Zach Uram's Blog

The Doctrine of Papal Infallibility teaches that the Pope, when he teaches on matters that concern faith or morals to the whole Church with the intent that the faithful follow the opinion, is teaching infallibly. One of the biggest practical problems with this doctrine is the issue of earlier Popes contradicting later Popes. Whenever this occurs, the Catholic apologist is forced to come up with all sorts of excuses as to how the earlier pope was not speaking Ex Cathedra.

Papal infallibility is a myth created by Rome!

Academic historians tend toward the view -echoed also by many Roman Catholic scholars that there is not so much as a trace of papal infallibility in the entire first millennium of Christianity.

Papal infallibility wasn’t an official doctrine until the First Vatican Council of 1870. Prior to that, the Roman Catholic church considered itself to be infallible in matters pertaining to doctrine, but it had not defined where the infallibility lay. Some believed it was vested in the Pope alone as the successor of Peter, and others in the Bishops in Council under the leadership of the Pope (the Magisterium). Subsequent to Vatican I, although the Magisterium acting in council was still considered infallible, the Pope now also had authority to proclaim infallible teachings of his own will, without the formal approval of the Bishops. Anathema was pronounced on all that would not submit to this decree. Although there were many Bishops at Vatican I who opposed the new doctrine, and who voted against, or abstained, most of them subsequently accepted it rather than be excommunicated. Their accomplished historian Döllinger refused to accept the dogma of papal infallibility, having found that the early church Fathers and Councils were utterly silent on the doctrine of infallibility.[1] His excommunication inevitably followed and, despite many subsequent attempts to persuade him, he refused to recant.

Dominican Cardinal Yyves Congar said there was not even a *germ* of what developed into papal infallibility until the 1200s. The notion seems to have originated first on the lips of “dissident Franciscans” (cf. Tierney, Origins of Papal Infallibility, cited below)

Fr. Hans Kung observes: “”[before the Orthodox/Latin Schism]The Eastern patriarchs and metropolitans certainly still regarded the pope as bishop of the old imperial capital and sole patriarch of the West. But as such he was first among equals. And this was not, say because of a special biblical promise or a legal authority. Of course, no one at that time, even in Rome would have thought that the bishops of Rome were infallible…
“Historical research, notably that of Yves Congar, has shown that down to the twelfth century, outside Rome, the significance of the Roman church was not understood as a real teaching authority in the legal sense (magisterium)… No one in the whole of the first millennium regarded decisions of the pope as infallible.
‘But historical research has also shown that the popes, particularly from the fifth century on, decisively extended their power with explicit forgeries. The freely invented legend of the holy Pope Silvester comes from the fifth/sixth centuries. In the eighth century it led to a highly influential forgery, the Donation of Constantine (shown to be a forgery in the fifteenth century), according to which Constantine left Rome and the Western half of the empire to Pope Silvester, allowed him the imperial insignia and garments (purple) and a court to match; and bestowed on him the primacy over all other churches, especially Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, and Jerusalem. In fact Constantine had left him only the Lateran palace and the new basilicas of the Lateran and St. Peter’s” Fr. Hans Kung, The Catholic Church: A Short History (2001), pp. 60-61.

Brian Tierney, Origins of Papal Infallibility, 1150-1350: A Study on the Concepts of Infallibility, Sovereignty and Tradition in the Middle Ages, affirms
“There is no convincing evidence that papal infallibility formed any part of the theological or canonical tradition of the church before the thirteenth century; the doctrine was invented in the first place by a few dissident Franciscans because it suited their convenience to invent it; eventually, but only after much initial reluctance, it was accepted by the papacy because it suited the convenience of the popes to accept it” (p. 281).
cf. also Bernhard Hasler, (Roman Catholic priest) How the Pope Became Infallible: Pius IX and the Politics of Persuasion( (1981).
 

Vatican I had said it was a part of the faith of the Latin church from the beginning. The adamant denial that this is so by academic historians including Roman Catholic academics is sometimes explained theologically with reference to the paradigm of development defended by Cardinal John Henry Newman (cf. Hegelian dialectic) which became a prominent factor in Vatican II according to Pope John Paul who called it “Newman’s Council.” Arguments to the contrary notwithstanding it seems reasonable to suggest if there is no trace of papal infallibility for the first thousand years of the Church as many scholars argue.

