Dear Brethren,

There is an urgent need for Christians to understand that NOT ALL SAVED PEOPLE WILL INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (Matthew 7:21). The Word of the kingdom (Matthew 13:19) is not about the eternal salvation that we have received by grace through faith. It is about the millennial inheritance promised to us which can be FORFEITED.

Please read the attached article I wrote last year . . . thank you and happy reading . . .

Your brother in Christ in Manila,
Edgardo

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Thanks for replying. But have you read all of the article?

John 14:1 - 3 does not negate Matthew 7:21 - 23. They complement each other. And I did not say "not all will go to heaven." All will Christians will go to heaven. The point is, NOT ALL CHRISTIANS WILL ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. There's a difference. And because of that, many Christians will shed tears in heaven (Luke 13:23 - 30).
How about this? NO ONE will cry in heaven because NO ONE is going to heaven!!!

Come one "Christians"....READ God's word!

Don't just take what you have been fed blindly!
I don't understand "NO ONE is going to heaven." Please explain with scriptures.
I have quoted SO MANY SCRIPTURES here . . I do read the Bible . . .

Warning To Christians: TEARS IN HEAVEN!!! (Future)

By Edgar Meneses


It is the belief of Christendom, at least the majority in Christian circles, that in Heaven everything is or will be 100% happiness for all Christians. That is that when the Rapture comes their mortal bodies will be changed into immortal bodies like unto the glorified body of the Lord Jesus Christ. No more tears in Heaven, they say, referring to Revelation 21:4, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

It’s been a while that I’ve learned to not take things for granted as far as doctrines are concerned. And this question is one of them: Is it true, according to the infallible Word of God, that there will be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying in Heaven the moment we get there at the Rapture and thereafter? From the very title of this article you would know that my position is that there will be all of those things in Heaven for a limited period of time. I just hope that you are interested enough to continue reading and will not dismiss it as mere sensationalism or cultism.

I do not doubt the truth contained in Revelation 21:4 quoted above. But the time when that state will be true in Heaven and on earth is AFTER the millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ; this is seen plainly from the context (Revelation 20). To the amillennialists, however, I know I’m speaking nonsense; I only hope that they will take a second look at their cherished belief. I’m speaking, therefore, of the Millennium as the period of time during which – as will be shown -- tears, sorrow, pain, and death will still be experienced by the people of God in Heaven (see my millennium article at www.bibleone.net/TheMillennium.htm for Biblical proofs that there will be a 1000-year Messianic kingdom on earth to be inaugurated at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ). And if indeed there will be Christians’ tears in Heaven at the beginning of and during that millennial reign, we need to be informed in advance in order for us to take action now so that we will not have to weep and gnash our teeth at that time. This is a serious matter . . .

THE SETTING: THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST

“For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son” (John 5: 22).

“ . . . we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ . . . So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14: 10,12).

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5: 10).

That there will be a judgment day for Christians before the Bema [Judgment Seat] of Christ is established in Scripture. But the reason for it is something obscured in the minds of most Christians. To many this judgment day is when the Lord will separate true Christians from the false ones, receiving the saved to eternal bliss and consigning the unsaved to hell. This assumption proceeds from the concept of a “general resurrection” of all the dead of the ages, saved and unsaved, at the last day. Others, conceding that the Judgment Seat of Christ is for the saved only, say that it will be for giving of rewards, and there will be no chastisement or punishment to be meted out.

God does things in an orderly manner. Even the scripture on which the concept of general resurrection is based indicates otherwise: “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his [Christ’s] voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (John 5: 28,29). First Peter 4: 17 reveals that God will judge first His people, the saved. And this is exactly what is seen in the book of Revelation.

“I was in the Spirit on [in] the Lord’s day [Day of the Lord], and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet . . . I saw seven golden candlesticks . . . and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches” (Revelation 1: 10,12,20). Apostle John was transported by the Holy Spirit into the future just ahead of us today, IN THE DAY OF THE LORD. The Day of the Lord is the time when God will again intervene in history, first by removing the Church from the earth and placing her in the heavens. This soon-coming event is called the Rapture, described in First Thessalonians 4: 15-17 and referred to in other places in the New Testament and typified by personalities and events in the Old Testament. The event that John saw in Heaven is the Judgment of Christians, known as the Judgment Seat of Christ, 2 Corinthians 5: 10, Romans 14: 10,12. We are presently very close to this future event, based on the septenary structure of time revealed in Scripture. At this point in time the Lord Jesus Christ will leave the Heavenly Sanctuary, where He has been as our High Priest during the church dispensation, and will become our Judge.

