"A teenager's view of heaven"

Is this for real or not?

QUESTION:

Hi Fr. Michael:

I've been getting E-Mails called "A teenager's view of heaven".

Is this for real or not? Something feels "wrong".  Am I right or did this whiz way over my head?

J.M.

ANSWER:

Dear J.M.,

Thanks for your E-Mail and your question.

This seems to be an extremely popular E-Mail that is making the rounds.  I have gotten this same E-Mail from lots of SSJ Readers, some of whom have asked me one or more questions about it which are similar to yours!

Because I suspect many more Readers of the Shrine of Saint Jude Newsletter have also gotten this same E-Mail, but have not written to me about it, it seems wise and prudent for me to review a part of it and to comment on what  feels "wrong".

But, before I do this, please consider the following observation by a very heroic Catholic Martyr who dealt with somewhat similar issues:

It is a shorter thing and sooner done to write heresies than to answer them. (Saint Thomas More, [b. London, England 1477 A.D. - martyred, Tower Hill, London, England, Saturday, July 6, 1535 A.D.], The Apology of Sir Thomas More, April, 1533 A.D.).

With this in mind, here is an analysis of "A teenager's view of heaven" which should answer your question, and the similar questions from others.

God Bless You!

Father Michael

Analysis of"A teenager's view of heaven"

There is an E-Mail making the rounds called "A teenager's view of heaven".

To refresh your memory, IF you got this E-Mail, or to quickly fill you in IF you did not get this E-Mail, the conclusion of this E-Mail is as follows:

"Then He [Christ] got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card. 'No!' I shouted rushing to Him. All I could find to say was 'No, no,' as I pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn't be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, so alive.

The name of Jesus covered mine. It was written with His blood. He gently took the card back.. He smiled a sad smile and began to sign the cards. I don't think I'll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side.

He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, 'It is finished.' I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door. There were still cards to be written.

'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  '-Phil. 4:13

'For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.'

If you feel the same way forward it so the love of Jesus will touch their lives also.. My 'People I shared the gospel with' file just got bigger, how about yours?”

Brief Observations about this E-Mail

This E-Mail sounds good!  But, is it good and sound?  Is it all fact or is it all fiction, perhaps the work of an amateur novelist who has an over-active imagination?

In addition, this is somewhat similar to other "sound good" items which are circulating around on the internet, both on various web pages and/or in E-Mails, e.g. the one about the "fork" in one's hand before being buried, etc.  Most of these always "sound good" - but they are not good and sound and tend to deceive many sincere, well-intentioned people.

Whether or not all of them are the work of only one person or of one small group of people is difficult to determine, but the "message" conveyed is either similar or identical, one to another, as in this case, in which the original author of this E-Mail quotes Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians 4:13 along with John 3:16 - which source he quotes but fails to identify.

You think - that’s great - quoting the Bible! It has to be good! But, not so fast!

Just because someone quotes the Bible does not automatically mean such a person is good and/or that the motives of such a person are good.

Do you remember that even the Bible itself, in Matthew 4:5-6, testifies to the fact that the Devil quotes the Bible (Matthew 4:5-6)!!

So quoting the Bible is one of the tools the original author of this E-Mail uses to get your attention and to more easily try to achieve credibility for his E-Mail.

Whenever a person might have a dream about Heaven does not automatically mean that the dream is true.  Maybe it is true.  But, maybe it is not true.

Yes, there are such things as prophetic dreams.  But, usually the longer the dream is, such as the dream the teenager in the above E-Mail supposedly had, the greater is the opportunity for some kind of deception and/or for a lapse of memory.

In conclusion, this E-Mail about the dream of this teenager is nothing more than an impious fiction!

Why?  IF you would like the various Bible reasons for this conclusion, please read the details below.

But, IF you do not like to read any details, IF you do not want any proof, all you need to know is that this E-Mail about the dream of this teenager IS definitely, without any doubts, a work of fiction, based upon what the Bible itself says, and that this fiction was most probably written by an amateur novelist.

Thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to read this!

God Bless You!

IF You Like to Read Details,
or Want Bible Proof,
Please Continue Reading

 
 

Bible Details that Prove this E-Mail about the Dream
Of this Teenager Is Nothing More than Impious Fiction!

In the conclusion of this E-Mail about the teenager who had a dream about Heaven, you will find where the original author of this E-Mail quotes Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians 4:13 along with John 3:16.  You think - that’s great - quoting the Bible! This is fantastic! Is it - really???!!!

