324 Why was the world formless and void

Why was the world formless and void after G-d created heaven and earth?

When we start reading the Scriptures in Genesis 1 & 2, we find the following puzzling statement: ‘In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth. (2) And the earth was(transliterated as ‘hayah’ in Hebrew meaning became) formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of G-d was moving over the surface of the waters.’ Before resolving the apparent contradiction in the first two verses of the Scriptures, we need to mention two interesting facts regarding creation. Firstly our Jewish Brothers hold that according to Midrash Rabbah 2:4, ‘The Spirit of G-d alludes to the Spirit of the Messiah, who will ultimately redeem the Jewish people from their exile.’ This is true and does not exclude the other tribes of Israel, who were as much worshipers of HaShem as Judah was, when they stood together with them at Mount Sinai. At that time and until after King Solomon’s time all Israel were indeed‘Jewish’ in character.Secondly, Cosmologists has at this time reached a reasonable consensus that the universe is a little more than 15 million years old. When reading the Scriptures, we get to understand that it does not date events from the beginning of creation, but from the sixth day when Adam was created. The Jewish sage Nachmanides specified that the first 6 days of creation were 24 hours each, but that these six days stand apart from the normal Scriptural timeline, containing the secrets and ages of the universe.

Most in Churchianity are totally oblivious of the fact that HaShem created the universe millions of years before He recreated the earth to be inhabited by a spirit bearing mankind, who would eventually become His children. They also do not know that after Satan’s rebellion the universe became formless and void; the condition we find the earth in, in Genesis 1: 2. The original universe created in Genesis 1: 1 was perfect as is also confirmed in Isaiah 45: 18, in this way: ‘For thus says HaShem, who created the heavens (He is the G-d who formed the earth and made it, He established it and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited), “I am HaShem, and there is none else.”’ In further support of this, we read from 1 Corinthians 14: 33 (KJV), ‘For G-d is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all congregations of the saints.’ Talking about creation HaShem asked Job in Chapter 38: 4 – 6 and the first part of verse 7, saying: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, (5) Who set its measurements, since you know? Or who stretched the line on it? (6) On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, (7) when the morning stars (or angels) sang together? The angels sang together and shouted for joy when the earth was created right at the beginning. However, their joy was followed by disappointment, as we read in verse 8 about the control of violent waters; verse 9 talks about a dense cloud covering and darkness; and verse 13 talks about a shaking of the earth to deal with the wicked. Continuing in Psalm 18: 7 we read that the earth shook and quaked and went out of course. We see how upset our Creator was when He destroyed what Satan had done, including the earth in verses 8 - 15, as follows: ‘Smoke went up out of His nostrils, and fire from His mouth devoured; coals were kindled by it. (9) He bowed the heavens also, and came down with thick darkness under His feet. (10) And He rode upon a cherub and flew; and He sped upon the wings of the wind. (11) He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies. (12) From the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, hailstones and coals of fire. (13) HaShem also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered His voice,hailstones and coals of fire. (14) And He sent out His arrows, and scattered them, and lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them. (15)Then the channels of water appeared, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at Thy rebuke, O HaShem, at the blast of the breath of Thy nostrils.’Even though King David was writing about the many attacks on his person, he was here also depicting how HaShem reacted when Lucifer and his angels rebelled against Him, to become Satan and his demons on earth.

