I am 17 years old I live in Nottingham. I have long black hair, brown eyes, pale skin, I am slim and my height is 5ft5 inches.
About me.
I dress like a goth and look like a goth but I wouldn't really label myself, the way I see myself is as an indiviual person. What I hate most of all is when people judge me before they get to know me. I am who I am at the end of the day if people cannot accept that then that ain't my problem.
Likes.
I like music, my favourite type of music is metal all kinds of metal which includes; dark metal, death metal,black metal etc.
favourite bands.
marilyn manson
murderdolls
deathstars
the awakening
type o negetive
wedensday 13
dimmu borgir
cradle of filth
wintersun
visions of atlantis
nightwish( Tarja Turunen)
theatres des vampires
Lake of Drowning Souls
Journey into the darkest recesses of your mind
Far off chants signal eternal doom
You try to get away
Swimming through a dark, poisonous substance
Which seeps into your skin
A million drowning souls claw at your body
You desperately head for the shore
And scramble out
Onto an island you know not where
Witches and goblins stare back at you
With a hideous intensity in their eyes
You are their prey
A soul for the taking
An inner awakening
Onto a whole new world
Of evil and torment
Again you run
The sky is dark
And the shouts and screams are close at hand
They are ready to pounce
You must get away
You wake up
Safe for another day
But when you sleep
They will enter your dreams
Oblivious to your screams
One night they will take you away
To their world
And untold evil and torment
Will be your daily toil
“Sweet dreams!”
A TERRIFYING FACT!
Terrifying demons freed from other dimensions are preying on helpless human victims. And the gateway used by the grotesque monsters is being kept open by the innocent toying with Ouija Boards and other tools of the occult. Experts advise caution.
They can possess the bodies of their victims and cause gentle, nonviolent people to commit outrageous crimes.
They can take on other forms...some quite horrifying!.
i am the one that dwells within cain
i am the one that dwells within nero
i am the one that dwells within belial
i am the one that dwells within judas
i am the one that dwells within legion
i am the one taht dwells within lucifer
Curse
*******
There has been unfairness done to me
I summon the elements
I invoke them
I conjure them to do my bidding
The four watchtowers shall lay their eyes and minds
there shall be fear and guilt and bad blood
there shall be submission and no pity
I point the threefold law against thee
against thee it shall be pointed
threefold, a hundred fold is the cost for my anger and pain
Thee shall be blinded by the fear
blinded by the pain
blinded by me
binded by me
Cursed by me
So mote it be!
Contact the Dead Spell...
You need at least 5 people to do this, you must draw a pentagram or a purple cloth make sure the cloth is big enough for everyone to sit on. Now have your alter at the head of the pentagram. The alter must have a pentagram on it, with candles on the points, and your chalice in the middle. now have everyone gather round the pentagram on the cloth in the middle put a black candle for protection, and a medal bowl with garlic in it, draw an upside down pentagram and burn it and place it in the bowl with the garlic.
then take your chalice and fill it with red wine not white. Each person take a sip out of it and say protect us. when everyone has done this place the metal bowl and the black candle on the alter have a volunteer lay down across the pentagram with 2 people on the right side and 1 person on the left. have the other person lay in front of the volunteer and rub there temples, and say once.
"(say the persons name) Your eyes are getting heavy, you are going into a deep sleep, you see in your mind (say the person you are trying to contact) her mind is like an open book, read it to us." Then u should take 2 fingers and place it underneath his/or her body and lift him/or her off the ground. And then place them back on the ground. say the persons name who you are trying to contact and they should talk to you. After the are done talking the person should go silent that is showing the person has left. Then you should call the volunteers name and they will wake up. it might help to do a banishing spell after.
the end.
I LOVE ANDY HOPKINS OF BOURNVILLE SCHOOL. X X X
the darkness captivates my every last thought and all i feel is emptiness, no emotions.
SATAN IS LORD WORSHIP HIM BOUGH DOWN BEFORE HIM, TURN TO DARKNESS BEFORE THE DARKNESS TURNS TO YOU. GOD IS NOT HERE. GOD IS A LIE THERE IS ONLY EVER EVIL IN THIS WORLD EVIL GOODESS, NOT PURE GOODNESS.
IT'S NOT EVIL
It is not evil. It's merely a board with some black letters and a planchette.
If you go looking for evil or demons you might possibly get something unwanted such as that.
These are not good at all.
These are very mean and nasty and just may affect normal life as we know it.
I've heard stories of people trying to invoke demons
and the like. Do not even try this!
They suddenly find members of their
family having tragic accidents and suddenly developing terminal diseases
with no ill effect to themselves.
DON'T DO IT!
It's not worth trying, but if you do be prepared to deal with what you bring on!
This IS NOT fun.
They are evil, serious and WILL cause you nothing but grief.
Spirits that talk through the board are just like you and me except not in physical form.
They deserve respect and should be treated well.
Before you start asking what your future will be like,
and questions about the spirits past, that's fine.
NEVER ask how they died!
This will bring back sad memories and will turn the spirit absolutely livid.
Nothing will come from a board if you leave it lying around. You DO NOT need to burn it or throw it away if you have a bad experience.
It cannot work without people making it work.
ALWAYS include prayers amongst the circle of people involved in the seance to both OPEN and CLOSE the circle.
It is a good idea to make sure you protect
yourself before the seance begins with a few prayers.
songs
favourite songs of marilyn manson
man that you fear
The ants are in the sugar
The muscles atrophied
Were on the other side, the screen is us and were t.v.
Spread me open,
Sticking to my pointy ribs
Are all your infants in abortion cribs
I was born into this
Everything turns to shit
The boy that you loved is the man that you fear
Pray until your number,
Asleep from all your pain,
Your apple has been rotting
Tomorrows turned up dead
I have it all and I have no choice but to
Ill make everyone pay and you will see
You can kill yourself now
Because youre dead
In my mind
The boy that you loved is the monster you fear
Peel off all those eyes and crawl into the dark,
Youve poisoned all of your children to camouflage your scars
Pray unto the splinters, pray unto your fear
Pray your life was just a dream
The cut that never heals
Pray now baby, pray your life was just a dream
(I am so tangled in my sins that I cannot escape)
Pinch the head off, collapse me like a weed
Someone had to go this far
I was born into this
Everything turns to shit
The boy that you loved is the man that you fear
Peel off all those eyes and crawl into the dark,
Youve poisoned all of your children to camouflage your scars
Pray unto the splinters, pray unto your fear
Pray your life was just a dream
The cut that never heals
Pray now baby, pray your life was just a dream
The world in my hands, theres no one left to hear you scream
Theres no one left for you
great big white world
In space the stars are no nearer
Just glitters like a morgue
And I dreamed I was a spaceman
Burned like a moth in a flame
And our world was so fucking gone
I'm not attached to your world
Nothing heals, nothing grows
I'm not attached to your world
Nothing heals, nothing grows
Because it's a great big white world
And we are drained of our colors
We used to love ourselves,
We used to love one another
All my stitches itch
My prescriptions low,
I wish you were queen
Just for today
In a world that's so white what else could I say?
And hell was so cold
All the vases are so broken
And the roses tear our hands all open
Mother Mary, miscarry
But we pray just like insects
And the world is so ugly now
Because it's a great big white world
And we are drained of our colors
We used to love ourselves,
We used to love one another
All my stitches itch
My prescriptions low,
I wish you were queen
Just for today
All my stitches itch
My prescriptions low,
I wish you were queen
Just for today
In a world that's so white what else could I say?
It's a great big white world
And we are drained of our colors
We used to love ourselves,
We used to love one another
All my stitches itch
My prescriptions low,
I wish you were queen
Just for today
All my stitches itch
My prescriptions low,
I wish you were queen
Just for today
In a world that's so white what else could I say?
by Terry Watkins
“And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments. . .” Luke 16:23
What you're about to read is hard to believe. . .
We're going to examine the place the Bible calls hell. We'll present documented evidence for a place called hell. Don't take what you're going to read lightly. If what you read is true — YOU COULD BE IN SERIOUS DANGER!
Several years ago a book was published, entitled Beyond Death's Door by Dr. Maurice Rawlings. Dr. Rawlings, a specialist in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease, resuscitated many people who had been clinically dead. Dr. Rawlings, a devout atheist, "considered all religion "hocus-pocus" and death nothing more than a painless extinction". But something happened in 1977 that brought a dramatic change in the life of Dr. Rawlings! He was resuscitating a man, terrified and screaming — descending down into the flames of hell:
"Each time he regained heartbeat and respiration, the patient screamed, "I am in hell!" He was terrified and pleaded with me to help him. I was scared to death. . . Then I noticed a genuinely alarmed look on his face. He had a terrified look worse than the expression seen in death! This patient had a grotesque grimace expressing sheer horror! His pupils were dilated, and he was perspiring and trembling — he looked as if his hair was "on end."
Then still another strange thing happened. He said,"Don't you understand? I am in hell. . . Don't let me go back to hell!" . . .the man was serious, and it finally occurred to me that he was indeed in trouble. He was in a panic like I had never seen before."
(Maurice Rawlings, Beyond Death's Door,(Thomas Nelson Inc., 1979) p. 3).
Dr. Rawlings said, no one, who could have heard his screams and saw the look of terror on his face could doubt for a single minute that he was actually in a place called hell!
The Bible continually warns of a place called hell. There are over 162 references in the New Testament alone which warns of hell. And over 70 of these references were uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ!
In Luke 16, Jesus Christ gives a frightening picture of hell:
22 . . . the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house:
28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. (Luke 16:22-28)
HELL IS A PLACE OF FIRE
The man in Luke 16:24 cries: ". . .I am tormented in this FLAME."
In Matthew 13:42, Jesus says: "And shall cast them into a FURNACE OF FIRE: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
In Matthew 25:41, Jesus says: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting FIRE,. . ."
Revelation 20:15 says, " And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the LAKE OF FIRE."
THE BIBLE GIVES THE LOCATION OF HELL
When Jesus Christ died on the cross, He descended into hell. In Acts 2, Peter is speaking, verse 31, " . . . seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in HELL"
When Jesus Christ died His soul went into hell.
And in Matthew 12:40, Jesus Christ says:
"For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly: so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the HEART OF THE EARTH. "
The Bible is clear — Hell is inside the earth!
Ephesians 4:9, says of Jesus: "Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the LOWER PARTS OF THE EARTH."
On page 85 of Beyond Death’s Door, Dr. Rawlings writes patients who described hell said, ". . . this place seems to be UNDERGROUND or WITHIN THE EARTH in some way."
Scientist and Bible teacher, Henry Morris also agrees the Bible plainly teaches that hell is in this earth:
"So far as we can tell from Scripture, the present hell, is somewhere in the heart of the earth itself. It is also called 'the pit' (Isa. 14:9, 15: Ezek. 32:18-21) and 'the abyss' (Rev. 9:2). . .
The writers certainly themselves believed hell to be real and geographically 'beneath' the earth's surface. . .
To say this is not scientific is to assume science knows much more about the earth's interior than is actually the case. The great 'pit' [hell] would only need to be about 100 miles or less in diameter to contain, with much room to spare, all the forty billion or so people who have ever lived, assuming their 'spiritual' bodies are the same size as their physical bodies."
(Henry M. Morris, The Bible Has the Answer, p. 220)
The Birmingham News, April 10, 1987 had an article entitled "Earth's Center Hotter Than Sun's Surface, Scientists Say". The article stated that scientists have recently discovered, "THE EARTH'S INNER CORE HAS A TEMPERATURE OF OVER 12,000 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT!"
Have you seen pictures of a volcano erupting, spewing a lake of fire from inside the earth — consuming everything within miles just from the heat? When Mount St. Helens erupted in May 18, 1980, it was described by reporters, "when HELL surfaced upon the earth." The book, Volcanoes, Earth's Awakening (p.91) describes an erupting volcano as "descent into HELL".
Thousands of years ago, the Bible described a place called hell in the heart of the earth that matches exactly what science is discovering.
YES! THERE IS A PLACE CALLED HELL!
In Numbers 16, the Bible gives the account of people falling into hell alive!
"And THE EARTH OPENED HER MOUTH, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive INTO THE PIT, and the EARTH CLOSED UPON THEM:" Numbers 16:32-33
Caspar Peucer, a famous fourteenth century astronomer and physician, who also researched and documented the volcanoe eruptions at Heklafell wrote some very frightening information in his research findings. Peucer, claims (as others) that "fearful howlings, weeping and gnashing of teeth" could be heard "for many miles. . ." as these volcanoes erupted:
"Out of the bottomless abyss of Heklafell, or rather out of Hell itself, rise melancholy cries and loud wailings, so that these can be heard for many miles around. . . there may be heard in the mountain fearful howlings, weeping and gnashing of teeth."