But first, rather than having to keep saying “the original author of this E-Mail” and/or “the amateur novelist who wrote this E-Mail”, or something similar, in order to remove such convoluted expressions, lets just flow much more easily by using the term “the writer”!

Did the writer really think through what is really in these two quotes from Philippians 4:13 and John 3:16?  It is self-evident that the writer believes in salvation or justification only by faith, otherwise the writer would not have chosen these two passages.

But the problem is the writer has quoted these two verses out of context!

There is the true story of a young man who was an atheist and an old man who was a Catholic.  They were sitting together on a train that was going through France.  As the train sped over the rails, with the customary clicking sound at the end of each length of rail, the young man could not help but notice that the old man was saying the Rosary.  The young man began making fun of the old man and mocking his Catholic Faith. Finally, the young man told the old man: “The Bible says ‘There is no God’”!

The old man paused from saying his Rosary, something which had been made rather difficult by his having been verbally harassed by the young atheist.  The old man asked the young man to prove that the Bible says: “There is no God.”

So the young man, who conveniently happened to have a small Bible with him, pulled it out of his pocket and went to the dog-eared page for quick access, and read from the Bible: “There is no God”.

The old man asked him if there was any kind of punctuation after the word “God”?  The young man looked for a moment and had to admit there was nothing at all after the word “God”.

Then the old man (Louis Pasteur [b. at Dole in the Jura region of France on Friday, December 27, 1822 - d. near Paris, France, on Saturday, September 28, 1895], creator of the Pasteurization process, discoverer of anaerobiosis, and inventor of various vaccines) asked the young atheist to please turn the page and to CONTINUE to read that same Bible verse.  The young man, very reluctantly, did this, and read aloud: “saith the fool in his heart”!

CONTEXT is very important in reading the Bible.  Just as in this true incident, the same is also true with this E-Mail about the dream of a teenager.

First, consider how Philippians 4:13 specifically states:

“I can do all these things in Him who strengtheneth me”.

The first thing you will notice is a mistranslation.  The writer gives the quote as: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

It is self-evident that the word “these” has been deleted.  This is important because it refers to specific things, in other words it does not refer to “those” things but to “these” things.

What exactly are “these” things to which Saint Paul refers?

The answer is found in the context which precedes this verse which includes the following:

“9  The things which you have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, these do ye, and the God of peace shall be with you.
10   Now I rejoice in the Lord exceedingly, that now at length your thought for me hath flourished again, as you did also think; but you were busied.
11   I speak not as it were for want. For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, to be content therewith.
12   I know both how to be brought low, and I know how to abound:  (everywhere, and in all things I am instructed) both to be full, and to be hungry; both to abound, and to suffer need” (Philippians 4:9-12).

So “these” things include:

1) “The things which” the Philippians “have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, these do ye”.

Obviously “these” things are much more than only one thing, much more than just believing or having faith.  They include many things the Philippians have:

a) learned;
b) received;
c) heard;
d) seen in the examples given to them by Saint Paul.

Finally, Saint Paul tells them: “these do ye”.

Hence, Saint Paul tells the Philippians to DO “these” things which he himself has done when he was with them.

2) the knowledge Saint Paul has acquired by learning “how to be brought low, and I know how to abound:  (everywhere, and in all things I am instructed) both to be full, and to be hungry; both to abound, and to suffer need”.

“These things” go far beyond belief or believing.

In other words, Saint Paul uses somewhat different words to basically say the same thing as does Saint James the Just:

"17   So faith also, if it have not works, is dead in itself.
18   But some man will say:  Thou hast faith, and I have works:  shew me thy faith without works; and I will shew thee, by works, my faith.
19   Thou believest that there is one God.  Thou dost well:  the devils also believe and tremble.
20   But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21   Was not Abraham our father justified by works, offering up Isaac his son upon the altar?
22   Seest thou, that faith did co-operate with his works; and by works faith was made perfect?
23   And the scripture was fulfilled, saying:  Abraham believed God, and it was reputed to him to justice, and he was called the friend of God.
24   Do you see that by works a man is justified; and not by faith only?
25   And in like manner also Rahab the harlot, was not she justified by works, receiving the messengers, and sending them out another way?
26   For even as the body without the spirit is dead; so also faith without works is dead” (Epistle of Saint James the Just 2:17-26).

The bottom line is “faith without works is dead” because even “the devils also believe and tremble” in their belief in the “one God”.  Yet the devils are not saved despite their belief in God!