Catholic theologians agree that both Pope Pius IX‘s 1854 definition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary and Pope Pius XII‘s 1950 definition of the dogma of the Assumption of Mary are instances of papal infallibility. Both followed wide consultation with the bishops, as to whether these doctrines were already believed worldwide.^[12] However, theologians disagree about what other documents qualify.

Regarding historical papal documents, Catholic theologian and church historian Klaus Schatz made a thorough study, published in 1985, that identified the following list of ex cathedra documents:^[68]

1. Tome to Flavian, Pope Leo I, 449, on the two natures in Christ, received by the Council of Chalcedon;
2. Letter of Pope Agatho, 680, on the two wills of Christ, received by the Third Council of Constantinople;
3. Benedictus Deus, Pope Benedict XII, 1336, on the beatific vision of the just after death rather than only just prior to final judgment;
4. Cum occasione, Pope Innocent X, 1653, condemning five propositions of Jansen as heretical;
5. Auctorem fidei, Pope Pius VI, 1794, condemning several Jansenist propositions of the Synod of Pistoia as heretical;
6. Ineffabilis Deus, Pope Pius IX, 1854, defining the Immaculate Conception;
7. Munificentissimus Deus, Pope Pius XII, 1950, defining the Assumption of Mary.

So Rome can’t even agree on what pronouncements were infallible. It’s interesting to note that the last 2 infallible doctrine made by popes, the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of Mary, are wholly lacking in Scriptural support. The Immaculate Conception was unheard of until the 4th century. And many in the Roman Catholic church opposed it such as learned Doctor of the Roman Catholic church and theologian Thomas Aquinas. We know from Scripture that all have sinned, except Christ. We inherit the original sin of Adam. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary rests on a biased and fatuous translation of Luke 1:28 (the “full of grace” passage) that the original Greek doesn’t support! Scripture is crystal clear that all of us are sinners. That includes Mary. It is an assault on the unique nature of Christ to assert that someone else was also without any sin. Those who believe Mary was conceived without sin use tortured logic. They say that a sinless Christ could only come from a sinless Mary. Yet they concede the point that a sinless Mary came from sinful parents. 

Here is a good debate on papal infallibility between Robert Sungenis (Roman Catholic) and James White (Protestant).

 

 

We’ve been living with the threat of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 for the past 2 years. And even after over 5 million dead globally, and  nearly 800,000 dead here in the United States, there are still millions of people in America who either believe the coronavirus is a hoax, believe in some crazy QAnon conspiracy theory that the COVID-19 vaccines are deadly, preachers telling their church members that COVID-19 vaccines are  the Satanic Mark of the Beast, or those who refuse to be vaccinated. Many don’t even want to wear a mask to help stop spread the deadly virus! 

It sickens me to see how Republicans have politicized the virus. Had President Trump, Republicans in Congress and in state legislature, and Republican governors taken different actions and had they encouraged their followers to wear masks, social distance, and to, most importantly, be vaccinated then millions of American lives could have been saved. As a Conservative Christian this is outrageous and despicable behavior!

On social media,  talk radio, and cable news there are numerous voices who claim taking the vaccine is somehow an assault on their freedoms and is unpatriotic! This is nonsense. They make ridiculous assertions such as “The coronavirus is no deadlier than the flu.” and “The coronavirus vaccinated death rates are the same as the unvaccinated death rates.” Even though research has shown the coronavirus to be at least 10 times deadlier than the flu they persist in their delusions.

As the data from this paper shows, those who are unvaccinated have a significantly higher death rate, as well as having a more severe case of COVID-19 even if they don’t die.

In this past August, unvaccinated people had a 6.1 times greater risk of testing positive for COVID-19 compare to the fully vaccinated and a 11.3 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19!

 

The risk of infection, hospitalization, and death are all much lower in vaccinated compared to unvaccinated people.People who are vaccinated have dramatically lower rates of hospitization compared to the unvaccinated.

The consensus of the scientific and medical communities is overwhelmingly in favor of people being vaccinated. The real science is clear that:

• The coronavirus is deadly and even if it doesn’t kill you can result in very serious and persistent medical problems known as Long COVID.
• That those vaccinated compared to unvaccinated have much fewer hospitalizations.
• That those vaccinated compared to unvaccinated have significantly fewer deaths.

