Dear Mountaineers: Pictured below is a current picture of the Valley of Gehenna. As I gazed at the photographs I tried to picture in my-minds-eye the horrors which took place there before King Josiah "killed" Molech worship, and the later years when it was the place in which all trash was dumped and burned. It was also the depository for the carcases of animals and that of dead men where "the fire was not quenched and their worm dieth not." This will be the future site of "The Lake of Fire." I suggest you view this by clicking "Maximize" on your email.
Sincerely in Christ Jesus,
Tom L. Ballinger
PLAINER WORDS ONLINE … Photo 2 ─ The Tombs of The Valley of Gehenna
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Tombs of the Priests in the Valley of Gehenna, may have been the Tombs of some of the Priest’s of Molech. A close look shows what is believed to be a grotto where the children of Israel were offered to Molech by being burned-alive. The photograph was taken in October 2007 (posted on Wikipedia).
Plainer Words since 1968
February 4, 2011
PLAINER WORDS ONLINE … THE LAKE OF FIRE
Part 5
“And the whole Valley of the Dead Bodies [i.e., Gehenna], and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever” (Jeremiah 31:40).
Jeremiah, the Prophet, wrote a lot about the valley South of Jerusalem. Here, in Chapter 31, Verse 40, he referred to it as “The Valley of Dead Bodies.” The valley’s various names were very descriptive; we had to identify this additional title.
During the days of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Kingdom of Heaven/God was “at hand” (Matthew 3:2, 4:17, and Luke 21:31). The “at hand” Kingdom was the Hope of Israel in its narrow outlook. But, in its broader view, the Kingdom was the prophetic fact that the Lord Jesus will rule and reign over all of the nations of the world. It will be during the Pre-Millennial Kingdom that the “restitution of all things” (Acts 3:21) will take place. The earth and its atmosphere will be restored to its Pre-Noah-Flood-Condition. The typography will change, inasmuch as, the inhospitable places will become more hospitable. The canopy (i.e., the firmament) will, again, encase the globe. Furthermore, the Bible indicates the topography of the earth’s surface will be altered which will cause the Valley, in question, to become wider and deeper (Isaiah 30:33).
Today, the Valley is rather narrow. If it were filled full of fire, it would be more like a River of Fire. It will widen, substantially, so that when it is filled with fire, it would have the shape and dimensions of a lake.
The Lord Jesus Christ will be settled in God’s Throne in the Heavens, and He ushers in “His Day.” He will speak, audibly, from Heaven (Psalm 46:6), and begin to judge the living and the dead at His Appearing and Kingdom (2 Timothy 4:1). This signifies that the living will be adjudicated first; then, all of the dead. Acts 17:31 describes this event which takes place when the Dispensation of Grace ends, and the Day of Jesus Christ becomes manifest.
Most authorities of Biblical exposition have very little to say about Acts 17:31 because they cannot find where it belongs dispensationally. Hence, it is left without exposition in the Bible Commentaries.
“Because He hath appointed a Day [the Day of Christ], in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man [Jesus Christ] whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).
This informs us that when Christ Jesus judges the quick and the dead (2 Tim. 4:1), He does not raise the dead; then, JUDGE THEM. But rather, He judges the dead while they are in the state of death; that is, every human being since Adam unto the Day He begins this judgment. Those who He approves, He will raise them to live-again under His Pre-Millennial Reign of the world. The living who are not deemed worthy to live on earth, during His rule, will find themselves being purged from “His floor” and being deposited in what had been called Gehenna, as per:
“Whose fan is in His hand, and He will throughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12 and Luke 3:17).
“His floor” speaks of the earth. It will be perfectly cleansed from sin and sinner. The Pre-Millennial Government of God begins with a perfectly clean slate, as do the other nations—free of all corruption. The worthless men will be burned up, like chaff, with unquenchable fire in the Pre-Millennial Gehenna.
When the Lord Jesus Christ, in the days of His flesh, taught about “hell” and “hell fire,” He used the common name of Jerusalem’s garbage dump, a site for refuse, a depository of worthless and useless matter—GEHENNA. His warning of a future “hell” and “hell fire” referred to the “Gehenna” which will exist when His world-wide Government is established.
Psalms 67:4 predicted: “O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for Thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.”