If you closely examine John 3:16, you will find the same truth expressed in somewhat different words which is now quoted in full context as follows:

“14   And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15   That whosoever believeth in him, may not perish; but may have life everlasting.
16   For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting.
17   For God sent not his Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by him.
18   He that believeth in him is not judged.  But he that doth not believe, is already judged:  because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19   And this is the judgment:  because the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light:  for their works were evil.
20   For every one that doth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, that his works may not be reproved.
21  But he that doth truth, cometh to the light, that his WORKS may be made manifest, because they are done in God" (John 3:14-21; emphasis added).

At first read, IF one reads only up through verse 16, Saint John seems to say that all that is necessary is to believe in Christ?

But this is not true - which is where CONTEXT comes in.

Notice verse 18:

He that believeth in him is not judged.  But he that doth not believe, is already judged:  because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Belief and judging are found to be two major points.

This becomes more clear in verse 19:

And this is the judgment:  because the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light: for their works were evil.

Please note:  for their WORKS were evil - The Scripture does NOT say "for their BELIEF was evil"!

Verse 20 continues this point:

For every one that doth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, that his works may not be reproved.

Please note:  For every one that DOTH evil.... that his WORKS may not be reproved.

Finally, verse 21 finishes the clarification process:

But he that DOTH truth, cometh to the light, that his WORKS may be made manifest, because they are DONE in God.

Please note:  Saint John speaks of a person who DOTH truth... of a person whose WORKS may be made manifest.

Why? because they are DONE in God.

So the real meaning, the true meaning, of verse 16 is explained in the verses which immediately follow verse 16, so that when you read:

16   For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in Him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting.

this whosoever BELIEVETH in Him is ALSO the SAME person who DOTH truth... whose WORKS may be made manifest, because they are DONE in God.

There can be no actual contradiction in the Word of God - Sacred Scripture, a.k.a. the Holy Bible.

Why?

Because in this case belief is explained by putting it into the context of good works, as in this Scripture:

“16 All scripture, inspired of God, is profitable to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice,
17 That the man of God may be perfect, furnished to every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Please note two very important points here:

1)  ALL Scripture is inspired of God - in plain English this means that God the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth, the author of ALL Sacred Scripture, is the Divine Author Who inspired certain men to write such Scripture.

2) But God, Who is Truth, does not contradict Himself because the God of Truth does NOT lie!

God is Truth as Proven in the Holy Bible
Here are a few examples:

“What Truth can come from that which is false?”  (Ecclesiasticus  34:4).

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we saw His glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father,) full of Grace and Truth” (John 1:14).

“For the law was given by Moses; Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

“But he that doth Truth, cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest, because they are done in God” (John 3:21).

“And you shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

“But if I say the Truth, you believe me not” (John 8:45).

“I am the Way, and the Truth and the Life.  No man cometh to the Father but by Me” (John 14:6).

“But when the Paraclete [God the Holy Ghost] cometh, Whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, Who proceedeth from the Father, He shall give testimony of Me” (John 15:26).

“But when He [God the Holy Ghost], the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will teach you all Truth” (John 16:13).

“Thy word is Truth” (John 17:14).  (Christ speaking to His Heavenly Father.)

“No lie is of the Truth”  (1 John 2:21).

“And it is the Spirit which testifieth, that Christ is the Truth” (1 John 5:6).

1)  That the man of God may be perfect, furnished to every good work.

Note how God the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth, writes through the pen of the inspired writer the truth That the man of God may be perfect, furnished to every good work.

In other words, a person who is perfect concerns oneself with EVERY GOOD WORK - notice there is no mention here of BELIEVING, but of WORKING - DOING every good WORK!

Therefore, the writer, in quoting only John 3:16, and not the verses which immediately follow it and correctly interpret it by context, seems to have deliberately mislead the reader into thinking that ALL that is necessary to be saved is to BELIEVE while conveniently ignoring John 3:19-21!

THIS IS DECEPTIVE!  It is like one saying, as in the above true incident, that the Bible says: There is no God, but then who deliberately does not complete this sentence which is:  saith the fool in his heart.!  This is indicative of a lack of integrity and a lack of honesty!  Selectively quoting only the first part of a sentence while ignoring the last part of the sentence, which actually clarifies and correctly interprets the first part of the sentence, is Satanic!

The writer seems to have deliberately
NOT mentioned anything about WORKS:

1) by using a mistranslated Scripture which omits the word “these” in “I can do allthese things in Him who strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13) and simultaneously ignores the word “all” in the same verse.

