₦airaland Forum

With the Halloween season around or being increasingly normalized in our culture today, many Christians view it as harmless fun, innocent dressing up, or just a harmless party. However, we need to pause and examine the spiritual reality behind this practice.

Recently, I looked into the testimony of John Ramirez, a man who spent 25 years of his life at the highest levels of the demonic kingdom as a high-ranking warlock. His inside perspective exposes what actually happens in the spirit realm during Halloween.

Here are critical reasons why believers should completely distance themselves and their families from Halloween:

1. Opening Gateways and Portals to Darkness
According to John Ramirez, observing Halloween is not just about costumes or candy; it opens spiritual gateways and portals to the realm of darkness. It invites entrapments, setups, plot schemes, and spiritual forces to take control over households and families. October 31st and November 1st mark high seasons of the occult calendar where demonic activities are ramped up.

2. Changing Identity and Handing Over Legal Rights
Many parents dress their children up as ghosts, monsters, or fictional characters, thinking, "Well, I'm not dressing my child as a devil or a witch; it's just Casper or a Little Mermaid."

Ramirez warns that putting on these costumes changes a child's identity from who God called them to be.

By putting on these outfits, you unknowingly place a spiritual garment or spirit on your child, altering their identity and giving the enemy legal rights and permission to access their lives.

3. The Danger of "Trunk-or-Treat" and Compromise in Churches
It is disheartening to see many modern churches hosting "Trunk-or-Treat" or Halloween-themed events under the guise of being a safe alternative.

Ramirez boldly calls this out: "You have a white night standing with the devil, and then the next day you are in love with Jesus."

We cannot mix light with darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14). Trying to sanitize a demonic holiday for Christian spaces is spiritual compromise.

4. The Media and Cultural Desensitization (e.g., Hocus Pocus)
Movies and media glamorize witchcraft, making it look attractive, fashionable, and like "culture". Words, chants, and incantations used in these films (like Hocus Pocus) have deep connotations to the dark side. Proverbs 18:21 reminds us that life and death are in the power of the tongue. When children or adults repeat these chants or glamorize witchcraft, they open doors in their minds through the eye gate, mouth gate, and ear gate.

As children of God, we are called to be separate. We cannot sit at the Lord's table and simultaneously participate in the table of demons.

If you or your family have previously participated in Halloween or opened doors to the enemy through ungodly practices, the blood of Jesus is more than enough to cleanse, deliver, and set you free. Repent, close those spiritual doors, dedicate your children to Jesus Christ early before the enemy can lay hands on them, and stand firm on the Word of God (such as Psalm 23 and Psalm 91)!

Let us guard our homes, protect our children, and walk wholly in the light of Christ.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncRe2VY32eY

I came across this short excerpt from a classic debate between Dr. Kent Hovind and Reinhold Schlieter addressing two of the most popular questions asked by skeptics: "Where did God come from?" and "How can a spiritual force affect the physical universe?"

Enjoy.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6AHcv19NIc

Here's the real-life story of Ian McCormack, an atheist surfer who was stung five times by box jellyfish—among the deadliest creatures on Earth. After being pronounced clinically dead at the hospital, what he experienced before waking back up changed his life completely.

Please watch to learn about his encounter with God’s mercy and forgiveness. The reality of the spiritual realm is deeply moving and biblical.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX6kRx7VIao

Imalwayshorny:
where you see money buy Tesla


So many fake people’s on this forum

I'm not fake sir. I do have one.

I own a Tesla Model 3 Long Range, and honestly, it’s the best car purchase I’ve ever made. I absolutely love driving it.

However, I’ve noticed a growing trend: a lot of people refuse to buy the car not because of its performance, build quality, or tech, but simply because of Elon Musk.

A few days ago, I was speaking with a woman I respect. She flat-out told me she wouldn’t be caught dead in a Tesla. When I asked her why, her sole reason was Elon. She specifically mentioned that she doesn't want to make him any richer by buying his product.

It’s fascinating to me that people let a CEO’s personal brand dictate their consumer choices.

The Double Standard

Not many people realize that Volkswagen was originally initiated during Adolf Hitler's regime in 1930s Germany. Yet today, millions of people buy cars from the VW Group (Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, etc.) because of product quality, completely ignoring the historical origin or past figures behind the brand. People buy the engineering, not the founder.

If we start vetting the personal life, political views, or character of every CEO before buying their company's products, almost nothing on the store shelves would pass the test.

My Take

If you like a product and it serves your needs, buy it. Using a product is a consumer transaction, not an endorsement of the CEO's lifestyle, personal views, or politics.

Your wickedness makes you as heavy as lead, and presses you downwards toward hell, and if God should let you go, you would immediately sink swiftly into the bottomless gulf. And your healthy constitution, your self-reliance, your best schemes, your self-righteousness, would no more hold you up and keep you out of hell, than a spider's web would stop a falling rock. Were it not for the sovereign pleasure of God, the earth would not tolerate you for one moment, for you are a burden to it. All of creation groans with you. All living things are subject to the bondage of your corruption, and not willingly. The sun does not willingly shine upon you to give you light to serve sin and Satan. The earth does not willingly yield her increase to satisfy your lusts, nor is it willingly a stage for your wickedness to be acted upon. The air does not willingly provide you breath to maintain the flame of life in you while you spend it in the service of God's enemies. The world would spew you out were it not for the hand of God. The black clouds of God's wrath are right now hanging directly over your heads, full of the dreadful storm and rumbling with thunder. Were it not for God's restraining hand, it would immediately burst forth upon you. The sovereign pleasure of God, for the time being, holds back the tornado, otherwise it would come with fury and your destruction would come like a whirlwind, and you would be like dust on the floor.

The wrath of God is like a dam on a flooded river, holding back roaring waters rising higher and higher. The longer the river is held back the more ferocious the water when the floodgate is finally opened. It is true that judgement against your evil works has not been executed so far. The floods of God's vengeance have been withheld, but your guilt in the meantime is constantly increasing and you are every day treasuring up more wrath. The flood waters are constantly rising and building more and more strength, and there is nothing but the mere pleasure of God that holds the roaring water back as it strains mightily against the dam. If God should only remove his hand from the floodgate, it would fly open and the fiery floods of the fierceness and wrath of God would rush forth with inconceivable fury and engulf you with omnipotent power. And if your strength were ten thousand times greater than it is…even ten thousand times greater than the strongest devil in hell, it would be as nothing to withstand it.

The bow of God's wrath is bent, and the arrow of justice is aimed directly at your heart, and the bow quivers with pent-up power. And it is nothing but the mere pleasure of God, an angry God, who owes you nothing, that keeps the arrow from getting drunk on your blood. Thus all of you whose hearts have never been softened by the Holy Spirit, all of you that have not been born again, and made new creatures, and raised from the dead in sin, are in the hands of an angry God. However you may have changed your ways, and maintained a religious façade, bringing your family to church on Sunday, and sitting in the house of God with your most pious Sunday face, it is nothing but God's mere pleasure that keeps you this moment from being swallowed up in everlasting destruction. However unconvinced you may now be of the truth of what you are hearing, there is coming a time when you will be fully convinced. Those who have gone before you in similar circumstances can testify to that, for destruction came suddenly upon most of them, when they expected no such thing. And while they were saying, "Peace and safety," they now sadly know that the things that they depended on for peace and safety were but thin air and shadows.

The God that holds you over the pit of hell like some spider or loathsome insect over a fire, abhors you and is dreadfully provoked. His wrath burns like fire and he considers you worthy of nothing else but fuel for the fire. His holy eyes cannot bear to even look at you. You are ten thousand times more abominable in his sight than the most hated venomous snake is to us. You have offended him infinitely more than the most stubborn rebel ever did his earthly prince, and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you above the fire at every moment. There is no other explanation why you did not go to hell last night when you went to sleep. There is no other explanation why you were allowed to awake this morning, and no other reason why you have not dropped into hell since you arose this morning, but that God's hand has held you up. There is no other reason why you have not gone to hell since you sat down in your pew in God's house this morning, provoking his pure and holy eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship. Yes, there is no other reason why you do not drop down this very moment into the depths of hell.

Oh sinner, think about the fearful danger you are in. It is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath that you are held over in the hand of God, whose wrath is as provoked and incensed by you as any of the damned in hell. You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath licking about it, and ready at any moment to burn it in two. In spite of that you have no interest in Christ the Mediator, and nothing with which to save yourself, nothing to keep away the flames of wrath. Nothing of your own, nothing you have ever done, nothing you can ever do will induce God to spare you one moment. Now consider these four points very carefully:

1. Whose wrath is it? It is the wrath of an infinite God. If it were only the wrath of man, even the most powerful man on earth, it would be insignificant by comparison. In the olden days that wrath of absolute monarchs was dreaded since they had the possessions and lives of their subjects completely in their power to do with as they wished. Proverbs 20:2 says, "A king's wrath is like the roar of a lion; he who angers him forfeits his life." Anyone who enrages the monarch is apt to suffer the most extreme torment the human mind can conceive and inflict. But the most powerful despot on earth, in his greatest majesty and strength and armed with his greatest tortures is but a feeble despicable worm in the dust compared to the great almighty Creator and King of the universe. All the worst kings of history are as grasshoppers before God…they are nothing…they are less than nothing. The wrath of the great King of kings is as much more terrible as his majesty is greater. Jesus tells us in Luke 12:4-5, "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him."

2. It is the fierceness of his wrath that you are exposed to. We often read of the fury of God, as in Isaiah 59:18. "According to what they have done, so will he repay wrath to his enemies…" And in Isaiah 66:15, "See, the Lord is coming with fire, and his chariots are like the whirlwind: he will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire." And, among many other places in the Bible, Revelations 19:15, "…He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty." The words are exceedingly terrible. If it had only said, "the wrath of God," the words would have implied something infinitely dreadful, but it says, "the fierceness and wrath of God." The fury of God! The fierceness of Jehovah! How incomprehensibly dreadful must that be? Who can conceive what that means? But it also says, "the fierceness and wrath of ALMIGHTY God." Oh, what will be the consequence? What will become of the poor worm who suffers such? To what dreadful, inexpressible, inconceivable depth of misery will the object of such wrath be sunk?

Please carefully consider this, you who are here today who are not saved. That God will execute the fierceness of his anger implies that he will inflict wrath without any pity. When God sees the indescribable agony you are in, and the torment that so vastly exceeds your ability to endure, and when he sees how your poor soul is crushed, he will have no compassion on you; he will not call off your torment, or even lighten it. There will be no moderation of mercy, but he will see to it that you will NOT SUFFER BEYOND WHAT STRICT JUSTICE REQUIRES. Nothing will be withheld because it is so hard for you to bear. God says in Ezekiel 8:18, "Therefore I will deal with them in anger: I will not look upon them with pity or spare them. Although they shout in my ears I will not listen to them." Today God stands ready to pity you. This is a day of mercy. You may cry now with some hope of receiving mercy. But once the day of mercy is past, your most lamentable and mournful cries and shrieks will be in vain. You will be forever lost and thrown away by God with no regard for your welfare. God will have no other use for you than to serve as a vessel for his wrath. He will be so far from pitying you that when you cry to him, he will only laugh and mock you as it says in Proverbs 1:26.