He will have His “hell,” during the Pre-Millennial Kingdom of God, which will be the depository of useless and worthless men. They will be “cast” into the fires of “Gehenna.” No human being, as yet, has experienced “Gehenna.”
The Pre-Millennial prophecy of Isaiah 65:17-18 declares that God will create “new heavens, and a new earth,” and that’s not all; He will create a New Jerusalem. That is to say, new in respect to its environment, its topography, its character, its dignity, its rulers, and its glorious magnificence. It is not the “New” one that comes down from God out of Heaven, but a new one prior to the New Jerusalem of Revelation 21.
Again, let it be said, and fully recognized, that the following passages relate to The Day of Christ.
“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy” (Isaiah 65:17-18).
All through the Pre-Millennial Kingdom of God, the Bible informs us that “Gehenna” will no longer be a narrow ravine. It will be widened and deepened. It will be filled with an abundance of wood, for fuel, and it will burn like it was fueled with sulfur and ignited by “the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it” (Isaiah 30:33). “Brimstone” is sulfur. The breath of the LORD is LIKE a stream of SULFUR which means; it burns with a blue flame.
Parenthetically, I might add, this was where Judas Iscariot fell when he committed suicide. He was disemboweled when he fell into the Valley as he went to his “own place” (Acts 1:25).
Having mentioned, parenthetically, about Judas Iscariot, perhaps, this is where I should mention what the Jewish “Kabbalah” says about Gehenna. The definition of the Jewish sect, “Kabbalah,” is; “1.: a medieval and modern system of Jewish theosophy, mysticism, and thaumaturgy (i.e., magic) marked by belief in creation through emanation and a cipher method of interpreting Scripture 2 a : a traditional, esoteric, occult, or secret matter b : esoteric doctrine or mysterious art.” This very belief system the Apostle Paul warned us about in staying true to the “sound words” of the Mystery: “Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth” (Titus 1:14).
There are Christian Jewish Rabbis who are Kabbalahlists . You can find a number of web sites which promote their teaching of the New Testament. They contend that their Jewish “mind,” or Jewish background of Scripture, provides them with the accurate source for proper New Testament interpretation. (Meaning, the poor Gentile believer must learn the mind-set of Judaism, since the writers of the Bible were Jews, in order to get a true interpretation of Scripture. The Rabbi believes that for this reason, the Christian Jewish Rabbi fills a much needed void).
Wikipedia states—“The Kabbalah explains Gehenna as a ‘waiting room’ for all souls. The longest one can spend in Gehenna is twelve months. This is where the soul is purified [from this comes the concept of ‘Purgatory].’” This is from the aspect of rabbinical mysticism. What a difference between the Word of Truth and the mysticism of the New Testament rabbis. It appears that the “Purgatory” of Roman Catholicism stems from the teachings of the Kabbalah.
GEHENNA--THE PRE-MILLENNIAL KINGDOM’S VISIBLE HELL
My eleven-part study on the Book of Daniel, “A Fresh Look at Daniel,” has led me to believe that the Pre-Millennial Kingdom of God will last approximately seven-hundred years. (Read the study at www.PlainerWords.com ). During this time, Gehenna will remain in the Valley where it has always existed albeit it had been known by other names over the hundreds of years of its infamy.
Yet again, it will be pointed out that over a period of about 700 years, from King Josiah to the time of Jesus of Nazareth, the Valley in question has had at least six names:
1. The Valley of Hinnom
2. The Valley of Tophet
3. The Valley of Slaughter
4. The Valley of Bones
5. The Valley of Dead Bodies
6. The Valley of Gehenna
The Valley of Gehenna, during The Day of Christ, will no longer be a site for garbage, and worthless matter. It will be the exclusive site for the living-human-chaff described in Matthew 3:12 and Luke 3:17. This is when God purge’s the whole earth of wickedness, just as King Josiah eliminated all that related to Molech Worship. It will be the destiny for those who Christ deems to be “wicked” during the Administration of His Kingdom.
When the Kingdom is inaugurated, there will be no evil or wicked people on earth. But, over time, wickedness rears its ugly head. The wickedness will be the “tares” as described and found in “The Parable of the Tares Among the Wheat” in Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43. The “tares” are made up of the offspring of children born during the Kingdom. Of course, not all children born during the Kingdom turn out to be “tares.” Due to the Day of Christ restraints, employed by the Holy Spirit, overt evil and wickedness are greatly restricted. However, judgment is meted-out, for individual sin (Jeremiah 31:30), early, every morning in the Holy Land and in-and-around Jerusalem:
“I will early destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the City of the LORD” (Psalm 101:8).