2) but even IF one was to ignore this first point, this second point is even more important and proves the importance of quoting the CONTEXT, not just SELECTIVELY quoting John 3:16 - which speaks about “whosoever BELIEVETH in Him, may not perish” as if this “BELIEVETH” is the ONLY requirement for salvation, while conveniently ignoring the proper context of John 3:16, namely John 3:14-21, which specifically mentions “works” in:

verse 19: “their WORKS were evil”;
in verse 20: “that his WORKS may not be reproved”;
and, in verse 21: “that his WORKS may be made manifest, because they are done in God”.

In other words, the writer has used deception by only SELECTIVELY quoting John 3:16!   This is similar to the atheist who tried to prove that the Bible says “There is no God” by SELECTIVELY quoting only part of the CONTEXT, which, in this last case, was merely the rest of the sentence.

Therefore, these two passages from the Bible, namely Philippians 4:13 and John 3:16, which the writer (not those of you who merely forwarded it to others, including to me) obviously intended to use to try to prove justification or salvation is ONLY by FAITH, i.e. ONLY that a person BELIEVETH in God, is saved, is disproven from the CONTEXT in both cases.

Remember, the FULL CONTEXT of John 3:14-21 speaks about not only BELIEVETH but very clearly, in three verses, WORKS, and verse 16 is only one of a total of eight verses!

Aside from these Scripture passages, you might still be wondering about the dream this teenager had.  After all, this E-Mail primarily concerns what happened to him in the dream he had about Heaven!

You know from your own personal experiences that dreams are not always 100% accurate. Yes, some dreams can be prophetic, as in this alleged case.  But also, not every part of every dream, even a prophetic dream, is necessarily 100% accurate.  Usually, the longer the dream is, the less accurate it is, the more prone it is to various kinds of deception, and it is more susceptible of both selective amnesia, whether consciously or unconsciously, and memory loss.  This E-Mail gives an account of a relatively long dream.

Not only that, but not all prophetic dreams come from God.  Consider the Wife of Pilate who had a dream and sent a note to her husband not to have anything to do with Christ!

It is the opinion of various Catholic exegetics that this dream was from the devil because what was in it was contrary to God’s plan for our salvation which had to come about by the passion and death of Christ on the cross which the dream of Pilate’s Wife was attempting to prevent.

Why from the devil?  Because the devil did not want Christ to undergo His passion and death because, at the last minute, so to speak, Satan realized that Christ was the promised Redeemer of the Old Testament Prophets and was about to bring about salvation, not for all people, but only for the many who would choose to perform the necessary WORKS, for example, by obeying the Ten Commandments, living a life of Virtue, etc., in order to MERIT to get to Heaven.

This truth of Christ’s salvation being only for the many is also found in the Liturgy of the Catholic Church for the Ancient Roman Rite of Mass.  In the Form of words for the Consecration of the Most Precious Blood during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Council of Trent, in its official Catechism, teaches:

“With reason, therefore, were the words for all not used, as in this place the fruits of the Passion are alone spoken of, and to the elect only did His Passion bring the fruit of salvation.  And this is the purport of the Apostle when he says: Christ was offered once to exhaust the sins of MANY [Hebrews 9:28].  And also of the words of our Lord in John:  I pray for them; I pray not for the world, but for them whom Thou hast given Me, because they are Thine [John 17:9].”  (The Roman Catechism, The Eucharist, # 64.)

The theory that it is ONLY by FAITH that a person is saved is disproved in part by the Ten Commandments because the Ten Commandments mean nothing, and need not be obeyed, if a person can kill millions of people, and/or rob whoever, rape thousands of women, etc., but, because that murderer, that robber, that thief, that rapist, that pedophile, that adulterer, that drunkard, that “whatever”, has FAITH and BELIEVETH in the one God, that same person, who has committed a list of Mortal Sins so long it looks like the roll call for WWII, will get to Heaven - guaranteed!!!

This is what the founder of Protestantism actually taught!  It is well-known that Martin Luther’s  [b. at Eisleben, Germany on Saturday, November 10, 1483 A.D. - d. at Eisleben, Germany at about 3:00 a.m. on Monday, February 18, 1546 A.D.] advice to Philipp Melanchthon, a.k.a. Philipp Schwartzerd [b. on Tuesday, February 16, 1497 A.D. - d. on Tuesday, April 19, 1560 A.D.], who was a friend and associate of Martin Luther, was this:

“Be a sinner, and sin valiantly, - but believe more valiantly” (Wilhelm Martin Leberecht DeWette [January 12, 1780 - June 16, 1849], a German theologian, Dr. Martin Luthers Briefe, Sendschreiben und Bedenken: vollstäändig aus den verschiedenen Ausgaben seiner Werke und Briefe, aus andern Büüchern und noch unbenutzten Handschriften gesammelt, kritish und historisch bearbeitet, Volume II, page 37).

