November 17, 2010


Plainer Words Since 1968

PLAINER WORDS ONLINE …THE LAKE OF FIRE

Part 2

In our previous studies concerning “The Visible Hell,” it was pointed out that the “Valley of the son of Hinnom,” over the years, was referred to by several different names, such as:

1. The Valley of Hinnom

2. The Valley of Tophet or Topheth

3. The Valley of Slaughter

The worship of Molech and Baal continued, to some degree or another, until King Josiah showed-up in the year of 624 B.C., 378 years after Solomon pleased his “strange wives” by building the “high places.” Josiah did a thorough Kingdom-cleansing—he was not a “Reformer.” He was a Cleanser!

 “And he [Josiah] caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand [pledge themselves] to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the LORD their God. And all his days they departed not from following the LORD, the God of their fathers” (2 Chronicles 34:32-33).

After the practice of child sacrifice was outlawed by King Josiah, the Valley of Tophet became a refuse site where animal carcasses, waste, and the bodies of criminals were dumped, with fires burning continuously to keep disease at bay. It became a synonym for “hell” (Isa 66:24), as stated in “Fausset’s Bible Dictionary.” Josiah didn’t “pull a Hezekiah,” which is to say; King Josiah (the Cleanser) didn’t try to reform Molech-worship. No, indeed! Instead, HE KILLED IT! In the Land of the LORD, Josiah KIILLED MOLECH and BAAL WORSHIP!

We wonder how many Hebrew children were sacrificed to Molech and Baal over the 378 year period that the pagan altars stood in the Valley of Tophet?

JOSIAH’S WORK AS THE “CLEANSER”

At the age of eight, Josiah became the 15th King of Judah (641 B.C.). He reigned for 31 years. The Kingdom of Judah had 20 kings. Out of the twenty kings of Judah, there were only eight who were considered good. Josiah was the 8th good king. By way of contrast, the Kingdom of Israel did not have one good king out of their 19 Kings.

(Out of 44 Presidents of the United States, I wonder how many would be ranked as GOOD?).

Josiah began the work as “Judah’s Cleanser King.”  

”For in the eighth year of his reign [he was 16], while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge [he was 20 years old] Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images” (2 Chronicles 34:2).

He cleansed (defiled, desecrated ) Topheth in order that no one could use it to sacrifice his son, or daughter in the fire of the Valley (2 Kings 23:10). Josiah smashed the sacred images into pieces, cut down the groves (phallic symbols), to wit, Asherah poles, and filled their places with bones (2 Kings 23:14).

In the practice of Molech and Baal worship, the “high places,” associated with them, were symbols which were significant only to those who were initiated into the mysteries of the religions. Notice the words that were associated with the two religions:

High Places – Groves – Asherah – Phallic symbols—Houses of sodomites.

Josiah wasn’t finished cleansing the “Valley of Gei-hinnom,” to wit, The Valley of the son of Hinnom. “Gei-Hinnom” is the Hebrew for the Greek word, “Gehenna.” He discovered the tombs that were there …

“And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words” (2 Kings 23:16).

The bones in the sepulchers were those of former priests of Molech. These were the priests who conducted the rites of live-child-cremation. The Molech Priesthood were the “Facilitators” in the offering of children to fire of Molech.  More insight is given in the burning of the pagan priests’ bones.

“And he [Josiah] slew all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars, and burned men's bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem” (2 Kings 23:20).

Josiah was unaware that the work he was doing was in fulfillment of a prophecy by “a man of God” 226 years before he was born.

“And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.  And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar [“O altar” is a Figure for Jeroboam] thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he OFFER THE PRIESTS OF THE HIGH PLACES that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee” (1 Kings 13:1-2).

Josiah’s name was even foretold 226 years before his birth by the un-named “man of God.” The prophesied King of Judah, Josiah, was going to repay the priests of the “high places,” for their capital crimes, by offering them as sacrifices to their false god, Molech. Josiah slaughtered the priests of Molech and Baal by Divine decree. Then, he had them thrown into the sacrificial fires and burned human bones on top of them (2 Kings 13:2 - NIV). As far as the Molech/Baal Priesthood was concerned, they became victims of their own doing—whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap (Gal. 6:7b).

The Prophet Jeremiah commented on the slaughter of the idolatrous Priesthood by Josiah.

“They have built also the high places of Baal [as well as Molech], to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind: Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter” (Jer. 19:5-6).

Josiah utterly destroyed all of the sites associated with Molech/Baal worship—the central site of child-alive-cremation, auxiliary sites, the houses of the sodomites, as well as tents of prostitution on “high places” all over the land of Israel. The Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of Israel had sunk to the bottom of the well of iniquity. All of the cleansing of Judah was prompted by the discovery of the written Word of God.

Josiah was constrained to restore the Kingdom to a “right-standing” before the LORD with the finding of Moses’ Book of the Law. Josiah began to repair the neglected Temple. Moses' copy of the Law in his own handwriting, or, at least, the original Temple copy from his, was found. That the Law was not previously unknown appears from the king's conduct on its discovery. He, at once, accepted its authority without mistrust as genuine and authentic, and read, or caused it to be read in the ears of all the men of Judah, the priests, and the prophets.

“And the king [Josiah] went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, great and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the LORD. And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book. And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the LORD their God. And all his days they departed not from following the LORD, the God of their fathers” (2 Chron. 34:30-33).

From the time of Josiah, onward, the Jews abhorred the Valley where Molech worship had thrived for several hundred years.  Josiah “killed” all remnants of this false religion. He showed no mercy; there were no half-way measures by Josiah. The bodies of all who were slaughtered were delivered to the Valley located several miles South of Latitude 31.47’ North, and Longitude 35.10’ East, and their carcasses were burned to ashes. To show their disgust for what had transpired there, this became where not only refuse was thrown and burned-up, but dead animals and unburied criminals were, also, cast into this—lake of fire—thus, ridding the place of putrefaction.