SO.. it looks like yesterday was item #17…
So, today will be #18.

5:12 a.m. Dec 25, Christmas Day. 2021
37º out… high of 43º
Snow tomorrow.

Good morning dear one…
Merry Christmas to you.

This is suppose to be number 18 of our 95 things we finding fault with the modern day “church” so let’s use CHRISTMAS as our theme of the day.

Turns out
JESUS WAS BORN SOMETIME IN SEPTEMBER.

Ain’t that a hoot?

I sat in those church pews for years and years… and never heard such a thing. Were they afraid of the facts? Did they just want to leave “well enough” alone?
“Don’t rock the boat” with facts? Would that create too much work for them?
Jesus born on December 25th? Why do they carry on that way?

Let’s go to the definition of faith found in Hebrews 11… from the concordant literal New Testament:
Chapter 11
1 Now faith is an assumption of what is being expected,
a conviction concerning matters which are not being observed;
If Jesus’ birthday is important, and it happened sometime in September, why all the fuss over December 25?
I think I can make an argument that all this December 25th business is part of the deception of the enemy. You see, in matters of “faith” our salvation hinges on the cross and the resurrection of Christ, not on the details of His birth.
But the modern day “church” is not concerned with matters of “faith”… They are concerned with power, control, and selling something that’s way easier to sell… and a little baby “Jesus” is so cute… cuddly…. Who doesn’t love babies…
But this man on the cross… blood, guts, sweat, matty hair, smelly, naked shame, — where’s the marketability in that scene?
I don’t care if Jesus was born on one day or another, but the “church” is suppose to be the home of truth. Right?
I don’t think they care about “truth” much at all.
Keep in mind, truth is that which accords with the facts. And if you have to ignore and change the “facts”… to protect your so-called “truth” then you don’t have the truth.

Merry Christmas to you Chain… nice to see ya.

Chapter 11

1 Now faith is an assumption of what is being expected,
a conviction concerning matters which are not being observed;

Why can’t those “church” guys say “Hey, we’re celebrating Jesus’ birth on December 25th out of tradition and convenience. You see, we borrowed a lot of tradition from ancient Babylonian religious stuff… so, that’s the way it is…” etc.
But no, they get us all worked up over a convenience for them… and when we come to find out the least little thing that doesn’t jive up… we just might doubt all of it. And our faith crumbles.
Faith… saving faith… centers around the cross and God raising Him from among the dead. And they don’t want much to do with that. Come Easter, they’ll go on a little bit about it, but they’d rather not. But Easter should be a bigger deal to “us” in the faith than December 25th.
Christmas time is marketable. Death and resurrection – not so much.

That’s all I go for this morning. I try to do better when we get together next time. Chain… thanks for stopping by.

Grace to you.
5:40 a.m.
36º out there.
Ace.

The Ace Theological Company’s 95 Thesis

The Ace Theological Company’s
95 Theses

We did a show yesterday, (Christmas Day) and on it Catherine came in and gave her testimony.
And Nancy also came in and gave me a hard time. So, it was a “debate” about God’s work in the cross of Christ.
She thinks it created “possibilities” and I think it actually saves.
Catherine, was spot on regarding Christ’s work on the cross. She said “He died” on the cross. And I’m telling you, there is so much significance in saying “He died”. It was so powerful a testimony, that our trinitarian brother exited the room seemingly offended that we’d cotton to such a thing. You see, trinitarians say that Jesus’ body died, but “He” did not die. I say, they mix up the story so much that you just can’t see any big deal regarding the resurrection. But if “He died”… actually means “He died”… OMG… then the resurrection of Christ… is the greatest of all stories !!! And His death and resurrection changes everything about everything. Including OUR story.
Turns out, “we are in Him”…. And whatever happens to His Boy, also happens to US.
But the trinitarians neither believe we are “in Him” nor do they believe His death and resurrection holds much sway in the universe. They “believe” that you “must believe” — that “belief” is what sets you apart from the rest of the poor unsaved slobs out there.
But, here I am, again, asking “What exactly ‘must’ you believe?
Must you believe that “He” did not die when He died?
Must you believe that you were NOT saved, when He died to save you?
Must you believe that God is not indeed the savior of all, but only the savior of those who in essence saved themselves by their proper actions, belief and obedience?
Must you believe that God cannot change the heart of the most stubborn of sinners? That, instead, He must honor their stubbornness?
Help me out trinitarians…. Jump in here, anywhere you feel comfortable.
Anyway… Catherine’s testimony was just amazing and precious… as it was not all about her. It was about our Father.
Then we get to Nancy’s antics.
She, like so many, would not commit to acknowledging God as God. She wants so much to believe in her belief. And she wants so much to believe in the ultimate determining power of man’s fickled (sp?) will.
I asked her, repeatedly, what did God accomplish in Christ’s cross? The best she could do was say that… “Now, salvation is possible.”
As if salvation was not “possible” before the cross.
And, if all that was accomplished on Christ’s cross was to make salvation “possible”… what, pray tell, makes it “actual”???
THAT… is what we need to praise, honor and adore.
We need to praise, honor and adore the thing that makes our salvation ACTUAL… And guess what… That’s what “christianity” does… they PRAISE, HONOR and ADORE human freewill and all things man.
But, I’m old enough to see that man’s will is fickled as can be. A man will do anything for a potato — if he’s hungry enough… kill, steal, sell his kids into slavery… you name it. The human “free” will is not anything you want to base ultimate human destiny upon. We MUST get a bigger glimpse of the grand purpose of God.
So, the darkness is all around… and most folks don’t get it yet. Nor should they. For God is still in the business of finishing up his purpose to head up all in the Christ and be all in all.
We don’t have to win any arguments with these guys.
Nor do we have to be surprised that they don’t get it.
After all… we were once sitting on that picket fence with pokey things going up our butts too.
I too was a “yeah but” brother years ago.
“God is the savior of all.” — yeah but…
“Christ died for our sins.” — yeah but…
“Christ died for all.” — yeah but…

Those guys believe in the BUT more than they believe in God’s creative and redemptive abilities.

Hang on… Sister Janet, (another “Yeah but” girl) left a comment… Here is my reply to her:

Dear Janet,
I too was a “Yeah, but…” christian years ago.
Not so much anymore.
These days I am more inclined to trust that God is the savior and nothing else.
You see, “salvation” is a common noun in the Bible. It could be referring to any number of things.
And it seems clear to me that one can be saved before one knows he/she is saved.
So, we’re watching Pamela Anderson and David Hasslehoff run around in red swimwear and “saving” people in the water. And some of those people are actually facedown in the water unconscious. And the dramatic music fills the living room and it’s a gripping scene. They finally reach the face-down person and flip them over right there in the water. We’ve seen it a thousands times before, but we’re still glued to the set. They give the face-down person CPR (mouth-to-mouth) in the water. And behold, we’re amazed, they come to life and are forever indebted to Pamela and David for doing a job “well done”.