Please encourage your friends and family to wear masks, practice social distancing, and most importantly to get vaccinated! And contrary to what some anti-vaxxers say, getting the coronavirus vaccines doesn’t mean we have given in to fear. God gave us science for the benefit of mankind. As a Christian it truly infuriates and disgusts me to see some preachers weaponizing theology to discourage their congregations from being vaccinated. Jesus said what you do the least of the brethren you do to Him. And His command to love our neighbor as we love ourselves would translate to us getting vaccinated and wearing masks for the sake of our neighbors! Jesus is pro-vaccines. If the people in America in the 1950s had resisted the Polio vaccine the way Americans now are resisting the coronavirus vaccine then Polio in America would never have been wiped out and would to this very day still be a problem. 

 

 IN THE TIME OF ANY COMMON PLAGUE OR SICKNESS

O Almighty God, who in your wrath sent a plague upon your own people in the wilderness for their obstinate rebellion against Moses and Aaron, and also in the time of King David, sent a plague of pestilence which killed seventy thousand, but remembering your mercy spared the rest: have pity upon us miserable sinners, who now are visited with great sickness and mortality; and in the same way that you then accepted an atonement and commanded the destroying Angel to cease from punishing: so it may now please you to withdraw from us this plague and grievous sickness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. – BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, 1662 (ENGLAND)

The papal line of succession is riddled with political appointees, Borgias, adulterers, murderers, and power-hungry wretches who cared far more for themselves than for Christ or His flock the church. For decades there were 2 popes at the same time, and for a while even 3 popes. All of them frantically excommunicating each other and sending thousands of men to die in battle to further their own cause. Any talk of “Apostolic Succession” giving the Roman Catholic church an elevated status, much less the “One and only true Church” is rot and bunk of the highest order.. Here is a list of popes and some of their sins for you:

 

Fathered illegitimate children before Holy Orders:

Pope Pius II (1458–1464) He had at least two illegitimate children, one in Strasbourg and one in Scotland, both born before he entered the clergy. Delayed becoming a cleric because of the requirement of chastity.

Pope Innocent VIII (1484–1492) He had two illegitimate children during his youth, both born before he entered the clergy. Nepotism described as “lavish as it was shameless.” Married elder son Franceschetto Cybo to the daughter of Lorenzo de’ Medici, who in return obtained the cardinal’s hat for his 13-year-old son Giovanni, who became Pope Leo X.

Pope Clement VII (1523–1534) He had a relationship with a Nubian slave girl – possibly Simonetta da Collevecchio He had ad one illegitimate son before he took holy orders, identified as Alessandro de’ Medici, Duke of Florence.

Known to, or suspected of having fathered illegitimate children after receiving Holy Orders:

Pope Julius II (1503–1513) He had three illegitimate daughters, one of whom was Felice della Rovere (born in 1483, twenty years before his election as pope, but twelve years after his enthronement as Bishop of Lausanne). The schismatic Conciliabulum of Pisa, which sought to depose him in 1511, also accused him of being a “sodomite”. 

Pope Paul III (1534–1549) He had Silvia Ruffini as mistress Yes held off ordination in order to continue a promiscuous lifestyle, fathering four illegitimate children (three sons and one daughter) by Silvia Ruffini after his appointment as Cardinal-Deacon of Santi Cosimo and Damiano. He broke his relations with her ca. 1513. He made his illegitimate son Pier Luigi Farnese the first Duke of Parma.

Pope Gregory XIII (1572–1585) He had an affair with Maddalena Fulchini Yes received the ecclesiastical tonsure in Bologna in June 1539, but subsequently had an affair which resulted in the birth of Giacomo Boncompagni in 1548. Giacomo remained illegitimate but Gregory later appointed him Gonfalonier of the Church, governor of the Castel Sant’Angelo, as well as governor of Fermo.

Pope Leo XII (1823–1829) He was allegedly, as a young prelate, suspected of having had a liaison with the wife of a soldier of Swiss Guard and as nuncio in Germany allegedly fathered three illegitimate children.

Popes alleged to be sexually active during pontificate:

Pope Sergius III (904–911) He was accused by opponents of being the illegitimate father of Pope John XI by Marozia. Such accusations found in Liutprand of Cremona’s Antapodosis, as well as the Liber Pontificalis. The accusations are disputed by another early source, the annalist Flodoard (c. 894–966): John XI was brother of Alberic II, the latter being the offspring of Marozia and her husband Alberic I, so John too may have been the son of Marozia and Alberic I. Fauvarque emphasizes that contemporary sources are dubious, Liutprand being “prone to exaggeration” while other mentions of this fatherhood appear in satires written by supporters of Pope Formosus.