(Haraldur Sigurdsson, Melting the Earth, The History of Ideas on Volcanic Eruptions, p. 73)
And Caspar Peucer is not alone. There are others who believe they have heard "cries and screaming" coming from volcanoes. Most have tried to ignore the obvious. Some simply explain the "sounds of hell" to some rational meaning. But they are there. . .
"The fearsome noises that issued from some of their volcanoes were certainly thought to be the screams of tormented souls in the fires of hell below".
(Haraldur Sigurdsson, Melting the Earth, The History of Ideas on Volcanic Eruptions, p. 73)
Inside this earth, this very moment, there are millions of lost, tormented souls — burning, weeping, wailing — without any hope whatsoever!
In Mark 9:46, Jesus Christ says about hell: "Where THEIR WORM dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
Jesus said explicitly — THEIR worm — not a worm, or the worm — but THEIR worm. The Bible teaches that Christians will one day have a body like the Lord Jesus Christ. Could it be, as some Bible students teach — that men and women in hell take on the form of their father, Satan (John 8:44)? In Revelation 12:3, Satan is described as a red dragon. Could Jesus Christ be referring to the body lost men and women will have for eternity?
The earth’s crust on land is normally 50 miles thick. You’d have to go down 50 miles before the edge of the fire. But in parts of the ocean floor, the earth’s crust is less than a mile thick.
Scientists recently discovered cracks on the ocean floor where fire was leaking out. Do you know what they found around these fire-breathing vents in the crust? Eight-foot long worms, found no other place in the world! The book, The Deep Sea, by Joseph Wallace (p.39), reads, "Perhaps the strangest of ocean creatures recently discovered are Riftia, the giant tube WORMS. Measuring up to 8 feet in length, the worms are ONLY FOUND NEAR DEEP SEA VENTS."
And Jesus Christ said, "Where THEIR WORM dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
Have you read Isaiah 66 where the Lord Jesus Christ is quoting Mark 9:46?
Look at the context and time period of Isaiah 66:22-24:
Isaiah 66:22-24:
22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
The "new heavens and new earth" of Isaiah 66:22 matches Revelation 21:1. This occurs AFTER the Great White Throne Judgement of Revelation 20:10-15! The references to "carcases"; "their worm"; "their fire" (vs 24) — is AFTER the Great White Throne Judgement of the LOST people! The reference to ". . the men that have transgressed. . ." are the LOST people AFTER the Great White Throne Judgement.
And at this point — they have received their NEW BODY! Notice what Isaiah says, the saved people shall "LOOK upon the CARCASES of the men that have transgressed. . ." It's worth mentioning that a "carcase" is not always a "DEAD body". For instance, two times the Bible specifically uses the term "dead carcase" (Deut. 14:8 and Ezek 6:5). If a carcase is ALWAYS a "dead" body, then why say "dead" carcase? And there's NOTHING in the context of Isaiah to imply these "men that transgressed" are "dead".
In fact, Isaiah clearly says, "their worm shall NOT DIE". Even in our language, we refer to a living body as a "carcase". For example, "Get your carcase [body] in here". Why is that important? Because when the saved people in Isaiah 66:24 are "looking upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed" — And do you know what they are SEEING? "Their worm"! The "carcase" they are seeing is "their WORM that shall not die". The end of Isaiah 66:24 is a frightening endorsement of this interpretation. What the saved people are viewing Isaiah says is , ". . . an abhorring unto all flesh". And my friend, that is not JUST a normal flesh body they are looking at! It is something that will send chills screaming through your soul at the horror. And it will happen!
And it will happen TO YOU if you die without the Lord Jesus Christ!
Even though the world tries to extinguish the cries and reality of hell — the truth of hell echoes throughout our world. We desperately pretend to cover our ears and igonore the "screams, the weeping, the wailing, the gnashing of teeth" but it is there. . . And we know it. We refuse to accept such a place exist. But it is there. And we know it. Nothing we can do, nothing we can say, can erase the horror of hell from our minds.
It is there. And we know it.
National Geographic magazine truthfully titled their story on Volcanoes "Going To Hell". When PBS did a series on The Savage Earth, one episode was titled "Hell's Crust: Our Everchanging Planet". Everything we know. Everything we observe. Echoes the truth of a place called hell.
It is there. And we know it.
Revelation 14:10 says, " . . . and he shall be tormented with fire and BRIMSTONE . . ." And Job 18 describes the " . . . PLACE of him that knoweth not God" (vs 21), in verse 15 as, " . . . BRIMSTONE shall be scattered upon his habitation." Do you know what brimstone is? It's sulfur. And do you know where sulfur or brimstone is found? INSIDE THIS EARTH! According to the book Volcanoes by Pierre Kohler (p. 43), when Mt. St Helens erupted in 1980 — 150,000 tons of sulfurous gas was ejected! Job is the oldest book in the Bible, written over 3,000 years ago, and yet Job knew what science wouldn't know for years — inside this earth is BRIMSTONE!
Nature magazine recently discovered (July 2002) what the Bible knew over 3,000 years ago. Inside this earth is "fire and brimstone":
"Volcanoes may be more like hell than anyone realized. Eruptions disgorge streams of molten sulphur, the brimstone of evangelical preachers, which burns up before it can be preserved for posterity, new research in the journal Geology shows".
(Nature, Science Update, July 22, 2002)
Click here to view an incredible National Geographic Macromedia Flash clip on Volcanoes with the intro "FIRE. . . BRIMSTONE. . . HELL ON EARTH. . VOLCANOES" Note: You will need the ability to play MacroMedia Flash to view
The cover of Discover magazine, August 2002, asks the question — "What's Really at the Center of the Earth?".
I know what's REALLY in "the center of this earth". Jesus Christ told us. Over and over. There is a lake of fire — with millions of people burning, weeping, screaming, wailing, gnashing of teeth".
READ THE FOLLOWING!
". . . they dig into hell . . ." Amos 9:2
The following article appeared in the well respected Finland newspaper, Ammenusastia
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"As a communist I don’t believe in heaven or the Bible but as a scientist I now believe in hell," said Dr. Azzacove. "Needless to say we were shocked to make such a discovery. But we know what we saw and we know what we heard. And we are absolutely convinced that we drilled through the gates of hell!"
Dr. Azzacove continued, ". . .the drill suddenly began to rotate wildly, indicating that we had reached a large empty pocket or cavern. Temperature sensors showed a dramatic increase in heat to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit."
"We lowered a microphone, designed to detect the sounds of plate movements down the shaft. But instead of plate movements we heard a human voice screaming in pain! At first we thought the sound was coming from our own equipment."
"But when we made adjustments our worst suspicions were confirmed. The screams weren’t those of a single human, they were the screams of millions of humans!"
Listen to a RealAudio recording claiming to be an actual recording of the above article. Are these the actual sounds of hell? Listen to it.
NOTE: You will need the free RealAudio player to listen. If you do not have the RealAudio player you can download it now.
HELL IS A PLACE OF TORMENT
Jesus says of the man in Luke 16:
23 "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in TORMENTS. . . "
24 ". . . for I am TORMENTED in this FLAME."
28 ". . .PLACE OF TORMENT."
It is humanly impossible to comprehend the Bible description of hell. Nothing on earth can compare with it. No nightmare could produce a terror to match that of hell. No horror movie could describe it’s fright. No crime scene with all it’s blood and gore could begin to match it’s horror.
It will be beyond anything humanly imaginable!
The Bible warns in Psalm 9:17, you will not only be in hell — you will BE TURNED INTO HELL! You will literally BE HELL!
The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
Psalm 9:17
YOU will see HELL. . .
YOU will smell HELL. . .
YOU will breathe HELL. . .
YOU will hear HELL. . .
YOU will feel HELL. . .
YOU WILL BE HELL. . .
The Bible describes it as weeping (Matt 8:12), wailing (Matt 13:42), gnashing of teeth (Matt 13:50), darkness (Matt 25:30), flames (Luke 16:24), burning (Isa 33:14), torments (Luke 16:23), everlasting punishment! Jesus Christ says in Matthew 25:41, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into EVERLASTING FIRE, prepared for the devil and his angels."
In Matthew 13:42, Jesus says: "And shall cast them into a FURNACE OF FIRE: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
HELL IS FOREVER!
All who enter hell — abandon all hope!
The horror of hell — for even one second is unbearable — but FOREVER!
Jesus says in Matthew 25:41: ". . . Depart from me, ye cursed, into EVERLASTING fire, . . ."
Rev. 14:11: "The smoke of their TORMENT ascendeth up for EVER AND EVER: and they have NO REST DAY NOR NIGHT."
Just look how the Bible warns of the eternity and permance of hell!
everlasting fire — Matthew18:8, 25:41
everlasting punishment — Matthew 25:46
everlasting chains — Jude 1:6
eternal damnation — Mark 3:29
eternal judgment — Hebrews 6:2
eternal fire — Jude 1:7
unquenchable fire — Matthew 3:12
the fire that never shall be quenched — Mark 9:43, 44, 45, 46, 48
fire unquenchable — Luke 3:17
mist of darkness is reserved for ever — 2 Peter 2:17
the blackness of darkness for ever — Jude 1:13
My friend, I have searched my Bible, from cover to cover. . . I have studied every occurrence of hell in my Bible — and I can not find one verse, not one word of HOPE for someone in hell! NOT ONE WORD! The rich man in hell in Luke 16 never even asks to get out — He knew there was no way out!
OH MY FRIEND – HELL IS FOREVER AND EVER!
What could possibly be worth eternity in hell? No wonder Jesus Christ warned so much about hell! No wonder Jesus said in Mark 8:36, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and LOSE HIS OWN SOUL?"
Jesus Christ took hell very serious. . .
Jesus Christ says in Mark 9:43-47,
43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
Jesus Christ took hell so serious — He could say without the slightest hesitation — to remove your eye, cut off your hand or foot, if that would keep you out of hell!
If hell is not real — Jesus Christ was the most deceived man that ever lived!
I’ll challenge anyone to read the words of Jesus Christ and tell me they are the words of a deceived man!
Jesus Christ knew exactly what He was talking about!
How did Jesus describe hell?
Jesus Christ spoke more on hell than any other subject.
Just look at how Jesus described hell:
WHAT JESUS CHRIST SAYS ABOUT HELL!
"fire" Matt 7:19, 13:40, 25:41
"everlasting fire" Matt 18:8, 25:41
"eternal damnation" Mark 3:29
"hell fire" Matt 5:22, 18:9, Mark 9:47
"damnation" Matt 23:14, Mark 12:40, Luke 20:47
"damnation of hell" Matt 23:33
"resurrection of damnation" John 5:29
"furnace of fire" Matt 13:42, 50
"the fire that never shall be quenched" Mark 9:43, 45
"the fire is not quenched" Mark 9:44, 46, 48
"Where their worm dieth not" Mark 9:44, 46, 48
"wailing and gnashing of teeth" Matt 13:42, 50
"weeping and gnashing of teeth" Matt 8:12, 22:13, 25:30
"torments" Luke 16:23
"tormented in this flame" Luke 16:24
"place of torment" Luke 16:28
"outer darkness" Matt 8:12, 22:13
"everlasting punishment" Matt 25:46
WHAT IF JESUS IS RIGHT?
Hebrews 9:27 says, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this THE JUDGEMENT:"
it is appointed unto man once to die . . .
and one day — YOU will die . . .
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments . . .
As you leave your body — you realize something is happening. You hear a sound. . . getting louder and louder. . . screaming . . .weeping. . . wailing. Terror and fear beyond anything you could imagine overtakes you. "This can’t be happening!" you scream. Your nostrils are filling with the awful stench of burning souls. Your face ignites from the heat. Flames are now blazing from your eyes, nostrils, ears, mouth — every opening in your body, flames are roaring out. Your body is sizzling and crackling from the flames.
Your body is now madly thrashing and convulsing from the horrible pain. "Why don’t I die?", you scream. You begin weeping and gnashing your teeth with the millions. "When will this pain stop?" But you know it will never stop. . .
The darkness is so terrifying, it begins engulfing you. You feel something moving in the darkness. . . something horrible is happening. "No! No! This can’t be happening" you scream — as your worm is emerging.