How awful are God's words in Isaiah 63:3. "I have trodden the winepress alone…I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments and I stained all my clothing." It is impossible to conceive of words that could carry any greater intensity of contempt, hatred, and fierceness of indignation. If you cry to him for pity, he will be so far from pitying you in your miserable condition that he will only step on you. And even though he knows that you cannot bear the weight of omnipotent God on you, he will crush you anyway under his feet without mercy. He will crush out your blood and make it fly and it will splatter on his robe and stain it red. He will not only hate you he will have the utmost contempt for you, and the only place fit for you will be under his feet, to be mashed down like mud on the streets.

3. The misery that you are exposed to was designed by God to show you the degree of his wrath. God's immutable plan is to show all men both the excellence of his love and the terribleness of his wrath. Sometimes earthly kings like to show how terrible their wrath is by some extreme punishment of those who provoke them. Nebuchadnessar, that mighty, arrogant monarch of Babylon, tried to show his wrath when upset by Shadrach, Mesheck, and Abednego. He thus gave the order to heat up the fiery furnace to seven times normal, probably the hottest that was humanly possible. But God is also willing to show his wrath, and magnify his awful majesty and mighty power in the extreme suffering of his enemies. Romans 9:22 says, "What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?" And since this is his plan, to show how terrible is the unrestrained wrath, the fury and fierceness of his wrath, he will do it. What will come to pass will be horrible to behold. And when he has done it, he will call on the whole universe to witness the awful majesty and might power in it. As it is written in Isaiah 33:12-14, "The peoples will be burned as if to lime; like cut thorn bushes they will be set ablaze. You who are far away hear what I have done; you who are near acknowledge my power! The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless; who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?"

Thus it will be for you here today who are in an unsaved state, if you continue in it. The infinite might, majesty, and terribleness of the omnipotent God will be magnified on you in the unbearable agony of your torments. You shall be tormented in the presence of holy angels, in the presence of the Lamb. The glorious inhabitants of heaven will gaze upon you in that state of suffering, and they will see the wrath and fierceness of Almighty God. When they have seen that awful spectacle they will fall down and adore that great power and majesty. As it is written in Isaiah 66:23-24, the last two verses of a powerfully prophetic book, " 'From one new moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,' says the Lord. 'And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will the fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.' "

4. It is EVERLASTING wrath. It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God for one moment, but you must suffer it for all eternity. There will be no end to this perfectly horrible misery. When you look forward you will see a long forever, a boundless duration before you that will swallow up your thoughts and amaze your soul. And you will absolutely despair of every having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all. You will know with certainty that you must wear out long ages, millions and millions of ages in wrestling and fighting with this almighty merciless vengeance. And when you have done it, you will know that is all was just the blink of an eye compared to what remains. Your punishment will be infinite. Oh, who can fathom the state of the soul in such circumstances? All that we can possibly say about it is the dimmest of descriptions. It is inexpressible and inconceivable, for "who can know the power of God's anger?

How awful is the condition of those who are daily and hourly in danger of this great wrath and infinite misery. But this is the dismal case of every soul in this congregation that has not been born again, however moral and strict, sober and religious they otherwise might be. Oh, please give it your most careful consideration, whether you be young or old. There is reason to think that many of you who are in this congregation hearing me talk will actually be the subjects of this very misery for all eternity. We don't know who they are, in which seats they are sitting, or what they are thinking. It may be that they are perfectly content, hearing all of this without alarm, and are flattering themselves that they are not the persons we're talking about…they shall escape. If we knew that there was one person, and only one, in this whole congregation that would be the subject of such misery, what an awful thought that would be. If we knew who it was, what an awful sight it would be to see such a person. But, such a pity, instead of one, how many are there here who will likely remember this sermon in hell? Most likely some here today will be in hell in a very short time, perhaps before the year is over. And it would be no surprise if some people sitting here today in this church, in health, peaceful and secure, should be there before tomorrow morning! Surely you know some people that never deserved hell more than you, and looked as likely to be still alive today as you are. But now they are past hope, in hell for all eternity, crying in their extreme misery and abject despair, wishing they were here in your place. YOU are in the land of the living, and in the house of the Almighty God, and have the opportunity to obtain salvation. What would those poor, damned, hopeless souls give for one hour's opportunity such as you now enjoy?

And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands calling, and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners. This is a day where many are flocking to him, and being welcomed into the kingdom of God. Many that are daily coming from the east, west, north and south; many that were recently in the same miserable condition as you, are now in a happy state. Their hearts are filled with love for him who loved them first, and washed their sins away with his own blood, and they are rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. How awful it is to be left behind on such a day! To see so many others feasting while you are pining away and perishing. Are not your souls as precious as those already saved by faith in Jesus Christ?

Are there not many older people here who are not yet born again…who are aliens to the Commonwealth of God's Chosen…and have done nothing since the day they were born but treasure up wrath against the day of judgment? Oh, dear friends, your situation is extremely dangerous! Your guilt and hardness of heart are extremely severe. You need to WAKE UP!!!!! And you, young men and women, will you ignore this priceless opportunity, while so many others of your age are renouncing youthful vanities and flocking to Christ? And you children, who have not yet confessed Jesus as your Lord and Savior, do you not know that you are going down to hell, to bear the dreadful wrath of God, who is now angry with you every day and every night? Will you be content to be children of the devil, when so many of your friends are coming to Christ and are becoming holy and happy children of the King of Kings?

And let everyone here who does not yet know Christ as savior, and are hanging out over the pit of hell, whether they be old, middle aged, young, or children, NOW RESPOND TO THE LOUD CALL OF GOD'S WORD AND PROVIDENCE. This year of the Lord, a day of such great favor to some, will doubtless be a day of remarkable vengeance to others. Men's hearts harden and their guilt grows on such a day as this, if they neglect their souls. Never was there such great danger of such people with hardened hears and blinded minds. God now seems hastily gathering in his chosen people all over this country, and probably the majority of adults that shall be saved will be brought in very shortly. It will be like the early days of the apostles, when the Holy Spirit entered the hearts of great multitudes. The chosen will be saved and the rest will be blinded. If this should be the case with you, you will eternally curse this day, and will curse the day you were born, because you witnessed such a great season of the pouring out of God's Spirit, yet your heart was never softened. You will wish you had died and gone to hell before you witnessed it. Now, undoubtedly, just like in the days of John the Baptist, the awesome, divine axe is brought to bear on the forest, and every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Therefore, let anyone who does not now know Christ awake and fly from the wrath to come. The wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over a great part of this congregation. Let everyone fly out of Sodom!! Run for your lives! Don't look back! Escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed!

SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD
A sermon by Jonathan Edwards
Enfield, Connecticut
July 8, 1741

In due time their foot will slip….
(Deuteronomy 32:35)

[The complete verse reads: It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.

Editor's note: I have shortened the sentences in this sermon for ease of reading, hopefully without changing the meaning. This is NOT a parpahrase. JDW]


In this verse God threatens vengeance upon the wicked unbelieving Israelites, who were God's people and who lived under the means of grace. But, in spite of God's wonderful works toward them, they remained, as it says in verse 28, "…without sense, having no understanding of the blessings." As verses 32-33 say, their work brought forth bitter and poisonous fruit. "Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah…. Their wine is the venom of the serpents, the deadly poison of cobras." The expression I have chosen for my text—"…in due time their foot will slip…", seems to imply the following things concerning the punishment and destruction these wicked Israelites faced:

1. They faced the risk of destruction like one who walks in slippery places faces the risk of falling when his foot slips. We see the same metaphor in Psalm 73:18—"Surely you place them on slippery ground, you cast then down to ruin."

2. It implies that they are always exposed to sudden, unexpected destruction. One who walks in slippery places is at any moment apt to fall. He cannot know if his next step will allow him to stand or fall, and when he does fall, it's instantly and without warning. Again as in Psalm 73:18 and 19, "Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed…."

3. Another thing implied is that their fall will be of their own doing—no one will push them. One who walks in slippery places needs nothing but his own weight to cause him to fall.

4. The only reason they have not fallen already, and do not fall now, is that God's appointed time has not yet come. The passage says "in due time," that is, in God's appointed time, they WILL slip. And they will fall of their own weight. God will cease holding them up in slippery places. He will let them go and in that very instant they shall fall into destruction. A man who stands on slippery, declining ground at the edge of a pit cannot stand without someone holding him, and when he is let go he immediately falls and is lost.

My interpretation of these words, of which I am convicted, is this—"There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God." By the mere pleasure of God, I mean his SOVEREIGN pleasure, his arbitrary will, restrained by not obligation, hindered by nothing. The truth of this interpretation is made clearer by the ten following considerations:

1. God does not lack the power to cast wicked men into hell at any time. The strongest man has no power against God. He is not only able to cast wicked men into hell, he can do it easily. Sometimes earthly princes have trouble subduing a large band of rebels, but not so with God. There is no fortress that can defend against the power of God. Though vast multitudes of God's enemies band together, he easily breaks them into pieces. They are no more than huge piles of light chaff before a whirlwind, or stacks of dry wheat stubble before a raging fire. We find it very easy to step on an earthworm on the sidewalk, or cut a slender thread that anything hangs by. And it's that easy for God, whenever he pleases, to cast his enemies down to hell. Who are we to stand before him, at whose rebuke the whole earth trembles?

2. They deserve to be cast into hell. Justice calls loudly for an infinite punishment of their sins. In Luke 13:7, the divine justice proclaimed by Jesus says of the tree that brings forth such poisonous grapes of Sodom, "Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?" The sword of divine justice at all times waves menacingly over their heads, and ONLY the hand of God's arbitrary mercy and divine will hold it back.

3. They are already condemned to hell. They deserve to be sent there. That eternal and immutable rule of righteousness that God has fixed between him and man finds them guilty, so that they are already bound over to hell. As Jesus says in John 3:18, "…whoever does not believe stands condemned already…." Every unconverted person properly belongs in hell—that is his place, that is where he came from. Jesus said to the Jews in John 13:23, "You are from below…." And that is where they are headed. It is the place where justice and God's word and the sentence of his unchangeable law have assigned them.

4. They are at this very moment the objects of that anger and wrath of God expressed in the torments of hell. And the reason they do not go down to hell this very moment is NOT because God is not angry with them, as he is with many miserable creatures already tormented there by the fierceness of his wrath. In fact God is considerably more angry with great numbers that are now on earth. Some of them are undoubtedly sitting at ease with themselves in this very congregation. It is not because God is ignoring their wickedness and therefore doesn't resent it that keeps him from loosening his grip and letting them fall. God is not like man, though many men believe him to be. The wrath of God burns against them, his damnation of them doesn't slumber. The pit is prepared, the fire is made ready, the furnace is right now white hot, ready to receive them. The flames rage and glow as we speak. The glistening sword is sharpened and held over them, and the pit has opened its mouth under them.

5. The devil stands eagerly ready to pounce upon them and seize them as his own as soon as God permits him. They belong to him. He owns their souls. He controls them. They are his property. The devils stand behind each of them and watch them like greedy, hungry lions stalking their prey, held back only by God's restraining hand. And if God should withdraw his hand, they would instantly pounce upon their poor souls. The old snake lies in wait for them, hell opens its mouth wide to receive them, and if God permits they will be swallowed up and lost in the blink of an eye.

