Believers? What is the difference between the believer and the elect? Is there are difference at all? Can one believe and not be of the elect?
And what would the great punishment be? If you are saved and are going to Heaven, what would the punishment be? I believe that you have alluded earlier to earthly punishment that would occur before death, but I am still kinda fuzzy on that.
Earlier I quoted from Heb 12:7-11, and the idea is that the punishment can be in the form of what we normally call "hardship". This can take any form and be directly from God. That does not mean that all hardship is punishment, but only that hardship is a means of punishment that God uses. Examples are very straightforward: loss of job, loss of physical health, depression, loss of friendships, loss of material possessions, and a million other examples. The hardships (except for physical death) are tailor made to bring us back to Him. When I quoted from Hebrews 12 I SHOULD have included the preceding two verses:
Heb 12:5-6 : 5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
I have used "punishment" and "discipline" interchangeably, but the point is that it is for our own good. We are men, so we are going to mess up. As always, God turns a negative into a positive through His discipline. I believe this is part of what James was talking about when he said:
James 1:2-4 : 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.