You begin cursing the day you were born. You scream — "Oh God, why didn’t you warn me?"— but you remember the preacher pleading with you to receive Jesus Christ. You remember reading that gospel tract. You cry — "God don’t you care?" — but you remember John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,. . ." "God is a God of love — He won't allow this", you cry — but you remember John 3:36, ". . . he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
And you soon realize, that Jesus Christ was right!
There is a place called hell.
AND YOU ARE THERE — FOREVER!
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But God is a God of LOVE. . . Why would a GOD OF LOVE send me to hell? Yes, God is a GOD OF LOVE — but God is also a HOLY GOD. A HOLY GOD demands payment for sin. Otherwise God would NOT and could NOT be HOLY.
Because God is holy — sin MUST be condemned. Joshua 24:19 says, ". . he is an HOLY GOD;. . . he will NOT forgive your transgressions nor your sins."
BUT FRIEND I HAVE GOOD NEWS!
God does NOT want you in hell
Hell was not made for man. Matthew 25:41 says, hell was, ". . . prepared for the devil and his angels:"
Because God is a GOD OF LOVE, and He LOVED YOU so much, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to die a cruel death on a cross to pay the price a HOLY GOD demands for your sins.
Romans 5:8 says, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
God does not send someone to hell. You choose hell when you reject Jesus Christ. When you refuse God's love gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ. . .
YOU CHOOSE HELL!
Millionaire Ted Turner, said in an interview, "I’m looking forward to dying and being cast into Hell. That's where I belong." You say — he’s a fool! But friend, when you say "No"; to Jesus Christ and His payment for your sin — you are saying the same thing! You’re telling God — I don’t need Jesus Christ — I’ll pay for my sins in hell!
If you reject God’s gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ
ONE DAY YOU WILL BE IN HELL!
Dr. Rawlings has watched as thousands of people depart into eternity. Most people think they'll somehow "sneak" into heaven, but Dr. Rawlings claims most people descend into the flames of hell!
Jesus Christ gave a solemn warning in Matthew 7:21-23
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. . . MANY will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
If it was for a few days, a few months, a few years or even a million years, but to be tormented — FOREVER! You will despair of ever having any deliverance! You will beg for death itself to come and take you away! You will curse the day you were born! Revelation 14:11 says, "The smoke of their TORMENT ascendeth up for EVER AND EVER: and they have NO REST DAY NOR NIGHT."
What could possibly be worth eternity in hell?
No wonder Jesus Christ said in Mark 8:36:
"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"Mark 8:36:
God has something far better than words can describe for those who love Him. I Corinthians 2:9 says:
". . . Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."I Corinthians 2:9
Friend, there is a place called hell! And, if you continually refuse God's gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ — just as sure as you live and breathe — ONE DAY YOU WILL WAKE UP IN HELL!
Don't wait until you die to find out the truth about Hell! Tomorrow may be too late! Proverbs 27:1 says, "Boast not thyself of tomorrow: for thou KNOWEST NOT what a day may bring forth."
Three people die every second, 180 every minute, since you started reading this — 2000 more people have gone into eternity! An automobile accident. . . A heart attack. . , A stroke. . .One thing is CERTAIN — you will DIE — today. . . tomorrow . . . a week. . . a month . . . a year. . . 5 years. . . 10 years. . . 20 years. . . 50 years — ONE THING IS CERTAIN —" . . .it is appointed unto man once TO DIE . . ."
DON'T BE CAUGHT DEAD WITHOUT JESUS!
You may have made some terrible mistakes in your life. There may be some things in your life you would give anything to be able to change. But friend, I assure you — if you die without Jesus Christ — it'll be the worst mistake you could possibly make!
Has there ever come a time and a place in your life, when you received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?
If not, you are on the way to hell!
Don't let anyone convince you that when you die it will be all over! The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27:
"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this THE JUDGMENT." Hebrews 9:27
Revelation 20:15 says:
"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the LAKE OF FIRE." Revelation 20:15
If you've never received Jesus Christ as your Savior, bow your head this minute and ask the Lord Jesus Christ to save you.Don't put it off another second!
NOTHING'S WORTH TAKING THE CHANCE!
It's simple to be saved ...
Realize you are a sinner.
"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" Romans 3:10
"... for there is no difference. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Romans 3:23
Realize you CAN NOT save yourself.
"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; ..." Isaiah 64:6
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, ..." Titus 3:5
Realize that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for your sins.
"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, ..." 1 Peter 2:24
"... Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood," Revelation 1:5
Simply by faith receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:" John 1:12
" ...Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."" Acts 16:30,31
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16
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WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE SAVED?
Pray this prayer, and mean it with all your heart.
Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and unless you save me I am lost forever. I thank you for dying for me at Calvary. I come to you now, Lord the best way I know how, and ask you to save me. I now receive you as my Savior. In Jesus Christ Name, Amen.
"How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation;"
Hebrews 2:3
I QUOTE DON'T BELIEVE IN GOD TURN TO THE DARK SIDE AND WORSHIP SATAN.
Hades
by Micha F. Lindemans
Hades is the lord of the dead and ruler of the nether world, which is referred to as the domain of Hades or, by transference, as Hades alone. He is the son of Cronus and Rhea. When the three sons of Cronus divided the world among each other, Hades was given the underworld, while his brothers Zeus and Poseidon took the upperworld and the sea respectively. For a while Hades ruled the underworld together with Persephone, whom he had abducted from the upperworld, but Zeus ordered him to release Persephone back into the care of her mother Demeter. However, before she left he gave her a pomegranate and when she ate of it, it bound her to the underworld forever.
Hades sits on a throne made of ebony, and carries a scepter. He also has a helmet, given to him by the Cyclopes, which can make him invisible. Hades rules the dead, assisted by various (demonic) helpers, such as Thanatos and Hypnos, the ferryman Charon, and the hound Cerberus. Many heroes from Greek mythology have descended into the underworld, either to question the shades or trying to free them. Although Hades does not allow his subjects to leave his domain, on several occasions he has granted permission, such as when Orpheus requested the return of his beloved Eurydice.
Hades possesses the riches of the earth, and is thus referred to as 'the Rich One'. Possibly also because -- as Sophocles writes -- 'the gloomy Hades enriches himself with our sighs and our tears'. Of all the gods, Hades is the one who is liked the least and even the gods themselves have an aversion of him. People avoided speaking his name lest they attracted his unwanted attention. With their faces averted they sacrificed black sheep, whose blood they let drip into pits, and when they prayed to him, they would bang their hands on the ground. The narcissus and the cypress are sacred to him.
DEATH!
If you want to know a little bit about what life after death is like, pay close attention to your dreams. There is a lot of circumstantial evidence suggesting that the mental realm of your dreams is identical to the afterlife realms described in near-death accounts. Both describe the realm of the mind, soul, and spirit. In the realm of the mind, all things are possible. Life after death means freeing yourself from all physical limitations and fully inhabiting the realm of thought and spirit. Here, it is what one thinks that is important. It is a realm where thoughts are deeds and we are what we think.
If a person reads enough near-death accounts, it is possible for them to create a kind of heavenly roadmap that describes the soul's journey after death. Throughout recorded history, science and religion has revealed an ultimate reality made up of 10 separate components. Here is the evidence
onto the dark i call your name,
with crucifixtion on my brain as i wait for you.
call my name.
exorcism
If ignorance is bliss, demon chasers must be in nirvana.
An exorcism is a religious rite for driving Satan or evil spirits out of a possessed person, place, or thing. In ancient times, many cultures had such rites. Today, the Roman Catholic Church still believes in diabolic possession and its priests still practice what is called "real exorcism," a 27-page ritual to drive out evil spirits. The ritual involves the use of holy water, incantations, various prayers, incense, relics, and Christian symbols such as the cross. The Catholic Church has at least ten official exorcists in America today (Cuneo). The Archbishop of Calcutta, Henry Sebastian D'Souza, says he ordered a priest to perform an exorcism on Mother Teresa shortly before she died in 1997 because he thought she was being attacked by the devil.
Most Protestant sects also believe in satanic possession and exorcism. Michael Cuneo, a sociologist at Fordham University, claims "By conservative estimates, there are at least five or six hundred evangelical exorcism ministries in operation today, and quite possibly two or three times this many." Reverend Brian Connor of South Carolina says "dealing with animate evil is the single most overlooked component of the biblical mandate."* Connor was featured on NBC's "Dateline" program on exorcism (November 13, 2001). He and several friends spent an entire day trying to talk the demons out of the body of a 50-something man with a history of depression and aimlessness. The exorcists held Bibles, which they read from occasionally, and crosses. They huddled around their subject for hours, chanting prayers and ordering the demons to leave. The subject occasionally howled like an animal and grimaced at his benefactors. It was all great drama and eventually cathartic enough for the subject to vomit a little. Connor declared that he was spitting out Satan and that all the demons had left. A follow-up done two months later, however, found that the group had to repeat the exercise six more times. Now they were sure the demons were gone and the subject was sure he was fine and a new man.
Michael Cuneo watched a film of the exorcism and concluded that the group was suggesting to their subject how he should respond and that he saw no evidence of either demonic possession or of demons being exorcized. A psychiatrist was shown the same film and he announced that he couldn't evaluate what he observed as a psychiatrist but as a "believer" he thought that there might be something real going on involving demonic possession. When asked what he based his belief on, he replied tersely: faith. This man was a member of the American Psychiatric Association's Committee on Religion and Psychiatry.
As a layman, I found the behavior of the exorcists at least as interesting as that of the subject. Believing in demons is one thing; believing you have the ability to call up a supernatural being with infinite power and perfection who will cause demons to move on at your behest seems certifiable. The whole coven of exorcists and exorcized are deluded. The former clearly felt great pride at their achievement and shared in a glorious victory over Satan. The latter was coddled and cuddled, hugged and loved, and eventually praised and rewarded with the good feelings of caring people when he released Satan and said "Jesus is Lord." There doesn't seem to be anything deeply complicated about what happened. The group convinced the subject he was possessed. They cued him as to how to behave and they rewarded him and themselves when he let the demon go. Communal reinforcement and self-deception will go a long way towards explaining how the group came to believe they could exorcize demons. The exorcists clearly enjoy their work and get great satisfaction out of "helping" people in this powerful way. I am sure that many evangelicals who saw the program are wondering where they can sign up to be exorcist's helpers.
traditional exorcisms
Exorcisms can be done on inanimate objects or places as well as on people. These need not be "real exorcisms" but can be "simple exorcisms" (usually thought of as baptizing the infant or "blessing" the house or place). Satan is everywhere, it seems, but the specialist in real exorcism is needed only when The Evil One starts acting up.
Most, if not all, cases of alleged demonic possession of humans probably involve either people with brain disorders ranging from epilepsy to schizophrenia and Tourette's syndrome, or people whose brains are more or less healthy but who are unfortunate enough to be sucked into playing a social role with very unpleasant consequences. In any case, the behaviors of the possessed resemble very closely the behaviors of those with electrochemical, neurochemical, or other physical or emotional disorders.
A secularized version of exorcism is practiced by some therapists who specialize in unveiling and ridding their patients of "entities" which, the therapists believe, are the cause of the patient's troubles. Entity release therapists engage in this work even though there is about as much evidence for the "entities" as there is for the devils exorcised by Catholic priests and Protestant evangelicals. Many people, however, are very resistant to the idea that demonic possession is a myth, especially since they have seen or read fictional works such as The Exorcist or the Amityville Horror. They can't imagine how anyone could make such stuff up; yet, it would seem to take much more imagination to give credence to such tales.
Many people fear possession by demons, but the exorcists themselves can cause great damage.
Exorcism has caused a number of real-world tragedies over the years, including several deaths.
Pentecostal ministers in San Francisco pummeled a woman to death in 1995, as they tried to drive out her demons.
In 1997, a Korean Christian woman was stomped to death in Glendale, Calif., and in the Bronx section of New York City, a 5-year-old girl died after being forced to swallow a mixture containing ammonia and vinegar and having her mouth taped shut.
In 1998, a 17-year-old girl in Sayville, N.Y., was suffocated by her mother with a plastic bag, in an effort to destroy a demon inside her.
In 2001, a 37-year old woman, Joanna Lee, was strangled to death in an exorcism by a Korean church minister working in New Zealand. The minister, Luke Lee, was found guilty of manslaughter.
An MSNBC program on exorcists, featuring evangelicals Tom Brown and Bob Larson, warned viewers not to try this at home because they might end up being arrested for botched exorcisms such as those mentioned above. The evangelicals' game is to bring groups of troubled people together and look for demons that are causing the trouble so they can exorcize them. Brown and Larson have never killed anyone, as far as we know, but whether they help or harm people was not possible to discern from the program, since the "reporters" did no background checks or follow-ups on the people exorcised.