6. In the souls of wicked men hellish tendencies reign that would soon flame up into hell-fire if not for God's restraint. The very nature of carnal man, powerful and exceedingly violent, propels him toward the torments of hell. Isaiah compares the souls of the wicked to the raging waves of a stormy sea, and God says, "To here you shall come, and no further." But if God should withdraw his restraint, the sea would wash away everything, Sin is the ruin and misery of the soul. It is destructive by nature, and without God's restraint, it would need nothing else to make itself perfectly miserable. The corruption of the heart of man is huge and boundless in its fury. While wicked men live on earth it is like a fire contained by God's restraint, but if it were let loose it would inflame all of nature. And as the heart is now a cesspool of sin, if the sin were not restrained it would immediately turn the soul into a fiery oven…a furnace of fire and brimstone.

7. Wicked men are not safe for a moment just because they cannot see any sign of impending death around them. Natural man is not safe just because he is healthy and sees no imminent danger in his vicinity. The many and continual experiences of men throughout the ages proves that apparent health and safety do not mean that their next step will not be into another world. The unseen and unthought of ways of leaving this world are innumerable and inconceivable. Unsaved men walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering, and there are innumerable places in this covering so weak they will not bear a man's weight, but no one can see them. All the means of taking sinners out of this world are in God's hands, and they are universally and absolutely subject to his power and determination.

8. Natural men's caution and care to preserve their own lives, or the care of others to keep them alive, do not make them safe for a moment. Divine providence and universal experience bear testimony to this. There is abundant evidence that a man's wisdom provides no security from death. If it were otherwise we would see wise men living longer that fools, but that is not the case. As the teacher says in Ecclesiastes 2:16, "Like the fool, the wise man too must die!"

9. All the scheming wicked men do to escape hell while they continue to reject Christ will not secure them from hell one moment. Almost every natural man that hears of hell fools himself into thinking he shall escape it. He flatters himself in what he has done, what he is doing and what he will do to insure his safety. Everyone figures out in his own mind how he will avoid damnation, and convinces himself he's a pretty smart guy and his schemes will not fail. They hear that few are saved, and that the majority of men though the ages have gone to hell, but each imagines he's smarter than the rest and he will escape. But foolish people miserably delude themselves. They place their confidence in their own strength and wisdom, but they are trusting a shadow. If we could speak to those now in hell, and ask each of them whether they expected, while alive and listening to preachers talk of hell, that they would ever end up in such a place, they would probably all reply, "No, I never planned to come here. I had planned otherwise. I thought I had planned well and my scheme was good. I intended to be careful, but it came upon me unexpectedly…like a thief. Death outwitted me. God's wrath was too quick for me. Oh, my cursed stupidly! I was flattering myself, dreaming of what I would do in heaven, and when I was saying, 'Peace and safely,' sudden destruction came upon me."

10. God is under NO OBLIGATION, by any promise, to keep any natural man out of hell for one second. God certainly has made no promises whether of eternal life or deliverance from eternal death, but those which are contained in the covenant of grace, the promises that are given in Christ, in whom all the promises will most surely come to pass.



Whatever some have imagined and pretended about promises made to natural men's earnest seeking and knocking, it is crystal clear that whatever actions a natural man takes in religion, whatever prayers he makes, until he believes in Christ, God is under no obligation to keep him a moment from eternal destruction.

Natural men are held over the pit of hell in the hand of God. They deserve the fiery pit and are already sentenced to it, and God is dreadfully provoked. The devil is waiting for them, hell is gaping for them, the flames rise and flash about them. The fire pent up in their own hearts is struggling to break out, they have no interest in Christ the Mediator, and there are no means within reach that can be of any security to them. In short, they have no refuge, nothing to take hold of. All that preserves them every moment is the mere arbitrary will, and uncovenanted, unmerited forbearance of an incensed God.



APPLICATION



I am dwelling on this awful subject so that unsaved people in this congregation might be awakened. What you have heard is the life story of every one of you who does not know Christ as your savior. That world of misery, that lake of burning brimstone lies below you, and there is nothing between you and that hell but air—it is only the power and pleasure of God that hold you up.

You are probably not aware of this. You are not now in hell, but you do not see that it is the hand of God that holds you back. You're counting on the good state of your health and your self-reliance. But that is nothing. If God should withdraw his hand, your self-reliance would no more keep you from falling than this air could hold up a person suspended in it.

There is a story that has been often told, but I wish to repeat to-night. In 1867 a young French nobleman went to London to consult Dr. Forbes Winslow, the eminent pathologist in diseases of the mind. He took letters of introduction from eminent men in France, among others one from Napoleon III, who was then Emperor of France. Reaching London he called upon Dr. Forbes Winslow and presented his letters of introduction. Having read them Dr. Winslow asked him what was the trouble.

The young man replied, "I cannot sleep. I have not had a good night's sleep for two years, and unless I get sleep I will go insane." Dr. Forbes Winslow asked him why he could not sleep. He replied he could not tell. "Have you lost money?" "No." "Have you suffered in honour or reputation?" "Not that I know of." "Have you lost friends?" "Not recently." "Why then can you not sleep?" The young man replied that he would rather not tell. Dr. Winslow said, "Unless you tell me I cannot help you."

"Well then if you must know, I am an infidel. My father was an infidel before me, but strange as it may appear to you, though I am an infidel and though my father was an infidel before me, when I go to bed at night I am haunted with this thought: Eternity, and where shall I spend it? And it drives all sleep from me. It haunts me the whole night through. If I succeed in getting a little sleep my sleeping thoughts are worse than my waking thoughts, and I start from my sleep haunted with the question, Eternity, and where shall I spend it?"

"I cannot help you," Dr. Winslow quietly replied. "What," exclaimed the young man, "you cannot help me? Have I come all the way from Paris to London, to have my last hope taken away." "No," replied Dr. Winslow, "I cannot help you, but I can tell you of a Physician that can." He walked across his office and took from the table a Bible and pointed to Isa. 53:5 and read, "But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities : the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.

That is the only Physician in the universe who can help you, Jesus Christ." The lip of the young French nobleman curled with scorn. "What," he said, "do you mean to tell me, Dr. Forbes Winslow, that you, one of the leading scientists of the day, the most eminent pathologist in the diseases of the mind in the world, that you believe that effete superstition of Christianity?" "Yes," replied Dr. Winslow calmly, "I believe in Christ, and believing in Him has saved me from becoming what you are."

The young Frenchman stood a moment in deep thought, then he looked up at Dr. Winslow and said, "Well if I am honest I ought at least to be ready to consider it, ought I not?" "Yes." "Well, will you be my teacher?" "Yes," replied Dr. Forbes Winslow, and the eminent pathologist in diseases of the mind became the physician of the soul. For several days he opened the Word of God about Christ and His salvation to the young nobleman until the light dawned in upon his soul, and his heart was at rest and he went back to Paris with the great question settled of, Eternity, and where shall I spend it? Eternity, and where shall I spend it? ETERNITY, AND WHERE SHALL I SPEND IT ? I thank God I know where I shall spend eternity. I shall spend it with Christ in the glory.

https://sermonindex.net/speakers/ra-torrey/where-will-you-spend-eternity/

I want to share a powerful and true historical testimony that serves as a massive wake-up call to anyone playing with the occult, sin, or thinking the spiritual world is a joke. This is the story of the deliverance of Clarita Villanueva in 1953, which shook the entire world and triggered a massive Christian revival in the Philippines.

1. The Background: The Traps of Parent's Sins & Prostitution
Clarita was a 17-year-old girl who grew up under a dark spiritual cloud. Her mother was a professional spiritist, fortune teller, and witch who ran seances. After her mother died when Clarita was just 12, she had no family and was quickly swallowed up by the world, becoming a prostitute (harlot). She eventually moved to Manila, living a life of deep sin. At age 17, she unknowingly solicited an undercover police officer and was thrown into the ancient Bilibid Prison—a place already soaked in centuries of blood and evil spirits.

2. The Terror: Bitten by Invisible Monsters
Two days after being locked up, the supernatural realm broke into the physical. Clarita was violently attacked and deeply bitten all over her body by two invisible entities—one a 10-foot-tall hairy monster and the other a dwarf-like spirit.

They would sink their teeth into her flesh, leaving horrific bite marks, drawing blood, and causing her to scream in agony until she fainted.

This wasn't hidden; it happened daily in front of prison guards, international journalists, and top medical doctors trained in the US.

The story made front-page news worldwide (UPI covered it globally). The chief medical officer, Dr. Lara (a skeptic and scientist), called in psychiatrists, professors, and doctors from everywhere. No one had an answer.

3. The Power of Darkness: Fatal Curses
When one skeptical doctor accused Clarita of "acting" for publicity, she looked at him with snake-like eyes and said, "You will die." The very next day, without any sickness, his heart stopped and he dropped dead. Later, the chief jailer kicked her during a rebellion. She told him, "You will die within 4 days." He died and was buried within that exact timeframe. The city was gripped by absolute terror. They realized she wasn't just possessed; she was operating with deadly witchcraft.

4. The Deliverance: The Name of Jesus Breaks the Chains
While the world sent 3,000 cables offering pagan solutions, the local church was largely asleep. Evangelist Lester Sumrall heard the terrifying audio of her screaming on the radio and spent the entire night weeping and interceding for her. God strictly commanded him to go, telling him: "If you don't go, she will die."

Lester Sumrall secured permission from the mayor and walked into the prison hospital. The room was packed with the press, doctors, and professors. The moment Clarita saw the man of God, the demons inside her screamed in pure hatred. A fierce spiritual battle took place. As Sumrall commanded the evil spirits to loose her in the name of Jesus, the demonic power broke! Clarita immediately relaxed, the wild look left her eyes, and she smiled. She was completely delivered and transformed from a raging "animal" back into a peaceful, beautiful young girl.

5. The Aftermath: A Nation Turned to God
The shock of this sudden, undeniable miracle shook the government and the media. The medical director ran to the mayor crying, "The devil is dead!"

The mayor gave Sumrall free permits to preach in the main city park for 6 weeks.

The revival spread like wildfire. A 50,000-watt radio station broadcasted the gospel across the nation every night.

Massive crowds of 40,000 to 60,000 people gathered. Over 150,000 souls were saved during that revival, completely shifting the spiritual atmosphere of the Philippines.

As for Clarita, she was taken in by a Christian doctor, got properly educated, married a rice farmer, had children, and lived a completely normal, God-fearing life, totally free from the devils that once tormented her.

Lessons for Us Today:
The Spiritual World is Real: Do not joke with native doctors, fortune tellers, seances, or "harmless" occult practices. Clarita’s mother’s witchcraft opened doors of torment for her daughter.

Sin is a Portal: A lifestyle of prostitution and rebellion left Clarita completely defenseless against predatory spirits.

Jesus Christ is Supreme: No weapon of the enemy, no generational curse, and no amount of demonic possession can stand against the authority of the Name of Jesus when a believer steps out in faith and prayer.

Repent today and draw close to the Lord! If He could rescue Clarita from the very jaws of hell, He can deliver and save you too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk5SyZ-252g&t=151s

I was listening to a powerful, classic sermon by the late evangelist Billy Graham, and a particular phrase he uttered hit me so hard that I felt compelled to share it here. He said:

"We prepare for everything except death. We prepare for education, business, careers, marriage, old age... but not for the moment of judgment."

It made me think deeply about how we live our lives daily. If you look around today, human beings are highly organized. We plan our weeks, we save for retirement, we pay for health and car insurance, and we secure our properties. We treat tragedy, sickness, and death as things that only happen to "the other person"—natural for them, but highly unnatural and far away from ourselves. But the truth remains: it will all be over in a short time for everyone.

