Perdition's Population Clock

[Beetow]

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There's any number of ways the lost could be making their journey to the
netherworld. For example instead of being dragged underground by ghastly beings
such as those depicted in the movie "GHOST", they may just fall down into the
ground like water through a sieve.

That's not a ridiculous idea seeing as deceased folk leave this world as disembodied
spirits. According to Luke 24:39 & John 4:24 spirit is immaterial, i.e. it has no mass
to speak of so its movement isn't impeded by solid materials like metal and dirt, or
wood and stone.

And spirit takes up no space. For example the feral man of Mark 5:1-13 was
possessed by a community of spirits who labeled themselves Legion, defined by
Webster's as the principal unit of the Roman army comprising 3,000 to 6,000 foot
soldiers with cavalry. The legion of spirits that left that man went out and took up
residence in a herd of about 2,000 swine.

That's a pretty good example of how spirits take up no room in the physical world;
nor do they crowd each other. All 3,000 to 6,000 of those spirits managed to fit
inside the bodily cargo area of just that one guy. Just imagine the number of spirits
that could fit into the passenger area of an SUV.

NOTE: Those spirits slipped right out of that man. There was no need to cut him
open so they could evacuate.
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[Beetow]

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● Job 14:14 . . If a man dies, will he live again?

Back in ancient times; men like Job were attuned to nature. In point of fact, Job
was a very successful rancher; a guy who made his living working outdoors.

Every year he watched things die in the Fall and come back in the Spring. If only
human life were like that; but alas, when people die they typically don't regenerate
like the new leaves on a dormant maple tree.

● 1Pet 1:24 . . All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the
field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of The Lord stands
forever.

POP CLOCK UPDATE: 175 days have transpired since beginning the thread. If the
figures in post No.1 are within reason, then something like 13,431,600 new arrivals
have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since Dec 15, 2024.
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[Beetow]

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FAQ: The Bible says folks not found registered in the Lamb's book of life will be sent
to the second death depicted by Rev 20:11-15. Will they be consumed by the
brimstone and gone forever?

REPLY: The properties of natural materials can be adjusted to withstand fire. For
example the burning bush per Ex 3:1-3, the three Jewish lads in the furnace per
Dan 3:23-27, and the worms per Isa 66:23-24.
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[Beetow]

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● Luke 16:27-29 . . I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have
five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of
torment.

The five brothers would more than likely recognize Lazarus because he was laid at
the rich man's gate; so that whenever they came over for a visit; there he'd be for
them to walk past.

I can well imagine that the men would be fascinated by Lazarus' tale but not
fascinated enough to make a difference because Abraham assured the rich man
that his brothers wouldn't believe Lazarus; and honestly: who in their right mind
would; especially a tale coming from a no-account indigent whose body covered
with sores very likely wasn't even given a decent burial but instead dumped without
ceremony in a landfill somewhere?
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[Beetow]

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The Lord wasn't looking for people's religion on Passover night, nor was He looking
for people's piety and/or their conduct . He was looking for just one thing, and one
thing only: the blood.

That being the case, then had a Jewish family failed to apply the blood in the proper
manner, their first-born son would've been slain. On the other hand; were an
Egyptian family careful to apply the blood in the proper manner, their son would've
been spared because the The Lord is neither biased nor prejudiced.

Along that same line; Jesus' blood will protect anybody and everybody who applies
it in the proper manner because he died for all; no exceptions regardless of age,
race, gender identity and/or religious affiliation. But many won't be protected by his
blood, because they will neglect to apply it at all, let alone properly.
_

 

[Beetow]

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Although church attendance is oftentimes thought of as worship, in reality it's not
quite.

● John 4:21 . . Jesus declared: Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will
worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

* Jerusalem is the Temple site-- the very hub of worship --yet Jesus ranks it below
something far more important.

● John 4:23 . . A time is coming, and has now come, when the true worshipers will
worship the Father in Spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father
seeks.

The human spirit is inadequate for the level of worship Jesus spoke of, so; it's
necessary to infuse folks with God's spirit in order to bring them up to speed, so to
speak.

● John 4:24 . . God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in
Spirit and in truth.

Actually Jesus didn't introduce something new. The prophet Ezekiel predicted that
very thing something like 500 years before Jesus was born.

"I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring
you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be
clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give
you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of
stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My spirit in you and move you to
follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws". (Ezek 36:24-27)
_

 

[Beetow]

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Well, since my baby left me,
I found a new place to dwell.
It's down at the end of Lonely Street at
Heartbreak Hotel.

