean empire. In 586 BC, Judah itself ceased to be an independent kingdom, and the earlier deportees found themselves without a homeland, without a state, and without a nation. This period, which actually begins in 597 but is traditionally dated at 586, is called the Exile in Jewish history; it ends with an accident in 538 when the Persians overthrow the Chaldeans.

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Chaldeans, only deported the most prominent citizens of Judah: professionals, priests, craftsmen, and the wealthy. The “people of the land” (am-hares ) were allowed to stay. So Jewish history, then, has two poles during the exile: the Jew in Babylon and the Jews who remain in Judah. We know almost nothing of the Jews in Judah after 586. Judah seems to have been wracked by famine, according the biblical book, Lamentations, which was written in Jerusalem during the exile. The entire situation seemed to be one of infinite despair. Some people were better off; when Nebuchadnezzar deported the wealthy citizens, he redistributed the land among the poor. So some people were better off. In addition, there were rivalries between the two groups of Jews. It is clear that the wealthy and professional Jews in Babylon regarded themselves as the true Jewish people.

It is a good assumption that Nehemiah was one of those who were of the wealthy citizens, and had found employment in the Palace of Shushan. The Jewish Encyclopedia.com refers to Sushan as follows: Ancient capital of Susiana or Elam, and the winter residence of the kings of Persia; situated between the Choaspes (modern Ab-i Kerkhah) and the Eulæus (the “Ulai” of Dan. viii. 2; modern Shaur), fifteen miles southeast of Dizful. (Read more: http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=S&artid=672#ixzz0ekFxVx90)

Immediately, we find that Hanani and “certain men” came to him from Judah. Nehemiah says that Hanani was “one of my brethren”. In respect, one of the best commentaries that I love to turn to in my studies states this:

, 3. Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah—Hanani is called his brother (Ne 7:2). But as that term was used loosely by Jews as well as other Orientals, it is probable that no more is meant than that he was of the same family. According to Josephus, Nehemiah, while walking around the palace walls, overheard some persons conversing in the Hebrew language. Having ascertained that they had lately returned from Judea, he was informed by them, in answer to his eager enquiries, of the unfinished and desolate condition of Jerusalem, as well as the defenseless state of the returned exiles. The commissions previously given to Zerubbabel and Ezra extending only to the repair of the temple and private dwellings, the walls and gates of the city had been allowed to remain a mass of shattered ruins, as they had been laid by the Chaldean siege.

The report that is given to Nehemiah is gravely dismal. Much like the world watched in horror to the tragedy of 9/11, the destructive powers of Hurricane Katrina, the catastrophic event of the Indonesian Tsunami, and the more recent devastation of the Haitian Earthquake have us mourn with those afflicted, outpouring of charity and compassion, doctors and nurses going to provide much needed medical attention, tents being deployed to give survivors better shelter on a temporary basis, the financial donations that have poured into charitable programs that are using funds to provide a means to clean up the debris, and tend to the essential needs of the Haitians is overwhelming. Nehemiah received the tragic news of the condition that those who survived the destruction of Jerusalem were in.

And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach; the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.

The survivors are in great affliction and reproach. Hebrew for Reproach is this: “chapher (pronounced khaw-fare’) means be ashamed” {Strongs 2659}

The reaction that is recorded in Nehemiah is probably similar to many people’s reaction to what we have recently witnessed with all the tragedy that has occurred through these natural disasters:

And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of Heaven,

Nehemiah, a man of God, a Jew, was a patriot who prayed and fasted for his countrymen, his beloved city, and the Temple that identified the Jewish Culture and Religion.

We then read the prayer that is recorded in Nehemiah chapter 1:

And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: but if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. Now, these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.

O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king’s cupbearer.

We, then, discover that Nehemiah goes about his daily duties and is saddened by the devastation of his fellow countrymen, and the city of Jerusalem. The Persian king notices this, and asks Nehemiah as to why he is saddened. Nehemiah relates, and makes request that he is allowed to take a journey to Jerusalem to see for himself what has happened, and that letters were to be given for his journey and task of rebuilding Jerusalem.

Much like the destruction of Katrina, the Tsunami, and the Haitian earthquake, Nehemiah made his way to Jerusalem and made a survey of the extensiveness of the damage that was left from the siege of Jerusalem (See verses 12-15). Some had already begun to perform some work on the Temple in Jerusalem, however, the walls were still burning, and much of the city was nothing but a Wasteland.

Nehemiah then says the following:

Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.

We have seen the waste of 9/11, Katrina, the Tsunami, and the Earthquake, scientists responded, governments kicked into action, and people picked up the call to provide whatever support they could muster to help rebuild the lives of those people who were directly affected by such tragedy. We mourned with those who lost loved ones, we protected and met the needs of children who are left without parents, attentive to the medical needs of those who survived, and are seeking out those who may still be buried in rubble, or those who were killed because of the rubble.