The exorcists' only prop is a Bible, which is held in one hand while they talk down the devil in very dramatic episodes worthy of Jerry Springer or Jenny Jones. The "possessed" could have been mentally ill, actors, mentally ill actors, drug addicts, mentally ill drug addicts, or they may have been possessed, as the exorcists claimed. All the participants shown being exorcized seem to have seen the movie "The Exorcist" or one of the sequels. They all fell into the role of husky-voiced Satan speaking from the depths, who was featured in the film. The similarities in speech and behavior among the "possessed" has led some psychologists such as Nicholas Spanos to conclude that both "exorcist" and "possessed" are engaged in learned role-playing.
What was disappointing about the MSNBC program was that no effort was made to get anyone's opinion as to what was going on except for the opinions of the televangelists and their subjects. Wouldn't a serious journalist get a third opinion? Why should we take the word of interested parties like Brown and Larson that their subjects really were possessed and that they really released Satan from all these bodies? These evangelical exorcists might be self-deceived and be guilty of confirmation bias. Even if their intentions are good, they are most probably deluded and certainly causing harm to those they exorcize who should be under psychiatric care.
Overview:
"Purgatory (Lat., "purgare", to make clean, to purify) in accordance with Catholic teaching is a place or condition of temporal punishment...." 1
Purgatory is believed by Roman Catholics, and very few other Christians, to be a location or state where the souls of most individuals go at the time of death. It has traditionally been viewed as a place of torment, where "nearly all of us shall...have to pass a period more or less long in the excruciating fires of Purgatory after death." 2 Gregory the Great wrote "that the pain be more intolerable than any one can suffer in this life" Augustine 3 and St. Bonaventure 4 agree. The purpose of this pain is to cleanse the individual from the temporal consequences of her or his sins while on earth. Eventually, the person will be eligible to be transferred to Heaven.
Contrary to the so-called "Gospel of Judas" the Word of God has much to say about Judas' betrayal and about the sorry end of this man. There is nothing to re-evaluate, nothing to redeem him. ...
Strange Days
May 6 , 2006
Earnestly Contend
Hundreds of fulfilled prophecies prove God's existence, that the Bible is His inerrant Word, the Jews His chosen people, and Jesus of Nazareth the promised Messiah who died for our sins, has resurrected, and is coming again. Yet prophecy is neglected by most Christian preachers and writers. No wonder that the “last-days” apostasy warned of in God's Word is now upon us with a vengeance!
the X Files (54)
April 12, 2006
Eye on the Middle East
Take a long look at Iraq, Syria, Iran and remnants of Saddam Hussein's decimated Iraqi regime carry on the fight against freedom and democracy for the battered Iraqi people. Unfortunately, many people have dignified these bands of murderers and thugs by calling them insurgents. They are not insurgents; they are terrorists.
be a good boy ... we'll buy you a toy - be a good girl ... we'll give you the world
be a smooth talker and you'll go far - be a good singer you'll be a star
make good music and it'll get played - go on the road and you've got it made
everyone works to get some reward, but you can't earn the love of the Lord!
(Excerpt from the song "No Strings" - FireWorks 1982 MCA Songbird records)
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I think that it is safe to say that most of us live in a "do and get" society.
What, and how much we do, is in direct proportion to what, and how much we get (percentages will vary).
To expand on the above illustrations: We acquire an education in varying degrees in order to accomplish certain goals or to make ourselves more valuable to someone to accomplish their goals. We perform services to obtain a wage. We develop our character, conscious of the standards of others, in order to receive acceptance, friendship, love, and recognition.
How well we manage the afore mentioned can lead to rewards of wealth, power and authority.
It is not surprising then, that because most of our actions are motivated by the anticipation of gaining payment or a reward, that many apply this same formula to their concept of salvation and eternal life. This is not only a dangerous belief, but also a lethal one!
Let's start out with; why we need salvation in the first place.
"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Genesis 2:7 (KJV)
"And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Genesis 3:17-19 (KJV)
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" Romans 5:12 (KJV)
So here we see that God creates man ... Man disobeys God ... and as a result of sin, curses himself, humanity, and in fact all of creation to death.
We have been taught - and also read for ourselves - that God is love. But since we as people have a concept of what justice is, we realize that God must be the measure against which we derive this concept, so we understand that God must also be just, as an attribute of being God.
Now God in His justice must punish the sin of mankind...and the punishment is death.
"For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23 (KJV)
We also see that everyone is guilty...
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23 (KJV)
I would like to point out at this time that this would be a no-brainer for God, if He didn't actually care about His creation. But because God doesn't make mistakes ... or do things without purpose or intent ... He had a "way" to be just, and keep that which He desired enough to create in the first place (you and me).
"And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good..." Genesis 1:31 (KJV)
"Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered." Psalms 40:5 (KJV)
"Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." 1 Peter 5:7 (KJV)
So God designs and executes an intricate, just, merciful and loving plan of redemption and salvation.
For God to be just, the payment for sin has to be paid ...
But God in His mercy, pays the price Himself ...
And LOVE is the motivation ...
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." John 3:16-17 (KJV)
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. ... For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." Romans 5:8, 5:10 (KJV)
"And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour." Ephesians 5:2 (KJV)
"Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself." Hebrews 7:25-27 (KJV)
"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" 1 Peter 1:18-19 (KJV)
We see, in the above verses, that Jesus made the sacrifice for our sins ... that His death was the payment to redeem us and to satisfy the justice of God ... and that salvation is now available through His life.
Scripture also teaches us that Jesus was, not only able to, but also willing to take on this part in our salvation. He offered His life willingly. Love is what held Him to that cross.
"Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father." John 10:17-18 (KJV)
"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2 (KJV)
Now let us look at the Scriptures that instruct us in what we must do in order to receive this salvation that has been made available to us through Jesus ...
"... Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Acts 16:30-31 (KJV)
"But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they." Acts 15:11 (KJV)
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ... For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? ... " Romans 10:9-10, 10:13-14 (KJV)
"For by grace are ye saved through faith..." Ephesians 2:8 (KJV)
"Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe... Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God" Romans 3:22,25 (KJV)
OK ... we see that believing in who Jesus is ... and what He has done for us ... plays a large part in our salvation.
So now let us look at the other things we must do to complete the transition of God making salvation available for us, and us actually taking hold of it.
First, the verses that say that we can earn salvation by going to church .........?
How about the ones that say we can earn salvation by giving to the poor .........?
Ok ... maybe the ones that say we can earn salvation by reciting special words .........?
... or by punishing ourselves, doing penance ..........?
... or by being baptized .........?
... or by praying to statues, saints etc .........?
... or by indulgences .........?
... or by taking communion .........?
... or by becoming a priest or pastor .........?
... or by wearing a piece of jewelry .........?
... or by going door to door .........?
... or by tithing .........?
... or by avoiding drugs and alcohol .........?
... or by simply being a very good person .........?
It appears that there are none ... WHY?
The Bible tells us that it is by the grace of God that we are saved.
The grace of God is His unmerited, or unearned favor.
AH-HAH! UNEARNED!
As I mentioned before, for whatever the reasons, God really loves us and wants us to be with Him forever. He has paid the penalty for sin through the death of His son, so there no longer remains a debt to be paid.
Let's say ... my father decides one day to pay off the mortgage on my house, but I decide that even though I don't have enough money at the present to pay the amount owed on the loan, that I will continue to make the monthly payments. As I send in payment after payment, the bank keeps sending them back to me saying that my payments are unnecessary and that there no longer remains any dept to pay. It appears that by my continuance at trying to pay this ... I am acting as if, what my father had done for me did not matter in the least. (I also believe that he would be very insulted).
So if there no longer remains a price to be paid for our sins, then why do we continue trying to pay it through our works? Why do we think that we can somehow earn God's favor when He says that we can't earn it? He gives salvation to us for free ... it's a gift ... and there is no way to earn a gift ... or else it isn't a gift!
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV)
"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" 2 Timothy 1:9 (KJV)
"But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us..." Titus 3:4-5 (KJV)
"In whom (Jesus) we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace" Ephesians 1:7 (KJV)
Also, God tells us what he thinks of our attempt to make ourselves worthy of His attention...
"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." Romans 3:10-12 (KJV)
" ... not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith" Philippians 3:9 (KJV)
"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away" Isaiah 64:6 (KJV)
Let us now REVIEW the "DO and GET" mentality as it pertains to Salvation:
- through our own works, try to earn the favor of God, which is unearnable
- through our own works, try to pay a debt that doesn't exist
- with a goodness or righteousness that is a vile stench in the nostrils of God ... at the same time telling God that He wasted His time and the time of countless others ... that His plan of salvation was stupid and unnecessary, and that He owes Jesus a huge apology because His death and suffering was in vain ... and that Jesus Himself is a big fat liar for claiming that He was the only way to God ... all because we can get to Heaven completely on our own, by simply BEING GOOD ?!?
"I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law (or works), then Christ is dead in vain." Galatians 2:21 (KJV)
So ... as we see through Scripture, GOOD PEOPLE DO NOT GO TO HEAVEN!
Rather, only those who recognize that Jesus' willing and obedient death on the cross was our Creator's way of saying ..." I love you and I'd do anything to have you back with me".
"I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved..." John 10:9 (KJV)
What is a Vampire?
Definition for Vampire according to Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 Edition
Vampire (Page: 1593)
Vam"pire (?), n. [F. vampire (cf. It. vampiro, G. & D. vampir), fr. Servian vampir.] [Written also vampyre.]
1. A blood-sucking ghost; a soul of a dead person superstitiously believed to come from the grave and wander about by night sucking the blood of persons asleep, thus causing their death. This superstition is now prevalent in parts of Eastern Europe, and was especially current in Hungary about the year 1730.
2. Fig.: One who lives by preying on others; an extortioner; a bloodsucker.
3. (Zoöl.) Either one of two or more species of South American blood-sucking bats belonging to the genera Desmodus and Diphylla. These bats are destitute of molar teeth, but have strong, sharp cutting incisors with which they make punctured wounds from which they suck the blood of horses, cattle, and other animals, as well as man, chiefly during sleep. They have a caecal appendage to the stomach, in which the blood with which they gorge themselves is stored.
4. (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of harmless tropical American bats of the genus Vampyrus, especially V. spectrum. These bats feed upon insects and fruit, but were formerly erroneously supposed to suck the blood of man and animals. Called also false vampire. Vampire bat (Zoöl.), a vampire, Vampyrus spectrum
The persons who turn vampires are generally wizards, witches, suicides, and persons who have come to a violent end, or have been cursed by their parents or by the church. (Encyclopedia Britannica)
The legend of the vampire can be traced to approximately 125 AD, where a Upir, a creature with vampire qualities, occurred in Greek mythology. The word Upir is found for the first time in written form in 1047 in a letter to a Russian prince. Upir later became vampire, and some of the early legends came from the far east. Much has been lost throughout history...
Vampires are similar to man in respect that no two are alike. No two men have the same physical abilities, or the same senses of hearing or sight. This is true of vampires as well. As there are several races of man, there are also many races of vampire.
Each race of vampire share similar, although not identical, abilities. Each race of vampire have different origins, unlike man. An example of one race is the Kindred, as portrayed by White Wolf. The Kindred are then further subdivided into "clans." Other examples include the Carpathian race, of which Count Dracula, or Vlad Tsepesh (or Tepes), was descended from.
Dark betrayal
Around, around the angels gather,
My dread grows as the dark ones hand
Falls against my naked soul.
It crushes me and darkly my blood,
Drips to the thirsty earth
In unholy terror I flee,
While deaths shadow looms over me.
Now alone, my cry of mercy falls upon darkened eyes,
This is my salvation.
Welcome to the lair of those who dwell in the shadows.
Who are we, you ask?
We are your deepest desires and your greatest fears personified. We exist on the fringes of your world and you have seen us, felt us and touched us before.
We are the living...
The dead...
The cursed....
The enchanted...
The immortal...
We roam your mortal world as you lay wrapped in the arms of Morpheus. Snug into your little bed, all of your limbs tucked lovingly under the covers for fear that the Nameless Being who resides beneath it will brush your fragile mortal flesh with cold clammy claws.
Did we surprise you? Did you think we didn't know about that dirty little secret?
There is a darkness which exists in all of us, we just have to have the courage to embrace it. Do you seek to vanquish the darkness in the light of day or do you turn your back and hope that it fades like so many of your dreams and aspirations?
