When we think of our destiny we think of either Heaven or Hell. While there assuredly is an actual Heaven and an actual Hell, the main teaching of the New Testament is not based on this simple division. In fact, the Apostle Paul does not use the term "Hell" in any of his epistles, which would not be the case if deliverance from Hell were the central topic of the Gospel of the Kingdom.

The principal teaching of Christ and His Apostles is eternal life, that is the attainment to the resurrection of life. It is life that is stressed in the Gospels and the Epistles, not residence in Heaven.

This is not to imply that Hell and the Lake of Fire are not places to be feared. The Scripture teaches that those whose names are not found in the Book of Life will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. Those who are thrown into the Lake of Fire will be whole personalities—resurrected flesh and bones, soul, and spirit. These personalities will perish in that they no longer will be able to move about in the creation of God, but they never will cease to exist. They will be in endless torment.

They will be viewed with contempt by the members of the saved nations.

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 their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind. (Isaiah 66:23,24—NIV)

If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. (Matthew 5:29—NIV)

There are several possible destinations of the righteous, in that Jesus spoke of greatest and least in the Kingdom, and Paul spoke of being saved as by fire.

The Heaven-Hell concept is more Gnostic than Christian. The idea of the Christian salvation is not to get the inward, spiritual nature of man into a spirit paradise. The Christian salvation is the cultivation of Christ in the inward nature so at the coming of the Lord the outward man can be raised from the dead and filled with Christ. The Christian salvation is one of victory, of overcoming sin and death through the Life of Jesus Christ, and then the restoration of Paradise on the earth, not just that of escaping torment. The Glory of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (as the waters of eternal life cover the dead sea of mankind). This is salvation. This is redemption. This is the Kingdom of God that is at hand.

The Christian salvation is infinitely superior to the Gnostic philosophy. Let's kick out every trace of Gnostic thinking we can find. Let's get it out of here just as the Jews sweep out leaven from their homes during the Passover. Let's get the very smell of it out of our assemblings and start preparing people for the Day of the Lord and the resurrection of the dead.

To be continued.