In the sermon, Billy Graham spoke on the very heavy and unpopular subject of Hell, referencing the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16. He pointed out that there are actually three kinds of hell we see and experience:

Hell in the Heart
It starts with human nature being basically evil and lost in sin. It manifests as the hell of guilt—like a man living a double life who admits he is internally living in hell—and the hell of unrest, where people run up and down the world looking for peace and a "Shangri-La," but their troubled hearts find no rest because they are empty of God.

Hell Around Us
This is the hell we see in society today when people say "all hell has broken loose". It is driven by the hell of lust where evil is called good, the hell of greed where everyone wants instant gratification, and the hell of hatred which erupts into wars and conflicts.

Hell in the Future
This is the final projection of an unchanged heart—eternal separation from God. Billy Graham noted that Jesus spoke more about hell than anyone else in scripture, not to condemn us, but to warn us to flee from it.

The Greatest Danger: Spiritual Inoculation
The most dangerous state to be in isn't necessarily being an obvious sinner. The thief on the cross recognized his sins, asked Jesus to remember him, and was promised Paradise that very day. The hardest people to reach are the well-dressed, comfortable churchgoers who have just "a little bit of religion" but it isn't the main thing in their lives. They have been "inoculated" with just enough religion to keep them from getting a real dose of salvation. They feel they have no spiritual need because they have a good income and a good family, forgetting that they will need God very badly before long.

Billy Graham concluded with a beautiful assurance. He said, "The moment you read in the paper that Billy Graham is dead, you'll know that he's more alive than he's ever been before and I'm in paradise."

To have that same absolute certainty about where you will spend eternity, he shared three simple steps we must take tonight:

Repent of your sins: Change your mind and your way of living, and let Christ help you change.

Receive Christ by faith: Put your total confidence in the One who died for you and rose again.

Obey and follow Him: Live a life of service, helping and loving your neighbors.

Let us stop preparing only for this fleeting world while neglecting the eternity that awaits us.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5NtmDzhLFs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4s70oYBTAmQ

What does the Old Testament say about Hell?

The question, “What does the Old Testament say about hell?” is important. The scriptural support for literal everlasting destruction is so immense that I actually had to limit what I included in the main body of HELL KNOW. I felt I provided more than enough evidence and that, to include more, would be at the risk of boring readers.

This appendix contains additional Old Testament support for the reader who desires such.

“The Way of the Wicked Will Perish”
Let’s start with the first Psalm. The first three verses of this Psalm speak of how blessed a righteous person is and ends with the statement, “whatever he does prospers.” The final three verses contrast the ungodly:

Not so the Wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
(5) Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
(6) For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Psalm 1:4-6

Verse 4 observes that ungodly people are like chaff that the wind ultimately blows away; the next verse states that they “will not stand in the judgment;” and verse 6 concludes that their way “will perish.”

Sounds pretty conclusive to me. No mention is made whatsoever of these people ending up existing forever in a state of conscious agonizing torture. No, they will be like chaff blown away, they will not stand on judgment day, and they will indeed perish.

There’s no reason not to assume that “the judgment” spoken of in verse 5 refers to God’s final judgment. This judgment is, after all, the one judgment that every evil person throughout history will have to face. People may “get away” with evil deeds and crimes on this earth, but they can’t elude God’s great white throne judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). The outcome of this judgment, according to this passage, is that the ungodly will perish.

Read more by clicking on the link below...

https://www.hellhadesafterlife.com/hell-know/old-testament-hell-verses

Righteousness2:
Condolences to the Family of the Deceased.

A Quick reminder that
The Breath in you and I is not in our power neither is it by our Power.
The Breath in you and I is not Exercises or by keeping fit
The Breath in you and I is nor by the Wonderful and Good food that we eat.

The Breath in you and I is a GIFT from GOD ALMIGHTY.
Anywhere, anytime or anyday, the owner of the Breath can take HIS breath away.

Live this Life in the Conciousness of your Eternity.
Settle the Matter of your Eternity.
Make Peace with JESUS CHRIST now that you Have the opportunity.

There's NO Repentance in the Grave
There is NO Mercy after death.

Without JESUS CHRIST, ALL of Humanity are Heading to Hell.

May the Lord bless you for this post.

Hello Nairalanders,

I came across this incredibly powerful testimony that I felt a strong conviction to share with everyone here. It is an interview with a woman named Queen Okeoma, who shares her supernatural encounters with both Heaven and Hell.

In this video, she describes being taken by the Lord to the gates of Hell. Most shockingly, she recounts seeing the late rapper The Notorious B.I.G. (Biggie Smalls) in a place of torment. She explains that the Lord revealed to her why he was there—not just because of his lifestyle, but because he had told God he didn't need Him and had relied on charms from fetish priests for his fame.

Beyond the mention of Biggie, Queen shares:

The Reality of Hell: She describes the intense heat, the "alive" darkness, and the specific torments of those who lived in sin or held onto unforgiveness.

A Glimpse of Heaven: She speaks of the overwhelming love and beauty she experienced when she was allowed to see her parents' dwellings and touch the feet of Jesus.

The Power of Forgiveness: A terrifying moment where a heart attack almost took her to Hell because she hadn't truly forgiven her husband in her heart, despite thinking she had.

Why I am posting this: I believe God wants to use this testimony to touch people's hearts. It is a wake-up call for all of us. Life is short, and eternity is forever. I pray that as you watch this, God gives you the grace to examine your life, let go of bitterness, and accept Jesus Christ into your heart as your Lord and Savior. He loves us so much that He continues to give us these warnings so that none should perish.

Watch the full testimony here:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ik_U1jWcL8

May the Lord open our eyes and give us the strength to walk the path of holiness. God bless you all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ik_U1jWcL8&t=51s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ik_U1jWcL8&t=51s

(A touching story culled from the book "Touching Incidents and Remarkable Answers to Prayer" by S. B. Shaw, a classic collection of 19th-century Christian testimonies.)

In traveling, we often meet with persons of different nationalities and languages; we also meet with incidents of various character—some sorrowful, and others joyful and instructive.

One of the latter character I witnessed recently while traveling upon the cars. The train was going west, and the time was evening. At a station, a little girl about eight years old came aboard, carrying a little budget under her arm. She came into the car and deliberately took a seat.

She appeared weary, and placing her budget for a pillow, she prepared to try and secure a little sleep. Soon the conductor came along collecting tickets and fare. Observing him, she asked him if she might lie there.

The gentlemanly conductor replied that she might, and then kindly asked for her ticket. She informed him that she had none, when the following conversation ensued.

Said the conductor:
“Where are you going?”
“I am going to heaven,” she answered.
“Who pays your fare?” he asked again.
She then said: “Mister, does this railroad lead to heaven, and does Jesus travel on it?”

“I think not,” he answered. “Why did you think so?”

“Why, sir, before my ma died she used to sing to me of a heavenly railroad, and you looked so nice and kind that I thought this was the road. My ma used to sing of Jesus on the heavenly railroad, and that He paid the fare for everybody, and that the train stopped at every station to take people on board; but my ma don’t sing to me anymore. Nobody sings to me now; and I thought I’d take the cars and go to ma.

Mister, do you sing to your little girl about the railroad that goes to heaven? You have a little girl, haven’t you?”

He replied, weeping: “No, my little dear, I have no little girl now. I had one once, but she died some time ago, and went to heaven.”
“Did she go over this railroad, and are you going to see her now?” she asked.

By this time every person in the coach was upon their feet, and most of them were weeping. An attempt to describe what I witnessed is almost futile. Some said: “God bless the little girl.” Hearing some person say that she was an angel, the little girl earnestly replied: “Yes, my ma used to say that I would be an angel some time.”

Addressing herself once more to the conductor, she asked him: “Do you love Jesus? I do; and if you love Him, He will let you ride to heaven on His railroad. I am going there, and I wish you would go with me. I know Jesus will let me into heaven when I get there, and He will let you in too, and everybody that will ride on His railroad—yes, all these people. Wouldn’t you like to see heaven, and Jesus, and your little girl?”

These words, so pathetically and innocently uttered, brought a great gush of tears from all eyes, but most profusely from those of the conductor. Some who were traveling on the heavenly railroad shouted aloud for joy.
She now asked the conductor: “Mister, may I lie here until we get to heaven?”

“Yes, dear, yes,” he answered.
“Will you wake me up then, so that I may see my ma, and your little girl, and Jesus?” she asked, “for I do so much want to see them all.”
The answer came in broken accents, but in words very tenderly spoken: “Yes, dear angel, yes. God bless you.” “Amen!” was sobbed by more than a score of voices.

Turning her eyes again upon the conductor, she interrogated him again: “What shall I tell your little girl when I see her? Shall I tell her that I saw her pa on Jesus’ railroad? Shall I?”

This brought a fresh flood of tears from all present, and the conductor knelt by her side, and, embracing her, wept the reply he could not utter.
At this juncture the brakeman called out the station. The conductor arose and requested him to attend to his (the conductor’s) duty at the station, for he was engaged.

That was a precious place. I thank God that I was a witness to this scene, but I was sorry that at this point I had to leave the train.
We learn from this incident that out of the mouths of even babes God hath ordained strength, and that we ought to be willing to represent the cause of our blessed Jesus even in a railroad coach.

here's the rest...

The fact is, this custom fastened upon people of exchanging gifts with friends and relatives at the Christmas season has not a single trace of Christianity about it, strange though that may seem! This does not celebrate Christ's birthday or honor it or Him! Suppose someone you love has a birthday. You want to honor that person on his or her birthday. Would you lavishly buy gifts for everyone else, trading gifts back and forth with all your other friends and loved ones, but ignore completely any gift for the one whose birthday you are honoring? Rather absurd, when viewed in that light, isn't it?

Yet this is exactly what people the world over are doing! They honor a day that is not Christ's birthday by spending every dime they can scrape together in buying presents to trade back and forth among friends and relatives. But I can say by years of experience, as I believe most pastors and ministers can say, that when the month of December rolls around, almost all professing Christians forget to give gifts to Christ and His cause almost altogether! December always is the most difficult month to keep Christ's work from dying! People are too busy trading gifts back and forth among themselves to think of Him and His Work, it seems. Then, in January and even into February it seems they have to catch up from what they spent for Christmas, so they seldom get back to normal in supporting Christ and His Work before March!

Now consider what the Bible says about giving gifts when Christ was born. It is in Matthew 2:1-11. "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews?' . . . And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto HIM gifts; gold and frankincense, and myrrh."

Why Gifts Presented to Christ

Notice, they inquired for the child Jesus, who was born KING of the Jews! Now why did they present gifts to Him? Because it was His birthday? Not at all, because they came several days or weeks after the date of His birth! Was it to set an example for us, today, to trade gifts back and forth among ourselves? No, notice carefully! They did not exchange gifts among themselves, but "they presented unto HIM gifts." They gave their gifts to Christ, not to their friends, relatives, or one another!

Why? Let me quote from the Adam Clarke Commentary, volume 5, page 46: "Verse 11. (They presented unto him gifts.) The people of the east never approach the presence of kings and great personages, without a present in their hands. The custom is often noticed in the Old Testament, and still prevails in the east, and in some of the newly discovered South Sea Islands."

There it is! They were not instituting a new Christian custom of exchanging gifts with friends to honor Christ's birthday. They were following an old and ancient eastern custom of presenting gifts to a king when they come into his presence. They were approaching Him, born KING of the Jews, in person. Therefore custom required they present gifts—even as the Queen of Sheba brought gifts to Solomon—even as many people today take a gift along when they visit the White House for an appointment with the President.