Pope John X (914–928) He had romantic affairs with both Theodora and her daughter Marozia, according to Liutprand of Cremona in his Antapodosis.
 

Pope John XII (955–963) He was accused by adversaries of adultery and incest. Benedict of Soracte noted that he had “a collection of women”. According to Liutprand of Cremona, “they testified about his adultery, which they did not see with their own eyes, but nonetheless knew with certainty: he had fornicated with the widow of Rainier, with Stephana his father’s concubine, with the widow Anna, and with his own niece, and he made the sacred palace into a whorehouse.” According to Chamberlin, John was “a Christian Caligula whose crimes were rendered particularly horrific by the office he held”. Some sources report that he died 8 days after being stricken by paralysis while in the act of adultery, others that he was killed by the jealous husband while in the act of committing adultery.

Pope Benedict IX (1032– became pope in 1044, again in 1045 and finally 1047–1048). He was accused by Bishop Benno of Piacenza of “many vile adulteries.” Pope Victor III referred in his third book of Dialogues to “his rapes… and other unspeakable acts.” His life prompted Peter Damian to write an extended treatise against illicit sex in general, and homosexuality in particular. In his Liber Gomorrhianus, Damian accused Benedict IX of routine sodomy and bestiality and sponsoring orgies. In May 1045, Benedict IX resigned his office to get married.

Pope Paul II (1464–1471) He was thought to have died of indigestion arising from eating melon, though detractors insisted that he died while engaging in sodomy with a page.
 

Pope Sixtus IV (1471–1484) Sixtus was a “lover of boys and sodomites” – awarding benefices and bishoprics in return for sexual favours, and nominating a number of young men as cardinals, some of whom were celebrated for their good looks. However, Infessura had partisan allegiances to the Colonna family and so is not considered to be always reliable or impartial.

Pope Alexander VI (1492–1503) He had a long affair with Vannozza dei Cattanei while still a priest, but before he became pope; and by her had his illegitimate children Cesare Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, Gioffre Borgia, and Lucrezia. A later mistress, Giulia Farnese, was the sister of Alessandro Farnese, and she gave birth to a daughter (Laura) while Alexander was in his 60s and reigning as pope. Alexander fathered at least seven, and possibly as many as ten illegitimate children, and did much to promote his family’s interests – using his offspring to build alliances with a number of important dynasties. He appointed Giovanni Borgia as Captain General of the Church, and made Cesare a Cardinal of the Church – also creating independent duchies for each of them out of papal lands.
 

Pope Leo X (1513–1521) He was accused, after his death, of homosexuality (by Francesco Guicciardini and Paolo Giovio). It has been suggested he may have had ulterior motives in offering preferment to Marcantonio Flaminio.
 

Pope Julius III (1550–1555) He was alleged to have had a long love affair with Innocenzo Ciocchi del Monte which was a cause of public scandal. The Venetian ambassador at that time reported that Innocenzo shared the pope’s bed.

The Inquisitions Pope Innocent IV’s papal bull Ad extirpanda of 1252, which explicitly authorized (and defined the appropriate circumstances for) the use of torture by the Inquisition for eliciting confessions from heretics. By 1256 inquisitors were given absolution if they used instruments of torture.Thousand of people were tortured to murdered in horrendously gruesome ways by the Roman Catholic church in Europe. Asia, and the Americas. With full support and blessing from the popes of the day. To claim that this line of wretched, evil, and often politically appointed men somehow makes the Roman Catholic church better than any other Church is a terrible error.

As we can see, the notion of apostolic succession in the Roman Catholic church is a joke. What  matters is fidelity to sound doctrine, not apostolic succession. These wicked popes were treated with much respect and reverence. And according to Roman Catholic theology, they were the  very Vicar of Christ, Christ’s one and only representative on earth! Can you imagine these wicked men representing Christ? It makes me nauseous!

 

 

This is Czesława Kwoka taken at the Auschwitz concentration camp, just minutes before she was murdered by the Nazis.