Maybe you are one of the few who give into the Knowing. The Knowing tells us there is no darkness without the light. No good without evil...
No life without death...
We wait for you in the gloaming as you close your eyes and embrace your dream self. Do you have the courage to take our hand and enter our world, your real world, and slay the dragons of your darkness, or will you wallow in the daylight only half of what you can be?
What you call death is rather your choice to focus in other dimensions and realities......."
Though it is extremely difficult to prove the existence of continuing human consciousness outside the physical body, evidence of this existence is suggested within the concepts of extrasensory perception, out-of-body experiences, reincarnation stories - and the science of sleep. Interestingly, science has proven that death is not drastically different than sleep.
While we sleep, our consciousness is temporarily disconnected from our physical body - yet emotional and mental activities remain and are often remembered upon awakening. The only difference is that while we are dreaming, our consciousness is still connected to our physical body and can return to it at any time. In death, this connection is permanently broken.
Psychics and clairvoyants claim they can actually see the life force leave the body in the form of a fine silver string or cord exiting from the crown of the head at the moment of death. Many documented near-death stories include the death experience consisting of passing through a dark tunnel, then refocusing and becoming aware of a detached spiritual body watching the physical body with revival efforts underway. Subsequently a world filled with light and freedom emerges in which the individual meets a "being of light" who portrays perfect understanding and love, leaving them with a deep sense of peace and well-being.
During these experiences, the host may review his/her life - apparently to help understand that they must return to the physical world to complete the unfinished business of this incarnation. Many are reluctant to return.....but do so at the behest of the "being."
These experiences dramatically change the lives of those affected after the realization that although they did indeed die, they continued to exist on a different plane. The result is that they no longer fear death at all!
Essentially, then, as we approach death, we may very well sense that rather than coming to the end of our journey, we are likely only at the beginning.....
SATAN, THE ADVERSARY OF MANKIND
Satan, also known as the devil, is mentioned frequently in the Bible. There are many popular ideas about this evil spirit being. Some think that Satan is not real, but is rather a personification of the wickedness that abides in the world. Others admit that the devil exists, but presume that he is now confined in the fiery pits of an ever burning hell. Still others believe that Satan is free and actively promoting sinfulness in our world today. What is the truth? What does the Bible tell us about this evil being?
God's Word clearly teaches the reality of Satan as a personal entity. He is presented as an evil being who affects humanity by his actions. Many details about the devil are available in the Bible, but the facts have to be searched out. In this article we will piece together what the Scriptures have to say about Satan and draw conclusions from the Bible and other available sources.
Although the Bible doesn't tell us explicitly, evidence suggests that the angelic realm was formed sometime during the first three days of creation, before God brought forth the dry land on the earth. This understanding is supported by passages from Nehemiah and Job:
NEHEMIAH 9:6 You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You. (NKJV)
JOB 38:4 "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (NKJV)
The "host of heaven" mentioned in Nehemiah 9:6 is a reference to angels, as are the parallel terms "morning stars" and "sons of God" in Job 38:7. The passage from Job suggests that the angels were present when God "laid the foundations of the earth" (probably a reference to the separation of the dry land from the water on the third day of creation).
Now that we have an idea when the angels were originally formed, let's examine what the Bible reveals about the creation of Satan:
EZEKIEL 28:12 "Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "'You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. 14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. 16 Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. 17 Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. 18 By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries . . ." (NIV)
Satan is never mentioned by name in this passage. However, there are some clues in Ezekiel 28 that identify the entities being spoken of here. The chapter starts with God's proclamation against the "Prince of Tyre" (v. 2). This prince is proud and says, "I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods" (v. 2). These words mirror what Paul says about the "Man of Sin" (II The. 2:4). Ezekiel 28:1-10 is speaking figuratively of the coming Antichrist.
We see another message beginning in Ezekiel 28:11, this one addressed by God to the "King of Tyre." However, because of the things said about this king, it is clear that God is not speaking to a mere man. This king is the one who will give his authority to the Prince of Tyre at the end of the age (Rev. 13:2). This king is the ancient dragon, Satan.
The first thing to notice from this passage in Ezekiel is that the "king of Tyre" (Satan) was in the Garden of Eden and he was "the seal of perfection." When does the Bible show that the Garden of Eden was created?
GENESIS 2:8 The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. (NKJV)
Genesis 2:8 seems to indicate that the Garden of Eden was planted by God after He created man. Ezekiel 28:13 reveals that Satan was in Eden before he sinned. Therefore, contrary to traditional understanding, Satan was in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve before he fell.
This anointed guardian cherub was likely one of the two angels who covered the mercy seat with their wings (see Heb. 8:5; 9:5, 23-24; Exo. 25:20; 37:9; I Kings 6:19-28; 8:6-7; I Chr. 28:18; II Chr.3:10-13; 5:7-8). However, because of pride, this cherub's wisdom was corrupted, as I Timothy 3:6 implies.
I TIMOTHY 3:6 Not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. (NKJV)
How did pride cause Satan to fall into condemnation? The Bible doesn't tell us directly, but there are enough clues to figure out the answer to this question.
Genesis 1:26-28 shows that God made mankind in His "image":
GENESIS 1:26 Then God ['elohim] said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27 So God ['elohim] created man in His own image; in the image of God ['elohim] He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God ['elohim] blessed them, and God ['elohim] said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (NKJV)
There are several theories about what it means to be made "in the image of God." This passage makes it clear that being made in God's image is what makes mankind (both men and women) different from the rest of the creation.
Mankind is like 'elohim in some way because we are made in the image of 'elohim, but how? Michael S. Heiser, an ancient Hebrew language expert, gives the following explanation in answer to this question:
. . . This points to viewing the image in a FUNCTIONAL sense (i.e., we are created to "image" God) as opposed to a QUALITATIVE sense (as though the image is some quality or ability given to us; i.e., the image is some possessed attribute).
. . . When Scripture speaks of mankind being created in the image of God, what is meant is that mankind has been created to represent God on earth.
. . . God deliberately created mankind to rule the earth, and to accomplish this purpose, he created man as his own image - He made man his co-regent / representative ruler.
The image of God then, refers to our unique status as human beings, rulers in God's stead, according to His own will. We are created AS his image - to function as he would were he administering His own affairs directly. Our abilities - unequally given to us in the providence of God are not THE image, but only a means to carrying out His expressed and often secret end. (pp. 8, 9, 10, 11, "The Image of God in Scripture")
This understanding of "the image of God" is supported by the immediate text, which shows that mankind's duties included having dominion over the earth and every living creature on it. This interpretation is also supported by a related passage of Scripture in Psalm 8:
PSALM 8:4 What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? 5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen -- even the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas. (NKJV)
In addition to showing the position of mankind on the earth, this psalm also alludes to the reason for Satan's ultimate fall. Verse 5 tells us that humanity was made "a little lower than the angels." However, it was men, not angels, who were given rulership over the earth.
As Ezekiel 28:12 tells us, Satan was "the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty" when he was created. Yet neither he nor any of the other angels were given dominion over the earth initially. Rather, Adam, a being Satan must have considered inferior to himself, was given this power. It's easy to see why Satan's pride led him to sin.
Ezekiel 28:16 tells us that Satan was filled with violence and sinned through his "widespread trade." The Hebrew word rendered "trade" in Ezekiel 28:16 is rekullatekha; it is a form of the noun rekulla, which means "merchandise" or "traffic." However, rekulla is derived from the root word rakal, which means "to go about." A closely-related derivative, rakil, means "slanderer." In the New Testament, Satan is often called the "devil," or diabolos in Greek. Not coincidentally, the literal meaning of diabolos and its variations is also "slanderer."
The account of Satan in Ezekiel 28 probably involves aspects of both "merchandising" and "slander." The Scriptures imply that Satan, likely through peddling his slander, turned one-third of the angelic host against God (Rev. 12:3-4). It's not hard to imagine that Satan went around to the angels, seeking to build support for his contention that they were far better qualified to run the earth than mankind was. It was through this slanderous "merchandising" that Satan became filled with violence against humanity.
Eventually, Satan developed a plan that he must have felt would deliver to him the position he believed should have rightfully been his in the beginning. He decided to deceive the humans in the Garden into disobeying God's direct command. After having proven mankind unworthy of the rulership position God had placed them in, Satan, in his arrogant pride, must have thought God would see that he should be given authority over the world in their place.
It's in this context that we see Satan approach Eve in the Garden of Eden:
GENESIS 3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' " 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. (NKJV)
The Bible elsewhere identifies Satan with the serpent in this story. In Revelation 12:9 and 20:2, he is called "that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan." Did he appear to Eve in the form of a talking snake? Probably not.
The Hebrew word translated "serpent" in the above passage is נחש (nachash). In addition to "serpent," this Hebrew root word has three other possible meanings. It can be used as a noun to mean (1) "one who practices divination," or (2) "shining brass." However, nachash can also be used as a verb to mean (3) "to shine" or "to glow."
In Genesis 3, it is possible that nachash is used in the verbal form as a noun. If that is the case, the proper translation of hanachash in Genesis 3 would be "the Shining one." This understanding of nachash fits in very well with Paul's description of Satan appearing as an "angel of light" (II Cor. 11:14).
Notice Satan's tactics with Eve. He didn't lie to her outright, but instead he twisted the truth. He led Eve to doubt God's word.
GENESIS 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." 11 And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" 12 Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." 13 And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." (NKJV)
Although Satan apparently believed that the downfall of mankind would benefit him, it actually turned out to be his undoing. God was not pleased with his role in man's disobedience, and he was cursed for his deviousness:
GENESIS 3:14 So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." (NKJV)
Satan's plan to rectify the "mistake" God had made by putting humans in charge of the earth backfired. As well as showing God the flaws of man, Satan revealed his own shortcomings. This resulted in God placing an age-lasting animosity between mankind and Satan. From that point forward, "the Shining one" became "the Adversary" (Heb. haSatan) of humanity. The enmity God placed between man and Satan is alluded to by Paul in the conclusion of his letter to the Romans:
ROMANS 16:20 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. (NKJV)
Satan's actions did achieve their desired aim; God cast man out of the Garden of Eden for his sin (Gen. 3:24). In his fallen state, man was condemned to suffer death because of Adam's sin, as Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans:
ROMANS 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned . . . 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. (NKJV)
Because Satan enticed mankind to sin and bring death upon themselves, he is called a murderer:
JOHN 8:44 "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (NASU)
"The beginning" spoken of by Yeshua refers to the beginning of God's plan, when mankind was in the Garden of Eden before the fall (Gen. 2). "The beginning" here is not referring to Satan's creation, because we know God originally made him perfect (Eze. 28:15; Gen. 1:31).
John also speaks of Satan being a sinner from "the beginning":
I JOHN 3:8 The one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. . . . (NASU)
In man's place, Satan became the temporary ruler of the world. The devil's temptation of Yeshua in the wilderness clearly shows this:
LUKE 4:5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish." (NKJV)
Satan tempted Yeshua for the same reason he had enticed Eve in the Garden. He knew that Yeshua was in the process of regaining rulership over the world and replacing him. He also knew that if he could get Yeshua to sin (as he had with Adam and Eve), then he could thwart God's plan and remain the ruler of the world. Where Adam and Eve had succumbed to Satan's deception and disqualified mankind from ruling the earth, Yeshua withstood the temptation and triumphed. This victory paved the way for him to eventually reclaim rulership at his second coming.
Just before his crucifixion, Yeshua alluded to Satan's status as the current ruler of the world:
JOHN 14:30 "I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me." (NKJV)
Paul refers to Satan as "the god of this age" in his second letter to the Corinthians:
II CORINTHIANS 4:3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. (NKJV)
Mark's Gospel clearly shows us that Satan is the one who is responsible for blinding those who can't see the good news of the Messiah:
MARK 4:14 "The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. (NKJV)
As the "god of this age," Satan rules over the other fallen angels and the demons:
MATTHEW 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it they said, "It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons." 25 Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand; 26 and if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?" (RSV)
Here Satan is called "Beelzebul," which literally means "lord of the flies." He is identified as the "prince of demons." We also know from the Scriptures that Satan is the ruler of the fallen angels (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 12:9). For an examination of the difference between fallen angels and demons, refer to my related article.