A very poignant fact is that God’s first condemnations begin with the politicians who are administering His Government. The “tares,” like their father, the Devil, begin to infiltrate the Lord Jesus’ Government as they do in all other Godly institutions. Notice what the Psalmist says about this future time;
“When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever: But thou, LORD, art most high for evermore. For, lo, thine enemies, O LORD, for, lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered” (Psalm 92:7-9).
During the Day of Christ, despite all of the benefits provided by Christ Himself; such as, a disease-free world, the curse of Adam’s sin is removed, totally, no one dies because of Adam’s sin, death is the result of a person’s own transgression, the length of life will be equivalent to the Pre-Flood life expectancy , the whole world will have been Divinely enlightened concerning Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit will direct everyone’s actions, it will be a time of world-wide peace, no famines, no natural catastrophes or calamities, no accidental deaths, no stillborn births, no deformed babies, nations learn the ways of God, God appoints government leaders, the Holy Spirit restrains sin and evil, Israel becomes a Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation, and Christ will show up in Jerusalem’s Temple on Memorial Days and brake bread with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Twelve Governors of the Twelve tribes of Israel, as well as faithful dignitaries, such as, Paul.
But, according to the Lord’s plan, the Spirit begins to relax His restraints, and wicked actions begin to appear, and the “tares” see that they can get away with wicked deeds, so they become bolder. It will be discovered that some of the Officials in The Government of Israel are doers of corruption. This will bring into being the Apostle Peter’s pronouncement made several thousand years ahead of the time when it becomes a reality.
JUDGMENT MUST BEGIN AT THE HOUSE OF GOD
“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the House of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17).
This is a profound truth. I don’t dare explain what I see in this verse. If the judgment begins with those at the House of God, WHAT SHALL THE END BE OF THEM THAT OBEY NOT THE GOSPEL OF GOD?
The House of God will be the House of Government Officials. The word, “House,” in this context is like; in our lexicons, we have: the Court House, the House of Congress, the State House, the White House, the House of Parliament, and the House of Lords. Here, in 1 Peter 1:17, we have the HOUSE OF GOD!! Some officials of God’s Government will begin to be exposed as “Quislings” in God’s Government. For some of you young “Whipper Snappers” who don’t know about Quisling, I’ll give a brief explanation. During World War II, a Norwegian by the name of Vidkun Quisling assisted Nazi Germany after they conquered Vidkum’s own country (Norway) so that he could rule the collaborationist Norwegian government himself. Hence, writers have, since, called traitors as being “Quislings.” Just think, dear friends; our Lord Jesus Christ will have “Quislings” in His Pre-Millennial Government. These “Quislings” were foreshadowed by one of His Own, an appointed Apostle—Judas Iscariot.
“Gehenna” will be a place where civilian citizens of Israel will be sentenced. Those who didn’t heed the warnings Christ made in the Gospels concerning “it will better to do so- and-so than to have your life snuffed out in Hell” – Hell fire ─ to wit, Gehenna. There is no exit from “Gehenna.” No exit? Correct; there will be no way out! In plainer words, no one will ever come out of “Gehenna” alive—the “gates of Gehenna” will prevail against those who “are cast” into it.
As the conspiracies in God’s Government begin to unravel, more and more “Quislings” are exposed. The cleansing of the House of God uncovers, or reveals the Satanic plot, which is, to take over God’s Government. “Quislings” are being routed and disposed of in “Gehenna.” This exposure results in an open rebellion against the Lord Jesus Christ and His Monarchy. Psalm 2 gives a prophetic picture of “the man of sin’s” doomed rebellion.
We will repeat our self by saying; the Lord Jesus Christ will have collaborators in His Government, who conspire with the Anti-Christ and his high command during the consummation of the Kingdom. Those who are discovered will find their place in “Gehenna.” Those who are not discovered will go on to attempt to annihilate the Jews and destroy their nation. The conspirators will make a covenant with the rebellious and apostate Jews. This begins the TRIBULATION.