And, while it is easy to point out how all this could have been prevented, how the loss of life could have become minimal compared to what it is, the reality is that we ought to take heed of what Nehemiah did. He was not worried about how and why it happened, his focus was on doing what he could to rebuild the broken down walls of the City of Jerusalem. Despite those who came against him, Nehemiah focused on rebuilding the walls, because he was focused on the reality of no longer being ashamed of the devastation that had come against his fellow citizens, and the great City of Jerusalem.

Therefore, if there is any lesson we ought to take from all this, it is the single most important one of all. That lesson is not finding fault and blame as to how and why something could have been prevented, but how and in what we are we going to respond and rebuild that which has become broken. Whether it is going about mending the broken walls of a family relationship, marriage relationship, addiction recovery, healing from physical ailments, emotional distresses, loss of a loved one, loss of a job; it all boils down to how we fall to our knees, humbly pray to our loving Heavenly Father, recognizing where we have sinned and disobeyed His will and commandments, reminding ourselves the promises we have made in our covenant relationship with Him, and how He has promised to bless and prosper us when we turn back to him, follow him, and receive the necessary strength to find wisdom, truth, and support in rebuilding our lives – despite the ridicule, false speculation/accusations, and heckling we may receive from those who think they know better than our Loving Heavenly Father.

When the Critics Ask – how one can respond.

A definite question to ask any Critic who love to use Galatians 1:8 as a proof text against Mormonism. This is definite youtube video that is put together to respond to the misuse of the passage in Galatians, and how it is placed in its proper perspective.

Biblical Doctrine or False Mormon Doctrine?

The following is a question for anyone to discuss. Whether you are a Born Again Christian, a Mormon, or a person of another religious faith, this question is simple.

Is the following statement a False Mormon Doctrine or a True Biblical Doctrine?

This is not a “yes or no” question. The purpose of this is to gauge how many people respond to this question by developing their ideas as to whether or not it is Biblical or False Mormon Teaching.

Simply put, expound upon why you say it is Biblical or not. Why you say this is False Mormon teaching or not.

“Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

Baptists say they were trying to do good in Haiti | US National Headlines | Comcast.net

 

Baptists say they were trying to do good in Haiti | US National Headlines | Comcast.net

 

According to the AP article, written by Frank Bajak and Paisley Dodds, an Idaho Baptist Church group decided that it is in their best interest to go into the earthquake devastation of Haiti and rescue children who are “supposedly” orphaned, or given up by their parents.

On what authority do these groups of people claim? A perverted understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ being preached in all the world.

Granted, the earthquake devastated one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. Granted, there is some animosity toward US Protestant and Christian belief and teaching in a predominately Voodoo practicing region. The fact of the matter is, what authority does a group of people have by going into a country and removing children from their parents with the premise of “going to give them a better life by Christianizing them and getting them into the United States to be adopted by Christian Parents”? They do not have any authority.

Yes, on a humanitarian level, we need to do the best that we can to provide and meet the needs. However, child trafficking – regardless the intention behind it – is simple child trafficking. An individual or a group does not have any authority going in and disrupting a family, no matter what is happening or going on.

How would some of these same individuals would like it if they suffered a serious catastrophe and a group of Hindus, Buddhists, or any other religious groups that are not considered part of Western Christianity come in and take their children with the concept of “giving them a better life”? The feeling would be the same.

While the article does mention that some of the families understood and wanted to give their child(ren) a better life – which parent would not – the reality is that these individuals are arrested and now are wondering why they are arrested.

The reality is, in my opinion, they could have avoided these types of charges if they were there to provide humanitarian needs and not attempt to engage in child trafficking, no matter the premise and reasoning behind it. 

A Letter of Urgency to Modern Evangelical Christian’s

Responding to an Ex-Mormon’s Letter of Urgency posted on Truth in Love Ministries Website

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“Letter of Urgency

The following letter is written to all Christians by an ex-Mormon member of the Truth in Love Ministry team.”

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INTRODUCTION

Dear Christian;

If you saw a house on fire with someone trapped inside, what would you do? Would you drive by without doing anything? If you knew you could help the person, would you try? Nothing stimulates a sense of urgency more than a life and death situation.

Dear Ex-Mormon and Counter-Cult Ministers of Truth in Love Ministry:

The desire to help someone whose life is endangered truly does supersede their sense of question. Most people who are concerned for the welfare of another person, believes in the sanctity of life, will truly demonstrate their love toward another fellow human being by saving someone from something that would ultimately bring about death and/or dismemberment. Even at the cost of their personal lives in the process.