So, when were they “saved”?

When the alarm went out to the red swim suit team?
When the kids in red arrived at their location?
When CPR began?
When they dragged their exhausted bodies back to shore?

The answer is YES to all.

Salvation is the work of God. We cannot add to it nor take away from it.

I say, we were saved, (some of us) before the eons were even created, “in Christ”. And I say we were saved on the cross, before we were ever born. I say we were saved and were later GIVEN the faith to believe all that has happened.

Back to the Pamela and David show, can you imagine some of those “saved” folks coming to on the beach and saying “What happened?” — Why of course, you can imagine that… for quite often a fellow or gal who NEEDS saving does not even realize they need saving until after the saving happens. Get it?

Thank God, He knows we need savin’ right?
And thank God for Pamela Anderson and David Hasselhoff.
One of the things God saves us from is a confused and chaos filled mind. You see, one day, we will “praise” God, when he enlightens us regarding what was accomplished on the cross, and how He brought us all along.

Got to go. We’ll check in later.
Grace to you.
6:10 a.m.
Dec 26th. 2021.
Ace.

The Ace Theological Company’s
95 Theses

Dec 27th. 2021
5:46 a.m.
32º out there, 80% chance of snow, they say.
Suppose to get up to 38º.

Good morning Early Bird…
Where are we? On item 19?
NewGenesus ( NewGenesisConnection) left a question, let’s use that as our starting point:
Ace…… Question for you??? Why if we have FREE WILL…Would Jesus have to FORCE us to OBEY HIS LAW….& Statutes & Ordinances Only WHEN HE RETURNS at the 2nd coming? If his Law is temporarily DONE AWAY WITH NOW????? Why do we need it again when he returns & it WILL BE ESTABLISHED??? Why are you enjoying going over the OT, reviewing FREE WILL VERSES….if the OT is NO LONGER IMPORTANT???? What Jesus Jewish…of the tribe of Judah of the Nation of Israel????
OK, let me “twy” (no “r”) to answer this…
1. We all have a will, but not a “freewill”. So, in trying to discuss these things it’s like we’re using a map to navigate our way to the next town or state, and the map was drawn by a 5 year-old.
2. Does Jesus “force” us to obey? A “command” to do this or that, does not explain very much about what’s going on. God “commanded” Adam NOT to eat of the tree. But that’s just scratching the surface of the whole story. There were many, many things going on at once. And the “plot thickens”… There was a good looking woman, a snake, tasty looking fruit… the desire to know more than you do now… I mean how could Adam take all that pressure? His goose was cooked before the show began.

(SIDE NOTE: GOOD MORNING MICHAEL, AND MOONLIGHT. )

When we’re looking at the story of the Old Testament, and we look ahead at the story in the day of the Lord, when Jesus is reigning and Israel is behaving and ruling with Him on the Earth… keep in mind… we’re viewing GOD’S OPERATIONS… we’re not viewing man’s little ole contribution to the whole program.
God… in the O.T. gave the law, and said “obey”… but did Israel (or mankind) have a “freewill” about the matter. No. The story we see there… if we’re honest ‘bout things is just a story of how God operates (sometimes) with His creation. The story of the O.T. is a set-up for a later chapter.
You’ve read enough novels, stories, to see that YOU NEED set-up… to make the ending of the story just so satisfying.
The idea presented to us by the proponents of “freewill” is that God is out of control… and hoping that man will behave himself… but alas, does not so God preforms a scorched earth policy to “teach them all a lesson they’ll never forget.”
Hang on, it’s a tough question… complex, many layers…
Q: “If his Law is temporarily DONE AWAY WITH NOW????? Why do we need it again when he returns & it WILL BE ESTABLISHED???”
Attempted Answer: As I see it, NewGen, the “law” and Israel is not “done away with” — just set aside, or put on the back burner… so that God may display something AMAZING…. Grace to those who didn’t even know they were chosen to be apart of the great hootenany. (Sp?)
Grace to those who didn’t lift a finger to qualify.
Grace to those were themselves amazed to be included.
Grace to those needed for His purpose, but didn’t know they could be used. (What purpose you may ask? His purpose to head up all, even the celestials, in the Christ. To head up all in the Christ.)
You see, Dear NewGen, Israel has not yet, but WILL fulfill their purpose. Or, should I say, They will fulfill God’s purpose for them.
We, in the body of Christ DON’T take their place. Our part—our role in the coming eons, is entirely different than that of Israel. We can’t replace Israel… we compliment her. They will do on the Earth what we’ll be doing among the celestials.
So… will Israel be “forced” to obey in the day of the Lord? Gosh… you structure the questions so wildly that it’s hard to unpack them.
“Forced”?
There are all kinds of “forces” going on around us all the time. Wine and roses are a “force”. Chocolate birthday cake are a “force”. So, in the day of the Lord, when Jesus, the Christ is parking his butt on the throne, in the New Jerusalem, do you think Israel will be a little more inclined to “obey”… since the dynamics of Jesus being right there to keep an eye on them… and is that a “force”…
Keep in mind, NewGen, we all have a “will” but it is not “free” of influence — and the influence of Jesus on the throne in Israel is somethin’ to behold.
But again… we’ve viewing GOD’S OPERATIONS— How God operates in various administrations during the eons of his eonian purpose.
Right now — God operates in Grace toward all the nations, not just Israel. In the future, God will “force” all nations to come THROUGH Israel. And even that is a gracious thing.
What you want to see NewGen, is not man and man’s role and man’s obedience or disobedience, or man’s contribution to the operations of God… you want to see WHAT GOD IS DOING.
Forget man.
See God.
After all, if man needs saving, God is the savior.
And of course man needs saving, saving after all is just an extension of creation itself. God creates, adjusts, tweaks, finishes, and saves. It’s His eonian purpose (Eph 3:11)
Q: “Why are you enjoying going over the OT, reviewing FREE WILL VERSES….if the OT is NO LONGER IMPORTANT????”
Answer: The Old Testament is wonderful. A wonderful set-up for each next chapter of God’s operations of grace. The Old Testament (And much of the New Testament) is for, about and concerning the Jews. But we can learn from it. The back story is important, just as important as the end of the story, when God becomes all, in all.
QUESTION: WAS(?) Jesus Jewish…of the tribe of Judah of the Nation of Israel????
Answer: Yes, Jesus was Jewish. But the big idea is that, He is the Lord of all. And that He was not sent to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved. And that one day, every knee will lovingly bow to Him. And every tongue will acclaim His praises. Doesn’t that sound like the most lovely of stories? I’m looking forward to it.

Grace to you.
Ace.
6:40 a.m.
Coffee time.

