Posted on 04/14/2014 6:21:31 AM PDT by franky8
The Last Four Things
Death - Judgment - Hell - Heaven by - FATHER MARTIN VON COCHEM, O.S.F.C.
The predominating opinion among the great writers of the Church is that most souls are lost eternally because they do not cooperate with the graces that God makes available to men to save their souls. And they cite several significant passages of Scripture to this effect, especially the famous passage in Matthew (Chapter 7, verses 13 & 14): "Enter by the narrow gate. For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who enter that way. How narrow the gate, and close the way that leads to life: and few there are that find it!" Also, in Matthew 20:16, Our Divine Savior boldly proclaims in the following manner: "So shall the last be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen." And there are many other passages in Scripture to indicate this same meaning. FROM THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
1861. "Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God. "
Actually, hell is temporary. It too is destroyed after the judgement.
Source?
So is heaven temporary too? Is it destroyed after the Last Judgment?
I don’t think so.
And likewise, neither is hell.
WHAT IF GOD COULD BE STOPPED BY US?
(Sung to the tune of "One of Us" by Joan Osborne)
If God decreed His will, what would it be and
could you slap Him in the face if you didn’t want to
be with Him in all His Glory, what could you do
if you had completely free will...
Yeah, yeah- I am Great
Yeah, yeah- God is Good
Yeah, yeah- yeah (3x)
{chorus}
What if God could be stopped by us?
Any slob, maybe one of us?
Man’s logic rides the shorter bus, without the fare to get home...
If God had a Face, what would it look like and
would you dare slap it, if slapping meant that
you don’t have to believe if He predestined you to
bow the knee to Jesus and surrender all
to Him and...
{chorus}
Tryin' to make my way home
Back up to Heaven on my own...
No playing music with a song
God can’t make us not be wrong
So is heaven temporary too? Is it destroyed after the Last Judgment?
So is heaven temporary too? Is it destroyed after the Last Judgment?
And the fate of those that do not receive eternal life are described in various ways. Some common uses are death, destruction, perish, and “eternal punishment.
So the punishment is eternal, and it is described as death, destruction and perish (among other similar words). So they will be dead, destroyed, or have perished. For eternity.
Eternal life = being alive, for all eternithy.
Eternal death = being dead, for all eternity. And as is typical of the bible to make a strong point, it is said in many ways that people can understand. When I say a company has been destroyed, is dead, or has perished - for all eternity - everyone knows what I mean. Likewise the fate of the lost.
Likewise the eternal nature of the fate of the lost. “Unquenchable fire”, “worm shall not die”, etc. The fate is eternal. It will not change. The fate has utter finality. i.e. they ain’t a comin’ back.
The lake of fire IS hell.
"The Son of Man shall send out His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
(Mat 13:41-42)
"So it shall be at the end of the world. The angels shall come out and separate the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
Mat 13:49-50
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Away from me, you that are under God's curse! Away to the eternal fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels!"
"These, then, will be sent off to eternal punishment, but the righteous will go to eternal life."
(Mat 25:41 & 46)
"And if your foot offends you, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life lame than to have two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched where
their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched."
(Mark 9:45-46)
"And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame."
(Luke 16:23-24)
"He who believes on Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the Light, because their deeds were evil."
(John 3:18-19)
" - in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God and who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, ...."
(2Th 1:8-9)
"And a third angel followed them, saying with a great voice, If anyone worships the beast and its image, and receives a mark in his forehead or in his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the anger of God, having been mixed undiluted in the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented by fire and brimstone before the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. And they have no rest day or night, those who worship the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name."
(Rev 14:9-11)
"And if anyone was not found having been written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the Lake of Fire."
(Rev 20:15)
"But the fearful, and the unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, will have their part in the Lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
(Rev 21:8)
...and shall cast them into a furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
But you would not be dead forever. There would be the resurrection, after which, if you were not written in the book of life, you would go into another furnace, where the death would, in fact, be eternal. You would not be coming back for another judgement.
shall be punished with everlasting destruction
Regarding Lazarus and the Rich man, a couple of things. First, it is a parable. And the message is not about what a lot of people think it’s about. It’s why Lazarus is named, but the rich man is not.
Second, it is about the fate of men before the judgement, not after.
i.e. it is irrelevant to this particular discussion.
And he will be tormented by fire and brimstone before the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever.