G-d blotted out with water everything that Satan has done, and we read about the end result in Jeremiah 4: 23,in this way: ‘I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light.’ Rav Kepha further wrote about the event In 2 Peter 3: 5 & 6, saying:‘For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of G-d the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, (6) through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.’ This all happened when Lucifer tried to elevate himself to a position equal to HaShem and to take over the government of the Universe. G-d had to bring judgment upon him and as a result the contaminated earth perished. The earth’s axial position in reference to its journey around the sun shifted by more than 23 degrees and caused a pendulum effect to the waters of the earth, moving it back and forth, until it eventually came to rest. Evidence of animal masses and plant fragments destroyed by the churning waters, inundated the continents with animal fossils and destroyed plant life, bearing witness to the earth’s shaking catastrophe. Whereas, the world in Noah’s day did not perish and his ark drifted only a few hundred miles without sails, the catastrophe caused by Lucifer’s rebellion carried masses of ice and rock for thousands of miles. The catastrophe is known by Geologist as the ‘Ice Age’, during which all life forms perished and the earth became formless and void.We read about Lucifer’s rebellion in Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28; and Jude 6 & 7. Commencing in Isaiah 14: 12 – 14 (KJV), we read:‘How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!(13) For thou hast said in thine heart, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of G-d: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: (14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”’Continuing in Ezekiel 28: 14 & 15 we see how HaShem responded to Lucifer, saying: “You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of G-d(in G-d’s government in the third heaven); you walked in the midst of the stones of fire. (15) You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you.” We also read further from Revelation 12: 3 & 4 and Luke 10: 18 how Satan and his angels were thrown down to earth.After the catastrophe, about six thousand years ago HaShem decided to recreate the heavens and the earth, but at that point He also chose not to create his future children as spiritual beings. He decided to initially create human kind from physical matter, in His image with the mind power to think and plan and ‘create’. They like the angels would have free moral agency to decide between good and evil and had to prove throughout their lives that they would follow G-d’s way of life and ultimately develop His perfect character. Even though HaShem at first created the universe through his word, He did not create darkness, since it was absolutely perfect. But, even in Lucifer’s rebellion when he caused the earth to be totally destroyed, the all-knowing G-d used the darkness that resulted to provide night for physical man to rest in. He also used the destruction that Satan caused to place fossilized fuels, such as oil and coal, at our disposal for use in the advanced technologies that He inspired us to develop during the past hundred years or so, before Messiah’s return to come and rule us, for a thousand years.

Prior to Adam and Eve’s sin, they had access to the tree of life, but were driven from the Garden of Eden, and as a result lost access to eternal life. Nevertheless, knowing that mankind would fail, G-d had a contingency plan in place right from the start. It is by studying the annual Feast Days of HaShem that we get to understand His plan of salvation for all mankind. So, even though we read from the first part of Romans 6: 23, that:‘the wages of sin is death,’ the second part of the verse reads: ‘but the free gift of G-d is eternal life in Messiah Y’shua our Master.’G-d placed the cherub Lucifer on earth, to administer His government, but Lucifer refused to carry out G-d’s will and tried to substitute it with his own. The earth was created perfect, but became chaotic and confused as a result of Lucifer’s rebellion. Then in six days G-d recreated the earth and created human beings to inhabit it. HaShem gave Adam an opportunity to replace Satan as ruler and keeper of the world, but he failed the contest since he obeyed the devil instead and was afterwards barred from the tree of life in the Garden of Eden. Rav Shaul wrote about this in the first part of first Corinthians 15: 22, saying: ‘For as in Adam all die.’ Because HaShem knows the end from the beginning, He already planned to bring His plan to fruition by sending Messiah ben Joseph as Immanuel us to enter the contest. We see that immediately after Messiah ben Joseph’s immersion by Yochanan He was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. But He quoted the Scriptures correctly and refused to obey Satan. He finally told Satan to depart from Him and from that time on He became the successor to Satan and qualified to take over the rulership of the earth. However, because Messiah ben Joseph had to die for the sins of the world and to be able to remarry His bride, He went to heaven more than 1975 years ago. But, as He promised and prophesied by the prophets, He is coming back after two days according to G-d’s method of determining time, which is equal to two thousand years.

From this we see that G-d did not create the Devil, but instead He created Lucifer the cherub who transformed himself into the devil by his rebellion against G-d’s government. Rav Shaul confirmed that Satan is even now the god of this world in2 Corinthians 4: 3 & 4, saying: ‘And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, (4) in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Messiah, who is the image of G-d.’ When he tried to defeat Messiah ben Joseph, Satan tempted Him in Luke 4: 5 & 6, as follows: ‘And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.(6) And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish,” We know that Satan did not make this statement falsely, since Messiah ben Joseph did not refute his claim, but instead rebuked him in verse 8, saying: “It is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP HASHEM YOUR G-D AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’” Rav Shaul refers to Satan as the‘prince of the power of the air’ in Ephesians 2: 2 and Yochanan’s vision in Revelation 12: 9 shows him as the deceiver of the whole world.Many people have falsely assumed that the devil is the god of this world against (HaShem)’s will. They have unknowingly followed one of Satan’s great false doctrines; that there is a great controversy between HaShem and him. This doctrine assumes that Satan is much more powerful than G-d and despite all the work that missionary workers have done over the centuries, there seems to be far more human beings ‘lost’ than what there are ‘saved’. Considering the alleged contest between HaShem and Satan for human 'souls', we must concede that HaShem seems to be on the 'losing' side. It is very clear that most people are totally enveloped by sin today. It raises the question: if HaShem is Almighty, why has so few people who ever lived heard the good news of salvation? Is this doctrine of Satan true? We find the answer in Romans 11: 32 - 36 as follows: "For G-d has shut all in disobedience, that He might show mercy to all. (33) Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of G-d! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! (34) FOR WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF HASHEM, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? (35) OR WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? (36) For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the esteem forever. Amein.”