When you see a Mormon, do you recognize that that person will suffer the everlasting fire of hell for eternity? Do you believe that Mormonism places its members inside a burning building that collapses into hell at the moment of their death? Please read Revelation 20:15; Matthew 25:41 and Luke 16:19-31.

This is truly a grossly misinterpretation and false pretense to insinuate that Mormons are destined to “burn” in a house as to the condemnation and judgment of God against Mormon’s belief in that Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God. Are you truly aware of the passages of scripture that you use to commit your exegetical fallacy statements and understandings?

Analysis of Revelation 20:15 and Proper Contextuality of Said Verse:

Revelation 20:15 says: And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Yet, let us consider the contextual meaning of Revelation 20:15:

Judgment at the Throne of God

¹¹Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.

¹²And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

¹³And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.

¹⁴Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire This is the second death, the lake of fire.

¹⁵And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

According to the immediate context of Revelation 20:15, we find that this concerns the Judgment of all people, and how those people stood before God because the sea had given up the dead, death and Hades gave up the dead. What does this mean? Why did John the Revelator mention that the sea, death, and Hades all gave up their dead and that the casting out is the “second death”? And, why did he go to the lengths to say that it was not just the Book of Life, but books (plural) were opened up, as also the Book of Life?

Albert Barnes (1798-1870) writes this in his Barnes New Testament Notes:

V. The final judgment, Re 20:11-15. This closes the earthly scene. Henceforward (chap. xxi., xxii.) the scene is transferred to heaven— the abode of the redeemed. The last judgment is the winding up of the earthly affairs. The enemies of the church are all long since destroyed; the world has experienced, perhaps for a long series of ages, the full influence of the gospel; countless millions have been, we may suppose, brought under its power; and then at last, in the winding up of human affairs, comes the judgment of the great day, when the dead, small and great, shall stand before God; when the sea shall give up its dead; when death and hell shall give up the dead that are in them; when the records of human actions shall be opened, and all shall be judged according to their works, and when all who are not found written in the book of life shall be cast into the lake of fire. This is the earthly consummation; henceforward the saints shall reign in glory

Not only this, but the Jaimeson, Fausett, and Brown Critical Commentary of the Whole Bible says this:

11. great—in contrast to the "thrones," Re 20:4.

white—the emblem of purity and justice.

him that sat on it—the Father [Alford]. Rather, the Son, to whom "the Father hath committed all judgment." God in Christ, that is, the Father represented by the Son, is He before whose judgment-seat we must all stand. The Son’s mediatorial reign is with a view to prepare the kingdom for the Father’s acceptance. When He has done that, He shall give it up to the Father, "that God may be all in all," coming into direct communion with His creatures, without intervention of a Mediator, for the first time since the fall. Heretofore Christ’s Prophetical mediation had been prominent in His earthly ministry, His Priestly mediation is prominent now in heaven between His first and second advents, and His Kingly shall be so during the millennium and at the general judgment.

earth and heaven fled away—The final conflagration, therefore, precedes the general judgment. This is followed by the new heaven and earth (Re 21:1-27).

12. the dead—"the rest of the dead" who did not share the first resurrection, and those who died during the millennium.

small and great—B has "the small and the great." A, Vulgate, Syriac, and Andreas have "the great and the small." The wicked who had died from the time of Adam to Christ’s second advent, and all the righteous and wicked who had died during and after the millennium, shall then have their eternal portion assigned to them. The godly who were transfigured and reigned with Christ during it, shall also be present, not indeed to have their portion assigned as if for the first time (for that shall have been fixed long before, Joh 5:24), but to have it confirmed for ever, and that God’s righteousness may be vindicated in the case of both the saved and the lost, in the presence of an assembled universe. Compare "We must ALL appear," &c. Ro 14:10; 2Co 5:10. The saints having been first pronounced just themselves by Christ out of "the book of life," shall sit as assessors of the Judge. Compare Mt 25:31, 32, 40, "these My brethren." God’s omniscience will not allow the most insignificant to escape unobserved, and His omnipotence will cause the mightiest to obey the summons. The living are not specially mentioned: as these all shall probably first (before the destruction of the ungodly, Re 20:9) be transfigured, and caught up with the saints long previously transfigured; and though present for the confirmation of their justification by the Judge, shall not then first have their eternal state assigned to them, but shall sit as assessors with the Judge.

the books … opened—(Da 7:10). The books of God’s remembrance, alike of the evil and the good (Ps 56:8; 139:4; Mal 3:16): conscience (Ro 2:15, 16), the word of Christ (Joh 12:48), the law (Ga 3:10), God’s eternal counsel (Ps 139:16).

