As we have said, the Scriptures, Old Testament and New, do not point toward Heaven as the eternal home of the saints. There certainly is an actual Heaven but the Scriptures do not teach we shall live there forever. Search the Scriptures and see if what we are saying is true.

Now we have come to the other end of the problem—what we are saved from. If we are not saved to Heaven, then what are we saved from?

Let us think about some popular expressions that are not found in the New Testament:

Saved from Hell.

Save souls from Hell.

Save souls.

The unsaved.

A passion for souls.

A decision for Christ.

A desire to see souls saved.

A concern for souls.

A devil's Hell.

We are not claiming that there is no Hell (there certainly is!) or that the concepts listed above are incorrect or not of God. What we are stating is that these expressions are not found in the Scriptures. Whether the phrases are right or wrong, we need to begin preaching and teaching what the Bible says and not what we think it says. Oftentimes a slight deviation from the words of the Scriptures indicates a serious alteration of the Gospel message.

Hell has never belonged to the devil. It is not a "devil's Hell" in spite of the proclamation of the evangelists. It always has been and always will be God's Hell. It is God's prison where He confines the wicked of the earth. The Lord Jesus, not Satan, carries the keys of Hell.

I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. (Revelation 1:18)

The expression "save souls from Hell" does not appear in any of Paul's writings. In fact, the term "Hell" is not used in any of Paul's writings.

How many times are the expressions "save souls from Hell" and "save souls" used in evangelical preaching, and yet such terminology is not found in the Epistles?

Obviously our preaching in this area is unscriptural. In fact, a great deal of today's preaching is not found in the Bible. Maybe its time to sharpen the axe. We need to rethink what we are talking about until our speech lines up with the Word of God.

The New Testament does not emphasize saving souls from Hell. It does warn us concerning the fiery Gehenna and the need for deliverance from destruction in the day of God's wrath. However, both the Old Testament and the New Testament emphasize passing from spiritual death to eternal life!

We are supposed to be selling life insurance, not fire insurance.

"The soul that sinneth shall die," not the soul that sinneth shall go to Hell.

The "wages of sin is death," not the wages of sin is Hell.

We are on the wrong track in our thinking and preaching and we need to seek the Lord until we get back in line with the Word of God. We may think that death is a synonym of Hell but it is not.

We may think that eternal life is a synonym of Heaven but it is not. The Scriptures mean exactly what they say.

To be continued.