According to G-d’s plan of salvation, depicted by His annual Set-apart Days, there will be two resurrections or harvests of souls. The first resurrection is for those people who are called during this age to be a kind of first fruits, as it is put in James 1: 18: “In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be, as it were, the first fruits among His creatures.”The second harvest of souls will occur after the millennium rule of Messiah ben David, as it says in the last part of Revelation 20: 4 and in verse 5: “and they came to life and reigned with Messiah for a thousand years. (5) The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.“ This is also spoken of in 1 Corinthians 15: 22 - 24 as follows:“For as in Adam all die, so also in Messiah all shall be made alive. (23) But each in his own order: Messiah the first fruits, after that those who are Messiah’s at His coming, (24) then comes the end (ones), when He delivers up the kingdom to the G-d and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.”Satan introduced his doctrine that man has an immortal soul to Eve in Genesis 3: 4 as follows:‘And the serpent said to the woman, "You surely shall not die!”’ This despite the fact that HaShem said Adam in Genesis 2: 17,“but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.”Many assume since Adam and Eve did not die during the first day they ate of the forbidden fruit that HaShem lied to them. However, do not forget according to the Scriptures one day is like a thousand years to HaShem as witnessed in Psalm 90: 4, ‘For a thousand years in Thy sight is like yesterday when it passes by, or as a watch in the night.’We also know according to Genesis 5: 5:“(So) all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.”So it was Satan the father of lies, who lied. He succeeded in selling his own desires as well as his final destination to his deceived audience, as their most important teaching. Satan wanted to go to heaven to take over (HaShem)’s throne in rebellion. Christianity, Moslems, Hindus and other religions believe that ‘good’ people go to heaven to look at G-d’s face for all eternity at the time of their death. But, this doctrine inspired by Satan, is nowhere to be found in The Scriptures. As mentioned before, Satan as a spiritual being is immortal and has deceived mankind and more specifically many in Churchianity, to believe that man is also immortal. We know that the devil will be thrown into the lake of fire and will be tormented day and night forever and ever. This may be read in Revelation 20: 10 as follows: “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Many religions teach accordingly, that the wicked will be tormented in an everlasting fire.

Human beings are made from physical matter and without having received the Set-apart Spirit of HaShem at repentance and immersion; they do not have eternal life in them and are not immortal. When physical matter is thrown into a fire, it burns until it becomes ashes. History shows that Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden cut him and his descendants off from the Spirit of G-d, but also from an ongoing relationship with Him. After G-d barred Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and the ‘Tree of Life’, the whole world became corrupt and G-d destroyed all life from earth in a flood, except for Noah, his family and the animals which HaShem led to enter the ark to protect them from the flood. When the failure of mankind was repeated with the rebellion at Babylon led by Nimrod after the flood, G-d confused their language and scattered mankind abroad to start over again with one man called Abram. HaShem made a two-fold covenant with Abram after changing his name to Abraham, promising him and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob that they would eventually possess the Promised Land eternally as spiritual children/helpers of G-d, provided they remain faithful to His commandments including circumcising their sons at eight days old. The second part of the promise was that those descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob, who eventually disobeyed and were scattered into the world because of idolatry, would be able to return to the covenant through Abraham’s one seed, Messiah ben Joseph, through whom the rest of mankind will also be saved after Messiah’s millennial rule, during the great white throne judgement period.