The Ace Theological Company’s
95 Theses

3:36 A.M.
Dec 28th, 2021
25º out there.
Should get to a high of 26º, not much progress today.

#20

Today… hmmm… I’m thinking about stubborn christians. And especially how they say “I’m not stubborn, I surrendered my heart to God, that proves I’m not stubborn.” — or some such.
It’s dang near impossible to really see into our own hearts and analyze ourselves. Our minds and hearts are generally clouded by many things. We can’t see our faults. We tend to defend our bad behavior with the flimsiest — and finest — excuses.
I had Romans 11:32 in mind, one day, when I told the “freewill chick” that “God spoke to me and told me you were stubborn”…. Keep in mind I was mimicking the old Pentacostals who use that “God told me” lingo… So, I told this chick she was “stubborn” — you should have seen her recoil. She did not like that accusation. She proceeded to tell me our humble she was. And she was proud of her humility. — get it?
So, you hop over to Romans 11:32 and discover that “GOD LOCKS UP ALL TOGETHER IN STUBBORNNESS.” — and you say, “WTF”???
Not only are we all “stubborn”… but God made sure of it?
That must mean God does things… to “stubbornize” us.
That means God has a plan for the stubborn.
That means the stubbornness we embrace and are so proud that we don’t have, will one day truly humble us — that we WERE so stubborn.
The King James Bible says “God concludes us all in unbelief.” — a little disguised in its meaning but you can kind of see the same thing. All humanity and all christians are stubborn and unbelieving. And God makes sure of it.
Let’s get this straight… God is not afraid of you shaking your fist at God. Go ahead. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s unfair. So what?
So, the “freewill chick” says to me that she IS NOT stubborn. And boy, oh, boy, was she ever insistent. To the point of being ridiculous.
“I am NOT stubborn, I humbled myself to God three years ago.” — type of thing.
(SIDE NOTE: Michael says “pigs don’t know pigs stink.”)
So, I think we can learn a lesson for ourselves… if God locks up all in stubbornness… we might as well admit it, “we’re addicted to stubbornness”.
Remember where Jesus says “the meek shall inherit the Earth”… now I don’t know if this is the right interpretation of that verse… but, what if “meek” meant the ability not to rush into judgment… the ability to say “Hmmmm, let me think about it.”
So, the “meek” would not be quick to rush into judgment…
(Of course, I’m just thinking aloud about that verse, and I know it’s not what I’m saying, I’m just taking it out of context and yakking freely. — about the “stubborn”… which in this case I’m saying CHRISTIANS ARE STUBBORN. And God made them that way.
Doing any kind of “soul searching” is tough. If we can ever get to the place to where we SEE that we are stubborn, can we be happy with the assessment?
So, God comes along and has this “eonian purpose” (Eph 3:11) and not only is the CREATOR OF ALL but also THE SAVIOR OF ALL… and so “stubbornness” doesn’t scare Him. He counts on in. He makes it happen. He “locks up” all in it.
And aren’t we lucky? It’s thrilling, really.
So we can look at all the freewill chicks and freewill dudes and smile, and think to ourselves, ‘You’re not so big. God can take you down.’ — God can even take kings and bring them down a notch or two.
Don’t forget: Pride will stick to anything. So, if a fellow is “proud” of this or that… it does necessarily mean anything.
Israel is proud and stubborn.
Atheist are proud and stubborn.
Christians are proud and stubborn.
5 year-olds are proud and stubborn.
We’re all in this mess together. We better hope God is the savior, as we sure can’t save ourselves.

Grace to you.
Thanks for joining me… you stubborn s.o.b.s….. LOL.
Back to bed for a nap before I get the day started for real.
Michael, Moonlight, Sterling, Mysterious,… you’re all in Him and under His care.
Good night.
Ace.

The Ace Theological Company’s
95 Theses

#21

14 YEARS AGO…

If you’re familiar with the Scriptures, then you’ll know that “14 Years Ago”— is one of the most important time references you’ll ever find.

Actually, it’s “14 Years Later”… but you get the idea.

Good morning dear one,
It’s 19º out side.
It’s 3:59 a.m.
Dec 29th. 2021

This 14 year thing, is all about Paul going up to Jerusalem to get the tacit approval of the James Gang.
You see, ever since Jesus was raised from among the dead, the believing Jews were huddled together in Jerusalem and chattering about if this Jesus will make good in His promise to be the King over Israel and restore the kingdom — thingy.

Well… You gotta feel their frustration… as Jesus was seemingly dragging His feet about this matter. And on top of that, there was this dude named Paul, who was really crimping their style by genning up all these gentiles to absolutely “REVERE GOD ASIDE FROM THE LAW”. (Acts 18:13)
Well, this Paul guy, was out there for years and years, getting gentiles all excited about the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. But HOW? How was he doing it?
He was teaching them that God’s plan and purpose was big. Real big. And it included more than the Jews… it included them too… ALL THE GENTILES. And it included the whole dang universe. And guess what — the whole picture clicked in the minds of those bad boys from the gentile realms.
Well… Paul’s message sort of cut the Jews out of the picture when it came to the Jews collecting on respect and filthy lucre that they had come to depend on. — In other words, in Paul’s “grace message” you already have access to the Father without jumping through any hoops or kissing the ring of the high priest of the Jews. And they did not like it. Not even the believing Jews.
So, Paul was out there yakking about the grace of God and piecing together the eonian purpose of God in an understandable way… and long about 14 years of this, he goes up to Jerusalem to kind of, get their permission. Not exactly “permission” but at least a pat on the head. — And get this: This little story is quite important… and it means something TO YOU today.
You see, Paul had his enemies there in Jerusalem. And when Paul showed up to have a kind of a private meeting with Peter, James and John— his enemies snuck into the meeting and interrupted the whole thing with a shouting match. And Paul did not put up with those snot nosed a-holes, not even for an hour.
He shouted them down. And Peter, James and John, had to acknowledge that Paul truly had a message for the gentiles that not only “seemed right” but no one could argue with. And it was a different message altogether. A really cool message. More vital and gracious than the message the 12 were preaching in Jerusalem. Paul’s message had nothing to do with law keeping. And yikes – those James Gangers were nervous about this thing.
So, after 14 years, out there, on his own, gathering up clusters of believers to believe, love each other, and revel in the grace of God, Paul shows up to get their pat on the head.
And they reluctantly gave it. Let’s call it “the right hand of fellowship”. (They probably wiped their hands after they shook Paul’s hand… at least James did.)
So, Paul’s band of rebels… were to be… Joint enjoyers… can you say WOW… Joint enjoyers of plenty… including being in “the body of Christ”… can you hear the privilege and honor in that? Before this, the Jews thought they had dibs on God and His Christ… now these revelers KNEW they were IN Christ, how can this be. Mind blowing, huh?
So… Paul was out there for at least 14 years… heralding the word to the gentiles… before he went to Jerusalem to present “his gospel” – to revere God aside from the law. What a glorious thought. That we have a place in God, in Christ, and we don’t have to break a sweat about the matter. And in fact, we were placed IN Christ before times eonian. Are you catching on to how lovely this all is? It’s God’s work people. Not your work. Not your contribution. It’s God’s work. And surely God can pull it all off.