No, the custom of trading GIFTS back and forth does not stem from this scriptural incident at all, but rather, as quoted from history above, it is the continuance of an ancient pagan custom. Instead of honoring Christ, it invariably retards His Work, often sets it back, at the Christmas season every year.

Does It Really Honor Christ?

Now come two arguments often used to justify Christmas observance.

1) Many will reason this way: "But, even though the exact date of Jesus' birth is unknown, should we not select some date to celebrate as His birthday?" The answer is positively no! Did you not notice the statement quoted from the Catholic Encyclopedia: "Sinners alone, not saints, celebrate their birthdays." The celebration of birthdays is not a Christian, but a pagan custom, observed by sinners!

2) But, many still reason, "Even so—even though Christmas was a pagan custom, honoring the false sun-god, we don't observe it to honor the false god, we observe it to honor Christ."

But how does GOD answer in His Word? "Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them [the pagans in their customs] . . . that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God: for every abomination to the Eternal, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods" (Deuteronomy 12:30-31).

God says plainly in His Instruction Book to us, that He will not accept that kind of worship, even though intended in His honor. To Him, He says, it is offering what is abominable to Him, and therefore it honors, not Him, but false pagan gods. GOD says we must not worship Him according to the "dictates of our own conscience"—a term we often hear. But Jesus says plainly, "God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). And what is truth? God's Word—the Holy Bible—said Jesus, is truth (John 17:17); and the Bible says God will not accept worship when people take a pagan custom or manner of worship and try to honor Christ with it.

Again, Jesus said: "In vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (Matthew 15:9). Christmas observance is a tradition of men, and the commandments of God, as quoted, forbid it. Jesus said, further, "full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition."

That is precisely what the millions are doing today. They ignore the commandment of God. He commands, regarding taking the customs of the pagans and using them to honor or worship God: "Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God." Still, most people today take that command of God lightly, or as having no validity whatsoever, and follow the tradition of men in observing Christmas.

Make no mistake! God will allow you to defy and disobey Him. He will allow you to follow the crowd and the traditions of men. He will allow you to sin. But He also says there is a day of reckoning coming. As you sow, so shall you reap! Jesus was the living Word of God in Person, and the Bible is the written Word of God. And we shall be judged, for eternity, by these words! They should not be taken lightly or ignored.

We're in Babylon, and Haven't Known It

Christmas has become a commercial season. It's sponsored, kept alive, by the heaviest retail advertising campaigns of the year. You see a masqueraded "Santa Claus" in many stores. Ads keep us deluded and deceived about the "beautiful Christmas spirit." The newspapers, who sell the ads, print flowery editorials exalting and eulogizing the pagan season, and its "spirit." A gullible people has become so inoculated, many take offense when told the truth. But the "Christmas spirit" is created each year, not to honor Christ, but to sell merchandise! Like all Satan's delusions, it appears as an "angel of light," is made to appear good. Billions of dollars are spent in this merchandising spree every year, while the cause of Christ must suffer! It's part of the economic system of Babylon!

We have professed to be Christian nations, but we're in Babylon, as Bible prophecy foretold, and we don't know it! "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues"—now soon to fall—is the warning of Revelation 18:4.

This year, instead of gift trading, why not put that money into God's Work?

... The Real Origin of Christmas

But if we got Christmas from the Roman Catholics, and they got it from paganism, where did the pagans get it? Where, when, and what was its real origin?

It is a chief custom of the corrupt system denounced all through Bible prophecies and teachings under the name of Babylon. And it started and originated in the original Babylon of ancient Nimrod! Yes, it stems from roots whose beginning was shortly this side of the Flood!

Nimrod, grandson of Ham, son of Noah, was the real founder of the Babylonish system that has gripped the world ever since—the system of organized competition—of man-ruled governments and empires, based upon the competitive and profit-making economic system. Nimrod built the tower of Babel, the original Babylon, ancient Nineveh, many other cities. He organized the world's first kingdom. The name Nimrod, in Hebrew, is derived from "Marad," meaning "he rebelled."

The Plain Truth About Christmas
by Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1986)

Where did we get Christmas—from the Bible, or paganism? Here are the
WHERE did we get Christmas? . . . from the Bible, or paganism?

Here are the astonishing facts which may shock you! Test yourself. How much do you know of the origin of the Christmas tree—of "Santa Claus"—of the mistletoe—holly wreath—of the custom of exchanging gifts?

WHEN I was a very little boy, I was taught to hang up my stockings on Christmas eve. When I was awakened the next morning, they were filled with small toys and sacks or little boxes of candy and nuts. And beside the mantle, from which my stockings hung, a Christmas tree has suddenly appeared, decorated with shiny tinsel. And on it hung presents. Other presents for us children were piled on the floor underneath. I was told Santa Claus had come down the chimney during the night and left all these things.

But did I question what my parents told me? Of course not. I accepted it—took it all for granted. Didn't you?

Stop and think a moment! Very few have ever reflected on why they believe what they do—why they follow the customs they do, or from where those customs came. We were born into a world filled with customs. We grew up accepting them without question.

Why? Sheep instinct? Well, not exactly.

But by nature we do tend to follow the crowd, whether right or wrong. Sheep follow others to the slaughter. Humans ought to check up where they are going.

How—when did Christmas originate?

Does Christmas really celebrate the birthday of Christ? Was Jesus born on December 25th?

Did the original apostles, who knew Jesus personally and were taught by Him, celebrate His birthday on December 25th? Did they celebrate it at all?

If Christmas is the chief of the Christian holidays, why do so many non-Christians observe it? Do you know?

Why do people exchange presents with family members, friends, relatives at Christmas time? Was it because the wise men presented gifts to the Christ-child? The answer may surprise you.

Most people have "supposed" a lot of things about Christmas that are not true. But let's quit "supposing" and get the facts!

What Encyclopedias Say

The word "Christmas" means "Mass of Christ," or, as it came to be shortened, "Christ-Mass." It came to non-Christians and Protestants from the Roman Catholic Church. And where did they get it? NOT from the New Testament—NOT from the Bible—NOT from the original apostles who were personally instructed from Christ—but it gravitated in the fourth century into the Roman Church from paganism.

Since the celebration of Christmas has come to the world from the Roman Catholic Church, and has no authority but that of the Roman Catholic Church, let us examine the Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911 edition, published by that church. Under the heading "Christmas," you will find:

"Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church . . . the first evidence of the feast is from Egypt." "Pagan customs centering around the January calends gravitated to Christmas."

And in the same encyclopedia, under the heading "Natal Day," we find that the early Catholic father, Origen, acknowledged this truth: ". . . In the Scriptures, no one is recorded to have kept a feast or held a great banquet on his birthday. It is only sinners [like Pharaoh and Herod] who make great rejoicings over the day in which they were born into this world" (emphasis ours).

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1946 edition, has this: "Christmas (i.e., the Mass of Christ). . . . Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the church. . . ." It was not instituted by Christ or the apostles, or by Bible authority. It was picked up afterward from paganism.

The Encyclopedia Americana, 1944 edition, says: "Christmas. . . . It was, according to many authorities, not celebrated in the first centuries of the Christian church, as the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of remarkable persons rather than their birth. . . ." (The "Communion," which is instituted by New Testament Bible authority, is a memorial of the death of Christ.) ". . . A feast was established in memory of this event [Christ's birth] in the fourth century. In the fifth century the Western Church ordered it to be celebrated forever on the day of the old Roman feast of the birth of Sol, as no certain knowledge of the day of Christ's birth existed."

Now notice! These recognized historical authorities show Christmas was not observed by Christians for the first two or three hundred years—a period longer than the entire history of the United States as a nation! It got into the Western, or Roman, Church, by the fourth century AD It was not until the fifth century that the Roman Church ordered it to be celebrated as an official Christian festival!

Jesus Not Born December 25th

Jesus was not even born in the winter season! When the Christ-child was born "there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night," (Luke 2:. This could never have occurred in Judea in the month of December. The shepherds always brought their flocks from the mountainsides and fields and corralled them not later than October 15, to protect them from the cold, rainy season that followed that date. Notice that the Bible itself proves, in Song of Solomon 2:11 and Ezra 10:9, 13, that winter was a rainy season not permitting shepherds to abide in open fields at night.

"It was ancient custom among Jews of those days to send out their sheep to the fields and deserts about the Passover (early spring), and bring them home at commencement of the first rain," says the Adam Clarke Commentary (Vol. 5, page 370, New York ed.)

Continuing, this authority states: "During the time they were out, the shepherds watched them night and day. As . . . the first rain began early in the month of Marchesvan, which answers to part of our October and November [begins sometime in October], we find that the sheep were kept out in the open country during the whole summer. And, as these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks, it is a presumptive argument that October had not yet commenced, and that, consequently, our Lord was not born on the 25th of December, when no flocks were out in the fields; nor could He have been born later than September, as the flocks were still in the fields by night. On this very ground, the nativity in December should be given up. The feeding of the flocks by night in the fields is a chronological fact. . . . See the quotations from the Talmudists in Lightfoot."

Any encyclopedia, or any other authority, will tell you that Christ was not born on December 25. The Catholic Encyclopedia frankly states this fact.

The exact date of Jesus' birth is entirely unknown, as all authorities acknowledge—though if I had space in this booklet I could show you Scriptures which at least strongly indicate that it was in the early fall—probably September—approximately six months after Passover.

If God had wished us to observe and celebrate Christ's birthday, He would not have so completely hidden the exact date.

How This Pagan Custom Got into the Church

Then how did this pagan custom creep into the Western Christian world?

The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge explains clearly, in its article on "Christmas": "How much the date of the festival depended upon the pagan Brumalia (Dec. 25) following the Saturnalia (Dec. 17-24), and celebrating the shortest day in the year and the 'new sun,' . . . cannot be accurately determined. The pagan Saturnalia and Brumalia were too deeply entrenched in popular custom to be set aside by Christian influence. . . . The pagan festival with its riot and merrymaking was so popular that Christians were glad of an excuse to continue its celebration with little change in spirit and in manner. Christian preachers of the West and the Near East protested against the unseemly frivolity with which Christ's birthday was celebrated, while Christians of Mesopotamia accused their Western brethren of idolatry and sun worship for adopting as Christian this pagan festival."

Remember, the Roman world had been pagan. Prior to the fourth century, Christians were few in number, though increasing, and were persecuted by the government and by pagans. But, with the advent of Constantine as emperor, who made his profession of Christianity in the fourth century, placing Christianity on an equal footing with paganism, people of the Roman world began to accept this now-popular Christianity by the hundreds of thousands.

But remember, these people had grown up in pagan customs, chief of which was this idolatrous festival of December 25th. It was a festival of merrymaking, with its special spirit. They enjoyed it! They didn't want to give it up! Now this same article in the New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge explains how the recognition by Constantine of Sunday, which had been the day of pagan sun worship, and how the influence of the pagan Manichaeism, which identified the SON of God with the physical SUN, gave these pagans of the fourth century, now turning over wholesale to "Christianity," their excuse for calling their pagan-festival date of December 25th (birthday of the SUN-god) the birthday of the SON of God.

And that is how "Christmas" became fastened on our Western world! We may call it by another name, but it's the same old pagan sun-worshipping festival still! The only change is in what we call it! You can call a rabbit a "lion," but it's still a rabbit, just the same.