Jews obtain the Set-apart Spirit by obeying Torah as Rav Shaul confirmed in Acts 5: 32, saying: “And we are witnesses of these things: and so is the Set-apart Spirit, whom G-d has given to those who obey Him.” Returnees who after accepting Messiah ben Joseph as their personal Pass Over and Torah observant Jews, who sin willfully and those who after having lived during the thousand year rule of Messiah without accepting Him as their King, plus those who do not do so after learning the truth during the Great White Throne judgment, will end up burning when death and the grave will be thrown in the lake of fire (as per Revelation 20: 14 & 15). We get a better description of this in Malachi 4: 1 – 3, as follows:‘“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says HaShem of host, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” (2) But for you who fear My name the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. (3) And you will tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,” says HaShem of hosts.’ A second witness to this can be found in Isaiah 26: 14 as follows:“The dead will not live, the departed spirits will not rise(without the Spirit of HaShem given to those who obey Torah); therefore Thou hast punished and destroyed them, and Thou hast wiped out all remembrance of them.” Because Satan is only concerned with top level positions in the kingdom of G-d, in his attempt to try and destroy G-d’s plan of salvation for mankind, he started with tempting and deceiving Adam and Eve, the first humans on earth. Next, when Messiah ben Joseph came to earth, Satan tried by many subtle ways to get Him to sin. At the end of Messiah’s ministry Satan entered Judas and was instrumental in Messiah’s death. Satan is also at this time more concerned about those of us whom HaShem has called out of the world, than those who remain in the ways of the world. Yes, he still get those in the world to destroy one another, but his ultimate goal is to thwart our entry into the Kingdom of G-d on earth – the position he had before. Y’shua’s warned Yochanan about this in a vision in Revelation 12: 17, saying:‘And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of G-d and hold to the testimony of Y’shua.’ Rav Kepha confirmed this in 1 Peter 5: 8, saying: ‘Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.’

The quote from Malachi 4 informs us that when the wicked are thrown into the fire, after the second resurrection, they will not burn forever, but will be wiped out from remembrance. So we see eternity in an ever-lasting fire cannot be the fate of un-repented human beings. To further explain the point, herewith the explanation of one Hebrew and three Greek words translated as ‘hell’ in most versions of The Scriptures:

Sheol is the Hebrew word translated as ‘hell’ throughout the Tanach and refers to the state and abode of the dead; hence the grave in which the body rests. Considering the true meaning of the word, some recent versions of The Scriptures translate this word as ‘the grave’ (New International Version) whilst others leave it as Sheol (New American Standard Bible). We read that among those who knew that they were going to the grave or Sheol, were Jacob (Genesis 37: 35), Job (Job 14: 13), David (Psalm 88: 3) and Hezekiah (Isaiah 38: 10). It is therefore clear that Sheol or the grave is not a place of torment.
The Greek equivalent of Sheol is Hades, which also refers to the grave in four verses in the Renewed Covenant. The word Hades appears in Matthew 11: 23; Luke 10: 15; Acts 2: 27 and 31. As with the word Sheol, Hades simply means the grave and is rendered as ‘the grave’ or ‘death’ or left un-translated as Hades in some recent versions of The Scriptures. Hades is also not a place of fiery torment. In Acts 2: 27 and 31 we see that Messiah ben Joseph was in ‘Hades’ or ‘hell’ during the time that He was in the grave, prior to His resurrection.
Another Greek word also translated as ‘hell’ in the Renewed Covenant. This word is used once in 2 Peter 2: 4, where it refers to the place where the fallen angels are restrained before their judgment. The Expository Dictionary of Bible Words explains that tartaroo means ‘to confine in Tartaros.’ ‘Tartaros was the Greek name for the mythological abyss in which rebellious gods were confined (page 337)’. Kepha used the reference to the mythology of his time; to show the fate of sinning angels. HaShem“committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment.”The angels were restrained awaiting the ultimate judgment for their part in the rebellion against HaShemand for their influence on mankind. Tartaros only applies to fallen angels or demons and never refers to a fiery hell in which human beings are punished after death.
The Greek word Gehenna is also translated as ‘hell’ in The Scriptures. Gehenna is derived from the Hebrew word Ga-Hinnom, meaning valley of Hinnom. According to 2 Kings 23 : 10, 13 and 14, Josiah defiled the valley of the son of Hinnom, with human bones and other corruptions to prevent the Israelites from making their sons and daughters pass through the fire for Moloch (a pagan god). Because of this evil reputation, this valley bordering Jerusalem came to be used as the city garbage dump. Trash was burned here along with bodies of dead animals and criminals. Fires that were stoked day and night burned the refuse. Gehenna is used 12 times in The Scriptures, with 11 of those being when Y’shua spoke of it. At the time, His listeners knew that this ‘hell’ was a consuming fire in which rubbish and the bodies of criminals are destroyed. He warned that this fire would be the fate of the hopelessly wicked sinners (see Matthew 5: 22, 29 – 30; 23: 15, 33; Luke 12: 5). However, when will this happen? The people who opposed Y’shua’s teachings were amongst the religious leaders of His time and were not treated as criminals. Their bodies were not burned at the city dump, but those who refuse to repent of their lawlessness to go G-d’s way after the second resurrection will be thrown into the Gehenna fire, an all-consuming fire that will completely destroy them from all memory.Through the examination of these words translated as ‘hell’, we’ve seen that the traditional view of an everlasting torment where sinners will be punished for eternity is simply not scriptural.