book of life—(Re 3:5; 13:8; 21:27; Ex 32:32, 33; Ps 69:28; Da 12:1; Php 4:3). Besides the general book recording the works of all, there is a special book for believers in which their names are written, not for their works, but for the work of Christ for, and in, them. Therefore it is called, "the Lamb’s book of life." Electing grace has singled them out from the general mass.

according to their works—We are justified by faith, but judged according to (not by) our works. For the general judgment is primarily designed for the final vindication of God’s righteousness before the whole world, which in this checkered dispensation of good and evil, though really ruling the world, has been for the time less manifest. Faith is appreciable by God and the believer alone (Re 2:17). But works are appreciable by all. These, then, are made the evidential test to decide men’s eternal state, thus showing that God’s administration of judgment is altogether righteous.

13. death and hell—Greek, "Hades." The essential identity of the dying and risen body is hereby shown; for the sea and grave give up their dead. The body that sinned or served God shall, in righteous retribution, be the body also that shall suffer or be rewarded. The "sea" may have a symbolical [Cluver from Augustine], besides the literal meaning, as, in Re 8:8; 12:12; 13:1;18:17, 19; so "death" and "hell" are personifications (compare Re 21:1). But the literal sense need hardly be departed from: all the different regions wherein the bodies and souls of men had been, gave them up.

14. Death and Hades, as personified representatives of the enemies of Christ’ and His Church, are said to be cast into the lake of fire to express the truth that Christ and His people shall never more die, or be in the state of disembodied spirits.

This is the second death—"the lake of fire" is added in A, B, and Andreas. English Version,which omits the clause, rests on inferior manuscripts. In hell the ancient form of death, which was one of the enemies destroyed by Christ, shall not continue, but a death of a far different kind reigns there, "everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord": an abiding testimony of the victory of Christ.

15. The blissful lot of the righteous is not here specially mentioned as their bliss had commenced before the final judgment. Compare, however, Mt 25:34, 41, 46.

In this analysis, the entirety of Revelation 20 shows forth that the context of the Final Judgment is not of the Righteous (due to the reference of those who are given up from the Sea, Death, and Hades to stand before the final Judge, having the books opened up and the Book of Life as well), but of those who had not participated in the First Resurrection. This resurrection is based on the idea that all of humanity will rise up from corruptible to incorruptible flesh and stand before Christ to be judged. The first resurrection will be that of the Righteous, the second resurrection will be of those who had not participated in the First Resurrection. And, not only is it just Jesus Christ who stands to judge, but also the Twelve Disciples that Christ had commissioned. To which, JFB Commentary states this about the First Resurrection:

first resurrection—"the resurrection of the just." Earth is not yet transfigured, and cannot therefore be the meet locality for the transfigured Church; but from heaven the transfigured saints with Christ rule the earth, there being a much freer communion of the heavenly and earthly churches (a type of which state may be seen in the forty days of the risen Saviour during which He appeared to His disciples), and they know no higher joy than to lead their brethren on earth to the same salvation and glory as they share themselves. The millennial reign on earth does not rest on an isolated passage of the Apocalypse, but all Old Testament prophecy goes on the same view (compare Isa 4:3; 11:9; 35:8). Jesus, while opposing the carnal views of the kingdom of God prevalent among the Jews in His day, does not contradict, but confirms, the Old Testament view of a coming, earthly, Jewish kingdom of glory: beginning from within, and spreading itself now spiritually, the kingdom of God shall manifest itself outwardly at Christ’s coming again. The papacy is a false anticipation of the kingdom during the Church-historical period. "When Christianity became a worldly power under Constantine, the hope of the future was weakened by the joy over present success" [Bengel]. Becoming a harlot, the Church ceased to be a bride going to meet her Bridegroom; thus millennial hopes disappeared. The rights which Rome as a harlot usurped, shall be exercised in holiness by the Bride. They are "kings" because they are "priests" (Re 20:6; Re 1:6; 5:10); their priesthood unto God and Christ (Re 7:15) is the ground of their kingship in relation to man. Men will be willing subjects of the transfigured priest-kings, in the day of the Lord’s power. Their power is that of attraction, winning the heart, and not counteracted by devil or beast. Church and State shall then be co-extensive. Man created "to have dominion over earth" is to rejoice over his world with unmixed, holy joy. John tells us that, instead of the devil, the transfigured Church of Christ; Daniel, that instead of the heathen beast, the holy Israel, shall rule the world [Auberlen].

To which, this is the specific doctrine of Latter-day Saint theology as to the Eschatology of what will transpire. We believe and teach the same thing that is revealed here long before Joseph Smith and the rise of Mormonism. A doctrine straight from a critical Biblical Commentary that discusses the nature and contexuality of Revelation 20:15.