This statement has stood all this time as an unchallenged truth, i.e. that Martin Luther did in fact say this!

So, according to Martin Luther, you do not have to obey anyone or anything - there is no accountability for anything you do, not even to God, and therefore the Ten Commandments are irrelevant and do not need to be obeyed!

In other words, it makes no difference if a person disobeys the Ten Commandments:  Luther taught to go ahead and Be a sinner, and sin valiantly - sin bravely, fearlessly, and boldly - you will not go to Hell just so long as you believe more valiantly!!  This is the ultimate folly of Protestanism which, in the final analysis, actually leads to paganism, atheism and agnosticism because a God Who does not require obedience to His Commandments and Who permits a person to get to Heaven who commits as many sins as he wants and which person does not need to be repentant of his sins or even to confess his sins, is not really "God" because Luther's "God" does not fit the definition of "God"!

Martin Luther was four centuries ahead of the pagan axiom of today: If it feels good, do it!!!

Returning to the dream of the teenager itself, while it could be possible that the first part of this alleged dream may or may not have been true, this last part, quoted above at the beginning before this Observation, clearly is not true - it is a work of fiction - because it contradicts the Word of God as found in many places in the Bible!  And God, Who is Truth, does NOT contradict Himself because God does NOT lie!

But, because of the length of the entire dream, and because the conclusion is an obvious work of fiction because it contradicts the Word of God in the Bible, the credibility of the entire dream is in question.

Therefore, the self-evident conclusion must be that the dream of this teenager is nothing more than an impious fiction!

But, because

“there is sufficient light for those who wish to see and sufficient obscurity for those who do not wish to see”  (Blaise Pascal [b. at Clermont-Ferrand, Monday, June 19, 1623 - d. in Paris, Saturday, August 19, 1662], PENSÉES SUR LA RELIGION, Section VII,  Morality and Doctrine, ¶ 430, 1660 A.D.),

please prayerfully consider the following for more Bible quotes and a more in-depth analysis of this subject, including the Scriptures which prove that Purgatory exists and that the eternal fire of Hell exists and that there are many believers who BELIEVETH in God, and who, despite the fact that they BELIEVETH in God, still go to Hell, along with an explanation of why it is wrong to say that “God is NOT in the punishment business”!

Refutation of Sola Fide - Salvation is Only by Faith
a.k.a. Justification Only by Faith

This Protestant UnsubstantiatedTheory is Contrary
Both to Divine Revelation and to Reason

 

Proof from Divine Written Revelation - The Holy Bible

“If the just man shall scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?” (1 Peter 4:18)!

"17   So faith also, if it have not works, is dead in itself.
18   But some man will say:  Thou hast faith, and I have works:  shew me thy faith without works; and I will shew thee, by works, my faith.
19   Thou believest that there is one God.  Thou dost well:  the devils also believe and tremble.
20   But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21   Was not Abraham our father justified by works, offering up Isaac his son upon the altar?
22   Seest thou, that faith did co-operate with his works; and by works faith was made perfect?
23   And the scripture was fulfilled, saying:  Abraham believed God, and it was reputed to him to justice, and he was called the friend of God.
24   Do you see that by works a man is justified; and not by faith only?
25   And in like manner also Rahab the harlot, was not she justified by works, receiving the messengers, and sending them out another way?
26   For even as the body without the spirit is dead; so also faith without works is dead” (Epistle of Saint James the Just 2:17-26).

Proof from Reason

God the Holy Ghost, through the pen of Saint Paul, teaches everyone:

“Thou believest that there is one God.  Thou dost well:  the devils also believe and tremble” (Epistle of Saint James the Just 2:19).

But WHERE are the Devils who BELIEVE in the one God?  Are they in Heaven with the Holy Angles and Saints, as the Protestant Unsubstantiated Theory of Sola Fide - Salvation is only by Faith - teach and has their followers believe?  NO!  The Devils are in Hell - not in Heaven!