But do the parable of Lazarus and the rich man not prove that man will suffer eternally in an everlasting hell fire? Messiah ben Joseph,like other Rabbis of His time, used parables as a method of teaching His disciples. We know that a parable is an allegory used to teach important lessons. It is not to be understood literally, nor does it describe actual events taking place. When Messiah ben Joseph’s disciples questioned Him as to why He used this method of teaching, He explained in Mark 4: 11&12, saying: “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of G-d; but those who are outside get everything in parables, (12) in order that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE; AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND LEST THEY RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN.”In the parable in Luke 16: 19 – 31, He used a familiar story of His day to point out a spiritual lesson to those who teach Torah, but refuse to teach those who lack knowledge. At the basic level the lesson teaches that eternal consequences depend on the kind of people we are and the choices we make. In the parable the rich man dies. When he is resurrected, being a wicked person it will be during the second resurrection, he learns that because of the way he lived life, his fate is destruction by fire. His torment (verse 23 & 24) is mental anguish. He could not bring his riches with him and has lost everything on account of not obeying Torah. The great chasm between Lazarus and the rich man is the difference between the rewards they will receive. Lazarus will receive eternal life and the rich man will be destroyed in the lake of fire. The great chasm has to do with the time span of 1000 years between the first and the second resurrections.The conversation with Abraham is not literal, but an allegory to teach a vital lesson. The rich man facing eternal destruction because of the way he lived, requests that his family be warned to repent in order to avoid the same fate. The parable concludes in verse 31 that sufficient warning about the results of sin is given in the Scriptures, as follows: “But he said to him, ‘if they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’” Those, who will not listen to what the word of G-d says, will definitely also not listen to someone who was resurrected from the dead. The parable teaches that if we choose to reject HaShem and His ways, we will definitely be destroyed in the lake of fire.However, those who advocate an immortal soul insist that this is not a parable. For the sake of argument let us therefore look at the account of Lazarus and the rich man assuming that this is not a parable. The account commences with describing a certain rich man living in sheer luxury and splendor. It continues with describing a poor beggar named Lazarus, which was full of sores and lay outside the gate of the rich man’s house. He begged to be fed with crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. In addition the dogs came and licked his sores. When the beggar dies he was carried by angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. Notice that Y’shua said that Lazarus was taken by angels into Abraham’s bosom and not that he went to heaven. According to the law of inheritance described in the latter part of Galatians 3 and 4, both Jews and Greeks (i.e. Gentiles) who are in Messiah, are Abraham’s seed according to the promise (Galatians 3: 29).