Coffee refill time… hang on.

(Side note: Hi, Erica. And Michael.)

(SIDE NOTE: Sterling, hi. Moonlight, Hi. Mysterious? Hi.

So, this “14 years” business, when you think about it, is a PROOF — a MIRACLE OF GOD — That God would establish the ecclesias in GRACE aside from hopping to the law… wow.
“After 14 years, I went up to Jerusalem, taking Barnabas along with me…” (Somewhere in Galatians.)
Listen… just as a spin off, this thought… when Paul established the ecclesias “aside from the Law”… that means they DID NOT read the Bible much. Why would they? The whole thing of Paul and the saints outside the Jewish world was kind of a miracle all to itself. Can WE be recipients of GRACE without reading and studying the Bible? Why not!!!!
After all, the vast majority of “christians” out there don’t read the Bible anyway. — You don’t need it to prove that God is God. And that’s really what Paul’s evangel is all about: God is God.
God is God.
God is the creator of all.
God is the savior of all.
God is the placer of all.
God is the subjector of all.
God is the redeemer of all.
And God begins the whole program with His Boy.
He begins creation with His Boy (Colossians 1:15-16).
He begins pain and suffering with His Boy. (Revelation 13:8)
He begins the abolition of sin and death with His Boy. (I For 15:20-28)
And finally… when the story is complete… so many things we complain about now… will seem like nothing then.
If you’re rather young… 14 years seems like a long time. Long enough to establish some serious truth and tradition. And get this, Paul was not sitting on his thumbs during this 14 years… He was devoted, to God, to Christ Jesus… and to the revelation as it was being revealed to him.
Now, after Paul went to Jerusalem to get a pat on the head… he keep going. Preaching. Teaching. And bringing the revelation to us yahoo’s of the gentile world. And boy what a revelation it was and is.
You’re making a big mistake to spend all your time reading Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and the “book of” Revelation. You’re going to miss it. You’re going to miss the HUGE deal God has with the gentile believers. It’s such a DEAL that there’s no “deal” at all. Not in the sense of how we think of “deals”.
In our little minds, a “deal” is “you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.” — But here’s the “deal”… Paul reveals that God’s back is not itching. Ain’t that something?
He’ll scratch our back, and His back DOES NOT ITCH. Why? Because Christ, on the cross, satisfied God’s itch. Oh my.
No wonder, God could show grace to the gentile aside from the Law.
Listen… you need to spread the word: GOD’S BACK DOES NOT ITCH. Tell everyone you know.
Joint enjoyers. Of a Joint allotment. And Joint partakers… oh my. (See Ephesians.)
And listen… if God can graciously bring in Gentiles who care nothing about the “law”… you better believe it’s a foreshadowing of what God can do and is doing and will do.
Foreshadowing is an important thing in the story telling of God. Going to sleep and waking up is a foreshadowing. And God saving the Gentiles aside from the law PROVES God can do any dang thing He wants to. Hell, He raised Christ from among the dead, didn’t He?
So, “After 14 Years” Paul went up to the ecclesia in Jerusalem to argue with them, telling them God’s back does not itch, not since Christ, on the cross. And those boys in Jerusalem said, “Well, ok, we can’t argue. But tell your boys not to drink blood” (Like we wanted to drink blood anyway. You know some folks just got to get the last word in, like a Karen. Yeah, I’m suggesting that James, was acting like a Karen.)

Thanks guys for spending some time with me.
It’s 5:06 a.m.
Got to start a new pot of coffee.
Grace to you. You joint participant you.
Amen.
Ace.

The Ace Theological Company’s
95 Theses

#22

THANK GOD FOR FREEWILLers.
Good morning, 4:07 a.m.
It’s 34º outside. Not bad.
Should get up to 38º and 60% chance of snow.

In our effort to preach and peer into the big idea that “all is of God” — why not explore the idea that the god-awful teaching of “freewill” is “of God.”