IF ONLY FAITH - Sola Fide - is necessary for salvation, then WHY are the devils NOT in Heaven?  After all, the Bible says that “the devils also believe and tremble” - “that there is one God” - which is the ONLY thing the Protestant teaching claims is required for everyone to get to Heaven and which teaching was emphasized by Martin Luther as quoted above, and which, for your convenience, is repeated here:

“Be a sinner, and sin valiantly, - but believe more valiantly” (Wilhelm Martin Leberecht DeWette [January 12, 1780 - June 16, 1849], a German theologian, Dr. Martin Luthers Briefe, Sendschreiben und Bedenken: vollstäändig aus den verschiedenen Ausgaben seiner Werke und Briefe, aus andern Büüchern und noch unbenutzten Handschriften gesammelt, kritish und historisch bearbeitet, Volume II, page 37).

THINK ABOUT IT!!!

Hell Exists!
Hell is the Place for Punishment by Eternal Fire

Proof for Hell in the Old Testament

The Old Testament testifies, not only to the existence of Hell, but also that Hell is a place of punishment, where you read in part concerning the schism of Core and his adherents and their punishment by God:
 

“16:28. And Moses said: By this you shall know that the Lord hath sent me to do all things that you see, and that I have not forged them of my own head:

16:29. If these men die the common death of men, and if they be visited with a plague, wherewith others also are wont to be visited, the Lord did not send me.

16:30. But if the Lord do a new thing, and the earth opening her mouth swallow them down, and all things that belong to them, and they go down alive into hell, you shall know that they have blasphemed the Lord.

16:31. And immediately as he had made an end of speaking, the earth broke asunder under their feet:

16:32. And opening her mouth, devoured them with their tents and all their substance.

16:33. And they went down alive into hell, the ground closing upon them, and they perished from among the people.

16:34. But all Israel, that was standing round about, fled at the cry of them that were perishing: saying: Lest perhaps the earth swallow us up also” (Numbers 16:28-34).

Yet Core and his adherents BELIEVETH “that there is one God”!!

So what happened?

“16:1. And behold Core the son of Isaar, the son of Caath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiron the sons of Eliab, and Hon the son of Pheleth of the children of Ruben,

16:2. Rose up against Moses, and with them two hundred and fifty others of the children of Israel, leading men of the synagogue, and who in the time of assembly were called by name.”

The term rose up against Moses indicates that they sinned against God.  The sinful crime of these men, which was punished in so remarkable a manner, was that of schism, and of rebellion against the authority established by God, and by their pretending to be “priests” even though they were not of the Priesthood of the Old Testament, and even though they had not been lawfully sent to the people as priests.  It is necessary to read Numbers, Chapter 16 in its entirety to get the exact context of what Core and his followers did to better understand the wrath of God against them.

The Book of Numbers, Chapter 16, in effect, actually condemns all Protestant “bishops and priests and ministers” because they claim to be something in the Church which they are not!  WHY?

Because none of them have been validly or lawfully Ordained Priests or Consecrated Bishops according to the New Testament ancient Catholic Liturgical Rites for the Administration and the Reception of the Sacrament of Holy Orders perfectly instituted by Jesus Christ on that first Holy Thursday evening!

Their ex-Roman Catholic founders, e.g. the ex-Priest, Martin Luther, ex-Archbishop, Thomas Cranmer, etc., totally discarded almost all of the Seven Sacraments, and instead made up their own “rite” to install their  “bishops and priests and ministers”!

Is this why some Protestant clergy have tried getting Ordained by various Eastern Rite Catholic Bishops?

Proof for Hell in the New Testament

Even the New Testament has a reference to Core, suffering the punishment of eternal fire in Hell where you read in part:
 

“7 As Sodom and Gomorrha, and the neighbouring cities, in like manner, having given themselves to fornication, and going after other flesh, were made an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire.

8 In like manner these men also defile the flesh, and despise dominion, and blaspheme majesty.

9 When Michael the archangel, disputing with the devil, contended about the body of Moses, he durst not bring against him the judgment of railing speech, but said: The Lord command thee.

10 But these men blaspheme whatever things they know not: and what things soever they naturally know, like dumb beasts, in these they are corrupted.

11 Woe unto them, for they have gone in the way of Cain: and after the error of Balaam they have for reward poured out themselves, and have perished in the contradiction of Core.

12 These are spots in their banquets, feasting together without fear, feeding themselves, clouds without water, which are carried about by winds, trees of the autumn, unfruitful, twice dead, plucked up by the roots,

13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own confusion; wandering stars, to whom the storm of darkness is reserved for ever” (James 1:7-13).