What did G-d promise Abraham? To what promise was this beggar now an heir? G-d did not promise Abraham and his children an abode in heaven. We read about the promise in Genesis 17: 7 - 8 as follows:“And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be G-d to you and to your descendants after you. (8) And I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojourning, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their G-d.” The land of Canaan is on earth and not in heaven. The beggar became Abraham’s seed through faith in Messiah. Being the seed of Abraham, the beggar is promised everlasting life in the Promised Land and not in heaven. The picture of being carried into Abraham’s bosom means that he became one of Abraham’s children. We know that a son, who is heir to his father’s property, cannot possess the promise before his father inherits it. We know according to Hebrews 11: 39 & 40 that our fathers in the faith have not received their promised inheritance yet: “And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, (40) because G-d had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect.”Like Y’shua, our fathers in the faith will receive eternal life through the resurrection at His coming. However, at this time we know that both Abraham and the beggar are still dead. The beggar is carried to Abraham’s bosom by angels. But when will the angels come down from heaven? We read from Matthew 24: 31,“And He will send forth His angels with a GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER HIS elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”This will happen at the coming of Messiah on the Feast of Trumpets at the time of the first resurrection. So the beggar will only receive his inheritance one day when Messiah comes.What about the rich man’s fate?Scriptures tell us that he died. We see that whilst he was in Hades or ‘hell’, he lifted up his eyes. Where is this ‘hell’? Surprisingly as it may sound, the rich man was in the same ‘hell’ where Messiah ben Joseph was buried. But, Messiah’s body did not see corruption as witnessed in Acts 2: 31,“he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID HIS flesh SUFFER DECAY.” Also notice in the account of Lazarus and the rich man, that Messiah did not say when the rich man in the grave, lifted up his eyes. The rich man is pictured as one of the wicked, or lost. According to John 5: 28 & 29 the unjust will only open their eyes at the time of their resurrection–in the second resurrection, as follows: “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, (29) and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” Messiah is talking about two different resurrections here. In Revelation 20: 4 we read of the resurrection of those in Messiah at His coming – the first resurrection. Revelation 20: 5 clearly shows that the rest of the dead who were not resurrected at Messiah’s return and did not come to life until the 1000 years were completed, during the second resurrection. The resurrection of the rich man occurs with that of all the unjust and the unsaved after the millennium. Messiah did not say when the rich man will open his eyes and be resurrected, but from other scriptures we understand that it will only be after the millennium - hence the great chasm of time of 1000 years between the two resurrections.

Both Rav Kepha and Jude confirm that there is a time of judgment reserved for the fallen angels. According to Revelation 5: 10 the first fruits who are resurrected during the first resurrection, will reign as kings and priests on the earth. An important part of the function of the resurrected first fruits will be judgment. G-d will permit us to become judges of this world, as Rav Shaul confirmed in 1 Corinthians 6: 2&3, saying: “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? (3) Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, matters of this life?”Yes, it will be our responsibility to judge the fallen angels? But what sort of punishment will we meet out? Perhaps the sort mentioned in Jude 13 where we read about the ongoing punishment of the wandering stars (demons), forwho is reserved the blackness or darkness forever. Satan's ultimate destination is still to be decided by the resurrected first fruit believers. Are we preparing ourselves for the function which our Father has planned for us? Such a responsibility requires an incredible amount of understanding, wisdom and knowledge and we need to prepare for it by studying G-d’s word on a regular basis. HaShemhas called us to much more than just sitting on a cloud and looking upon His face for all eternity. We are ultimately going to rule the entire universe under Messiah. This is what the fallen angels were given to accomplish. Our responsibility is much greater than what we are able to understand at this time as witnessed in 1 Corinthians 2: 9 ’but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT G-D HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”’

There is a wonderful future awaiting us, if we make it into the Kingdom of G-d. We better not foul up our chances and need to be careful that we do not end up in the lake of fire to be burnt to ashes. Yes, it is possible if we go back to our former ways of life, after having tasted the knowledge that we have today, to be burned up in the lake of fire, as is explained in two Peter 2: 20 – 22:“For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Master and Savior Y’shua Messiah, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. (21) For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the Set-apart commandment delivered to them. (22) It has happened to them according to the true proverb, ‘A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT,’ and ‘A SOW, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.’”As Nazarene believers in Messiah we were liberated from believing the account which the Italian poet Dante presented between the 13th and 14th centuries, as an eternal punishment of sinners. He called it ‘La Divina Comedia.’ But, as first fruits we need to remain careful how we live, since we are being judged during this age according to 1 Peter 4: 17 and could lose our crowns. Think carefully about it!

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia discusses the contemporary background of this specific parable, in this way: “This parable follows a story common in Egyptian and Jewish thought, in which the wicked rich and pious poor have their positions reversed in the afterlife. It is told from the point of view of the rich man, who speaks with Abraham from his place of torment. Although this parable does not intend to give a topographical study of the abode of the dead, it is built upon and thus confirms common Jewish thought… In the Jewish conception of Hades…. the good and the wicked could see each other but were separated by a great chasm. Across this chasm the rich man called to Abraham, begging that Lazarus be sent to comfort him. When he was assured of the impossibility of this, he begged that Lazarus be sent back to warn his brothers of their possible fate. Abraham said that if they would not believe Moses, they would not believe one returned from the dead. The parable warns the rich that their possessions do not guarantee their future state. The parable was apparently directed toward Sadducean satisfaction with this life, based upon the belief that there would be no life beyond. Thus, Abraham said that even one from the dead would not convince the living to repent.” (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1986, Vol. III, page 94).