Her crime was being Polish, Catholic, and 14 years old.  Her red triangle was for political prisoners, because of where she was born in Poland. After this photo was taken, she was killed in Auschwitz extermination camp on March 12, 1943 with a phenol injection in the heart.  Just before the execution, she was photographed by prisoner Wilhelm Brasse, who would later testify against the executioner of Czeslawa, a woman. Just before the photo was taken, the executioner punched Czeslawa in the face, as the hematoma on her lip shows. This is the face of a terrified little girl, who didn’t even speak the language of her executioner.   She had lost her mother a few days before.  But she dried her tears to look presentable for the photo.  They took her hair and her life, but they couldn’t take her dignity. She was only one of about 250,000 children and minors who were executed in Auschwitz-Birkenau. This is what happens when hatred is cultivated in a nation and thugs gain control.  If you don’t think could happen here, you need to read Gulag Archipelago.

According to this article,  between 1.1 and 1.6 million people died in Auschwitz. 

 

Here we see the train tracks heading towards Auschwitz. The Jews and others the Nazis wanted to kill were loaded on cattle cars and taken by train to Auschwitz.

According to the Holocaust Encyclopedia at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum the number of Jews killed during the Holocaust is 6 million. A staggering 7 million Soviet civilians were killed. And a further 1.2 million non-Jewish Polish civilians. 3 million Soviet prisoners of war were killed as well.

I’m proud of my PapPap (paternal grandfather) for fighting the Nazis in Europe during World War 2! He helped put an end to the monstrous evil of Nazi Germany.

Never Forget! Sadly man’s heart is desperately wicked and utterly depraved. We have seen tens of millions of people die in genocide since World War 2 ended. We will continue to see such evil until Christ returns!

 

 I love eschatology, the study of the End Times. I am a futurist. I believe most of the prophecies in Scripture concerning the End Times are future. I am a Premillennial, which means I believe Christ will return before the Millennium. Christ will rule the world under a theocracy headquarted in Jerusalem. I am also pre-tribulationial. I believe the Body of Christ will escape the Great Tribulation, this is a terrible time when God’s wrath shall come against the world like nothing ever before! His Bride shall  be raptured out of the world before the Tribulation begins.

Many believers don’t realize it, but Premillennialism was the majority view of the Early Church. There were some who believed in Amillennialism, that there isn’t a Millennium. But Amillennialism didn’t really become a dominant view in the Church until Augustine in the early 5th century when he wrote the book “The City of God”. The Roman Catholic church has been Amillennial ever since. The Protestant Reformers were used mightily by God, but sadly, they didn’t reform enough in all areas. One area was eschatology. So they retained the Roman Catholic view of Amillennialism. This is a great shame.

“The predominant eschatological view in the Ante-Nicene period was Premillennialism, the belief of a visible reign of Christ in glory on earth with the risen saints for a thousand years, before the general resurrection and judgment.”
Source: Schaff, Philip (1914) [1882]. History of the Christian Church. Vol. II: Ante-Nicene Christianity. Charles Scribner’s Sons. p. 614.

Here are some of the Church Fathers who were Premillennial:

Papias (60-130)
Clement of Rome (90-100)
The Sherpherd of Hermas (96-150)
Ignatius of Antioch (98-117)
Barnabas (100)
The Didache (100-160)
Justin Martyr (110-165)
The Epistle of Barnabas (117-138)
Irenaeus (120-202)
Tertullian (145-220)
Hippolytus (185-236)
Cyprian (200-250)
Lactantius (260-330)

Let us be Semper Reformanda, always reforming! I believe Dispensationalists have reformed the errant view of Amillennialism and adopted the correct view of Premillennialism. I am a Reformed Baptist, yet when it comes to eschatology I am Dispensational. Unlike Covenant Theology proponents, which views God’s interaction with man in terms of covenants or agreements, we believe the correct way of looking at it is through Dispensations. Some Dispensationalists differ on how many there are, but generally most Dispensationalists agree on 7 Dispensations:

Innocence (Eden); Adam under probation prior to the Fall. Ends with expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Some refer to this period as the Adamic period or the dispensation of the Adamic covenant or Adamic law.

Conscience (fall to flood); From the Fall to the Great Flood. Ends with the worldwide deluge.

Human Government (Noah to Babel); After the Great Flood, humanity is responsible to enact the death penalty. Ends with the dispersion at the Tower of Babel. Some use the term Noahide law in reference to this period of dispensation.

Promise (Abraham to Egypt); From Abraham to Moses. Ends with the refusal to enter Canaan and the 40 years of unbelief in the wilderness. Some use the terms Abrahamic law or Abrahamic covenant in reference to this period of dispensation.

Law (Moses to John the Baptist); From Moses to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Ends with the scattering of Israel in AD70. Some use the term Mosaic law in reference to this period of dispensation.