Christ warns all of us about Hell

“It is better for thee to enter into life... than... to go into hell, into unquenchable fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished” (Mark 9:42-43).

Christ does NOT say, it is ok to sin so long as you BELIEVE in me. Rather, Christ requires that everyone live a life of virtue, a life of good works, and obey the Ten Commandments - none of this nonsense of Martin Luther:

“Be a sinner, and sin valiantly, - but believe more valiantly”!

IF you should sin, then go to Confession - that is the purpose of why Christ instituted the Sacrament of Penance.
 

“20  For I tell you, that unless your justice abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

21   You have heard that it was said to them of old:  Thou shalt not kill.  And  whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment.

22   But I say to you, that whosoever is angry with his brother, shall be in  danger of the judgment.  And whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council.  And whosoever shall say, Thou Fool, shall be in danger of hell fire” (Matthew 5:20-22).

Here it is interesting to note that the scribes and Pharisees were “believers”!  And yet Christ tells all of us that none of us shall “enter into the kingdom of heaven” unless “your justice abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees”!  Christ does NOT mention faith here nor belief.

Yet, IF only Faith is required to “enter into the kingdom of heaven”, then, on this basis only, the scribes and Pharisees would VERY EASILY “enter into the kingdom of heaven”!

The Fallen Angels - called Devils - Suffer in Hell

“For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but delivered them, drawn down by infernal ropes to the lower hell, unto torments, to be reserved unto [final] judgment” (2 Peter 2:4).

What happened to the fallen angels, the “angels that sinned”, who have more reason than any human being to believe in the “one God” because it was the one “God [Who] spared not the angels that sinned, but delivered them, drawn down by infernal ropes to the lower hell, unto torments”?  The “angels that sinned” were “delivered... to the lower hell, unto torments”!

Did the FAITH in the “one God” SAVE the “angels that sinned”???!!! Of course not, because:

“19   ... the devils also believe and tremble... so also faith without works is dead” (James 2:19, 26).

The FAITH of the devils in the “one God” did NOT save them.  The devils were “delivered... to the lower hell, unto torments”!!!  The devils have no place in Heaven, DESPITE THEIR BELIEF in the “one God”, in Whom they have more reason to believe than anyone else because it is this same “one God”, in Whom the devils BELIEVE, Who cast them into the eternal fires of Hell!!!

Therefore, it is not only CONTRARY TO what the Written Divine Revelation, as found in THE BIBLE, teaches that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26), but it is also IRRATIONAL to think that ONLY FAITH, Sola Fide, is sufficient to get to Heaven because the millions of fallen angels, a.k.a. devils, who have the strong belief of Faith in the “one God”, so much so that even they “also believe and tremble”, are NOT in Heaven, but in Hell!!!

Those impious “bishops, priests, and ministers” who go around pretending to be validly Ordained “priests”, and/or “ministers” and/or validly Consecrated “bishops”, and who also teach and preach the heresy of ONLY FAITH, Sola Fide, will meet the same punishment as did Core and his followers in the Old Testament who pretended to be validly Ordained “priests”, namely the eternal fires of Hell as proven by the Old Testament book of Numbers, Chapter 16!!

On Wednesday, December 4, 1963, Synod Vatican 2’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, made invalid and unlawful drastic changes to the Catholic ancient Traditional Western Rite of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, including the Priesthood and the Episcopacy.

This means that since December 4, 1963, over 99% of all of the Priests and Bishops who were ordained and/or consecrated in the Vatican 2 church world-wide are only laymen with no power to offer Mass and no power to administer any of the seven sacraments!

For a full 45 years, last December 4, 2008, the Vatican 2 church world-wide has continued to go through an empty ceremony which gives laymen the right to wear a Roman Collar and to pretend they are Catholic Priests or Bishops or Archbishops or Cardinals despite the fact that not only are they still laymen after this ceremony, historically many of these Roman Collared laymen have turned out to be pedophiles, Satanists, Communists, Modernist heretics, and queers, especially in the U.S.!!!

No wonder Saint Peter prophecized:

“For the time is, that judgment should begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17).

However, apparently a handful of Bishops refused to go along with these anti-Catholic changes? In any event, Pope Paul 6, Giovanni Battista Montini [Friday, June 21, 1963 - Sunday, August 6, 1978]  ended up, on Tuesday, June 18, 1968, issuing an Apostolic Constitution, Pontificalis Romani Recognitio, which enforced the invalid and unlawful drastic changes to the Catholic Traditional Western Rite for the Ordination of Deacons, Priests, and Bishops that was made by Synod Vatican in its Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, on Wednesday, December 4, 1963.