The smoke from a house fire lingers long after the home is burned up, though the fire does not last that long. Also, “forever and ever” speaks of eternity. Since eternity is not time the way we perceive it, we don’t really know what it means, other than that for all practical purposes their fate is eternal. I think of it as a photograph hanging on the wall that I can go back to at any time and examine. The people in the photo are not living the event for all eternity, but its remnant exists for all eternity.
“And if anyone was not found having been written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the Lake of Fire.”
will have their part in the Lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
But this brings up an interesting concept. The bible calls the lake the second death, and it calls the lampstands the churches. So, are the churches really lampstands, or is the lampstand a symbol? And is the second (and final) death really a lake of fire, or is the lake of fire a symbol (keeping in mind that we are discussing the book of Revelation here).
When I think of the lake of fire, btw, I think of the surface of the sun.
“For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Not exactly a cause for optimism. These and similar passages have always troubled me.
The problem of pain and the greater chance of being chaff than wheat would seem to serve the arguments of the atheists.
The Little Number of Those Who Are Saved
by St. Leonard of Port Maurice
Saint Leonard of Port Maurice was a most holy Franciscan friar who lived at the monastery of Saint Bonaventure in Rome. He was one of the greatest missioners in the history of the Church. He used to preach to thousands in the open square of every city and town where the churches could not hold his listeners. So brilliant and holy was his eloquence that once when he gave a two weeks’ mission in Rome, the Pope and College of Cardinals came to hear him. The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin, the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the veneration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus were his crusades. He was in no small way responsible for the definition of the Immaculate Conception made a little more than a hundred years after his death. He also gave us the Divine Praises, which are said at the end of Benediction. But Saint Leonard’s most famous work was his devotion to the Stations of the Cross. He died a most holy death in his seventy-fifth year, after twenty-four years of uninterrupted preaching.
One of Saint Leonard of Port Maurice’s most famous sermons was “The Little Number of Those Who Are Saved.” It was the one he relied on for the conversion of great sinners. This sermon, like his other writings, was submitted to canonical examination during the process of canonization. In it he reviews the various states of life of Christians and concludes with the little number of those who are saved, in relation to the totality of men.
The reader who meditates on this remarkable text will grasp the soundness of its argumentation, which has earned it the approbation of the Church. Here is the great missionary’s vibrant and moving sermon.
Introduction
Thanks be to God, the number of the Redeemer’s disciples is not so small that the wickedness of the Scribes and Pharisees is able to triumph over them. Although they strove to calumniate innocence and to deceive the crowd with their treacherous sophistries by discrediting the doctrine and character of Our Lord, finding spots even in the sun, many still recognized Him as the true Messiah, and, unafraid of either chastisements or threats, openly joined His cause. Did all those who followed Christ follow Him even unto glory? Oh, this is where I revere the profound mystery and silently adore the abysses of the divine decrees, rather than rashly deciding on such a great point! The subject I will be treating today is a very grave one; it has caused even the pillars of the Church to tremble, filled the greatest Saints with terror and populated the deserts with anchorites. The point of this instruction is to decide whether the number of Christians who are saved is greater or less than the number of Christians who are damned; it will, I hope, produce in you a salutary fear of the judgments of God.
Brothers, because of the love I have for you, I wish I were able to reassure you with the prospect of eternal happiness by saying to each of you: You are certain to go to paradise; the greater number of Christians is saved, so you also will be saved. But how can I give you this sweet assurance if you revolt against God’s decrees as though you were your own worst enemies? I observe in God a sincere desire to save you, but I find in you a decided inclination to be damned. So what will I be doing today if I speak clearly? I will be displeasing to you. But if I do not speak, I will be displeasing to God.
Therefore, I will divide this subject into two points. In the first one, to fill you with dread, I will let the theologians and Fathers of the Church decide on the matter and declare that the greater number of Christian adults are damned; and, in silent adoration of that terrible mystery, I will keep my own sentiments to myself. In the second point I will attempt to defend the goodness of God versus the godless, by proving to you that those who are damned are damned by their own malice, because they wanted to be damned. So then, here are two very important truths. If the first truth frightens you, do not hold it against me, as though I wanted to make the road of heaven narrower for you, for I want to be neutral in this matter; rather, hold it against the theologians and Fathers of the Church who will engrave this truth in your heart by the force of reason. If you are disillusioned by the second truth, give thanks to God over it, for He wants only one thing: that you give your hearts totally to Him. Finally, if you oblige me to tell you clearly what I think, I will do so for your consolation.
http://www.olrl.org/snt_docs/fewness.shtml
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