Grace (Church age); From the cross to the rapture of the church. The rapture is followed by the wrath of God constituting the Great Tribulation. Some use the term Age of Grace or the Church Age for this dispensation.

Kingdom (Millennium); A 1000 year reign of Christ on earth centered in Jerusalem, ending with God’s judgment on the final rebellion.

“There was a time when it was almost the case that the only people who believed in the Bible were the dispensationalists. That liberal theology can come into the mainline denominations… the evangelical church was really either nonexistent or almost exclusively dispensationalist. Then the language was either modernist or fundamentalist and the fundamentalists were utterly heroic.”
~ R.C. Sproul Jr.

 
Let us always be ready for the Lord’s return. Scripture says He will come like a thief in the night. We must  be prepared at all times for an imminent Rapture! This is our blessed hope. MARANATHA!

 

 

 

 

I wrote this poem 10 years ago, to honor the samurai of Japan!

 

Swords raised. 
太刀は抜かれた。

Senses heightened.
五感が高ぶる。

Tempered minds
鍛精した心が

command cold steel
冷たい鉄刀を操る

glimmering in dawn’s light.
黄昏の光とちらめついた。

Sharpened by intention,
武士道ひとすじへの

Bushido,
こころ意気と

the warrior’s code
武人の鉄則が

restricts and defines
最終試練の

a final test.
決定役を果たす時となった。

A struggle for honor.
栄誉への闘争。

What is lost
勝には

in winning,
どんな負けがあり

what is won
負けには

in losing?
どんな勝があるだろうか？

Every move calculated,
一挙一動が算定され

a parry for a thrust,
打突へのかわしや

a counter for each form.
ひとつひとつの動作への反作用。

This deadly calculus
この致死的算法が

plays out,
繰り広げられ

all the training,
すべての練成や

dedication and sacrifice
献身と犠牲が今

reduced, refined
切り詰められ洗練され

to one last move,
畢竟最終の動きとなる

now it comes.
今その時がきた。

The air sings.
せっぱ詰まったた空気。

As the blades dance
刃が

to a harmony,
調合的に踊り

only two can hear
精確さと

precision coupled
激烈さが

with intensity.
二人に絡み合う。

Reality drops away,
実在性は消え失し

only dazzling swordplay
ただまばゆい交刃のひらめきが

suspended in time.
時の流れに浮遊する。

A lone cherry blossom falls.
たった一つの桜の花が

As the final stroke connects,
最後の一撃で落ちた。

blood sprays
血潮のしぶきは

soaring into the sky,
空に舞い

release.
放出された。

The samurai’s soul
でも武士の魂は

not broken
崩壊されず

transformed
美しい

a beautiful match!
勝負となって変わり残った。

 

— Zachary Uram, (c) 2011 フレッド林　　訳

I slowly walk down the street
It’s a chilly autumn day
A kaleidoscope of colorful leaves
They crunch underfoot

A lone raven flies above
Circling in the sky
Looking for something to eat
It caws at me

Cars whiz past
I wonder who they are
Where they are going
Do they see me?

It’s a cloudy day
Shafts of sunlight
Peek through thick clouds
I feel tired yet I’m happy

I arrive at the park
The bushes and trees are bare
I see a lone deer
Finally, I’m at peace
 

by Zachary Uram (c) 2021

We as humans are beings created by God and we possess an immortal soul. Scripture clearly teaches that when we die we will go to either Heaven (if we are in Christ) or Hell (if we die apart from saving faith in Him).

What is Hell like? Who goes there? Is there a chance to be redeemed in Hell? What happens to a soul in Hell?

I believe Scripture clearly teaches that Hell will be a place of eternal conscious torment (ECT).

Revelation 20:10:

The Devil who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

The pronoun they in that verse refers back to the Devil, the Beast (aka Antichrist) and the False Prophet. So Satan and some humans will suffer for eternity. According to Scripture, their eternal destiny will be torment day and night forever and ever. That equals eternal torment. From this we can also conclude that the souls of the Antichrist and False  Prophet are eternal, since they won’t be annihilated out of existence. This same truth is repeatedly substantiated throughout Scripture. Moreover, the Greek word translated tormented in Rev. 20:10, with its meaning, is:

basanizo, bas-an-id’-zo; from G931; to torture:–pain, toil, torment,   toss, vex.