We will therefore examine, though not exhaustively, some scriptures that reveal what will happen at the Judgment Seat of Christ to see if there will be no tears in Heaven.

1. MATTHEW 7: 21-23 – EXCLUSION FROM THE KINGDOM

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in 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 [declare] unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

“That day” particularly refers to the day of judgment for Christians. The unsaved are not in view here. Remember that the Sermon on the Mount was addressed to the disciples, the saved. Notice that the Lord says many in that day will be shocked to find out that they will not enter into the kingdom.

Right here a note of clarification is necessary. It is assumed, wrongly, that entering the kingdom is the same as being saved. Not so. Salvation is the giving of eternal life to a spiritually dead person by the Holy Spirit; the passing from death unto life, John 5:24, by faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. Eternal life is given to a person upon belief, Acts 16:31. This is the salvation of the spirit, John 3:6. It can never be taken back from a Christian (OSAS). But the salvation that the Lord Jesus Christ was talking about in the Sermon on the Mount is another salvation, called the salvation of the soul (Matthew 16: 24-27; James 1: 21; 1 Peter 1: 9; Hebrews 10: 39); it could also be called the salvation of the life, that is, life in the Millennium. This salvation can be lost at the coming Judgment Seat of Christ. Hence the warning. Entering the kingdom is not automatic for a saved person. He has to have his soul saved in order for him to gain millennial salvation.

As the Lord says unequivocally in the passage above, many of the saved will not enter into the kingdom of the heavens. It is argued that those who will not enter the kingdom referred to in the present passage of Scripture are lost people. Again, that is a wrong assumption. In the first place, one has to be saved in order to appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ. For a Christian to be told by the Lord Jesus Christ that he is not entering the kingdom would be a great shock indeed. Pleading will not change His mind. Would not tears be shed from the eyes of a Christian who will find himself in that situation before his Lord and Judge? Lest there be any more doubt that it is Christian tears we are talking about here, and not of the lost, let’s look at the next passage . . .

2. LUKE 13: 24-30 – THE STRAIT GATE AND THE SHUT DOOR

“Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.”

Let us focus first on “strait gates.” In the Sermon on the Mount the Lord says, “Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7: 13,14).

You will notice that in Luke 13: 24, “many . . . will [future] seek to enter in” at the strait gate. Yet in Matthew 7: 13, it is also the “many . . . which go in” (present tense, happening during this present dispensation) at the wide gate. It is apparent that in the Matthew passage people just naturally and effortlessly go in at the wide gate, without much deliberation on their part although knowing full well what they are doing. On the other hand, the Luke passage pictures the same “many,” I believe, who in future will be trying to enter a strait gate upon realizing that they are in a big predicament.

I suggest therefore that the strait gate in Matthew 7: 13 is the present “gate” – available now on earth – of a sanctified life for Christians who attain to a mature faith necessary for the salvation of their souls. And few there be that find it. But Luke’s strait gate is a different gate and is still future, to be entered by qualified Christians (the “few”) in Heaven at the Judgment Seat of Christ, the strait gate, or “door,” that the same many referred to in Matthew 7: 13 will try to enter but will be refused by the Lord.

Now to hear the pleadings of Christians who will shed tears in Heaven!

“We have eaten and drunk in thy presence . . . .” These are Christians who regularly attended church services, including the Lord’s Supper. They wonder why they are being refused entrance into the marriage festivities in Heaven considering they were faithful members of their respective local churches on earth, attending to church programs. “ . . . and thou hast taught in our streets.” They had even organized and attended evangelistic campaigns wherein many were converted.

“But he [the Lord] shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.” It is insisted that these people are not Christians, that’s why they will be rejected by the Lord. That’s precisely the reason why Christianity today is not aware of the future shock in Heaven after the Rapture – false assumption. It is assumed that all will be fine for all Christians in Heaven when we get there at the Rapture. The truth of the matter is that the Lord Jesus Christ’s warnings in the gospels are directed toward the saved. Remember, our scene is the Judgment Seat of Christ. No lost person will appear there.