Again from the Encyclopaedia Britannica: "Certain Latins, as early as 354, may have transferred the birthday from January 6th to December 25, which was then a Mithraic feast, the birthday of the unconquered SUN . . . The Syrians and Armenians, who clung to January 6th, accused the Romans of sun worship and idolatry, contending . . . that the feast of December 25th, had been invented by disciples of Cerinthus. . . ."

The Real Origin of Christmas

But if we got Christmas from the Roman Catholics, and they got it from paganism, where did the pagans get it? Where, when, and what was its real origin?

It is a chief custom of the corrupt system denounced all through Bible prophecies and teachings under the name of Babylon. And it started and originated in the original Babylon of ancient Nimrod! Yes, it stems from roots whose beginning was shortly this side of the Flood!

Nimrod, grandson of Ham, son of Noah, was the real founder of the Babylonish system that has gripped the world ever since—the system of organized competition—of man-ruled governments and empires, based upon the competitive and profit-making economic system. Nimrod built the tower of Babel, the original Babylon, ancient Nineveh, many other cities. He organized the world's first kingdom. The name Nimrod, in Hebrew, is derived from "Marad," meaning "he rebelled."

From many ancient writings, considerable is learned of this man, who started the great organized worldly apostasy from God that has dominated this world until now. Nimrod was so evil, it is said he married his own mother, whose name was Semiramis. After Nimrod's untimely death, his so-called mother-wife, Semiramis, propagated the evil doctrine of the survival of Nimrod as a spirit being. She claimed a full-grown evergreen tree sprang overnight from a dead tree stump, which symbolized the springing forth unto new life of the dead Nimrod. On each anniversary of his birth, she claimed, Nimrod would visit the evergreen tree and leave gifts upon it. December 25th was the birthday of Nimrod. This is the real origin of the Christmas tree.

Through her scheming and designing, Semiramis became the Babylonian "Queen of Heaven," and Nimrod, under various names, became the "divine son of heaven." Through the generations, in this idolatrous worship, Nimrod became the false Messiah, son of Baal the Sun-god. In this false Babylonish system, the "Mother and Child," (Semiramis and Nimrod reborn), became chief objects of worship. This worship of "Mother and Child" spread over the world. The names varied in different countries and languages. In Egypt, it was Isis and Osiris. In Asia, Cybele and Deoius. In Pagan Rome, Fortuna and Jupiterpuer. Even in Greece, China, Japan, Tibet is to be found the counterpart of the Madonna, long before the birth of Christ!

Thus, during the fourth and fifth centuries, when the pagans of the Roman world were "accepting" the new popular "Christianity" by hundreds of thousands, carrying their old pagan customs and beliefs along with them, merely cloaking them with Christian-sounding names, the Madonna and "Mother and Child" idea also became popularized, especially at Christmas time. Every Christmas season you'll hear sung and chanted dozens of times the hymn "Silent Night, Holy Night," with its familiar "Mother and Child" theme. We, who have been born in such a Babylonish world, reared and steeped in these things all our lives, have been taught to revere these things as holy, and sacred. We never questioned to see where they came from—whether they came from the Bible, or from pagan idolatry!

We are shocked to learn the truth—some, unfortunately, take offense at the plain truth! But God commands His faithful ministers, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression!" Shocking as these facts are, they are the plain facts of history and the Bible!

The real origin of Christmas goes back to the ancient Babylon. It is bound up in the organized apostasy with which Satan has gripped a deceived world these many centuries! In Egypt, it was always believed that the son of Isis (Egyptian name for "Queen of Heaven" was born December 25th. Paganism celebrated this famous birthday over most of the known world for centuries before the birth of Christ.

December 25th is not the birthday of Jesus the true Christ! The apostles and early true Church never celebrated Christ's birthday at any time. There is no command or instruction to celebrate it in the Bible—rather, the celebrating of birthdays is a pagan, not a Christian custom, believe it or not!

Thus the ancient idolatrous "Chaldean Mysteries," founded by this wife of Nimrod, have been handed down through the pagan religions under new Christian-sounding names.

Origin of Holly Wreath, Mistletoe, Yule Log

Now, where did we get this mistletoe custom? Among the ancient pagans the mistletoe was used at this festival of the winter solstice because it was considered sacred to the sun, because of its supposed miraculous healing power. The pagan custom of kissing under the mistletoe was an early step in the night of revelry and drunken debauchery—celebrating the death of the "old sun" and the birth of the new at the winter solstice. Mistletoe, sacred in pagan festivals, is a PARASITE!

Holly berries were also considered sacred to the sun-god. The Yulelog is in reality the "sun log." "Yule" means "wheel," a pagan symbol of the sun. Yet today professing Christians speak of the "sacred yule-tide season!"

Even the lighting of fires and candles as a Christmas ceremony is merely a continuation of the pagan custom, encouraging the waning sun-god as he reached the lowest place in the southern skies!

The Encyclopedia Americana says: "The holly, the mistletoe, the Yule log . . . are relics of pre-Christian times." Of paganism!

The book Answers to Questions, compiled by Frederick J. Haskins, found in public libraries, says: "The use of Christmas wreaths is believed by authorities to be traceable to the pagan customs of decorating buildings and places of worship at the feast which took place at the same time as Christmas. The Christmas tree is from Egypt, and its origin dates from a period long anterior to the Christian Era."

Yes, and Even Santa Claus!

But surely dear old Santa Claus is not a creature of pagan birth? But he is, and his real character is not so benevolent and holy as many suppose!

The name "Santa Claus" is a corruption of the name "St. Nicholas," a Roman Catholic bishop who lived in the 5th century. Look in the Encyclopedia Britannica, volume 19, pages 648-649, where you'll read: "St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra, a saint honored by the Greeks and Latins on the sixth of December. . . . A legend of his surreptitious bestowal of dowries on the three daughters of an impoverished citizen . . . is said to have originated the old custom of giving presents in secret on the eve of St. Nicholas [Dec. 6], subsequently transferred to Christmas day. Hence the association of Christmas with Santa Claus. . . ."

Through the year, parents punish their children for telling falsehoods. Then, at Christmas time, they themselves tell their little children this "Santa Claus" lie! Is it any wonder many of them, when they grow up and learn the truth, begin to believe God is a myth, too?

One little fellow, sadly disillusioned about "Santa Claus," said to a playmate, "Yes, and I'm going to look into this 'Jesus Christ' business, too!" Is it Christian to teach children myths and falsehoods? God says "Thou shalt not bear false witness!" It may seem right, and be justified by human reason, but God says "There is a way that seemeth right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death!" "Old Nick" also is a term for the devil! Is there a connection? Satan appears as an "angel of light," to deceive! (II Corinthians 11:14; Revelation 12:9.)

And so when we examine the facts, we are astonished to learn that the practice of observing Christmas is not, after all, a true Christian practice, but a Pagan custom—one of the ways of Babylon our people have fallen into!

What the Bible Says About the Christmas Tree

But if the Bible is silent about telling us to observe Christmas, or recording any such observance by the apostles or early true Church, it does have something to say about the Christmas tree!

This will come as a real surprise to many. But here it is:

Jeremiah 10:2-6, "Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen. . . . For the customs of the people are vain; . . . for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and gold, they fasten it with nails and hammers, that it move not."

There is a perfect description of the Christmas tree, termed by the Eternal as "the way of the heathen—the custom of the people." We are commanded not to learn that way or follow it! It is also viewed in this passage as idolatry. The fifth verse shows that these trees cannot speak—cannot walk—must be carried. "Be not afraid of them, for they [the trees] cannot do evil neither also is it in them to do good." They are not gods to be feared. Some people misread this to make it say there is no harm in having a Christmas tree, but that is not what it says.

Isn't Exchanging Gifts Scriptural?

But when it comes to the most important part of all in this Christmas observance—the Christmas SHOPPING season—the buying and exchanging of gifts—many will exclaim triumphantly, "Well, at least the Bible tells us to do that! Didn't the wise men give gifts, when Christ was born?"

Again, we are due for some surprises, when we learn the plain truth. First, let's look at the historic origin of trading gifts back and forth, then see exactly what the Bible does say about it.

From the Bibliotheca Sacra, volume 12, pages 153-155, we quote, "The interchange of presents between friends is alike characteristic of Christmas and the Saturnalia, and must have been adopted by Christians from the Pagans, as the admonition of Tertullian plainly shows."

continue reading...

https://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/library/booklet/id/464/plain-truth-about-christmas.htm

A few years ago, as I was about to close a meeting, I said,
“Is there anyone here who would like me to remember them in prayer? If so, please stand.”
A man rose to his feet.
When I saw him standing, my heart leapt with joy. I had been anxious about him for a long time. As soon as the meeting ended, I went straight to him, took him by the hand, and said,
“You’re coming out for God, aren’t you?”
“I want to,” he replied. “I’ve made up my mind to be a Christian—but there’s one thing in my way.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“I lack moral courage,” he said. Then he added, naming a friend, “If he had been here tonight, I wouldn’t have stood up. When he hears that I rose for prayer, he’ll laugh at me—and I won’t have the courage to stand for Christ.”
I said to him, “If Christ is who the Bible says He is, He’s worth standing up for. And if heaven is what the Bible tells us it is, it’s worth living for.”
Still, he repeated, “I lack moral courage.”
The man was trembling from head to foot. I truly believed he was standing on the very threshold of heaven—that one step more would bring him in. Night after night he came. Night after night the Spirit of God strove with him. But one thing held him back: he lacked moral courage.
Eventually, the striving ceased. He stopped coming to church, returned to his old companions, and would not even meet me on the street. He was ashamed.
About six months later, I received a message from him. I found him on what he believed was his dying bed. He asked if there was hope for him at the eleventh hour. I told him there was hope for any man who would accept Christ. I prayed with him and visited him daily.
Then—against all expectations—he recovered.
One day, while he was convalescing and sitting outside his house, I sat beside him and said,
“You’ll soon be strong enough to come back to church. And when you do, you’ll confess Christ boldly, won’t you?”
“Well,” he said, “when I thought I was dying, I promised God I would serve Him. I made up my mind to be a Christian—but not just now. Next spring I’m going to Lake Michigan, buy a farm, settle down, and then I’ll be a Christian.”
I said, “How dare you speak like that! How do you know you’ll live until next spring? Have you a lease on your life?”
“I’ve never felt better,” he replied. “I’m a little weak, but I’ll soon regain my strength. I’ve got a fresh lease on life.”
“It seems to me,” I said, “that you are tempting God.”
Still, he refused. “The truth is,” he admitted, “I don’t have the courage to face my old companions. I can’t serve God in Chicago.”
“If God doesn’t have grace enough to keep you in Chicago,” I replied, “He won’t have it in Michigan either.”
I urged him—right then and there—to surrender his soul and body to Christ. But the more I pressed, the more irritated he became. Finally, he said sharply,
“You needn’t trouble yourself anymore about my soul. I’ll take care of that. If I’m lost, it’ll be my own fault. I’ll take the risk.”
I left him.
About a week later, I received a message from his wife. When I arrived, she met me at the door, weeping.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“We’ve just had a council of physicians,” she said. “They’ve given my husband up. They say he cannot live.”
“Does he want to see me?” I asked.
“No.”
“Then why did you send for me?”
“I can’t bear to see him die in this state of mind.”
“What state of mind is that?”
“He says his damnation is sealed—that he’ll be in hell very soon.”
I went into the room. He turned his face away. I spoke to him once. No reply. I spoke again—still nothing. Finally, I called him by name and asked, “Will you tell me how it is with you?”
He turned toward me and fixed me with a dreadful, deathlike stare. Pointing to the stove, he said,
“My heart is as hard as the iron in that stove. It’s too late. My damnation is sealed. I’ll be in hell shortly.”
“Don’t say that,” I pleaded. “You can be saved now.”
“Don’t mock me,” he replied. “I know better.”
I quoted promise after promise, but he said none of them were for him.
“Christ knocked at the door of my heart many times,” he said. “The last time, I promised to let Him in. When I recovered, I turned Him away again. Now I must perish without Him.”
Seeing that my words were useless, I fell on my knees. He said,
“You can pray for my wife and children. Don’t pray for me—it’s too late.”
I tried to pray, but it felt as though the heavens were brass above me. I rose, took his hand, and felt as though I were bidding farewell to a friend I would never see again—neither in time nor eternity.
He lingered until sunset. His wife told me his end was terrible. Over and over again, he repeated the same dreadful words:

“The harvest is past,
the summer is ended,
and I am not saved.”