Yet, let us further consider a third source of understanding here. Adam Clarke (1760 – 1832) makes his commentary in Commentary on the Bible:

Verse 11. A great white throne] Refulgent with glorious majesty.

Him that sat on it] The indescribable Jehovah.

From whose face the earth and the heaven fled away] Even the brightness of his countenance dissolved the universe, and annihilated the laws by which it was governed. This is a very majestic figure, and finely expressed.

There was found no place for them.] The glorious majesty of God filling all things, and being all in all.

Verse 12. The dead, small and great] All ranks, degrees, and conditions of men. This description seems to refer to Dan. vii. 9, 10.

And the books were opened] See Dan. xii. 1. "Rab. Jehuda said: All the actions of men, whether good or bad, are written in a book, and of all they shall give account." – Sohar Gen., fol. 79, col. 298. "How careful should men be to shun vice, and to act uprightly before the holy blessed God, seeing there are so many which go throughout the earth, see the works of men, testify of them, and write them in a book!" – Ibid., fol. 105, col. 417.

"In the first day of the new year the holy blessed God sits that he may judge the world; and all men, without exception, give an account of themselves; and the books of the living and the dead are opened." Sohar Chadash, fol. 19, 1.

The books mentioned here were the books of the living and the dead, or the book of life and the book of death: that is, the account of the good and evil actions of men; the former leading to life, the latter to death. St. John evidently alludes here to Dan. vii. 10, on which the rabbinical account of the books appears to be founded. The expressions are figurative in both.

According to their works.] And according to their faith also, for their works would be the proof whether their faith were true or false; but faith exclusively could be no rule in such a procedure.

Verse 13. The sea gave up the dead] Those who had been drowned in it, and those millions slain in naval contests, who had no other grave.

And death] All who died by any kind of disease. Death is here personified, and represented as a keeper of defunct human beings; probably no more than earth or the grave is meant, as properly belonging to the empire of death.

And hell] Æaidhv, Hades, the place of separate spirits. The sea and death have the bodies of all human beings; hades has their spirits. That they may be judged, and punished or rewarded according to their works, their bodies and souls must be reunited; hades, therefore, gives up the spirits; and the sea and the earth give up the bodies.

Verse 14. And death and hell were cast into the lake] Death himself is now abolished, and the place for separate spirits no longer needful. All dead bodies and separated souls being rejoined, and no more separation of bodies and souls by death to take place, consequently the existence of these things is no farther necessary.

This is the second death.] The first death consisted in the separation of the soul from the body for a season; the seconddeath in the separation of body and soul from God for ever. The first death is that from which there may be a resurrection; the second death is that from which there can be no recovery. By the first the body is destroyed during time; by the second, body and soul are destroyed through eternity.

Verse 15. Written in the book of life] Only those who had continued faithful unto death were taken to heaven. All whose names were not found in the public registers, who either were not citizens, or whose names had been erased from those registers because of crimes against the state, could claim none of those emoluments or privileges which belong to thecitizens; so those who either did not belong to the new and spiritual Jerusalem, or who had forfeited their rights and privileges by sin, and had died in that state, were cast into the lake of fire.

THIS is the way in which God, at the day of judgment, will proceed with sinners and apostates. Reader, see that thy name be written in the sacred register; and, if written in, see that it never be blotted out.

Therefore, it appears that within the immediate context of Revelation 20:15 is vastly different than what you have singled out. Let us now examine your reference to Matthew 25:41 and see if you improperly interpreted this passage as well.

Analysis of Matthew 25:41 and Proper Contextuality of Said Verse

You also cited Matthew 25:41 in your comparative statement that Mormon’s are in a “burning house” and are destined to the firey judgment of God. As we have briefly explored the proper context and understanding of Revelation 20:15, the same technique and proper analysis is used to see if you used Matthew 25:41 in an improper manner as a means to support your false assertion.

Let us begin.

Matthew 25:41 says this: "Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;”

Again, just as you have done with Revelation 20:15, so also you do with Matthew 25:41. Meaning, you wrest a single verse out of its intended context and posit it to say something different than the immediate context specifically allows. When you actually turn to Matthew 25:41, you see that this is part of the Parable of the Sheep’s and the Goats. The context of Matthew 25 is not only based on the context of the Parable of the Sheep’s and the Goats, but it is also within the context of Matthew 23-25; a context that is reflective of Eschatology (study of the Last Days), where is one continuous flow of what will happen at the last days – including the great judgment that John the Revelator discusses in Revelation 20:15.