Although it's always crowded,
You still can find some room
For broken-hearted lovers
To cry there in their gloom.

That song, by Elvis Presley back in 1956, was very popular; and useful for depicting
some of the conditions folks might expect in the netherworld should they end up on
the wrong side of things. For example: just as Elvis' hotel always has a vacancy, so
the netherworld too.

● Prov 30:15-16 . . There are three things that will not be satisfied-- four that will
not say, "Enough"

One of the four listed in that passage is Sheol, a.k.a. Hades which in Hellenistic
culture spoke of the netherworld: a place in which all the dead were warehoused:
both the good dead and the bad dead regardless of age, race, gender, or religious
preference.

And then there's "cry there in their gloom"

● Matt 13:40-42 . . As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so
shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and
they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do
iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and
gnashing of teeth.

POP CLOCK UPDATE: 180 days have transpired since beginning the thread. If the
figures in post No.1 are within reason, then something like 13,815,360 new arrivals
have checked into the fiery sector of Hades since Dec 15, 2024.
_

 

[Beetow]

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Jesus is famous for teaching with parables, and for the longest time I was under
the impression it was his peculiar academic technique, but the fact of the matter is:
Jesus' method was punitive.

There were a number of people throughout the land of Israel in his day who had
neither interest in him nor in his message; So them he instructed with riddles. It
came about they heard the word of God from Jesus but of course hadn't a clue what
he was talking about. But no matter because plain speech would've bounced off
some of them like a .22 bullet off a Russian tank plated with depleted uranium.

● Matt 13:10-15 . . The disciples came to him and asked: Why do you speak to the
people in parables?

. . He replied: The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been
given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an
abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This
is why I speak to them in parables: though seeing, they do not see; though hearing,
they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

. .You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but
never perceiving. For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear
with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with
their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would
heal them.
_

 

[Beetow]

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I'd imagine the hardest part about Heaven is not getting there, but staying there.

Back in the decade of the 1960s, while still a young guy in his twenties, it occurred
to me that even if I managed to live a pious enough life to make the cut for
Heaven, I was pretty sure I couldn't keep up the good work forever. Sooner or later
I'd show my true colors and get thrown out.

It occurred to me that if I were as normally and naturally like God instead of like
myself, then it would be not only be very easy to attain Heaven but just as easy to
stay there. Well; God must've read my thoughts because in the course of time, I
ran across a passage in the book of Ezekiel that goes like this:

"I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land.
Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be
washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart
with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your
stony heart of sin and give you a new, obedient heart. And I will put My spirit in
you so you will obey My laws and do whatever I command. (36:24-27)

Just think of the tremendous advantage that passage speaks of. Whereas most
folks find it to be an effort to cooperate with God, with that promise in hand
they could work with God in a manner similar to the way His son Jesus always
has.

● John 8:29 . . He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for
I do always those things that please Him.

● John 14:31 . . That the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father
gave me commandment, even so I do.

That passage in Ezekiel really perked me up and lifted my spirits because it gave
me a light at the end of the tunnel whereas before then, I had none.
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[Beetow]

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● Lev 19:11 . . You shall not deal falsely, neither lie one to another.

I think it's probably safe to posit that more liars are now, and more liars will be, in
Hell than any other category simply because dishonesty can be practiced in more
ways than one, e.g. deceit, deception, fraud, hoax, fibs, cover ups, slander,
malicious gossip, propaganda, dissembling, cheating, false impressions, pretense,
scams, sophistry, double-speak, rumors, half truths, little white lies, and perjury.

Living in a world of liars below shouldn't be much different than living in a world of
liars up here so that folks who end up down there should fit right in; requiring only
minimal adjustment.

But there is something worse to come for liars who fail to take advantage of the
redemption available to everyone by means of Christ's crucifixion.

● Rev 21:8 . . . All liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and
brimstone, which is the second death.

Will the liars' feet touch bottom or will they be floating around out there like apples
in a bobbing tub?
_

 

[Beetow]

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● Ps 73:3-17 . . I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the
wicked. Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.

● Matt 16:26 . . For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses
his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

It's been my observation that many of the powerful folks controlling education,
finance, manufacturing, governance, entertainment, food production, health care,
pharmaceuticals, print media and broadcast news, etc, are quite lacking scruples,
and conduct their affairs as if they're autonomous sovereigns with no one to answer
to beyond the sphere of their existence; apparently indifferent that the path of their
success is leading them down a road of no return.
_