Why Did Yahushua the Messiah Have to Die?

Why did Yahushua the messiah have to die for our sins in order for us to attain salvation and eternal life?

Many believe they know the answer and point to various passages in Scriptures to demonstrate their understanding of Yahweh’s truth.

For instance, a common answer given is that Yahushua, by shedding his blood as the perfect sacrifice, forgives and redeems us from our sins. The messiah now gives us grace or free gift of salvation and eternal life.

The frequently referenced passage of Scriptures is from the book of John, which states:

For the deity so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

So it would seem that it is merely sufficient to have faith to be saved.

At this point, we still do not have an answer to why the messiah had to die for our personal sins. Several questions are now prompted: Continue reading “Why Did Yahushua the Messiah Have to Die?” →

Three Heavens in Scriptures

We will examine the fact that in Scriptures, there are three regions of רקיע (raqiya; open expanse),¹ i.e., different realms, each called “heavens.”

Father Yahweh dwells in what is defined as the “third heavens,” the sun, moon, and stars occupy the “second heavens,” and flying birds and clouds are contained in the “first heavens” (i.e., in the atmosphere surrounding the earth).

The evidence will prove that no man—with only the exception of Yahushua the messiah, and then only in those periods before and after his fleshly, earthly existence as a human—has ever dwelt in the third heavens with father Yahweh.

The fundamental error made by those who would have mortal humans go off to heaven to be with father Yahweh before death, resurrection, and quickening is their confounding of the three different realms called “heavens.” Continue reading “Three Heavens in Scriptures” →

Does Hell Exist? – Part 2

Quite opposite to the pagan notion of a conscious existence in a mythical underworld for immortal souls (whether Greek, Egyptian, Babylonian, etc.), there is no life or conscious existence in the sheol of Scriptures.

No Thought in Sheol
The following scriptural verses fully demonstrate the complete absence of thought in sheol:

Return Yahweh, rescue my nephesh; save me for your mercy’s sake; for there is no memory in death, in sheol who will give thanks to you? (Psalm 6:5)

What profit is in my blood in going down to the שוח (shuch; pit, grave); will you thank the ‘aphar? Will it (the ‘aphar) thank you? Will it declare your truth?(Psalm 30:9)

The above Psalms refer to the fact that after returning to the ‘aphar a dead person has no ability to thank anyone or receive thanks, for they are unable to speak or understand the speech of someone living. A parallel thought is expressed in the rhetorical question asked by Heman the Ezrahite. He notes that nothing can come from sheol, the land of נשיה (neshyah; oblivion)⁴⁹ and the dark state of death. Continue reading “Does Hell Exist? – Part 2” →

Does Hell Exist? – Part 1

What happens to a person when they die? Is it possible for one to be condemned to suffer for eternity in an underworld of fiery torment called hell? To answer, we must address the Yahwehist concept of the Hebrew word sheol, translated into Greek as “hades.”

The term sheol is found 65 times in the Old Testament and 10 times in the New Testament under the Greek form hades. Unfortunately, these two terms are commonly rendered as “hell” in the English translations.

Sheol is not, as popularly construed, a place where after death, the wicked dwell as conscious, thinking, disembodied immortal souls. Rather, it is a “state of being” for the deceased person (nephesh) of every human, whether just or unjust—a circumstance equated with darkness. It is not so much the “grave” where the remains of the nephesh lie, but rather the “state of the remains” within the grave. Continue reading “Does Hell Exist? – Part 1” →