As the sun sank behind the western prairies, he passed into eternity—still murmuring that awful lament.
He lived a Christless life.
He died a Christless death.
We wrapped him in a Christless shroud,
laid him in a Christless coffin,
and buried him in a Christless grave.
Oh, how dark.
Oh, how sad.
I may be speaking to someone today for whom the harvest is passing and the summer is ending. Be wise—now. Accept the Lord Jesus Christ.
May God’s blessing rest upon us all, and may we meet in glory. That is the prayer of my heart.

— D. L. Moody (Adapted)

SpencerForbes:
Lamentations of someone hallucinating 🥱 No video, audio or even material evidence. Even time travelers still try to deceive us by bringing something and claiming they brought it from the future. Meanwhile In Christianity, all we have is washed down narratives.

Jesus loves you.

https://www.divinerevelations.info/documents/rawlings/dr_rawlings_near_death_experiences.htm

A lot of us have either read or heard of that classic book The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. But not many people know that John Bunyan wrote dozens of other books apart from the one mentioned above. What made John such a powerful preacher and writer? Actually, John Bunyan as a young Christian was once driven to the point of committing suicide after listening to the famous atheist and philosopher Thomas Hobbes, who of course declared there was no God.

God in His mercy saved John from eternal ruin and sent an angel to show him the reality of heavenly things. John was taken to heaven and hell. What follows is part of the things he saw and heard while in the regions of the lost. I feel like sharing this with you, you in particular. I know it won't make front page but I don't care about that. God bless you.
– RadiantGlow

John Bunyan speaking...

We had not gone much farther, before we saw a wretched soul lying on a bed of burning steel, almost choked with brimstone. He cried out with such dreadful anguish and desperation, and I heard him speak as follows:

Lost soul's lamentation...

"Ah, miserable wretch! Undone forever, forever! Oh, this killing word, 'forever!' Will not a million years be long enough to bear that pain, which if I could avoid it, I would not endure for even one moment for the sake of being offered one million worlds? No, no! My misery never will have an end; after millions of years it will still be forever! Oh, what a helpless and hopeless condition I am in! It is this 'forever' that is the hell of hell! O cursed wretch! Cursed to all eternity! How willfully have I undone myself! Oh, what stupendous folly am I guilty of—to choose sin’s short and momentary pleasure—at the dear price of everlasting pain! How often I was told that it would be so! How often I was encouraged to leave those paths of sin—which brought me to the chambers of eternal death! But I, like a dumb animal, would not listen to those pleadings. Now it is too late to change it, for my eternal state is fixed forever! Why was I made a person, that I would choose this fate? Why was I made with an immortal soul—and yet should take so little care of it? Oh how my own neglect stings me to death—and yet I cannot die! I live a dying life, worse than ten thousand deaths; and yet I once could have changed all this—but did not! Oh, that is the gnawing worm that never dies!

I might once have been happy, salvation was offered to me and I refused it. Had salvation been offered to me only once, it would have been an unforgivable folly to refuse it! But salvation was offered me a thousand times, and yet (wretch that I was!) I still as often refused it. O cursed sin, that with deluding pleasures, leads mankind to eternal ruin! God often called—but I as often refused; He stretched His hand out—but I would not mind it. How often have I ignored His counsel! How often have I refused His reproof! But now the scene is changed—the case is altered! Now He laughs at my calamity, and mocks at the destruction which is come upon me. He would have helped me once—but I would not accept His help. Therefore those eternal miseries I am condemned to undergo—are but the just reward of my own doing!"

John praises God...

I could not hear this sorrowful lamentation without thinking about the wonderful grace that God had shown to me. Eternal praises to His holy name! For my heart told me that I had deserved eternal judgment as much as that sad wretch—but that God's grace alone had made us different. O how unsearchable are His counsels! Who can fathom His divine decree?

John Bunyan addresses lost soul...

After these thoughts I spoke to the sorrowful complainer, and told him that I had heard his woeful complaints. I saw that his misery was great, and his loss irreparable, and told him I would willingly hear more about it—if this might possibly help lessen his sufferings."

Lost soul speaks...

"No, not at all; my pains cannot be relieved even for one small moment! But by your question I understand that you are a stranger here; and may you ever be a stranger! Ah, had I but the least hope still remaining, how I would kneel and cry and pray forever to be redeemed from this hell! But it is all in vain—I am lost forever! But so that you will be warned about ending up here—I will tell you what the damned suffer.

Our miseries in this infernal dungeon are of two kinds: what we have lost, and what we suffer. I will first speak about what we have LOST.

1. In this sad dark place of misery and sorrow, we have lost the wondrous presence of the ever blessed God. This is what makes this dungeon—hell. Though we had lost a thousand worlds, it would not be as important as this one greatest loss. Could we but see the least glimpse of His favor here—we might be happy; but have lost it to our everlasting woe.

2. Here we have also lost the company of saints and angels, and instead have nothing but tormenting devils!

3. Here we have lost heaven, too—the center of blessedness. There is a deep gulf between us and heaven, so that we are shut out from it forever! Those everlasting gates that let the redeemed into heaven—are now forever shut against us.

4. To make our wretchedness far worse, we have lost the hope of ever obtaining a better condition.

This makes us truly hopeless. Well may our hearts now break, since we are both without hope and without help. This is what we have lost; and if we think of these things, it is enough to tear and gnaw upon our miserable souls forever. Yet, oh, that this were all that our torments were!

But we are also tormented by suffering and pain, as I will try to explain to you now.

1. First, we undergo a variety of torments. We are tormented here a thousand, no, ten thousand different ways! Those who suffer upon the earth seldom have more than one affliction at a time. But if they had ulcers, gallstones, headaches, and fever all at the same time—would they not be very miserable? Yet all those together are but like the biting of a flea—compared to those intolerable, sharp pains which we endure. Here we have all the sufferings of hell. Here is an unquenchable fire which burns us; a lake of burning brimstone which ever chokes us; and eternal chains which bind us. Here there is utter darkness to frighten us, and a worm of conscience which gnaws upon us everlastingly. Any one of these is worse to bear—than all the torments that mankind ever felt on earth!

2. But our torments here are not only various—but are also universal. They afflict every part of the body, and torment all the powers of the soul. This makes what we suffer—the worst of tortures. On earth, some members of the body may suffer while others feel no pain. Here it is different; every member of soul and body suffers at the same time!

“Our eyes are tormented here with the sight of devils who appear in all the horrible shapes and black appearances which sin can give them. Our ears are continually tormented with the loud continual yellings of the damned. Our nostrils are smothered with sulfurous flames; our tongues with burning blisters; and the whole body is rolled in flames of liquid fire! All the powers and faculties of our souls are also tormented here. The imagination suffers with the thoughts of our present pain, and the memory of the heaven we have lost. Our minds are tormented as we remember how foolishly we spent our precious time on earth. Our understanding is tormented with the thoughts of our past pleasures, present pains, and future sorrows, which are to last forever. And our consciences are tormented with a continual gnawing worm!

3. Another thing that makes our misery so dreadful—is the sharpness of our torments. The fire which burns us is so violent that all the water in the sea can never quench it. The pains we suffer here are so extreme, that it is impossible for anyone to know them except the damned.

4. Another part of our misery is the ceaselessness of our torments. As various, as universal, and as extremely violent as they are, they are also continual. We have no rest from them. If there were any relaxation, it might be some relief. But there is no easing of our torments, and what we suffer now—we must suffer forever!

5. The company we have here is another part of our misery. Tormenting devils and tormented souls—are all our company. Dreadful shrieks, howlings, and fearful cursings—are our continual conversation because of the fierceness of our pain.

6. The place we are in also increases our sufferings. It is the epitome of all misery—a prison, a dungeon, a bottomless pit, a lake of brimstone, a furnace of fire which burns to eternity, the blackness of darkness forever; and lastly, hell itself. Such a wretched place as this can only increase our wretchedness.

7. The cruelty of our tormentors is another thing which adds to our sufferings. Our tormentors are devils in whom there is no pity. While they are tormented themselves, they still take pleasure in tormenting us!

8. All those sufferings that I have recounted are very grievous. But that which makes them the most grievous—is that they shall all be forever! All of our intolerable sufferings shall last to all eternity! "Depart from Me, you who are cursed—into everlasting fire!" is continually sounding in my ears. Oh, that I could reverse that fatal sentence! Oh, if there was but a bare possibility of salvation!

This is the miserable situation we are in—and shall be in forever!

Discourse between the lost and a tormenting devil...

This wretched soul had scarcely finished what he was saying when he was tormented again by a hellish demon, who told him to stop complaining. The demon said, "Don’t you know you have deserved it all? How often were you told of this before—but would not believe it? You laughed at those who warned you about hell. You were even so presumptuous as to dare Almighty justice to destroy you! How often you called on God to damn you. Do you complain that you are answered according to your wishes? What an unreasonable thing! You know that you had salvation offered you, and you refused it. How can you now complain of being damned? I have more reason to complain, for you had a long time in which repentance was offered you; but I was cast into hell as soon as I had sinned. If I had been offered salvation, I would never have rejected it as you did. Who do you think should pity you now, with all that heaven had offered to you?"

This made the wretch cry out, "Oh, do not continue to torment me; I know that I chose destruction. Oh, that I could forget it! These thoughts are my greatest torture. I chose to be damned—and therefore justly am so."

Then turning to the demon that tortured him he said, "But I also came here through your temptations, you cursed devil! You were the one who had tempted me to do all of my sins; and now you would reproach me? You say you never had a Saviour offered to you; but you should also remember that you never had a tempter such as you have always been to me!"

To this the devil scornfully replied, "It was my business to lead you here! You had often been warned of this by your preacher. You were plainly told that we sought your ruin, and go about continually like roaring lions, seeking whom we could devour. I was often afraid that you would believe them, as several other souls did, to our great disappointment.

But you were willing to do what we wanted; and since you have done our work—it is but reasonable that we should pay you wages." Then the fiend tormented him again and caused him to roar out so horribly that I could no longer stay to hear him, so I passed on.

Culled from Visions of Heaven and Hell by John Bunyan
www.spiritlessons.com

“Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” (Ezek 33:11).

“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:17-18).