Since God knows everything, “I know you not” must be a relative expression. It must mean “I know you not as far as entrance into the marriage festivities is concerned. You are not included.” (The same is true with “I never knew you” in Matthew 7: 23.) Imagine the tears that will flood Heaven, because many will weep there, the Lord says. Shakespeare’s tragedies will be nothing in comparison. But the Lord will not be moved by the tears. The decision will be carried out.

Eternal salvation is not the subject matter here, but the kingdom. “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.” In Scripture, the lost do not weep and gnash their teeth; only the saved exluded from the kingdom do that. Gnashing of teeth is an expression of deep regret. They will regret the loss of rewards that they could have had if only . . . and they will have only themselves to blame . . . and perhaps their pastors who had misled them wittingly or unwittingly. What a tragedy.

3. MATTHEW 22: 11-13 – THE OUTER DARKNESS

“And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

In Number 2 above, I suggested that it is the door to the future wedding festivities in Heaven (Revelation 19: 7-9) that many Christians will be barred from entering. Here in the Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matthew 22: 1-14) the Heavenly Marriage Feast is explicitly typified. Without going into the details of the parable we focus on the concluding part.

The man found to be without a wedding garment is undoubtedly a Christian. Why, he is shown in the antitype to have been raptured into Heaven. But when the King found him he was ordered to be bound hand and foot and cast into “outer darkness.” Outer Darkness, contrary to common belief, is not hell. Christians will not be cast into “hell” – either Hades or the lake of fire. It is merely a place of darkness outside the perimeter of light in a wedding feast during those days when the parable was given. Translated into antitypical meaning of the kingdom of God, Outer Darkness is the region of obscurity where the majority of Christians will spend one thousand years without participation in the kingdom (disinherited).

The other two places where the Outer Darkness is mentioned are Matthew 8: 12 and 25: 30. The first refers to Jews of the first century to whom Jesus offered the kingdom and the second refers to Christians who are unprofitable servants. Outer Darkness is always associated with weeping and gnashing of teeth.

4. MATTHEW 25: 1-13 – THE FIVE FOOLISH VIRGINS

“Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.”

The Parable of the Ten Virgins – another parable that points to the wedding festivities that will happen in Heaven immediately after the Judgment Seat of Christ – is one of the clearest passages of Scripture that reveals there will be tears in Heaven after the Rapture of the Church. The subject is the Church. It cannot be Israel, as some argue, because Israel is never pictured as a virgin or a bride in Scripture. On the contrary, she is pictured as an adulterous wife of God; whereas, the Church is pictured only as the Body of Christ, from which will come the virgin Bride of Christ.

That the ten virgins represent Christians is obvious in that all of them are looking for the arrival of the Bridegroom. They are representative of ALL Christians, ten being the number of ordinal perfection. They all have in their possession “oil,” which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit who has sealed them for salvation. Problem with the foolish virgins is that they have no extra supply of oil, which means the filling of the Spirit (Ephesians 5: 18). At the Rapture – the “midnight cry” – the five foolish virgins are not admitted to the marriage festivities because of unpreparedness. This must be after decisions and determinations have been made at the Judgment Seat of Christ. This is the same scene depicted in Luke 13: 24-30. The foolish virgins will shed much tears in Heaven, naturally.

5. LUKE 19: 24-27 – SOME CHRISTIANS TO BE SLAIN IN HEAVEN!

“And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.”

Now, you might be thinking, you surely are not serious in saying some Christians will be slain by the Lord in Heaven. Christians have been saved, given eternal life, and you say they will be killed in Heaven? You must be kidding.

Friend, this subject is not one to be kidding about. I am dead serious. Luke 19: 27 has been there all along the past 1,900+ years; I’m just quoting it for you. And I admit lack of eloquence in explaining. But let me try . . .

The Parable of the Pounds positively enjoins properly preparing for the coming kingdom. “ . . . A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return” (Luke 19: 12). The Lord Jesus Christ, at His return will call His servants for an accounting, which is none other thing than the Judgment Seat of Christ. His verdict therefore of slaying some of His servants is one of the ways His rebellious servants will be dealt with. We simply have to believe it. The question that may be in your mind is, how? And WHY? Some answers will be given in the following two verses from the book of Revelation and others following them:

6. REVELATION 3: 5 – CHRISTIANS’ NAMES TO BE BLOTTED
OUT OF THE BOOK OF LIFE

“He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.”