This means that since Tuesday, June 18, 1968, the original 1% that were missed due to the non-compliance of the Wednesday, December 4, 1963, Synod Vatican 2’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy,  Sacrosanctum Concilium, were now also covered.

In addition, those people who attend the “churches” of such heretics should be in fear lest the wrath of God find them there and history repeats itself and “the earth” break “asunder under their feet.  And opening her mouth” devour “them”. “...And they” be cast “alive into hell, the ground closing upon them, and they perished” (Numbers 16:31-33)!

Hell is a State of Eternal Punishment in Everlasting Fire
Which Includes Everlasting Separation from God

“Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the Devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).

“But the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, they shall have their portion in the pool burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Apocalypse 21:8).

anti-Christ and its False Prophet Will Be Cast into Hell

“20  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet, who wrought signs before him, wherewith he seduced them who received the character of the beast, and who adored his image.  These two were cast alive into the pool of fire, burning with brimstone” (Apocalypse 19:20).

What Does the Bible Teach about Purgatory?

"It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins" (2 Machabees 12:46).

This verse gives undeniable proof of the practice of praying for the dead under the Old Law, which was then strictly observed by the Jews, and consequently could not have been introduced at that time by their High Priest if it had not been always their custom.

“Amen, I say to thee, thou shalt not go out from thence till thou repay the last farthing” (Matthew 5:26).

Does Our Reason Help Us to Believe in Purgatory?

From the fact that there is a future life, our reason demands such a place as Purgatory.  Most people are not good enough at death to enter Heaven immediately or evil enough to deserve Hell.  Without Purgatory most of even the best souls could never enter Heaven.

“There shall not enter into it [Heaven] any thing defiled, or that worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they that are written in the book of life of the Lamb” (Apocalypse 21:27).

What Should One Say to Those Who Claim That
“God Is Not in the Punishment Business”?

The hatred some people show to God reflects the antagonism of the wicked spirits which proves that between them and God there is a chasm which nothing will ever annihilate. Justice, right order and propriety demand that there be a lasting difference between all just and virtuous people and thieves, murders, rapists, adulterers, pedophiles, drunkards, and other sinners who die with Mortal Sin on their souls, cursing and blaspheming God.

No, Christ did not die so that men, women and children might commit all of the sins they feel like committing or who adhere to the philosophy of pagan sensitivity training - if it feels good, do it - but rather that the repentant sinner might obtain forgiveness in the Sacrament of Penance administered by a validly Ordained Priest or Prelate of the Catholic Church.

The silly, dishonest methods of certain Bible vandals pretending to disprove this doctrine from the Bible would be amusing were the subject matter not of such grave consequence to everyone.  The person who pretends to prove from the Bible that there is no Hell, who teaches the doctrines of devils, especially that God is not in the punishment business, is perverting and distorting that Holy and Sacred Book - the Bible - to their own destruction.  In order to eradicate the doctrine of Hell from the New Testament, you must literally tear it to pieces.

“And I saw Heaven opened and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called faithful and true, and with justice doth He judge and fight.  And His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many diadems, and He had a name written, which no man knoweth but Himself.  And He was clothed with a garment sprinkled with blood; and His Name is called THE WORD OF GOD.  And the armies that are in Heaven followed Him on white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.  And out of His mouth proceedeth a sharp two edged sword; that with it He may strike the nations.  And He shall rule them with a rod of iron; and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God the Almighty.  And He hath on His garment, and on His thigh written:  KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Apocalypse 19:11-16).

Is Eternal Punishment Contrary to Our Reason?

No.  If man was annihilated after death, he could, while on earth, disobey, despise, and curse God to His face with impunity.  Although Martin Luther did not teach annihilation of a person after death, he did teach that everyone, while in this mortal life, could in fact disobey, despise, and curse God to His face with impunity, as his infamous heretical quote has it: Be a sinner, and sin valiantly, - but believe more valiantly.

Is Eternal Punishment Clearly Taught in the Bible?

 

Both the Old and New Testaments indicate and definitely teach this.

“And they shall go out and see the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against Me; their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched; and they shall be a loathsome sight to all flesh” (Isaias 66:24).

“It is better for thee to enter into life... than... to go into Hell, into unquenchable fire; where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished” (Mark 9:42-43).