A lot of us have either read or heard of that classic book The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. But not many people know that John Bunyan wrote dozens of other books apart from the one mentioned above. What made John such a powerful preacher and writer? Actually, John Bunyan as a young Christian was once driven to the point of committing suicide after listening to the famous atheist and philosopher Thomas Hobbes, who of course declared there was no God.

God in His mercy saved John from eternal ruin and sent an angel to show him the reality of heavenly things. John was taken to heaven and hell. What follows is part of the things he saw and heard while in the regions of the lost. I feel like sharing this with you, you in particular. I know it won't make front page but I don't care about that. God bless you.
– RadiantGlow

John Bunyan speaking...

We had not gone much farther, before we saw a wretched soul lying on a bed of burning steel, almost choked with brimstone. He cried out with such dreadful anguish and desperation, and I heard him speak as follows:

Lost soul's lamentation...

"Ah, miserable wretch! Undone forever, forever! Oh, this killing word, 'forever!' Will not a million years be long enough to bear that pain, which if I could avoid it, I would not endure for even one moment for the sake of being offered one million worlds? No, no! My misery never will have an end; after millions of years it will still be forever! Oh, what a helpless and hopeless condition I am in! It is this 'forever' that is the hell of hell! O cursed wretch! Cursed to all eternity! How willfully have I undone myself! Oh, what stupendous folly am I guilty of—to choose sin’s short and momentary pleasure—at the dear price of everlasting pain! How often I was told that it would be so! How often I was encouraged to leave those paths of sin—which brought me to the chambers of eternal death! But I, like a dumb animal, would not listen to those pleadings. Now it is too late to change it, for my eternal state is fixed forever! Why was I made a person, that I would choose this fate? Why was I made with an immortal soul—and yet should take so little care of it? Oh how my own neglect stings me to death—and yet I cannot die! I live a dying life, worse than ten thousand deaths; and yet I once could have changed all this—but did not! Oh, that is the gnawing worm that never dies!

I might once have been happy, salvation was offered to me and I refused it. Had salvation been offered to me only once, it would have been an unforgivable folly to refuse it! But salvation was offered me a thousand times, and yet (wretch that I was!) I still as often refused it. O cursed sin, that with deluding pleasures, leads mankind to eternal ruin! God often called—but I as often refused; He stretched His hand out—but I would not mind it. How often have I ignored His counsel! How often have I refused His reproof! But now the scene is changed—the case is altered! Now He laughs at my calamity, and mocks at the destruction which is come upon me. He would have helped me once—but I would not accept His help. Therefore those eternal miseries I am condemned to undergo—are but the just reward of my own doing!"

John praises God...

I could not hear this sorrowful lamentation without thinking about the wonderful grace that God had shown to me. Eternal praises to His holy name! For my heart told me that I had deserved eternal judgment as much as that sad wretch—but that God's grace alone had made us different. O how unsearchable are His counsels! Who can fathom His divine decree?

John Bunyan addresses lost soul...

After these thoughts I spoke to the sorrowful complainer, and told him that I had heard his woeful complaints. I saw that his misery was great, and his loss irreparable, and told him I would willingly hear more about it—if this might possibly help lessen his sufferings."

Lost soul speaks...

"No, not at all; my pains cannot be relieved even for one small moment! But by your question I understand that you are a stranger here; and may you ever be a stranger! Ah, had I but the least hope still remaining, how I would kneel and cry and pray forever to be redeemed from this hell! But it is all in vain—I am lost forever! But so that you will be warned about ending up here—I will tell you what the damned suffer.

Our miseries in this infernal dungeon are of two kinds: what we have lost, and what we suffer. I will first speak about what we have LOST.

1. In this sad dark place of misery and sorrow, we have lost the wondrous presence of the ever blessed God. This is what makes this dungeon—hell. Though we had lost a thousand worlds, it would not be as important as this one greatest loss. Could we but see the least glimpse of His favor here—we might be happy; but have lost it to our everlasting woe.

2. Here we have also lost the company of saints and angels, and instead have nothing but tormenting devils!

3. Here we have lost heaven, too—the center of blessedness. There is a deep gulf between us and heaven, so that we are shut out from it forever! Those everlasting gates that let the redeemed into heaven—are now forever shut against us.

4. To make our wretchedness far worse, we have lost the hope of ever obtaining a better condition.

This makes us truly hopeless. Well may our hearts now break, since we are both without hope and without help. This is what we have lost; and if we think of these things, it is enough to tear and gnaw upon our miserable souls forever. Yet, oh, that this were all that our torments were!

But we are also tormented by suffering and pain, as I will try to explain to you now.

1. First, we undergo a variety of torments. We are tormented here a thousand, no, ten thousand different ways! Those who suffer upon the earth seldom have more than one affliction at a time. But if they had ulcers, gallstones, headaches, and fever all at the same time—would they not be very miserable? Yet all those together are but like the biting of a flea—compared to those intolerable, sharp pains which we endure. Here we have all the sufferings of hell. Here is an unquenchable fire which burns us; a lake of burning brimstone which ever chokes us; and eternal chains which bind us. Here there is utter darkness to frighten us, and a worm of conscience which gnaws upon us everlastingly. Any one of these is worse to bear—than all the torments that mankind ever felt on earth!

2. But our torments here are not only various—but are also universal. They afflict every part of the body, and torment all the powers of the soul. This makes what we suffer—the worst of tortures. On earth, some members of the body may suffer while others feel no pain. Here it is different; every member of soul and body suffers at the same time!

“Our eyes are tormented here with the sight of devils who appear in all the horrible shapes and black appearances which sin can give them. Our ears are continually tormented with the loud continual yellings of the damned. Our nostrils are smothered with sulfurous flames; our tongues with burning blisters; and the whole body is rolled in flames of liquid fire! All the powers and faculties of our souls are also tormented here. The imagination suffers with the thoughts of our present pain, and the memory of the heaven we have lost. Our minds are tormented as we remember how foolishly we spent our precious time on earth. Our understanding is tormented with the thoughts of our past pleasures, present pains, and future sorrows, which are to last forever. And our consciences are tormented with a continual gnawing worm!

3. Another thing that makes our misery so dreadful—is the sharpness of our torments. The fire which burns us is so violent that all the water in the sea can never quench it. The pains we suffer here are so extreme, that it is impossible for anyone to know them except the damned.

4. Another part of our misery is the ceaselessness of our torments. As various, as universal, and as extremely violent as they are, they are also continual. We have no rest from them. If there were any relaxation, it might be some relief. But there is no easing of our torments, and what we suffer now—we must suffer forever!

5. The company we have here is another part of our misery. Tormenting devils and tormented souls—are all our company. Dreadful shrieks, howlings, and fearful cursings—are our continual conversation because of the fierceness of our pain.

6. The place we are in also increases our sufferings. It is the epitome of all misery—a prison, a dungeon, a bottomless pit, a lake of brimstone, a furnace of fire which burns to eternity, the blackness of darkness forever; and lastly, hell itself. Such a wretched place as this can only increase our wretchedness.

7. The cruelty of our tormentors is another thing which adds to our sufferings. Our tormentors are devils in whom there is no pity. While they are tormented themselves, they still take pleasure in tormenting us!

8. All those sufferings that I have recounted are very grievous. But that which makes them the most grievous—is that they shall all be forever! All of our intolerable sufferings shall last to all eternity! "Depart from Me, you who are cursed—into everlasting fire!" is continually sounding in my ears. Oh, that I could reverse that fatal sentence! Oh, if there was but a bare possibility of salvation!

This is the miserable situation we are in—and shall be in forever!

Discourse between the lost and a tormenting devil...

This wretched soul had scarcely finished what he was saying when he was tormented again by a hellish demon, who told him to stop complaining. The demon said, "Don’t you know you have deserved it all? How often were you told of this before—but would not believe it? You laughed at those who warned you about hell. You were even so presumptuous as to dare Almighty justice to destroy you! How often you called on God to damn you. Do you complain that you are answered according to your wishes? What an unreasonable thing! You know that you had salvation offered you, and you refused it. How can you now complain of being damned? I have more reason to complain, for you had a long time in which repentance was offered you; but I was cast into hell as soon as I had sinned. If I had been offered salvation, I would never have rejected it as you did. Who do you think should pity you now, with all that heaven had offered to you?"

This made the wretch cry out, "Oh, do not continue to torment me; I know that I chose destruction. Oh, that I could forget it! These thoughts are my greatest torture. I chose to be damned—and therefore justly am so."

Then turning to the demon that tortured him he said, "But I also came here through your temptations, you cursed devil! You were the one who had tempted me to do all of my sins; and now you would reproach me? You say you never had a Saviour offered to you; but you should also remember that you never had a tempter such as you have always been to me!"

To this the devil scornfully replied, "It was my business to lead you here! You had often been warned of this by your preacher. You were plainly told that we sought your ruin, and go about continually like roaring lions, seeking whom we could devour. I was often afraid that you would believe them, as several other souls did, to our great disappointment.

But you were willing to do what we wanted; and since you have done our work—it is but reasonable that we should pay you wages." Then the fiend tormented him again and caused him to roar out so horribly that I could no longer stay to hear him, so I passed on.

Culled from Visions of Heaven and Hell by John Bunyan
www.spiritlessons.com

“Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” (Ezek 33:11).

“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:17-18).

Michael Thomas Sambo died three times in two days in 2003, and was taken to Heaven and Hell by Jesus himself, where he witnessed many fearful and wonderful things. There were two thousand witnesses to this incident, who witnessed all that happened with him. His own website states: "Brother Michael Thomas Sambo hails from Bika-Lupwe, Takum Local Government, Taraba State, Nigeria. He is a child of God, humble and zealous. He gave his life to Christ at the age of 13 and has since been walking consistently with Him. He received these divine visitations and revelations while undergoing his course on veterinary medicine in University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. In 2003 when he was given these revelations he was 23 years old. God in His mercy chose to use him to convey this life-changing message to men."


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG80mS1CVM0&t=421s

Ozzyk:
We got married in ending of August
We didn't have anything to do together at all during our 2 year courtship
She's really adorable and a Godly babe to the core
On the second night of our wedding I confirmed she was a virgin
Sadly our honeymoon only lasted Barely 2 weeks before she missed her period
Here is the issue;
Since over a month and some few weeks now she won't let me touch her, in fact it's like my touches irritate her, no sex, no kiss, no smooching, no touching
It sometimes feels we're just house mates who shares same matrimonial bed together
I have tried to talk to her many times about my sexual wellness but she seems not interested at all
My marriage is less than 2 months and I am already over a month sex starved
Perhaps she sometimes complains of pregnancy cramps but this should not com at the detriment of my sexual well being.....
And besides she's goes to work everyday but the moments she gets home she won't let me touch not even slight touches not to talk of sex or romance....
I am already tired 😩

Ask her if it's okay to discuss the issue with her mum.

If you truly do, mention where you heard it:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMIKJG3uUWQ&list=RDUMIKJG3uUWQ&start_radio=1

In this bold and heartfelt testimony, former Nollywood actress Joy Edjeren pulls back the curtain on the sinister underbelly of the entertainment world—a place she describes as soaked in occult power, manipulation, spiritual warfare, and trauma. She recounts her painful journey from ambition and fame to spiritual assault and deliverance, culminating in a dramatic transformation through faith.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NTx5dobTkw

musicwriter:
This is what some of us have been saying. Neither evolution nor the God of religion can explain the origin of life in the universe.

The REAL God is unknown and unknowable. That's what the ancients called the Gnostics said, and that's what the AI concluded with huge computing power

That's your own interpretation.