Freewillers don’t have a “choice” about their mental make up. You see, God is responsible for all things. And God has locked up all together in stubbornness. (See Romans 11:32) Freewillers tend to argue with vim and vigor that THEY DO TOO have a freewill. And the battle lines form up.
Now, I don’t mind if “bible teachers” talk about the will of man. But the word “freewill” is just a made up word, not found in the Bible. So, I personally recoil at their teaching, though I used to be a “freewill” teacher.
You see, the freewillers need to teach that crap. Why? Because they also teach that God is going to take the vast majority of sinners and burn them in an endless hell. And that little thing makes “God” look like… well.. it puts God in a bad light (firelight?) so they have to gen up a story so they can “blame” the sinner for going to “hell”… Get it? They say “the sinner can only blame himself for going to hell.” — And I say, my oh my.
Now, I did not discover this business about “no freewill” first… actually, I discovered that endless hell is B.S. first… and it was a big deal in my spiritual journey… I grew up as a fundamentalist christian and my first acquaintance with the idea that God was God and would one day redeem all creation… well, it was a pill too big to swallow… at first. I had to relax my stiff neck, you see. (Get the joke? “Stiff neck” being a Biblical reference to a “proud” people, enemies of God, type of thing.)
So… I settled down long enough to accept that God is the savior of all, and that my ideas about an endless hell are just not right. I still did not have it right in my mind that “freewill” was not a thing. But I stumbled on Romans 9:16 – the verse that says something about “it is not of him that willeth…” and I stared at that verse for many months. No one was out there teaching me that “freewill” was bullshit, and not a biblical teaching. I was alone in the wilderness so to speak. But I keep staring at Romans 9:16… it is not of him that willeth… and I thought to myself, that this fellow Paul… he must know something I don’t know… something has given him the courage to use this wild language… because “we” (we as in us Baptists, Pentacostals, Charismatics, you know, “bible-believing” christians) would NEVER use should loose language as to say “it is not of him that willeth…” Why? Because it might lead someone to believe that “freewill” was not the teaching of God.
After staring at that dang verse long enough, I did find some bible teaching over at the Concordant Publishing Concern that smoothed over my troubled mind and pointed out to me, and any reader that yes, it’s true that “all is of God”… and that “it is not of him that willeth…” These bible teachers showed that God is actually in control of all his creation. And that even the bad characters … the villains… are put that for His purpose.
You see, we have Pharaoh, and Joseph’s brothers, and Judas, and the Pharisees, and the floods, and famines, and all kinds of villains in the story. And today, among all the others, we have the freewillers… who are actually villains in the story. Shocking, I know. Because they pretend to be such “good christians” with such “deep” knowledge. But here’s the problem —
Freewillers worship the creature… rather than the creator. Paul warns about these guys in Romans, chapter one, or is it chapter two? Anyway… by saying man determines his own destiny by his “freewill”… these guys have elevated man to the position of a deity big time. You can’t even suggest to these guys that GOD IS THE ONE WHO DETERMINES THE DESTINY OF HIS CREATION. They freak out.
It’s complicated really. They not only want to BLAME man for sending himself to hell… but they want to exalt themselves for “choosing” Christ… and being smarter that everyone else. I’m telling you… there’s a lot of pride in their story.
And it’s a pride that’s all wrapped up in robe of “humility”. To the point where they appear to be thrilled to death that God is gonna roast them sinners all in hell.
But my point today is not to find too much fault with these yahoos… but to point out that they too are “of God”. They are of God just as much as any of the villains in our grand story. God uses freewillers to paint the picture of an awful God. And when at the conclusion of the eons, God reveals that the old has passed away… and all is made new (including them) then we’ll all say “Whew, that was close, we all thought God was that big ogre thing.”
When I was a freewiller, I was not only proud of myself, but unduly hard on myself. I was always looking at my own navel. I can now say that I did not truly “worship” God. I worshipped myself and my fellow creation. And I certainly did not “give thanks for all things” — as Paul recommends.
Blame, blame, blame. Nuff said.
So, along comes the revelation that “it is not of him that willeth.” And I had to rewrite the story before my eyes. I had to unlearn all I was taught as a regular ole christian. It took years. So, I can’t blame them for being stubborn. I was. And still am. But I’m at least moving in the right direction. The direction to admit my own stubbornness. (See Romans 11:32 — God locks up all together in stubbornness.)
We (ace theologians) are never going to make much headway with these guys. God made sure of it. But they have an advantage. You see the freewill teaching is soooooo attractive. So ego stroking. Everyone wants to believe they have all this power, even the power to determine their own destiny. But really, come on… Can’t we see that God is God?
Anyway… God bless them there “freewillers”. They serve a role in the plan and purpose of God. Years ago, when I gave up my freewillism, and began to embrace the deity of God, I was nervous to talk to them about these matters. You see, they get testy when you contradict their horse shit. I remember talking to one good ole Baptist brother and he was so angry at the challenge of his pet doctrines he had my knees shaking. I’m serious. That was way back in 1980 or so.
Nowadays, I’ve heard their arguments so much that they are quite predictable to me. And if they are “predictable” that means they are not “free” in their thinking. Ha.
No one has a free will. Yes, we have a will, but it’s bound and constrained by many things. And thankfully so. For God is God. And that means God’s purpose can come to fruition. If mankind had a “free” will, the outcome of it all would be sketchy, and we’d have to say God is a gambler at best. He’s rolling the dice and doesn’t really know the outcome of his creative and redemptive efforts. Yikes.
I’ve been on Christian channels, and when they ask me if I believe in “freewill” … I enthusiastically say… YES, I BELIEVE GOD HAS A FREEWILL…. And sure enough, I get kicked off the channel. You see, you cannot have two “freewills” in the universe… someone at sometime has to submit.
“God” in the greek language is PLACER, and in Hebrew it’s SUBJECTOR. — that leaves no room for human freewill.
How disgusting to suggest that God merely “desires” to save all but is powerless to bring it about. (See I TIM 2:4). Such a thought truly elevates the creature above the Creator.
Thank God for freewillers… they have a role in God’s eonian purpose. If nothing else, when God finally opens our eyes to these matters we can all says, “Wow, that was amazing.”
Every knee will bow. Does that sound like “freewill”? Every tongue will acclaim. Does that sound like freewill?
Freewillers provide a great contrast to the story of God. They’ve got an awful story. And when God reveals and completes His purpose, won’t we all be thrilled.?!

5:18 a.m.
Grace to you guys.
Thank you so much for joining me as I think though these things.
Be sure to kiss a freewiller for me. And a calvinist too.
Amen.

The Ace Theological Company’s
95 Theses

#23

Discipleship sucks…
And…
The Freewill Chick Speaks

Good Morning.
It’s Friday, Dec 31st. Last day of the “year”.
It’s 27º out there… we got about 6 inches of snow last night.
Should get up to 32º today. Not enough to melt any of this stuff off.
New Year’s day, tomorrow.

OK… let’s get started dear one…

If you saw my antics yesterday, I got excited. You see, Jason (on his show) said something that bless me deep, man. Deep.
And Jason didn’t even know it was going to be “deep” but I’m telling ya… it was “deep” in my mind.
Jason said “We are not disciples of Christ, we are the body of Christ.”
Let me tell you why this was so beautiful in my mind. You see, I went through the “discipleship” movement that came out of Argentina in the 1970’s. And god it was awful. You see, none of us were equipped to deal with it at the time. None of us were serious “bible students” — we were just regular ole “christians” and we were left-overs from the “Jesus Movement” of the 60’s.
So this dude shows up… a fellow named “Juan Carlos Ortiz”… (as I recall, that was his name). And he’s from Argentina… and he “infects” the leaders of the charismatic movement of the time… Derek Prince, Bob Mumford, – you know, those guys. And Juan Carlos is teaching us all about this thing called “discipleship”… and we swallowed it hook, line and sinker… And god what a mess it caused.
I swallowed it too… for about 10 days… but honestly, I couldn’t hack it. It was “legalism” disguised as the holiest thing you can do… and this will bring you closer to God, and blah, blah, blah.
Here’s the deal: The discipleship movement boiled down to: You MUST submit to your pastor, your elder, your apostle, and tell him everything you’re going to do, want to do, and have done. Or you ain’t a “twooo” disciple.
They would try to make you feel guilty about buying a pair of shoe laces if you didn’t tell the “elders” first.
I don’t remember how long the discipleship movement lasted as I bailed on it as soon as I could. But it was a thing. And it left a sour taste in my mouth to the point I kinda hated even the word “disciple” … But of course, we get to the book of Acts and we see that the early saints were called “disciples” of Christ.
So, I could not argue that there was something about “disciples”… but I honestly let it slip over my head… as I did not like the “Ortiz” effect. (Aren’t I funny?) The “Ortiz” effect, indeed.
So, what’s the deal? Why were those early saints called “disciples”… and why is it not a more complex and more completely discussed “thing” in the Bible.
Well, when Jason said “We’re the body of Christ, not disciples of Christ”… oh my God (OMG) it like bathed me in refreshing water. He’s right. Those early saints did not have the standing in Christ that we have today. The body of Christ and it’s position and standing and import is only revealed in Ephesians, Colossians, and Philippians. Those brothers and sisters who came along early… the ones mentioned in the book of Acts… they were to be part of the “Israel of God” — a special ecclesia, destined to rule THE EARTH with Christ on the throne.
But the body of Christ has a different allotment altogether. It’s way exciting.
Ain’t it funny… here it took me almost 50 years to lick my wounds from the ole Juan Carlos Ortiz thing… and revel in the glory of God’s eonian purpose. I didn’t even know I was still feeling yucky from Juan’s messing with us, thing.