Carrying on the thought of Matthew 25 being part of the overall context of Matthew 23-25, we find that Matthew 25 is concerning the Parable of the Ten Wise and Foolish Virgins, the Parable of the Talents, and the Parable of the Sheep’s and Goats. What do all three of these parables have in respect to Revelation 20:15 and the Final Judgment? All three speak of our accountability to Jesus Christ. The Ten foolish Virgins did not take (purchase) extra oil for their use. The one who did not “invest” his single talent was condemned, his talent being taken away from him. The parable of the Sheep’s and the Goats are based on the actions of those who came to Christ at the Judgment stating that they did in fact believe on his name, but in the end were condemned because they did not show forth their faith when needed by performing the works of righteousness in feeding, clothing, and housing those who came to them in need

Yet, for brevity sake, we are only focused on the nature of the Parable of the Sheep’s and Goats. Thus, the context for Matthew 25:41 is Christ actually interpreting the parable of the Sheep’s and the Goats:

³¹"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.

³²"All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;

³³and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

³⁴"Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you  from the foundation of the world.

^35’For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;

³⁶naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’

³⁷"Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?

³⁸‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?

³⁹‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’

⁴⁰"The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

⁴¹"Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;

⁴²for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;

⁴³I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’

⁴⁴"Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’

⁴⁵"Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’

⁴⁶"These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

The context is specifically clear as to who are on the Left hand side (the Goats), those who did not do the works of Christ, those who did not show compassion and charity (remember the Parable of the Good Samaritan who took it upon himself to tend to the afflicted man who was beaten and robbed?). Yet, my dear Ex-Mormon and Counter-Cult Minister’s over at Truth in Love Ministry, claims that this is what Christ, the Judge, will say to Mormon’s. This is anti-scriptural because the text states something vastly different than what the exegetical fallacy claim is being made here.

How then do you explain the usage of Matthew 25:41 being taken out of context to support your false allegation that Mormon’s are shut in a burning house and eternally condemned by Christ and use three single scripture passages that are taken out of their immediate context? This is does nothing to support your false notion that Mormon’s are condemned to an eternal dismal of condemnation. These passages actually, when one looks at the immediate context, supports the Mormon doctrine that we will be resurrected (Revelation 20 refers to two significant resurrections, and then the final judgment as prescribed and understood by three different Bible Commentators as to how and what men will be judged upon – their works and deeds that are written, and how this places them in the Book of Life, or does not place them in the Book of Life).

Let us not stop there, because you referenced a third passage of scripture to support your seemingly false claim – a false claim because this letter is exposing the lack of textual integrity that you are implying within the single verse scriptures you pull out of context to use to create your own perverse doctrine to declare that Mormon’s are condemned – that is being exposed here for what it is; Doctrinal perversion.

Analysis of Luke 16:19-31 and the proper contextuality of said verses

The only passage of scripture that you cite without it being a singular verse – however, the question remains, is this truly consistent and supportive of your perverse assertion (that the previous two scriptural contextual analysis has revealed and exposed)? Or, is this something different?

Luke 16:19-31 is regarding the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus. At first reading, it appears that this is about final judgment (which the previous two verses are about), however, upon a more thorough rendering, we find that this is not about judgment in our understanding and sense of the word, but it is regarding the nature of the Law. Notice that Christ is referring to a conversation that the Rich Man is having with the Patriarch Abraham. This is not a conversation that the Rich Man is having with the Lord.

Considering the overall context – Albert Barnes states this:

From this impressive and instructive parable we may learn—

1st. That the souls of men do not die with their bodies.

2nd. That the soul is conscious after death; that it does not sleep, as some have supposed, till the morning of the resurrection.

3rd. That the righteous are taken to a place of happiness immediately at death, and the wicked consigned at once to misery.

4th. That wealth does not secure from death.

"How vain are riches to secure

Their haughty owners from the grave !"

The rich, the beautiful, the gay, as well as the poor, go down to the grave. All their pomp and apparel, all their honours, their palaces, and their gold cannot save them. Death can as easily find his way into the splendid mansions of the rich as into the cottages of the poor; and the rich shall turn to the same corruption, and soon, like the poor, be undistinguished from common dust and be unknown.

5th. We should not envy the condition of the rich.

"On slippery rocks I see them stand,

And fiery billows roll below.

"Now let them boast how tall they rise,

I’ll never envy them again;

There they may stand with haughty eyes,

Till they plunge deep in endless pain.

"Their fancied joys how fast they flee!

Like dreams, as fleeting and as vain;

Their songs of softest harmony

Are but a prelude to their pain."

6th. We should strive for a better inheritance than can be possessed in this life.

"Now I esteem their mirth and wine

Too dear to purchase with my blood:

Lord, ’tis enough that thou art mine—

My life, my portion, and my God."