When demons bring sickness and ailments upon people, we find that Satan is blamed:
LUKE 13:11 And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. 12 But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, "Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." 13 And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. . . . 16 "So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound -- think of it -- for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?" (NKJV)
ACTS 10:38 "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." (NKJV)
Contrary to popular opinion, the Bible clearly shows that Satan has not been restricted to hell after his fall. Indeed, the Old Testament shows that, before the first coming of Yeshua the Messiah, Satan continued to have access to the very throne of God:
JOB 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. (NKJV)
JOB 2:1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. (NKJV)
Satan used his access to the heavenly throne to slander and accuse God's people before YHVH and the divine council, as the story in Job shows. Zechariah also saw Satan in action as the accuser in a vision:
ZECHARIAH 3:1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. 2 The LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?" (NIV)
When Christ triumphantly returned to heaven after his crucifixion and resurrection (Rev. 12:5), Satan and his angels were cast out and no longer had access to the throne:
REVELATION 12:7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world -- he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (RSV)
Some have incorrectly believed that this passage refers to Satan's initial fall. Yet the time sequence established in Revelation 12 clearly indicates that this ejection from heaven is after the Messiah returned from the earth and before his second coming at the end of this age.
Yeshua, just before his crucifixion, stated that his triumph on the cross would allow for Satan to be cast out of heaven:
JOHN 12:31 "Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out; 32 and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." (RSV)
JOHN 16:11 "Concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged." (RSV)
Christ told his disciples that when he had gone back into heaven after his resurrection, the Father would send His Spirit to teach them all things and bring them into remembrance of all the things that he had said to them (John 14:26). But in addition, he warned them of the coming of Satan to the earth after his departure.
John records an angel speaking from heaven who gives warning to the earth about Satan:
REVELATION 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time." (NKJV)
Satan now roams the earth looking for those whom he can prey upon:
I PETER 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (NIV)
Paul tells us how to avoid becoming the prey of Satan:
EPHESIANS 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; (NKJV)
James also gives believers advice on thwarting the devil's schemes:
JAMES 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (NKJV)
Paul, in his second letter to Timothy, speaks of those who have been caught by the devil:
II TIMOTHY 2:24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. (NKJV)
Now that we've examined Satan's origin and activities, let's look at the final destiny of Satan. What do the Scriptures say will be his ultimate fate? Yeshua briefly mentioned this in his dissertation on the judgment in Matthew 25:
MATTHEW 25:41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: (NKJV)
Revelation 19 describes the battle between the forces of the Antichrist and Yeshua at the end of this age. After the defeat and destruction of "the beast" and "the false prophet," the Bible reveals that Satan himself will be captured and imprisoned for a thousand years:
REVELATION 20:1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit [abussou, "Abyss"] and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit [abusson, "Abyss"], and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. (NKJV)
ISAIAH 24:21 So it will happen in that day, that the LORD will punish the host of heaven on high, and the kings of the earth on earth. 22 They will be gathered together like prisoners in the dungeon, and will be confined in prison; and after many days they will be punished. (NASU)
REVELATION 20:7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be loosed from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth, that is, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city; but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (RSV)
Satan's final rebellion against God will be thwarted, and God will finally deal with the devil. The tenth verse of Revelation 20 describes how God handles Satan. Just what does this verse tell us about the fate of the Adversary?
The first part of the answer lies in the Greek word basanisthesontai, translated "tormented" here. Understanding the true meaning of basanisthesontai, which comes from the verb basanizo and the noun basanos, is one of the major keys to accurately interpreting Revelation 20:10.
According to Friberg, basanisthesontai means "strictly, rub upon the touchstone (basanos), a Lydian stone used to test the genuineness of metals; hence, test or make proof of anything . . ."
The history found in the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament of how the meaning of these words evolved over time is very helpful in correctly understanding this verse:
. . . The βάσανος [basanos] originally belongs to the calling of the inspector of coins. It is linked with the Heb. root בחן ("to test") . . . βάσανος is generally accepted to be a loan word . . . The testing of gold and silver as media of exchange by the proving stone, was first developed by the Babylonians, then came to the Aramaeans and Hebrews by way of Lydia . . . and from them to the Gks. In non-biblical Gk. βάσανος is a commercial expression, or is used in relation to government. It then acquires the meaning of the checking of calculations, which develops naturally out of the basic sense of βάσανος, βασανίζειν [basanizein] . . . In the spiritual sphere it has the figur. sense, which is closely related to the original concrete meaning, of a means of testing . . .
The word then undergoes a change in meaning. The original sense fades into the background. βάσανος now comes to denote "torture" or "the rack," espec. used with slaves . . . βάσανος occurs in the sense of "torment" . . .
The change in meaning is best explained if we begin with the object of treatment. If we put men instead of metal or a coin, the stone of testing become[s] torture or the rack. The metal which has survived the testing stone is subjected to harsher treatment. Man is in the same position when severely tested by torture. In the testing of metal an essential role was played by the thought of testing and proving genuineness. The rack is a means of showing the true state of affairs. In its proper sense it is a means of testing and proving, though also of punishment. Finally, even this special meaning was weakened and only the general element of torture remained (pp. 561, 562, vol. I, emphasis mine).
The meaning of Revelation 20:10 is that Satan (and implicitly, all those who haven't submitted to God by the end of the Millennium) will be cast into the lake of fire. There Satan and the wicked will be punished for their rebellion. In addition to punishing, the lake of fire will also test, prove, and refine those in it. However, this process is not "eternal" as we understand the concept.
To verify this, let's look closely at the final phrase "forever and ever." Friberg says that this phrase, translated from the Greek eis tous aionas ton aionon, literally means "into the ages of the ages." The Greek nouns aionas and aionon are plural forms of the Greek aion, which simply means an "eon" or "age." This word refers to an indefinite period of time; however, it does not convey the idea of eternity.
This Greek phrase is used numerous times in the Scriptures (see Gal. 1:5; Phi. 4:20; I Tim. 1:17; II Tim. 4:18; Heb. 13:21; I Pet. 4:11; Rev. 1:6, 18; 4:9, 10; 5:13, 14; 7:12; 10:6; 11:15; 15:7; 19:3; 22:5). Most people assume that this phrase means "eternity"; however, some scholars realize that this connotation was not present in the original Koine ("common") Greek of the New Testament. In his work on the original meanings of aion and aionios, Louis Abbott writes:
The Greek phrase eis tous aionas ton aionon, "for the eons of the eons," occurs about twenty times in the Greek New Testament in this combination. The ASV margin and some other versions, lexicons, dictionaries, and commentaries translate the phrase correctly.
Windet, in De Vita Functora Statu, of 1633 says (p. 170), "eis tous aionas ton aionon, of the New Testament meant a finite period."
At 1 Cor. 15:25, where the Greek text shows, dei gar auton basileuein achri hou the pantas tous echthrous hupo tous podas autou, "For He must be reigning until He should be placing all His enemies under His feet." This clearly states that Christ's reigning is limited. There is no Scripture to contradict the statement when aion and aionios are correctly translated.
Dr. William Barclay concurs in his commentary (p. 166-169) on The Letters to the Corinthians. If the Greek words eis tous aionas ton aionon mean endless time, as translated in the KJV, "forever and ever," we have a contradiction in Scripture, for Rev. 11:15 says, in the same version: "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever." That contradicts 1 Cor. 15:25, which says: "He must be reigning till . . ." If Rev. 11:15 is translated "eons of the eons," or "ages of the ages," there is no contradiction. The ASV says (1 Cor. 15:24-25), "Then cometh the end, when He shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; When He shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He hath put all His enemies under His feet;" consequently, the reigning of Christ Jesus and the saints (Rev. 22:5) will be "for the eons of the eons" or "for the ages of the ages." (ch. 5, An Analytical Study of Words)
A correct understanding of "into the ages of the ages" shows that Satan, as well as those who worship the "beast" (Rev. 14:11) will be refined in the lake of fire for an indeterminate, probably lengthy, but still finite, amount of time. The use of the phrase "day and night" in Revelation 20:10 also bears this out, since time as we understand it does not exist in eternity.
One final point regarding Satan needs to be addressed. Some believe that God created Satan to be evil and to fulfill a specific purpose here on the earth as the adversary and tempter of mankind. Those who teach this doctrine primarily cite three Scriptures in support of their position: John 8:44, I John 3:8 and Isaiah 45:7. We've already looked at John 8:44 and I John 3:8, so let's now examine Isaiah 45:7:
ISAIAH 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil [ra']: I the LORD do all these things. (KJV)
On the surface, this verse appears to give a scriptural basis for the belief that God created Satan with an inherently evil nature. However, when we research this passage, a different picture emerges.
The KJV does imply that God was the creator of evil. However, this same version also renders the Hebrew word ra' (translated "evil" in this passage) as "adversity" and "affliction" elsewhere.
If we look at this verse more closely, we can see what YHVH is saying through Isaiah. God is obviously differentiating between two opposites with the first pair of things He mentions ("light" and "dark"). To stay consistent, the second pair of things God lists ("peace," shalom in Hebrew, and "evil") must also be opposites. Yet we know the opposite of evil is good. However, "adversity," another valid translation of ra', is the opposite of shalom, which can mean "prosperity," "safety," and "contentment" in addition to "peace."
Many modern versions translate this phrase more accurately than the KJV, as the following examples show: "I make peace and create calamity" - NKJV; "I make weal and create woe" - RSV; "I make good fortune and create calamity" - Jerusalem Bible; "author alike of prosperity and trouble" - NEB. When translated properly, this verse cannot be used to "prove" that God created Satan to be the evil enemy of mankind.
Yes, Satan did sin from the beginning (John 8:44; I John 3:8). But these verses, when correctly understood, do not substantiate the belief that God created Satan evil. This doctrine contradicts the Scripture, which shows that all of God's creation was perfect at first:
GENESIS 1:31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (NKJV)
CONCLUSION
The Bible gives quite a bit of information about Satan. To understand the truth, all the information has to be pieced together. Satan is currently the "god" of this world; he is the highest ranking evil spirit being. The devil has authority over the fallen angels and the demons. In the end, Christ will return and subjugate all who won't submit to God's authority, including Satan and his angels. Their punishment will be age-lasting destruction and refinement within the lake of fire.
FALLEN ANGELS AND DEMONS
There is a great deal of misunderstanding regarding the fallen angels and the demons. Many people believe these designations are simply different names for the same beings. However, this assumption is inaccurate. In this article, we will examine the origin and activities of both these evil entities, and look at what the Scriptures and other reliable sources say about them.
The Scriptures don't explicitly tell us when the angelic realm was created. However, the available information implies that the angels were formed on the first day of creation, after God created the heavens but before he made the earth (Gen. 1:1). Passages from Job and Nehemiah seem to bolster this view:
JOB 38:4 "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, 5 Who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it? 6 On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (NASU)
NEHEMIAH 9:6 You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You. (NKJV)
The expressions "morning stars" and "sons of God" used in Job 38:7 refer to the angels, as does the phrase "host of heaven" used in Nehemiah 9:6. These passages indicate that the angelic domain was created after the heavens, but before the earth.
Very soon after the creation, Satan (a powerful and high-ranking cherub) sinned by tempting Eve in the Garden of Eden (Eze. 28:12-15). For more information about the fallen angel Satan, refer to my article "Satan, the Adversary of Mankind."
Satan's fall from grace is the first instance documented in the Bible of angels disobeying God, but it is not the only one. There is another incident recorded in Genesis 6 which occurred soon after Satan's rebellion:
GENESIS 6:1 When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. . . . 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days -- and also afterward -- when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. (NIV)
Just as it did in Job 38:7, the term "sons of God" in Genesis 6:2, 4 refers to the angels. For detailed proof that these "sons of God" were angels and not men, see my article "Genesis 6 - Who Were the Sons of God?"
The ancient books of Enoch and Jubilees also record the angelic rebellion of the "sons of God" in detail. As Hershel Shanks reveals in his book on the Dead Sea Scrolls, these books were highly thought of at the time the New Testament was written:
Before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls the apocryphal book of Enoch (more precisely, I Enoch) was known only in an Ethiopic translation. Now as many as twenty fragmentary copies of the Aramaic original have been found at Qumran, which suggests that Enoch and perhaps other books now considered apocryphal were regarded as authoritative Scripture at least by some groups. Allusions to Enoch occur at least fourteen times in the New Testament; the New Testament Letter of Jude quotes from Enoch as having the authority of inspired Scripture (Jude 14-15). In some copies of the Ethiopic Bible Enoch is included in the canon.