(SIDE NOTE: Brother Sterling says “Up up and away to head up the All in Him He says.” — and it’s an awesome thought.)

So, get this: The church, which is His body, IS NOT the same group of boys and girls as “the disciples of Christ”. God has a variety of administrations – (“dispensations”) going on, and depending on God’s purpose… He may deal with humanity this way as oppose to that way… but EITHER way, it’s God’s operations of grace… and no “offers” of grace that we’re seeing day by day.
The “disciples of Christ” were all Jews. But “the church, which is His body” consists of Jew and Gentile… and has a special lot in God’s purpose and plan.

Sorry… for that side tracking… but I just had to share a little blessing and victory in my mind, heart and soul. Thank you Jason.
Anyway… I think that somehow… way back in the 1970’s… the “grace” thing was chiming more in my heart than the “works” thing. Even though I wasn’t really a bible student and couldn’t defend my notions worth crap.
But now I can tell you… GOD IS OPERATING IN GRACE and it means something… and those works guys are not correct in their understanding and preaching. They are leading some saints down a depressing road. But God is the savior of all.

Speaking of “those works guys”… I have some news from the FREEWILL CHICK. You see, I went over and stirred her hornet’s nest… and that’s not a good thing to do. But sometimes, you just think of somethin’ and you gotta stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.

So, from time to time, I go to her channel and leave a comment or question… hoping against hope that she will see God as God. But … NOOOOOOOOOO…. So far, it doesn’t work. She still persists in worshiping man and man’s freewill.
So, here is my latest from that effort:
I went over to her channel and said

“As I recall you believe in annihilation… and no longer believe in eternal conscious punishment. I’ve heard that annihilation is the next step towards universal reconciliation.”
It seemed to me, from way back, in our conversation, that she was inclined to embrace “annihilation”… more than endless conscious punishment. — but, perhaps I was wrong… as she replied:
THE FREEWILL DEFENDER SAYS:

“Your memory has failed you…I’m not convinced of either. However, I’m already a believer in universal reconciliation…I do not believe in universal salvation. I believe that God reconciled himself to all men and that BOTH the Jews and the Gentiles can be reconciled to God and come into reconciliation with Him through faith in the blood of Christ Jesus.

“Before the cross, I Believe that OT believers that loved God and respected the law are saved by the blood, but those that hated God and despised the law were not saved…this was also a time that ignorance was winked at. Since the cross, in this eon, I believe that either Jews or Gentiles that come through the blood with faith will be saved and ignorance is no longer winked at because God RAISED Christ from the dead and showed himself to over 500 eyewitnesses to give us the assurance that Jesus is Lord.

“In the next eon, I believe that they will have to reject the mark of the beast in Jesus’ name and then they will enter into the kingdom on earth. In the kingdom eon, Jesus will reign and then the second resurrection and great white throne judgment will take place.

“Everything I believe is because that’s what I have found in my studies according to God’s word.

“I would love to believe that everyone will be saved, but nowhere in God’s word does it say that everyone will be saved, it can only be implied…

“I will not settle on an implication because implications can lead to error and if we rest in an error we become unprofitable.

“If I am wrong about universal salvation I am okay with that because at least I will know that I fought for Christ’s sake just in case universal salvation is an error. If you are right I will be sure to seek you out and give you a high five!

HANG ON… LET ME HIGHLIGHT, WHAT I THINK ARE KEY FACTORS IN HER CHATTER.

Discipleship sucks…
And…
The Freewill Chick Speaks

OK… let’s get started dear one…

(SIDE NOTE: Brother Sterling says “Up up and away to head up the All in Him He says.” — and it’s an awesome thought.)

“Everything I believe is because that’s what I have found in my studies according to God’s word.

“I would love to believe that everyone will be saved, but nowhere in God’s word does it say that everyone will be saved, it can only be implied…

“I will not settle on an implication because implications can lead to error and if we rest in an error we become unprofitable.

HANG ON… LET ME UNDERLINE, WHAT I THINK ARE KEY FACTORS IN HER CHATTER.

OK, here is my initial response to her:

YOU SAID:
Everything I believe is because that’s what I have found in my studies according to God’s word.
AND YOU SAID:
I’m already a believer in universal reconciliation…I do not believe in universal salvation.

MY REPLY:
It might thrill you to know that katalosso and apo-katalosso are two different words.
One is CONCILIATION and the other is RECONCILIATION.
2 COR 5: 18-19 says God is currently conciliated to the world (KATALOSSO). But in the future, there will be APO-KATALOSSO… RECONCILIATION. (COLOSSIANS 1:20.)
One is a ONE-SIDED peace.
The other is a peace between BOTH SIDES.
REGARDING “SALVATION”… it is just a common noun. And it is not just “one thing”… you could be “SAVED” from falling in a ditch. But the ultimate salvation is when death is the last thing abolished. You know that verse – I Cor 15:20-28.
AND when death is finally abolished, all will be made alive in Him.
You’re making progress.
Keep going.
Ace.
After thinking about things… let me further add this to the “debate”….
SHE SAID:
I would love to believe that everyone will be saved, but nowhere in God’s word does it say that everyone will be saved, it can only be implied…
MY REPLY:
What? Didn’t she just say she could not commit to either “annihilation” or “endless conscious punishment” because the Bible IS NOT CLEAR about either one? If it’s not clear, it MUST BE THAT BOTH ARE IMPLIED… and if universal salvation is also “implied”… what’s the deal Stacy, what’s the deal???
Universal salvation is implied.
Annihilation is implied.
Endless conscious punishment is implied.
You have said as much.
So, which is true — of the three implications???
They can’t all be true? Pick one.
WAIT A MINUTE… HOLD YOUR HORSES… COOL YOUR HEELS… I THINK I SEE THE PROBLEM…
You said: I’m not convinced of either… concerning annihilation and concerning endless conscious punishment… and concerning universal salvation… BUT YOU ARE CONVINCE OF MAN’S EXALTED FREEWILL.
OH MY GOD… (OMG)
OMG indeed…
You won’t commit to either of the three destinies possible for humanity… but you are convinced of man’s “freewill” to choose.
What am I going to do with you girl?
That is disgusting. That is gross.
I thought we were here to love God, worship God, exalt God… and here you are exalting man and man’s freewill. I’m ashamed of you.
High five, my ass, I’m gonna pinch your nose, when I see you.

Hang on… coffee refill time.