7th. The sufferings of the wicked in hell will be indescribably great. Think what is represented by torment; by burning flame; by insupportable thirst; by that state where a single drop of water would afford relief. Remember that all this is but a representation of the pains of the damned, and that this will have no intermission day or night, but will continue from year to year, and age to age, without any end, and you have a faint view of the sufferings of those who are in hell.

8th. There is a place of sufferings beyond the grave—a hell. If there is not, then this parable has no meaning. It is impossible to make anything of it unless it be designed to teach that.

9th. There will never be any escape from those gloomy regions. There is a gulf fixed-:fixed, not movable. Nor can any of the damned beat a pathway across this gulf to the world of holiness.

10th. We see the amazing folly of those who suppose there may be an end to the sufferings of the wicked, and who, on that supposition, seem willing to go down to hell to suffer a long time, rather than go at once to heaven. If man were to suffer but a thousand years, or even one year, why should he be so foolish as to choose that suffering rather than go at once to heaven, and be happy at once when he dies?

11th. God gives us sufficient warning to prepare for death. He has sent his Word, his servants, his Son; he warns us by his Spirit and his providence; by the entreaties of our friends and by the death of sinners; he offers us heaven, and he threatens hell. If all this will not move sinners, what would do it? There is nothing that would.

12th. God will give us nothing farther to warn us. No dead man will come to life to tell us of what he has seen. If he did, we would not believe him. Religion appeals to man not by ghosts and frightful apparitions. It appeals to their reason, their conscience, their hopes, their fears. It sets life and death soberly before men, and if they will not choose the former, they must die. If you will not hear the Son of God and the warnings of the Scriptures, there is nothing which you will or can hear. You will never be persuaded, and will never escape the place of torment.

{v} "If they hear not" 2 Co 4:3 {w} "neither will they be persuaded" Joh 12:10,11

The problem here is that Luke 16:19-31 does not describe judgment – but describes the contrast of conditions. The Rich man lived a life of luxury while the Poor man lived a life of poverty and suffering. Christ does not say as to what caused the Rich man to enter into an eternal abyss of torment, nor does the Text offers any such clues. What we do have, as Barnes stated, is that there is a role reversal where the Rich man now is suffering and the Poor man is experiencing bliss and happiness. The mentioning of Abraham telling the Rich Man that his (the Rich Man’s)_ five brothers have with them Moses and the teachings of the Prophets. Yet, the entire contextuality of Luke 16 is referencing the placement that the Pharisees have on Wealth and Wealthy living while oppressing the poor. This is based on the first parable Christ gives in Luke 16. Therefore, this specific passage is further removed from the assertion that Mormon’s are “Condemned” to a hellish experience (unless it is your intent to distinguish what Christians will inherit (being the poor man Lazurus) and what Mormons will experience (the Rich Man) – if this is the case, then your assertion is again false and perverts the text of Scripture).

Therefore, what we have seen here, what is exposed here with a proper appeal to the three scripture passages, the reality is that Mormon’s are not condemned to hell because you have come to believe that Mormon’s believe in a different doctrine than you, but that those who do not take upon themselves the name of Christ, and abandon their old life and take up the new life that they receive and walk according to the will of God (which includes being obedient) shows forth the deception you have received, and the deception that you are positioning to be truth. This is the gross perversion of your assertion, a false allegation, and the scriptures do you no justice because you committed exegetical fallacy to support a straw man argument that has no basis on objectivity and factual reasoning.

This account opens up with a comparison of a Rich man, and a poor man. One who flaunts his wealth by wearing costly apparels and carousing around without any care. Contrasted with this, a poor man sat at his gate where he suffered sores, the only relief of his pains is the dogs coming and licking his wounds.

A Grim Reality of Bearing False Witness and Accusation of Preaching a False Doctrine

It’s pretty grim to think of someone spending eternity in everlasting fire with the devil and his angels. It’s even more difficult if that someone is your spouse, child, sibling, parent or friend. The sense of urgency and our desire to help greatly increases when it involves someone we love.

I wholeheartedly agree. What is even more saddening is when someone takes it upon themselves to write these types of letters in a way to bring about false witnessing and making a false accusation of preaching a false doctrine. What is even more difficult is that those (such as yourself and those who are members of the counter-cult ministry Truth In Love) deceptively and cunningly present such formulations as aspects of truth – having a form of truth, but in reality is nothing more than white lies and fabrications built around straw man argumentation and misconceptions. And, yes, the sense of urgency and desire ought to be greatly increased to help those we love to fully understand and comprehend what is at stake here, and what is truth and what is fiction.