Jubilees, the so-called Rewritten Bible, was apparently considered authoritative at Qumran: At least fifteen copies of this book have been identified, an immediate indication of the importance the Qumran sectarians attached to it. To this day, it is considered canonical by the Abyssinian Church in Ethiopia. (pp. 160-161, The Mystery and Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls)
From the Book of Enoch, we learn more about the sin of the Watchers (Dan. 4:17), angels charged with watching over mankind:
ENOCH 6:1 And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto 2 them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men 3 and beget us children.' (The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, R.H. Charles)
The Book of Jubilees also elaborates on the sin of these angels:
JUBILEES 5:1 And it came to pass when the children of men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born unto them, that the angels of God saw them on a certain year of this jubilee, that they were beautiful to look upon; and they took themselves wives of all whom they 2 chose, and they bare unto them sons and they were giants. . . . (The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, R.H. Charles)
After the angels sinned by marrying human women, they bore them gigantic hybrid children. The Bible calls these offspring nephilim, the "mighty men of old, warriors of renown" (Gen. 6:4). When they appear again later in the Scriptures, they are called by a variety of names, including Rephaim, Zumim, Emim (Gen. 14:5), Anakim (Deu. 2:11), and Zamzummim (Deu. 2:20).
The Book of Enoch and the Book of Jubilees both speak of these crossbred beings:
ENOCH 7:1 And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them . . . And they 3 became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: Who consumed 4 all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against 5 them and devoured mankind. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and 6 fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood. Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones. (The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, R.H. Charles)
JUBILEES 5:2 . . . And lawlessness increased on the earth and all flesh corrupted its way, alike men and cattle and beasts and birds and everything that walks on the earth - all of them corrupted their ways and their orders, and they began to devour each other, and lawlessness increased on the earth and every imagination of the thoughts of all men 3 (was) thus evil continually. . . . (The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, R.H. Charles)
Both these ancient books, recorded long before the New Testament, speak of two primary identifying signs of the pre-Flood age: (1) the illicit marriage of the angels with humans, and (2) the voracious eating and drinking by their hybrid offspring, the nephilim. It's very interesting that these two signs mirror those spoken of by Yeshua when he described the situation which would exist on the earth before his second coming:
MATTHEW 24:37 "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. (NKJV)
God was very angry at the rebellion of the Watchers, and decreed that these wayward angels would be locked up underneath the earth in a prison for spirits until the day of judgment. The Book of Jubilees and the Book of Enoch both speak of this punishment:
JUBILEES 5:6 And against the angels whom He had sent upon the earth, He was exceedingly wroth, and He gave commandment to root them out of all their dominion, and He bade us to bind them in the depths of the earth, and 7 behold they are bound in the midst of them, and are (kept) separate. (The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, R.H. Charles)
ENOCH 10:11 . . . And the Lord said unto Michael: 'Go, bind Semjaza and his associates who have united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves 12 with them in all their uncleanness. And when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgement and of their consummation, till the judgement that is 13 for ever and ever is consummated. In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire: and 14 to the torment and the prison in which they shall be confined for ever. . . .' (The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, R.H. Charles)
The Book of Enoch and Book of Jubilees agree with the Scriptures which show that a portion of the fallen angels are currently restrained in a spiritual prison called "the Abyss" (Luke 8:31):
JUDE 6 And the angels who did not keep their own position, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains in deepest darkness for the judgment of the great Day. (NRSV)
II PETER 2:4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; (NKJV)
I PETER 3:19 . . . He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. (NKJV)
While there are clearly some fallen angels who can move around freely, the Bible teaches that the Watchers who lusted after human women are currently locked up in "chains of darkness."
Mankind was originally given dominion and rulership over the earth (Gen. 1:26-28). However, the fall of man set the stage for Satan and the angels to assume control. Several biblical passages allude to the fact that both good and evil angels currently have different levels of authority over the peoples of the earth:
DEUTERONOMY 32:8 When the Most High divided the nations, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God. 9 And his people Jacob became the portion of the Lord, Israel was the line of his inheritance. (Brenton's LXX)
The passage of Scripture shown above is from the third-century B.C.E. Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament known as the Septuagint. When God divided mankind into 70 nations at the tower of Babel, He apportioned rulership of the world among the angels, reserving only the future nation of Israel for Himself. God gave the angels varying levels of authority over the resulting nations of mankind.
In the official Jewish version of the Old Testament, the Masoretic Text, Deuteronomy 32:8 reads "sons of Israel" (Heb. beney Yisrael) instead of "angels of God." However, an Aramaic copy of the book of Deuteronomy found among the Dead Sea Scrolls has "sons of God" (Heb. beney 'elohim) instead of "sons of Israel" in verse 8. The Septuagint translators understood that the "sons of God" spoken of in Deuteronomy 32:8 and elsewhere were the angels, and rendered it that way several times (Deu 32:8; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7). The ancient text found at Qumran verifies the Septuagint rendering of this verse, indicating that the official Jewish version was altered at a later date for some reason.
Psalm 82 speaks of the angelic council which was given rulership over the 70 nations of the earth:
PSALM 82:1 {A Psalm of Asaph.} God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: 2 "How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah 3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. 4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." 5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6 I say, "You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; 7 nevertheless, you shall die like men, and fall like any prince." 8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; for to thee belong all the nations! (RSV)
In this psalm, God chastises the angelic rulers ("the gods") for their injustice and iniquity in carrying out the responsibilities that He has assigned to them. God tells them their fate for disobedience will be to "die like men." Asaph ends the psalm by exhorting God to judge the earth and its angelic rulers, because all the nations actually belong to Him. For more information on these ruling spirit beings, see my article "The Heavenly Divine Council."
The book of Daniel gives us some further verification of this angelic authority over humanity.
DANIEL 10:5 I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! 6 His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude. . . . 12 Then he said to me, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. (NKJV)
The passage above gives us a fascinating inside glimpse into the order and activities of the spiritual realm. The angel that visited Daniel was sent to give him an understanding of what would happen to his people (the Jews) in "the latter days." However, this angel was delayed for 21 days because "the prince of the kingdom of Persia" stood against him. Here we see a three-week spiritual battle described by one of the participants, a holy angel! Indeed, if Michael, who is described in Dan. 12:1 as "the great prince who has charge of your people," had not helped in this fight, Daniel's messenger might not have been able to deliver his information.
DANIEL 10:20 Then he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? Now I must return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I am through with him, the prince of Greece will come. 21 But I am to tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth. There is no one with me who contends against these princes except Michael, your prince." (NRSV)
After conveying his message to Daniel, the angel states that he must return once again to do battle with "the prince of Persia." But he says that he will also have to combat "the prince of Greece" after he has finished with "the Prince of Persia." The picture derived from this brief account is one of continual spiritual warfare between the holy angels and the numerous spirit beings who have been given dominion over the nations of this world. For additional information on Michael, the spiritual prince over Israel, refer to my article "Christ in the Old Testament."
The apostle Paul takes this idea one step further by showing that mortal Christians are also involved in this spiritual warfare:
EPHESIANS 6:12 For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (RSV)
The phrase "world rulers" in Ephesians 6:12 comes from the Greek word kosmokratoras. Friberg's Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament defines this word as "one holding power over the world; plural in the NT for devilish forces, spirit-beings who control parts of the world system, world rulers (EP 6.12)." Paul here clearly states that the fallen angels hold sway over the world! Paul goes on to describe the "whole armor of God" that is needed to defeat these wicked angels in the heavens and spiritual world rulers (Eph. 6:13-18).
In Hebrews 2:5, the author indirectly establishes the current rulership of our world by angels:
HEBREWS 2:5 It was not under angels that He put the world to come, about which we are speaking. (NJB)
By saying that God has not appointed angels to rule the coming world, the author implies that the current world is being ruled by angels. Indeed, the Bible clearly teaches that Satan is the supreme ruler and "god" (II Cor. 4:4) of this present world.
The Bible shows that God uses fallen angels and evil spirits to accomplish certain tasks which fulfill His plan:
I KINGS 22:19 Then Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. 20 And the LORD said, 'Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?' So one [angel] spoke in this manner, and another [angel] spoke in that manner. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, 'I will persuade him.' 22 The LORD said to him, 'In what way?' So he said, 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And the LORD said, 'You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.' 23 Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you." (NKJV)
The story of Saul recorded in I Samuel reveals another instance where God used an evil spirit to do His will:
I SAMUEL 16:14 Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him. 15 And Saul's servants said to him, "Behold now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is skilful in playing the lyre; and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well. . . ." 23 And whenever the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand; so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him. (RSV)
I SAMUEL 18:10 And on the morrow an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand; 11 and Saul cast the spear, for he thought, "I will pin David to the wall." But David evaded him twice. 12 Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul. (RSV)
I SAMUEL 19:9 Then an evil spirit from the LORD came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand; and David was playing the lyre. 10 And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear; but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled, and escaped. (RSV)
In the first instance, the "lying spirit" that persuaded Ahab was one of the "host of heaven," or an angel. But was the "evil spirit" that God sent upon Saul an angel, or was it a demon? To understand the difference between the two, we have to understand the fate of the nephilim that were killed in the Flood. To do that, let's go back to the Book of Enoch.
We've already seen from the Bible, the Book of Enoch, and the Book of Jubilees that the Watchers were locked in the Abyss for their sins. However, as additional punishment, God decreed that the nephilim, the children of the angels, would be destroyed from the face of the earth:
ENOCH 12:4 . . . Enoch, thou scribe of righteousness, go, declare to the Watchers of the heaven who have left the high heaven, the holy eternal place, and have defiled themselves with women, and have done as the children of earth do, and have taken unto themselves 5 wives: "Ye have wrought great destruction on the earth: And ye shall have no peace nor forgiveness 6 of sin: and inasmuch as they delight themselves in their children, the murder of their beloved ones shall they see, and over the destruction of their children shall they lament, and shall make supplication unto eternity, but mercy and peace shall ye not attain." (The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, R.H. Charles)
The Bible teaches that a human being is made up of body, spirit, and soul (I The. 5:23; Heb. 4:12). The body is the physical part of a man, the spirit is the non-physical part, and the soul (Gr. psuche, Eng. "psyche") is the character or personality. When a person dies physically, their spirit (which has no consciousness apart from the body) returns to God who gave it (Ecc. 12:7).
However, since the hybrid nephilim had both physical and spiritual natures, they were able to survive (in a fashion) the deaths of their physical bodies. These hybrid spirits, which were not part of God's creation, had nowhere to go when their physical existence ceased. The Book of Enoch tells us what became of the departed spirits of these crossbreeds:
ENOCH 15:8 And now, the giants, who are produced from the spirits and flesh, shall be called evil spirits upon 9 the earth, and on the earth shall be their dwelling. Evil spirits have proceeded from their bodies; because they are born from men and from the holy Watchers is their beginning and primal origin; 10 they shall be evil spirits on earth, and evil spirits shall they be called. [As for the spirits of heaven, in heaven shall be their dwelling, but as for the spirits of the earth which were born upon the earth, on the earth shall be their dwelling.] And the spirits of the giants afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and work destruction on the earth, and cause trouble: they take no food, but nevertheless 12 hunger and thirst, and cause offences. And these spirits shall rise up against the children of men and against the women, because they have proceeded from them. (The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament, R.H. Charles)
The departed spirits of the nephilim became what we know as "demons." These entities are mentioned in the Old Testament (for example, see Lev. 17:7; Deu. 32:17; II Chr. 11:15; Psa. 106:37), and numerous times in the New Testament, where they are called "demons," "unclean spirits," and "evil spirits."
One of the activities of evil spirits mentioned in the Bible is that of "familiar" or "divining" spirits. These demons appear to have the ability to rouse the spirits of the dead from their ordained sleep. They also seem to be able to foretell the future, to some extent. The first mention we see of these spirits in the Scriptures is a warning from God to avoid consorting with them or the mediums that contact them.
LEVITICUS 19:31 "Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God." (NKJV)
LEVITICUS 20: 6 "And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people." (NKJV)
LEVITICUS 20:27 "A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them." (NKJV)
DEUTERONOMY 18:10 There shall not be found in thee one who purges his son or his daughter with fire, one who uses divination, who deals with omens, and augury, 11 a sorcerer employing incantation, one who has in him a divining spirit, an observer of signs, questioning the dead. (Brenton's LXX)
I SAMUEL 28:7 Then Saul said to his servants, Seek for me a woman who has in her a divining spirit, and I will go to her, and enquire of her: and his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman who has in her a divining spirit at Aendor. 8 And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he goes, and two men with him, and they come to the woman by night; and he said to her, Divine to me, I pray thee, by the divining spirit within thee, and bring up to me him whom I shall name to thee. 9 And the woman said to him, Behold now, thou knowest what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who had in them divining spirits, and the wizards from the land, and why dost thou spread a snare for my life to destroy it? (Brenton's LXX)
ACTS 16:16 It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, "These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation." 18 She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out at that very moment. (NASU)
The New Testament clearly records many instances where these evil spirits afflicted people by taking up residence within them. Below are a few of the examples available from the Scriptures.
