Now Ecothearcy seems to spend all his time on the internet attacking Christianity and slandering people and things he obviously knows nothing about but has a deep hatred for; and he does this by making what can only be described as very poor and inaccurate videos whilst hiding behind a robotic voice. Perhaps Ecoheresy would have been a more applicable name.
In the video he posted a link to, he denies Hell is taught in the Old and New Testaments and claims it wasn't invented until Augustine. A quick look around his websites reveal he denies the Trinity and the Deity of Christ, he claims the Apostle Paul is a false Apostle, and seems to have a deep rooted hatred for Paul Washer.
Now unless he repents, I suggest that Ecothearcy will soon find out that God’s perfect Justice in Hell is very real.
Please see: Who Warned You To Flee From the Wrath That Is To Come.
Now to address the false claims made in the video:
1. It is NOT true that the Old Testament does not teach eternal torment:
See Hell in the Old Testament
Dan 12:2 "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. "
Isaiah 66:24 "“ And they shall go forth and look
Upon the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their worm does not die,
And their fire is not quenched.
They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
Isaiah 33:10-14 "“ Now I will rise,” says the LORD;
“ Now I will be exalted,
Now I will lift Myself up.
11 You shall conceive chaff,
You shall bring forth stubble;
Your breath, as fire, shall devour you.
12 And the people shall be like the burnings of lime;
Likethorns cut up they shall be burned in the fire.
13 Hear, you who are afar off, what I have done;
And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid;
Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites:
“ Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?
Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” "
Isaiah 1:31 "The strong shall be as tinder,
And the work of it as a spark;
Both will burn together,
And no one shall quench them."
Psalm 21:8- 9 "Your hand will find all Your enemies;
Your right hand will find those who hate You.
9 You shall make them as a fiery oven in the time of Your anger;
The LORD shall swallow them up in His wrath,
And the fire shall devour them.
Jer 7:20 "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place—on man and on beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground. And it will burn and not be quenched.”
2. Nor is it true that the early Christians who were Jews did not believe in an eternal torment.
It is important to note those in Hell are NOT physically separated from the presence of God. That is a myth, mere wishful thinking. Rev. 14:10 tells us that the wicked "shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb". No my friend, it is not the absence of God that is the true horror of Hell, but rather His presence. In Hell, God will be there to personally pour out the fire of His Divine wrath upon the damned. (See: The Lost Doctrine of Hell)
In all of His discourses Jesus spent 13% of His time warning people about Hell, twice as much as He did about Heaven.
The Bible describes "hell" as a place of...
--outer darkness (Matthew 25:30)
--weeping (Matthew 8:12)
--wailing (Matthew 13:42)
--gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:50)
--flames (Luke 16:24)
--everlasting fire (Matthew 25:46)
--a furnace of fire (Matthew 13:42)
--separation from the righteous (Matthew 25:46)
--eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 1:9)
--torment (Luke 16:23)
--everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46)
--and as the lake of fire burning with brimstone (Revelation 19:20)
3. It is also untrue that Augustine first introduced the concept of Hell. As I have shown above the concept of eternal Hell is in both the Old and New Testaments, but also the early church Father’s clearly believed in eternal Hell:
(And there are many more quotes like these):
"But the way of the Black One is crooked and full of a curse. For it is a way of eternal death with punishment wherein are the things that destroy men's souls--idolatry, boldness, exhalation of power, hypocrisy, doubleness of heart, adultery, murder, plundering, pride, transgression, treachery, malice, stubbornness, witchcraft, magic, covetousness, absence of the fear of God;." (Pseudo-Barnabas, c. 70-130 AD) Epistle of Barnabas ch20v1
"when thou shalt fear what is truly death, which is reserved for those who shall be condemned to the eternal fire.” (Letter to Diognetus ch 5, c. 125-200)
“And giving heed unto the grace of Christ they [the Martyrs cf preceding verse] despised the tortures of this world, purchasing at the cost of one hour a release from eternal punishment. And they found the fire of their inhuman torturers cold: for they set before their eyes the escape from the eternal fire which is never quenched;." (Martyrdom of Polycarp ch2v3, c. 135)
"that every man will suffer punishment in eternal fire according to the merit of his deed." (Justin Martyr, 1st Apology ch 12 c. 160)
"But since sensation remains to all who have ever lived, and eternal punishment is laid up (i.e., for the wicked), see that ye neglect not to be convinced, and to hold as your belief, that these things are true. ." (Justin Martyr, 1st Apology ch 18 c. 160)
"But to the unbelieving and despisers, who obey not the truth, but are obedient to unrighteousness, when they shall have been filled with adulteries and fornications, and filthiness, and covetousness, and unlawful idolatries, there shall be anger and wrath, tribulation and anguish, and at the last everlasting fire shall possess such men. ." (Theophilius of Antioch, To Autolycus, I:14 , c. 180)
"the Saviour of those who are saved, and the Judge of those who are judged, and sending into eternal fire those who transform the truth, and despise His Father and His advent. ." (Irenaeus against Heresies , bk 3 ch 4:2c. 180)
"All souls are immortal, even those of the wicked, for whom it were better that they were not deathless. For, punished with the endless vengeance of quenchless fire, and not dying, it is impossible for them to have a, period put to their misery. (Clement of Alexandria, c. 195; THE BAROCC. MS. )
"and the greatness of the threatened torment, not merely long-enduring but everlasting (Tertullian, The Apology CH XLVc. 197)
"things which, prepared for eternal torments, … Nor is there either measure termination to these torments. There the intelligent fire burns the limbs and restores them, feeds on them and nourishes them. As the fires of the thunderbolts strike upon the bodies, and do not consume them; as the fires of Mount AEtna and of Mount Vesuvius, and of burning where, glow, but are not wasted; so that penal fire is not fed by the waste of those who burn, but is nourished by the unexhausted eating away of their bodies. But that they who know not God are deservedly tormented as impious, as unrighteous persons, no one except a profane man hesitates to believe ." (Mark Minucius Felix, XXXV c. 200)
But the good news Ecothearcy is that even despite your rebellion and deep hatred towards Jesus Christ without cause, He is a kind and merciful and longsuffering God who extends His hand of mercy to you today. Today is the Day of Salvation. But one day it will be too late for you.
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