What do we have to conclude with here? The reality of a false insinuation that Mormons are condemned to hell because they do not place their trust in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior is what we have to conclude here. The reality that the scriptures attest to which we will be judged, how we will be judged, and in respect to this, it is exactly summarized by what the Book of Mormon teaches: 20 Therefore remember, O man, for all thy doings thou shalt be brought into judgment.  21 Wherefore, if ye have sought to do wickedly in the days of your probation, then ye are found unclean before the judgment-seat of God; and no unclean thing can dwell with God; wherefore, ye must be cast off forever.

To this, I conclude the first part of my letter to you. Let the reader understand and distinguish the reality of truth from the deception.

The Apostle Paul certainly felt this love for "his" people, the Jews; see Romans 9:1-4. I also feel that way for my kinsmen, the Mormons. Like followers of Judaism, Mormons believe their own works will give them righteousness. [Romans 9:31-32 & Romans 10:2-4] In truth, every Mormon who doesn’t trust in Jesus as his or her substitute, relying solely on Christ’s righteous works, is living in a house that is on fire. At the moment of death, every individual enters God’s judgment. That individual’s opportunity to come to faith and be saved is past. Just because Mormons believe they have an "eternity" to become perfect, does not make it true. Truth becomes reality at death.

Again, another attempt at staking what you perceive to be Mormon teaching and understanding with the false comparison to that which is taught within Judaism. In fact, you make two false.

A Kiss from my wife!

A kiss from my wife that I carry with me every day

About three years ago, I happened to have found a piece of paper. On this paper was a grocery list. On the back side of it, a lipstick stain in the form of a kiss.

My wife had blotched her newly painted lips and thought she had tossed it.

Well, one day, I decided that it was time to clean out my wallet.

As I was cleaning out my wallet, my wife had noticed the piece of paper with her lipstick stain. She asked me why I had it.

My response: “It is a kiss from you to me that I carry have carried in my wallet every single day,”

She simply chuckled, said I was a dork for carrying an old grocery list with her lipstick stain on the back of the paper.

To me, it is a simple reminder that whenever I open my wallet and see that piece of paper, I am reminded that my wife is the only woman I ever want to kiss, and it brightens my day when sometimes it seems that everything can just go so wrong.

A simple romantic gesture.

MormonTimes – Don’t model your parenting after Laman and Lemuel

   A quarter after 4 am. Being a new parent is very challenging, especially when it comes to dealing with a 2 month old. How good of a parent am I going to be? How am I able to raise this child? Why am I a parent to this child, and yet have other children that I do not see or even interact with (this question predominately more of my own thoughts because I have three other children, one that I contact on a regular basis, but hardly speak with. Last time I saw him, was about a year or so ago. My two other children, not exactly sure where they are at)?

   Maybe it is out of sheer frustration, sometimes getting at the end of one’s rope tends to open up some vulnerability where we have an opportunity to come before our Loving Heavenly Father and share with him our frustrations, lack of worthiness, a sense of failure, and sheer curiosity. Sometimes there is silence, sometimes, the answer comes quickly as a thought that permeates in our own minds. However there are other times when someone else says something, does something, or we experience something that is a direct answer to our prayer.

   While I had not prayed vocally, I prayed within the depth of my soul. Not half an hour earlier, my wife asked “why did we think we can do this?” I assured her the best I could. Questioning my own reason for being a father to this beautiful young lady that is blossoming into a wonderful daughter of a Loving Heavenly Father. A daughter who has started blessing the life of her mother, her father, and her older brother (my wife’s step-son).

   It was until I read the MormonTimes – Don’t model your parenting after Laman and Lemuel and it has occurred to me that this is so true. Laman and Lemuel harbored ill feelings toward their younger brother, even their own mother and father. Binding them up, rebelling against their authority. How often have we seen this kind of thing happen in families today? Whether it is with a family that is within the Church, or outside of the Church. Particularly, those who end up having a family member decide that the LDS Faith is no longer their own faith and they have stepped away from the True Gospel of Jesus Christ restored in these last days.

   How are we able to respond to this? How often have we allowed our own pride get in the way when we should have shown a more positive and better example for our children to learn from?

   As it goes, respect, love, honor, integrity, and character comes from within the home. What the child observes, what the child sees, and experience, they carry through into their own lives. Whether it is good qualities, or bad qualities, a child learns from those who are close to them and teach them – and those parents who carry a chip on their shoulder, who curse while driving because someone cut them off, or, the parent who comes unglued without tempering (I am very much guilty here) their tongue properly, what kind of example are we setting for our children?

   Parents want what is best for their children, and it is time that parents start by examining their own lives and seeing where they can improve their own attitude and outlook on life so that they can pass on better lessons their own children can learn from, grow with, and come to terms with.

   Just some food for thought this early in the morning.