Now, let me ask you little one…
Which of the three alternatives —
1. Universal salvation.
2. Annihilation of the wicked.
3. Endless conscious punishment of the wicked…
…would bring the most glory and honor to God?
I’m afraid that you can’t answer that because you are so enamored of man’s freewill… that you’d want to chatter on about “God cannot violate man’s freewill” etc… and thus… it was go on and on to blatherville.
The human will is not “free” in any way, shape or form. I just heard the other day that if you take ecstacy (sp?), the drug, that it will starve your brain of serotonin. And if you’re brain is starved of serotonin, YOU WILL BEHAVE this way as oppose to that way… HOW IS THAT “FREEWILL”… WHAT THE HELL are you guys on about, when you talk about “free” will? Only God’s will is FREE of outside influences.
To argue that humanity has an uninfluenceable (sp?) will is to marginalize God… and exalt man. Paul warns about those who worship the creature as oppose to the creator. (See Romans 1 and 2)
I have come to despise the “freewill” teaching. It is so childish in so many respects. God is God. Man is His creation. And creation will not be complete until the consummation of the eons.
And the scriptures say The eons began in Christ. (Hebrews 1:2) And they will end… in Him as well. See I Corinthians 10, verse 11)

Thanks guys for joining me this morning…
We need to spread the word that God is God.
Some folks just might get a kick out of such an idea.
Grace to you.
Ace.
9:06 a.m.
Time to shovel snow off the walk and driveway.

The Ace Theo’s 95 Theses –

24 Evil Is Not A Problem For God.

3:44 a.m.
18º out there… just a dusting of snow last night.
They say it’s gonna get up to 22º…. So this stuff ain’t gonna melt off any time soon.

Grace to you dear one,
Thanks for joining me at this hour.

The subject of evil sure does catch a guy.
It takes a whale of a time to see it and accept it as of God.
When I was terribly young in the faith, it bugged me that the Book of God contained stories of naughtiness. David and Bathsheba, you know… naughty stories… I was eat up with the holiness movement mentality. It was “James Gang” mentality all the way. And I couldn’t understand why God allowed Old Testament hero’s to be so flawed and yet still they were “of God”.
So… along comes Isaiah 45:7 – and it knocks my socks off. To this day, I’m afraid of socks.
So, Isaiah 45:7 says God creates evil, and I have no idea what to do with this thought. I guess it goes that way with us when we’re immature. We have many false ideas about God and His intentions.
I stared at ISA 45:7 for a long time. I was in disbelief. I couldn’t believe that “the Bible” — the Bible that I “said” that I loved and believed, contained such language. So, after a while I “allowed” God to win the argument… and said to Him, “Alright, I see the words there, I don’t understand, but I suppose you’ve got a bigger thing going than I know about, so how ‘bout you lead me and teach me… I’m willing.” (Type of thing.)
So… I began to show this verse around to other brothers and sisters at the time. As you might imagine, it did not win me any new friends… and those brothers and sisters “in Christ” were less than charmed at this verse.
I woke up with this train of thought because yesterday, our beloved “WILDHEART” — our friendly, neighborhood drunk atheist, keep saying “If God is all powerful, why can’t He create a world with no evil?” (words to that effect.)
He’s no different than most “christians”. They also say pretty much the same thing. They refuse to “believe” that God created both good and evil.
So they rush into some concoction of a story that there are two Gods, one who created evil and the other who created good. And these two God’s are battling it out, and God (the good one) is doing the best He can… but oh so few will be saved in the end.
In my young age, I too doubted God and God’s word regarding this matter. I did not know that God was God.
So, God creates both good and evil, God includes Old Testament characters who are a mess. And then we get to the cross… and our minds are so confused that we can’t see that the cross is the greatest of evils. And the greatest of goods.
I think that Isaiah 45:7 is the most powerful verse in the Bible in one regard… that verse makes most christians jump through more hoops than any verse in the Bible. You should see them panic over this verse. Even most of the Bible translations can’t handle the verse. The say all the time “God created — disaster” or some such… but the word is EVIL… however they freak out over the word… and it’s the same word you’ll find in the garden of Eden… “the fruit of the knowledge of good and “disaster”…
Isn’t that just laughable? They SAY they believe “God’s word” until it contradicts their pet ideas of what’s going on.

4:16 a.m. — coffee refill time.
4:18 a.m. — back to work.

Here we are… trying to say that EVIL IS NOT A PROBLEM FOR GOD, and in fact, it’s the perfect tool to bring us along. And with enough wisdom and maturity we can agree with God, and see that evil is a necessary element in His creative process.
Keep in mind that EVIL and SIN are not the same thing. No. No. No.
Too many folks conflate the two.
SIN is to make a mistake.
We’re here to suggest that it was not a mistake to create evil. It was divine.
Here’s the weird thing — all the “christians” who say that God did NOT create evil”… actually have a mythology in which evil lasts throughout eternity. They say, “God did not creative evil and will punish “evil” in hell forever and ever.”
But “Ace theologians” suggest that God did create evil and is in total control of it, and when God’s use of it is complete, will put it aside for the rest of eternity. So, evil is temporary.
Evil is not a problem, for God.
Also keep in mind that there were some dudes in the Old Testament who were left handed. 700 of them. A tribe of 700 left handed men… who could sling stones and hit the target within a hair’s breath and not SIN. — Most bible translations say “hit the target within a hair’s breath and not MISS. But the word is the same. — my point: Sin is missing the mark. And EVIL and SIN are not the same thing.
God created both good and evil. There is only one God. The creator of all.
How will God handle all the drunk christians and drunk atheists at the conclusion of the eons, who stand in line to bitch about how He accomplished everything… ???
Ya know… there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between atheists and christians. They both kick against the pricks.
It’s a tough job to take a big view of things. To peer backwards to our origins and forwards to our destiny. And to see God in both directions. Humbling to say the least.
I’ve noticed that those who object to this big idea, mostly rely on the most sensitive of stories… like rape and child abuse stories to make their point. “You mean to tell me God is gonna save rapists and child abusers????” — MY REPLY: No, honey, God is going to save sinners, you got a problem with that?
Those same people also will donate tons of money to save animals with fur… but no money to “save the frogs”… or other slimy things.
So, all is of God. We must start there in our investigation of who this God is and what exactly is His purpose.
To suggest that evil is a problem for God is to say that God is not God… and it is the beginning of convoluted mythologies.
When spoiled, selfish brats are asked to explain God… the best they can do is describe a glorified version of themselves. The “gods” of old were selfish, lustful, murderous, etc. With no conclusion or shining accomplishments at the end of their stories. But, with patience and care, we can see that the one, true God, the God who created both good and evil, is the eonian God with an eonian purpose. And it’s shall we say — “eonianly” satisfying.
Who’s that guy with the “Doors” ??? The singer???? Jim Morrison said — No one gets out of here alive.