MARK 7:25 But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And He was saying to her, "Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." 28 But she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children's crumbs." 29 And He said to her, "Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter." 30 And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left. (NASU)
LUKE 9:38 Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, "Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child. 39 "And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him. 40 So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not." 41 Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here." 42 And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father. (NKJV)
ACTS 19:11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches." 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" 16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. (NKJV)
During his ministry, Yeshua gave his disciples dominion and supremacy over these unclean spirits:
LUKE 9:1 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. (NKJV)
We can conclude from this grant of authority that demons and fallen angels are indeed separate entities. Otherwise, Yeshua's grant of power to the twelve disciples over all demons would have included Satan and the other angelic rulers of the divine council. Clearly this was not the case.
In his Gospel, Luke records an incident between Christ and some demons who had possessed a man which gives us additional insight:
LUKE 8:26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!" 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness. 30 Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the Abyss. 32 Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. 33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned. (NKJV)
As the Scripture above shows, the demons who inhabited this man were terrified of being banished by Christ into the Abyss. This is the same place where the fallen angels were chained. Apparently, those fallen angels and demons who get too far out of line here on earth are restrained in the Abyss until the day of judgment.
In the end-time prophecy recorded by John in the book of Revelation, the Abyss plays a large part in the events leading up to the return of the Messiah. During the period of the "seven trumpets," when God's wrath is poured out on an unrepentant mankind, the Abyss is opened at the sounding of the fifth trumpet:
REVELATION 9:1 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. 2 When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. 3 And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. 4 They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 They were not given power to kill them, but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6 During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them. 7 The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. 8 Their hair was like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. 9 They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. 10 They had tails and stings like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. (NIV)
The unlocking of the Abyss releases a horde of fallen angels and depraved demons upon mankind. God uses them as an instrument of His wrath for five months; they are allowed to torment those on the earth who don't have God's seal on their foreheads (Rev. 7:2-8).
In his commentary on Revelation 9:1, 3, Daniel H. Stern writes:
1 The star is not Satan (despite Isaiah 14:12, Lk 10:17), but an angel, who still has the key at 20:1. The Abyss is not Sh'ol (as at Ro 10:7), but a place where demonic beings are imprisoned (vv. 2-11, 11:7, 17:8, 20:2-3). In the Apocrypha, God is called, "You who close and seal the Abyss with your fearful and glorious name" (Prayer of Manasseh 3). . . .
3 Demonic monsters are released which fly like locusts (Exodus 10:12-20; Joel 1:4, 2:4-14) and sting like scorpions (Ezekiel 2:6, Lk 11:12). (pp. 815, 816, Jewish New Testament Commentary)
In Revelation 9:11, a mysterious character is introduced into the story. He is released from the Abyss along with the multitude of angels and demons, and is identified as their king or ruler:
REVELATION 9:11 They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon. (NIV)
Abaddon/Apollyon (literally "destroyer" in Hebrew/Greek ) is the angelic ruler of the Abyss. He is the highest ranking evil angel now confined in the Abyss. Although not specifically mentioned by these names anywhere else in the Bible, Abaddon plays a major role in the events at the end of this current age. For additional information on the identity of this powerful fallen angel and his activities in the end-time, see my articles "Who Is The 'Destroyer'?" and "The Goat For Azazel."
After the release of the angels and demons from the Abyss, another group of evil spirits is released onto the earth:
REVELATION 9:13 Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. 17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. 18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed -- by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. 19 For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm. 20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons . . . (NKJV)
In this passage of Scripture, we see that to further punish those who will not obey Him, God authorizes the release of four powerful angels who have been held for just this occasion. Their mission is the destruction of 1/3 of mankind. To accomplish this feat, they are given an army of 200 million evil spirits. Just as Christ and his angelic army later ride white horses (Rev. 19:11, 14), these demons also ride "horses." Fire, smoke, and brimstone issue from the mouths of their horses, and with these plagues possibly a billion and a half people are killed.
Both Abaddon, the evil spirit currently ruling over the Abyss, and the four angels now "bound at the great river Euphrates" appear to be high-ranking and powerful angels. They will be freed to fulfill their part of God's plan at the end of the age.
Yeshua tells us the fate of Satan and the fallen angels is to go into the age-lasting fire which has been prepared for them:
MATTHEW 25:41 "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: (NKJV)
Only Satan and his angels are mentioned here by Yeshua as going into fire. The demons have a different fate awaiting them. During the millennial reign of Yeshua, these unclean spirits will be restricted to the destroyed and uninhabited land of Babylon (Isa. 13:19-22; Jer. 51:37; Rev. 18:2). The Scriptures teach that the spirits of these hybrid giants will not be resurrected:
ISAIAH 26:14 Let not the dead live, let not the giants [repha'im] rise again: therefore hast visited and destroyed them, and hast destroyed all their memory. (DRA)
CONCLUSION
The earth is currently ruled over by angelic principalities and powers. Spiritual conflict is unseen but ongoing, with the holy angels often battling the fallen angels to fulfill God's will. Demons, the evil spirits of the departed nephilim, roam the earth tormenting and afflicting mankind.
The fallen angels and the demons will be fully unleashed on the earth during the end of this age, when God's wrath is vented on a sinning and unrepentant humanity. In the end, however, Christ will return and subjugate all who won't submit to God's authority, including Satan and the fallen host. Their punishment will be age-lasting destruction and refinement within the lake of fire. The disembodied spirits of the giants will eventually be destroyed forever.
History of Goth
Modern goth (ignoring where the name itself originally comes from) started in the early 80's as part of the punk subculture (which is itself was a rejection of most societal values, and anything considered part of the 'norm'). The phrase was coined by the band manager of Joy Division, Anthony H. Wilson, who described the band as 'Gothic compared with the pop mainstream'. The term stuck, and as punk eventually died, Goth survived and became its own subculture. The punk clothing and hairstyles mellowed, and the core 'rejection of society' attitude alone lived on in the gothic subculture. Over time this itself has been modified to be more of a 'no more blind acceptance of society's values' as opposed to rejection because it was there to be rejected (and because you could get away with it!).
Movies such as The Crow, and bands such as the Bauhaus helped establish the gothic image as dark, depressing, and even evil. As more and more 'dark' movies came out, numbers in the gothic subculture expanded, and there is now a gothic community in almost every major city around the world, and quite a number of towns have their own representative contingent. Nowdays there are more goth bands around than ever, and it has turned from an 80's phenomenon into a 90's way of life for many people. Unlike the punk subculture that it spawned from, there even exists a class of mature goths, still following the scene around even past their 20's and into their 30's and beyond.
But they think weird!
Ah, but this is the beauty of goths. Most subjects that are taboo in 'normal' society are freely discussed and debated about. Death, religion, magick, mysticism, and many other topics that are only roached carefully outside of the gothic community. Most goths have realised that fear is only a reaction instilled in us by dogmatic propaganda, and once you realise there is nothing to fear from the topic, whats to stop you discussing it?
Goths often revel in the fear given to them by society as a whole. Often the behavior exhibited by society to them based on society's perception of them from stereotypes, rumour, etc are a constant source of entertainment. Of course, most of the rumours are totally unfounded, goths are people like everyone else, however when you already have a reputation, going for the shock factor is often far too tempting to see how much society at large is willing to believe (or deduce) with only a little encouragement.
This does not totally fall away once you get inside the scene unfortunately, and goths are all too often tempted to try for the shock factor within the scene (which turns out more tacky than shocking). Goths when you get down to it can be a rather pretentious bunch, trying for those extra 'goth points' on the gothier than thou scale, but it adds to the enjoyment.
Tips on Writing Your Suicide Note
Your suicide note will be the last thing people have to remember you by.
Your relatives, friends, police officers, and others, will read it. In some cases, suicide notes, or parts of them, even get to the media. You might think that suicide notes would be the most carefully crafted documents, however in many cases, they are written carelessly and hastily.
The following tips are provided for people who want to leave a real impression.
Note: if you are not actually committing suicide because you want to die but are just looking to get attention, do not bother reading this. Your note will mean nothing once the doctors are done treating the scratches on your wrists or pumping the 2000mg of Advil out of your stomach. There are better ways of getting attention anyway. I suggest you try one of the many services for people who are only crying for help.
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Tip #1
Start Early.
Getting an early start is important. If you can, start a few days before your suicide. Make sure you're in a clear state of mind. You do not want to try to write your note while waiting for the pills you took to kick in, or have to rush through it before you bleed to death. Giving yourself enough time to write your note will help eliminate the most common mistakes.
Tip #2
Don't try to say everything.
There are probably a lot of things you have on your mind, and you need to take some time and sort them out. Decide what is most important to say and leave out things that don't matter. Decide now what you want your readers to come away with after reading your note. Eliminate those things that distract from that point.
Tip #3
Handwrite your note if you can.
A handwritten note is a lot more personal. However, if you are worried your letter will not be understood, or you are physically not able to write it by hand don't worry about it. The important thing is that you get your message across.
Tip #4
Be natural.
Write the way you would speak. A good suicide note is personal, not formal. Don't get out the thesaurus and look for the biggest words you can find. Be yourself.
Tip #5
Avoid cliché's
Filling your note with phrases like "Goodbye cruel world" and "no one understands me" will make your note feel less like your thoughts and more like a form letter. Too many cliché's and it can look like you are just going through the motions or that you are leaving a note because you feel that you should, but without having anything to say. If you want to say something but it sounds too cliché, try to re-word it a little.
Tip #6
In general, use first person.
It creates a sense of intimacy and makes it easier for a reader to see things from your point of view, if you want to use a different viewpoint, be sure that you stick to it throughout your whole note.
Tip #7
Don't use your note like a will.
You might want your best friend to get your stereo but your suicide note is not the place to express that. If you want to leave certain things to certain people you should setup a will ahead of time. Just because you write it down does not make it legal, and it can be easily dismissed by the claim that you were not of sound mind when you wrote it.
Taking the time to set up a will will also help keep you from giving away your stuff in the months/weeks/days before the suicide. That's one of the most obvious indications that you are thinking about killing yourself and will likly get you "saved", or at least make the process more difficult.
Tip #8
Be Honest.
Your note will be one of the last things you give the world to judge you by. If you include things that others can disprove, it can discount the entire note. Besides, there is not much reason for lying at this point, is there?
Tip #9
Don't reveal your methods.
This is most important when taking poisons and pills. Telling everyone what you took just makes it easier for them to give you the treatments needed to revive you. Alternately, you do not want someone to find the note that details which bridge you're jumping off of before you get that chance to jump. They might be able to stop you. People will find out how you did it once the autopsy reports come in anyway.
Tip #10
Don't say anything you might regret.
There is always a chance that you will be found and "rescued". Suicide notes are not the place to rip into people, give away other's secrets, or confess crimes. The last thing you want is to end up in a hospital bed, facing the people who read something you would never have told them while alive.
Tip #11
Don't try to persuade the reader.
You do not want to spend your time trying to convince the reader that you are right. In most cases nothing you can say will change they way they feel. Your purpose is to express your point of view. It doesn't matter if the reader shares your point of view or not, only that they understand it.
Tip #12
Proofread your note.
Re-read your note at least twice. It's easy to make a simple mistake that distracts from the overall feel of the note. When reading over your note, there are a lot of things to look for. It's better to read it several times, looking for something different each time then to try to remember it all while reading it over once.
Make sure the point you wanted to get across when you started writing is clear. Don't be afraid to made edits, but be sure to read your note over again when you do.
Tip #13
Make your note easy to find
Take some time to consider where to leave your note. If you can't leave it near you, be sure to leave it in an obvious location. Even if you want someone in particular to read your note first, avoid sending it to someone by mail. There are too many things that could go wrong and once you send it, it's gone. Your note could get lost in the mail, or worse, it could reach someone before you can go though with it.
Tip #14
Check your note for flow.
Your note should progress rather then being a loose connection of thoughts and feelings. People reading your note should see that it is going somewhere. If you're having a hard time, start with a sentence or two that sum up the point of the letter, and then end with a summary of the same topic. Every paragraph in between should support that point.
Tip #15
Make sure it's not too long.
There is a reason it's called a suicide note and not a novel. Try to keep it around two or three pages at the most. Avoid the temptation to mention or leave a little note to everyone you know. Not only does that get dull fast but you're certain to leave someone out.