The seven letters to the seven churches of Revelation are addressed by the Lord to Christians. Therefore, it is possible for a Christian to be blotted out of the book of life. This particular book of life consists of the names of all the saved of this dispensation, from Pentecost to the Rapture. At the Judgment Seat of Christ, those who do not present a saved soul, their names will be blotted out of this book of life. That means they will not have millennial life. These are the ones who will be put in Outer Darkness for one thousand years. They will be forced to have their souls die during the Millennium in order for them to regain them (cf. Matthew 16: 24-27; John 12: 24,25; 1 Corinthians 15: 35-56 – the principle of resurrection).

First Corinthians 3: 13-15 sheds more light. “Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” The loss spoken of here is the loss of millennial life, which is the same as having one’s name blotted out of the book of life. The losers will spend a millennium of obscurity outside the sphere of the kingdom of the heavens. This is why Apostle John exhorted the believers to “ . . . abide in him [Christ]; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming” (1 John 2: 28).

It is to be noted that the loss of millennial life does not mean the death of the body for those who will be cast into Outer Darkness. This group of disinherited children of God is not the subject of Luke 19: 27. It’s another group referred to in . . .

7. REVELATION 2: 11 – APOSTATES TO BE HURT OF
THE SECOND DEATH

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.”

Believe it or not, it is possible for saved believers to suffer and be hurt by the second death. This wll be the sad fate of apostate Christians. Only Christians can apostatize, for apostasy means “to stand away from.” Apostates have stood away from their former position. The book of Hebrews has a lot say about this group. Let us read some of them here.

“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame . . . For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins. But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries . . . For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 6: 4-6; 10: 26,27,30,31).

The second death for a backslid Christian will be carried out at the Judgment Seat of Christ. It will be the death of his body. This punishment is worse than the Outer Darkness, (where people will reside possessing their redeemed bodies) because the suferrer will be hurt of the second death – he will feel it – and his lifeless body will be put in a certain place for the duration of a thousand years.

It is not true that the Hebrews passages above are addressed to “professing Christians,” meaning, unregenerated people. That cannot be. Lost people do not have those characteristics mentioned. And, specifically, the warning was directed to “His [God’s] people.” Notice, too, that the book was addressed to “holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling” (3: 1). It is simply because of the grim description of punishment in Hebrews that people can’t seem to accept that Christians are the ones being spoken of in the book. But we shall see greater judicial pronouncements than this . . .

8. MATTHEW 23: 13-15 – GEHENNA IS FOR THE APOSTATES

“But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell [Gehenna] than yourselves.”
“Gehenna” was a dump site outside Jerusalem during the time of our Lord. It has reference to the Valley of Hinnom, where God put the dead bodies of His apostate people (Jeremiah 7: 32; 32: 36). It is a fitting type for the place where the Lord Jesus Christ will put the dead bodies of apostate Christians who will be slain at the Judgment Seat.

The scribes and Pharisees were not unsaved. The Israelites were saved as a people, their salvation as individuals being by faith as it is today with Christians. The Lord said to His audience at that time that they should follow the Pharisees’ instructions, but they should not follow after their works (Matthew 23: 2). He would not have said that if those religious leaders were lost religionists. They were exact types of Christian religious leaders today who mislead their members, wittingly or unwittingly. And when the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the pit. This article is written out of a sincere desire that the reader will stop and think. The Church today is deceived as a whole (Luke 18: 8; Revelation 3: 17). I hope that the thought of Gehenna makes the reader aware of the danger that many Christians are in. Remember, Gehenna is for the saved, not for the unsaved. Following is another proof of this point.

9. MATTHEW 5: 27-30 – GEHENNA PUNISHMENT FOR EVIL
THOUGHTS AND EVIL ACTIONS

“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell [Gehenna]. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell [Gehenna].”

Sins confessed and repented of are dealt with by the High Priestly work of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Heavenly Sanctuary (1 John 1: 9). But Matthew 5: 27-30 makes it clear that a Christian who takes the path of no resistance is in danger of ending up in Gehenna for a thousand years. Don’t think for a moment that the Sermon on the Mount was for the Jews only, as I have heard and read some say. Far from it. The Sermon is part of the Law of Christ that we have to fulfil (Galatians 6: 2), or Christ has to fulfil through us, in order for us to escape the damnation of Gehenna (Cf. Matthew 23: 33).

