Anonymous (via GotQuestions)
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Danny Hickman
Gnashing of teeth is a way of describing the anguish of the person who is about to die the second death. There is no chance to live anymore anywhere!! All we've ever known is life.
There's a way to live again after we initially die. We know that to be true from scripture. Jesus raised a few people during his earthly ministry. A widow's son, a centurion's daughter, and one guy whose name was given: Lazarus. (He was the only one who was identified by name).
They had died the first death. Another way to live again is to be resurrected to life in the spiritual realm, the place where there is no wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then there's the judgment seat where there is the abundance of anguish. After the record is read and the sentence is handed down, the soul that was never born again is thrown in the fire and is destroyed. The punishment is called "everlasting" to get the point across that there's no chance for life anymore. It isn't called "everlasting punishment" because it goes on eternally.
It's called the second death for a logical reason. If death means everlasting torture then why call it death? And a "second" death to boot!
It would serve the truth of the good news well if the confusion about eternal life and death was cleared up. There is only one eternal life, and it's with Jesus. The other fate is death by destruction of a soul in the fire that is eternal. The fire that is never satisfied. Death is never satisfied!
God chose the souls who are redeemed.
Danny Hickman
You have no reason to boast or feel any way proud of how you were raised, or for what part of the world you live in, or anything like that. We who are redeemed were sent here on the redemption plan.
Yeah, it matters how we live. But since salvation can't be earned, how we live can't cancel it either.
A life lived in submission to God is a life lived without a lot of the anguish that accompanies a worldly life. Some of us "christians" don't know the difference. Some of us do!
If you were saved when you were four years old, you don't know what I'm talking about. You were never OUT THERE!! You've had the Spirit of God living in you virtually all of your life! I don't think you know what living without the Spirit is like. It's awful! The worst part about it is that most people don't know why their life is so empty. So we look for a fix. There's no shortage of things to try. So we try a laundry list of them. Most of them make us wail and gnash our teeth!
There's only one way to avoid the death sentence of the lake of fire. It is to he redeemed by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross. What does the soul that is redeemed do to be redeemed? Believe in Him. How is that accomplished? Romans 10 says by the preaching of the gospel. Paul says the preacher has to be sent to you. He says nothing about your lifestyle. A certain lifestyle won't earn it for you anyway! Remember?
It's a gift! The gift of salvation! Still, some of us think it has to be claimed, accepted. NO!