Basanizo(6) is found elsewhere:

And suddenly they [demons] cried out, saying, “What have we to do   with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” (Mt. 8:29, NKJV).

That verse reveals that the demons already know what their future destiny will be, that is, torment not annihilation. Consequently, this   verse and Rev. 20:10 together give us in-depth insights into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

Then He will also say to those on the left hand, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil   and his angels” (Mt. 25:41, NKJV).

Some people teach that the wicked who are damned will have their souls annihilated when they die. I believe this is heresy! Scripture clearly teaches ECT: Matthew 25:41, 46; Mark 9:42–48; 2 Thessalonians 1:5–10; Revelation 14:9– 11; and Revelation 20:10, 14–15.

Jesus declares in Matthew 25:41 that the destiny of the wicked who are unsaved is “the eternal fire prepared for the devil.” Matthew 25:46 uses the same adjective, eternal, to describe the fates of the lost and saved: “eternal punishment” and “eternal life.” Jesus depicts “hell” as a place “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:47–48). Paul’s reference to “eternal destruction” in 2 Thessalonians 1:9, indicates a figurative devastation that the damned will experience forever in hell, separated from the Lord’s presence. Revelation 14:10, where we read that the impenitent “will be tormented with burning sulfur,” depicts the hellfire imagery as agony, not annihilation. John speaks of everlasting torment when he adds, “and the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever” (v. 11). John’s description of Satan’s fate in Revelation 20:10 as being placed in “the lake of fire and sulfur” and being “tormented day and night for ever and ever” signifies everlasting pain, a fate that lost human beings share (Rev. 20:15).

Throughout Church history, ECT has been the majority view. Here is a partial list of some of the great Christian theologians who  have upheld ECT: Tertullian, Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Edwards, Wesley, Francis Pieper, Louis Berkhof, Lewis Sperry Chafer, and Millard Erickson.

Here is a list of 10 verses in Scripture which teach ECT.

Scripture in no way teaches annihilationism (that the souls of the wicked will cease to exist) or universalism (that every soul will be saved). Sadly many pastors and theologians are now teaching either annihilationism or universalism.

If you are reading this and are not saved, please don’t delay, repent of your sins, believe the Gospel (that Christ the Second Person of the Triune God led a sinless life on earth, died for your sins, and resurrected on the third day.) and trust in Christ alone and live for Him. If you do this you will be saved and will escape the horrible eternal torment of Hell!

 

 

Augustine wrote a short treatise (in Latin) on demons, De divinatione daemonorum / On the divination of demons. He discusses the powers of demons and how they operate in deceiving us. The English Translation was done by Dr. Mattias Gassman.

Augustine say demons have swiftness of movement and keen senses. They can perceive things which we humans can’t. Also due to their very long set of experiences they can perceive things which we can’t.

Some other things Augustine says about demons:

• Demons can predict things which will happen. They can alter things which are visible to us, to make them appear to be something they aren’t.
• Demons can cause sickness in people. They can change the air to cause these sicknesses.
• Demons can send thoughts into our minds, whether we are awake or asleep.

But we should fear not, for the  Lord will prevail against them.

Here is the Microsoft Word file (.docx) which you may download. There is also a PDF document here.

The Bible does clearly speak to the existence of demons, and the power Jesus and His disciples had to control them. Today in the West most people, even most Christians, are ignorant of the reality of demons and the spiritual warfare raging constantly around us. Scripture is also clear that people can be possessed by demons.

Demons are spiritual beings. Yet they can take shape, form and be visible to humans (Job 4:15). They can attack us in a number of ways. Some examples from Scripture include:

• Physical Illness
• Mental Impairment
• The Spread of False Doctrine
• Spiritual Warfare
• Possession

The Bible also teaches that angels will be judged by us! Paul asked the Corinthians, “Do you not know that we are to judge angels?” (1 Cor. 6:3). Perhaps this will occur during the Millennial Kingdom when Christ will rule for a 1,000 years from Jerusalem.

Demons are fallen angels who sided with Satan in rebellion against God. Thus they are enemies of God, but they are already defeated by Jesus! Christ has “disarmed the powers and authorities,” and He has “made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15). If we submit to God and resist the devil, we have nothing to fear. “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Here are some verses from the Bible about demons.

We should remember that as Christians we have the Holy Spirit living inside us so it is absolutely impossible for a Christian to be possessed by a demon. Demons can oppress us though. But we have power through Christ to resists their attacks and to defeat them!