Those who will enter Heaven at the Rapture with unsaved souls will be transient (relative to eternity) residents of the Outer Darkness where their souls will die. I imagine their redeemed bodies (the body of Adam before he sinned) will be more physically capable of shedding tears than their former bodies of death (Romans 7: 24) would be. But the apostates, although saved in spirit, will have to be slain at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Where will their souls go then? . . .

10. JUDE 11-13 – THE BLACKNESS OF DARKNESS
“Woe unto them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.”

I think that most Christians believe that this scripture penned by Jude describes the state of and punishment for wicked unbelievers. But that is not the case at all. (Would Jude, in such a short letter, write to the Church about the unbelievers? Actually, the whole Bible is generally and primarily talking about the people of God – Old Testament patriarchs, Israelites, and Christians.) The truth is, Jude was writing about the great apostasy that would be the condition of the Church in the last days, which is right now. The whole epistle is a warning against apostasy. Only God’s people can commit apostasy. The fact that Jude is second to the last book of the Bible is significant. The state of the Church just prior to the Rapture – the first of the series of events portrayed in the Book of Revelation – is Apostasy, in its many forms as Jude listed them in his epistle, drawing from Old Testament examples. Are we heeding Jude’s warning?

Jude answers the question where the souls of the apostates will go at the time their natural bodies are destroyed in Gehenna. It is “the blackness of darkness.” Apparently it is a worse place than Outer Darkness, the place for disinherited, non-apostatizing (relatively speaking) but fruitless Christians. “For ever” here means for an age, meaning, the thousand-year Age of the Messiah. Blackness of Darkness would correspond to “many stripes” in Luke 12: 47. Let’s add that to our list . . . to dispel once and for all the idea that God will not punish erring Christians in Heaven . . .

11. LUKE 12: 42-48 – FEW STRIPES, MANY STRIPES

“And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.”

This scripture definitely speaks of the Judgment Seat of Christ to begin immediately after the Lord’s coming for His people. In view of our Number 10 scripture, notice the words “cut him in sunder.” That means the apostate servant (spirit-saved) will be bisected – his natural body to be put in Gehenna and his soul will be banished to the Blackness of Darkness. The apostates and other non-overcomers fail to enter the millennial kingdom, therefore their punishment will also last for the same length of time, 1,000 years, after which they will be resurrected from Gehenna, the Blackness of Darkness, and the Outer Darkness, and be given their spiritual bodies (1 Corinthians 15: 51-54). This particular truth of future things belongs to “strong meat” doctrines (Hebrews 5:14) that look forward to the Glory of Christ that a Christian’s maturing faith would eventually arrive at, in contradistinction to “milk” doctrines that belong to elementary principles of the doctrine of Christ (Hebrews 6: 1-3) that point to the foundation of the Cross.

The stewards of God’s Word – Christian denominational leaders, pastors, and Bible teachers – have the potential of receiving the highest rewards from the Lord (rulership “over all that He hath), OR the worst punishment. The criterion is faithfulness to the Word. If they are faithfull unto the end they will receive a full reward ( 2 John 8). But if they fall away and become unbelieving believers, they will experience the TERROR OF THE LORD at the Judgment Seat (2 Corinthians 5: 11), being worthy of many stripes.

Today many Christians in positions of teaching are saying that prophecy is not that important to be taught to their flocks. By their words and action they fall under the category of scoffers spoken of by the apostle Peter in Second Peter 3: 3ff. They are being unfaithful to the Lord in their task of giving meat doctrines to their congregants. Not looking for the coming of the Lord, they become “drunk” with worldliness. They become part of the world, trying to improve this world by church programs and being active in cause-oriented movements like environmentalism, social and political activism, etc. Some even seek political positions including the presidency of the land. All of which is a form of Apostasy that Jude talked about. Such church leaders have departed from their calling, or have not understood the Christian calling in the first place, and thus have been misleading their members. This is so because they are not being faithful to the Word of God, one evidence of which is in . . .

12. REVELATION 22: 19 – LOSS OF ALL REWARDS

“And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”

The apostate church leaders have taken away from the words of the Bible by disbelieving things which are written therein. A notable example is the Millennium. Apart from the amillennialists, more and more are taking a ride on the bandwagon of Dominionism in “bringing down the kingdom of heaven to earth.” Disregarding the prophecies of the Lord’s Second Coming, they embark on establishing the kingdom of God on earth by their efforts. If they would only go back to the Bible and preach the Word. But they will not. Therefore, to them and to their deceived followers will apply these words from the book of Proverbs:

“How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? . . . Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you” (Proverbs 1: 22, 24-27).

Again, the above scripture speaks of saved people who are in danger of falling into the hands of the living God. Distress and anguish indeed will come upon the apostates among God’s people. And also upon those “fools” and “simple ones” who hate knowledge ( being content with being saved [spirit salvation], unmindful of the salvation of the soul in doctrine and/or in works). They will end up in desolation at the Judgment Seat of Christ – LOSS OF ALL REWARDS during the millennial kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Before I close, let me say a few words regarding the doctrine of Balaam that is a big cause of the demise of too many Christians. Today, Christians are “sitting pretty,” believing that by virtue of their positional standing in Christ they are going to receive all the rewards and inheritance in the kingdom that are promised in the Word of God. To them doctrine is not important; what is important is their “relation” with the Lord, they would say. To study doctrine is a hassle. Little do they realize that that attitude is a part of the doctrine of Balaam. Peter, John, and Jude were not remiss in warning God’s people against it on pain of exclusion from the kingdom (cf. Hosea 4: 6).

I hope that the grim prospects of shedding tears in Heaven for the duration of one thousand years will inculcate in us the fear of the Lord ( Proverbs 1: 7) and make us more aware of our heavenly calling of being part of the Bride of Christ who will rule with Him during that day of His Glory, and inspire us to “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3: 14), to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2: 12), and to “give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall” (2 Peter 1: 10).

I have quoted so many scriptures here . . . I do read the Bible . . .
Parables are just stories to help shed light. They are NOT actual accounts or events!

With that said, I'll make this as simple as possible. Seeing you do read the bible you should have no problem finding the scriptures I'm referring to.

First, where did the angel say Jesus would return, "in like manner"? The Mount of Olives!

Next, when Jesus returns to the mount of Olives, how long will He rule? 1000yrs!

When He returns who will He bring and who will rule with Him? All of the first resurrected saints!

What happens after Jesus 1000yr rule? Satan is loosed and the armies of the world are gathered for the final battle!

What happens after the final battle? The White throne judgement and the 2nd resurrection of the saints!

Once ALL is complete who is it that comes DOWN from heaven to dwell with man?

GOD!!!!!

NOw at what point does anybody make it to heaven?

.
At the Judgment Seat of Christ after the Rapture of the Church, 2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:10; Rev. 1 - 4.
Let's look at those scriptures to find where it says we will make it to heaven;

2 Cor.5:10
[10] For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

And where does it ever state that judgement will be done in heaven?

Next;

Rom.14:10
[10] But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

Again the same question!!!

Now let's read where God said He desires to dwell and also find out where the saints will be.

First, where did the angel say Jesus would return, "in like manner"? The Mount of Olives!

Acts 1
[11] Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Zach. 14
[4] And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west,


Next, when Jesus returns to the mount of Olives, how long will He rule? 1000yrs!

Rev.20
[6] Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.


When He returns who will He bring and who will rule with Him? All of the first resurrected saints!

Dan.7
[27] And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.


What happens after Jesus 1000yr rule? Satan is loosed and the armies of the world are gathered for the final battle!

Rev.20
[7] And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
[8] And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

What happens after the final battle? The White throne judgement and the 2nd resurrection of the saints!

Rev. 20
[11] And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
[12] And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.


Once ALL is complete who is it that comes DOWN from heaven to dwell with man?

GOD!!!!!

Rev. 21
[2] And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
[3] And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.


Now at what point does anybody make it to heaven?

Now how about quoting scriptures where it states that we will dwell with Jesus and the Father in HEAVEN!

We will dewll where Jesus and the Father dwells! And their desire has ALWAYS been right here on earth. Let's read it;

2 Chron 6;
[6] But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.

And who will rule over Israel during Jesus 1000yr rule?

Jer. 23
[5] Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

Jer.30
[9] But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.

And where did David rule?

Amos 9
[11] In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:

2 Sam.5
[4] David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.
[5] In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years over all Israel and Judah.

Now let's read where God desires to dwell;

Pss.132
[13] For the LORD hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation.
[14] This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.

Zach. 8
[3] Thus saith the LORD; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the LORD of hosts the holy mountain.

Isa 2;
[2] And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

Isa 24;
[23] Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

Joel 3
[17] So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.

Obad 1;
[17] But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
[21] And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD's.

Again, at what point does anyone make it to the current habitaion of God....the "third" heaven?

No one has ever gone there except the ones that came from there. That leaves only Jesus and the angels......spirit beings only!

Now I'm sure you will find some kind of way to ignore all of the above scriptures just so you can still believe you are going to heaven.....right?

.
I appreciate your long reply. Actually we have no conflict. We just do not meet. My emphasis was on the Millennium during which time the Bride will dwell in the New Jerusalem above the earth. I say "Bride'" not God's earthly people. Your emphasis is AFTER the Millennium when God will dwell with man on the New Earth. (I would never ignore scriptures. I tremble at them, Isaiah 66:2.)

P. S. The "where" of the Judgment Seat of Christ is revealed in the book of Revelation, chapters 1 through 4.
God's word does NOT support your claim!!

There will only be ONE 1000yr period of rule and that will take place here on earth....NOT above it!!!!

When the Lord returns to rule for 1000yrs He does NOT leave! He stays and rules the earth WITH His saints!

Zech. 14
[9] And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

Dan.7
[27] And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

Where in God's word do you get the notion that Christ will "dwell in the New Jerusalem above the earth."?

Please give Book, chap, and verse?

As far as Rev., you do understand that what John saw was a "vision". Again...at what point does God's word state His judgement will be conducted in heaven?
Ecclesiastes is right. Brother Meneses your claim does not support the scriptures.
Dear Hezekiah Ben Israel & Ecclesiastes 12:13,

Please give me time. I will first write down my reply before I type it here. Thank you.
Okay, it will be spontaneous now, forget the paper.

When John was in the Island of Patmos for the purpose of receiving the Word of God, he was moved FORWARD in time and place. Whether it was a vision or not he was shown what is to occur during "the Lord's Day," 1:10. He saw Christ judging the complete Church (seven churches, the number 7 denoting completeness of that which is in view, in this case the whole Church).. Chapter 4:1,2 says this judgment will be done IN HEAVEN: "After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open IN HEAVEN . . . and behold, a throne stood IN HEAVEN . . . ."

The first event described in Revelation is the Rapture of the Church. And Christ is seen as doing the work of a JUDGE by the description that John wrote of Him -- " . . . clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle [judges wear girdles on their BREAST, or paps, not on their waist as priests would do]" (v.13).Words that connote judgment are used, such as "flame of fire," furnace," "brass," "sharp two-edged sword," etc. This is the Judgment Seat being depicted by John. It cannot be otherwise in context of the whole Bible. Judgment must first begin at the house of God, which is the Church (1 Pet. 4:17).

When the Church is removed from Man's Day (Rapture) we will find ourselves in "the Lord's Day." The present dispensation, or Christian dispensation, is a day of Grace. But the Day of the Lord (how many times the phrase is mentioned in the Bible!) will be the day of Judgment or justice. The Lord's Day is the day referenced in Matthew 7:22,23: "Many will say to me IN THAT DAY, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name . . . And then will I profess [declare] unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity." (Notice that MANY Christians will not enter the kingdom of the heavens, if we will just accept that statement from the lips of our Lord at face value. The Sermon on the Mount is addressed to the saved, not to the lost world.) The Judgment Seat of Christ is for the purpose of revealing who among the Body of Christ will form the Bride and Wife of Christ who will rule with Him over the earth FROM THE HEAVENS during the thousand years. Remember, Christians who are overcomers are "partakers [Greek, companions, that is, companions of Christ] of the HEAVENLY calling" (Hebrews 3:1), unlike the Israelites who are God's earthly people, as they rejected the Lord's offer of the heavenly kingdom (Matt. 21:43).

It should not be surprising that Jesus Christ will rule from both Jerusalem on earth and Jerusalem above (Galatians 4:26) because He is the Heir of Abraham. He is the greater Son of David who will rule over the house of Jacob. As well, the Lord is the Second Adam who will take the place of Satan who is the present ruler of the kingdom of the heavens. In short, there will be the DUAL THRONE that Jesus will occupy during the Millennium, one on earth and another in the heavens in the New Jerusalem which will come down to the the New Earth only AFTER the Milennium (Rev. 21:2).

It would take more words to explain, we have barely scratched the surface!

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