Thanks guys for joining me. 
Grace to you. 
 4:51 a.m. 
Jan 1st, 2022.

The Ace Theological Company’s
95 Theses

25

Jan 3rd, 2022

6:19 a.m.
16º outside, high expected: 34º

Good Morning Dear One,
On yesterday’s hang out show, two notable things happened. At least notable to me…. In my mind.
First of all… Sterling plowed the way to clear the clutter of our minds… to perhaps see that “all is out of Him, through Him and for Him.” (Romans 11:36)
This is a tough concept to embrace. It seems to me all of life, all of mythology, all of human fancying is against this idea that all is of God. We talk and talk and talk and we credit everything to everyone but God. Gossip.
Can we say that gossip is the worst of sins?
Can we say that gossip is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? — I think so… as the true definition of “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” is giving the credit that belongs to God to some lesser being like Satan. So, when you come along, and gossip… you’re not seeing that all is of God… you’re picking on one petty issue after another… “Did you see the shoes she was wearing? OMG.” “Do you know what he spent the weekend doing? OMG.
And so it goes.
But to see that all is of God… (not an easy thing to do, I admit) is to see that … well… all is of God.
So, what we have before us is a complex story of God and His love for Christ, His Boy.
And, what we have before is is a story that is so big… it covers 5 eons of time. It covers all in the heavens and all on the Earth. And, guess what… it covers all under the Earth as well.
And as with any story, it has a beginning… and lots of bumpy starts and stops, and a direction and a misdirection, and plot twists and turns, and oh my god, what just happened?, and an ultimate goal, direction and purpose.
What we have before us is the story of God.
And you thought it was all about you.
Come closer shug… let me whisper something in your ear… Yes, you’re a part of the story, but it’s not all about you. There’s a whole lotta shakin’ going on out there. And it’s gonna take a while before we all can see clearly.
Now, as much as I hate death and dying… I’m close to the point of saying “Thank God for death and dying.” — Why? Because death and dying would make perfect sense in the long term… a perfect contrast to a perfect salvation.
So, Sterling, yesterday, pounded and pounded into our little heads that all is out of Him, through Him and for Him. And our little heads rose up to fight the mighty concept… and all we have to fight with was pencils, not swords. We poked and poked and poked. But honestly, no one can defeat this mighty thought, and all is of God.
I can’t help it, I look around to see the biggest picture I can to prove that all is either “of” God… or “not of” God and I am arrested by the cross of Christ. Nothing gets past the cross.
The cross is the ultimate display of both goodness and wickedness. It answers every serious inquiry of our saying “Why, God, why?”
“Why did you make me this way?”
“Why am I going through this suffering?”
“Why can’t I see you?”
God’s answer is always the cross.
We see God’s kindness in the cross. We see God’s wisdom in the cross. We see God’s purpose in the cross. We see our destiny in the cross… both our destiny of our end (as in death) and our destiny of purpose (life beyond the reach of death.)
(SIDE NOTE: I’m trying to be serious here.. and you guys are poking fun… and distracting my itty bitty mind. Pretense is everything ya know.)
I confess, I don’t have this concept in my head fully, yet—(That all is of God) — I still blame man (or woman) for chaos and insanity that comes into my life. Blame is so easy when there’s someone standing nearby.
(SIDE NOTE: Years ago, when I live in Idaho, near the Canadian border, I had a friend who was hunting for bear. He shot a grizzly… from quite a distance. The grizzly was near a stump when it got shot. And WHEN it got shot, the grizzly viciously attacked the stump with everything it had. Poor stump. Perhaps we’re like that stupid bear. We blame the stump.)
I have determined to know nothing among you save Christ and Him crucified. — For us who believe, the story makes the most sense there. Shall we go there??? Shall we say that Christ died on a stump? It will complete the metaphor, hmmm?
His death, entombment and resurrection is the perfect picture of who, what, when, where and why. It is our story.
Grace to you.
7:03 a.m.
Still 16º out.
Ace.

P.S. The second notable thing was Brother Lawrence, on yesterday’s show, tried to tell us that the Bible is NOT God’s word until it speaks to you. And that was most insightful. Perhaps we can explore that thought next time.
Thanks for sitting with me this morning.

The Ace Theological Company’s
95 Theses

26

Hang on, it’s feels warmer outside… let me check:
37º out there… high of 40º
That means some of this snow will melt off.
5:15 a.m.
Jan 4th, Tuesday morning.

I’m a little sketchy as to what to write about this morning dear saint…

I suppose I can break it up into bite size chunks.

I’m still thinking on the idea of “suffering for His sake” (See Philippians 1:27 or is it 29?). You see, coming out of an evangelical mindset, for years, I assumed that IF we “suffered for His sake, it had to be ‘suffering’ for preaching the gospel or doing the work of the ‘Lord’ – or some such… but lately… I’m thinking that pretty much ANY suffering we go through is “of God”… and will result in the good He intended — eventually. Now, I think we can admit that “suffering” is the hallmark of this life — all of us ‘suffer’ … from kings to peasants… from Adam to Christ… even the most beautiful and lovely among us… ‘suffer’ the aging process and our beauty fades.
1. The reason I’m trying to sort this out in my mind is that years ago, when I was a “mystic” christian (a student of Gene Edwards, Madame Guyon, Brother Lawrence, Fenelon, etc.) I held out that “the cross” was the personal “suffering” WE MUST do to be spiritual. And so… as a “mystic” we were inclined to embrace our suffering and even, perhaps, to go out of our way to suffer.
2. But these days I don’t want to conflate the idea of our personal sufferings with “the cross” as THAT (in my mind) is now reserved to what Christ suffered on that day, 2,000 years ago, on Calvary’s hill. So… broadly speaking, we can say that there are three different things referred to when you hear folks mention “THE CROSS”…
  One: The cross is a reference to what Christ did and accomplished that day in which He died, and later rose from among the dead.
  Two: The cross is a reference to that piece of jewelry hanging around your neck. Or hung up on the wall of a church or your own bedroom. A symbol of your tribe, so to speak.
  Three: The cross is a reference to your own personal suffering, which you “must” go through for personal perfection and even “salvation”.
  Well… I’m incline to dismiss altogether the jewelry idea. It’s a sweet sentiment… but irrelevant to my purpose for now. And I’m NOW incline to dismiss the idea that my personal suffering is “a cross I must bear” for some spiritual perfection reason… You see, nowadays… I see Christ work on the cross as the fulcrum of time and the purpose of God.
  I’m not a mystic — not anymore — I’ve given up my mystic, self-righteous ways… in favor of being a recipient of grace along with the rest of the bad boys of Antioch.
  But still… I’m wondering… aloud with you… since suffering is the badge of humanity… and we all suffer, and we have this little phrase “to be suffering for His sake”… where do we place this — this idea — in our understanding of things???
  How ‘bout this:
  Suffering is universal !!!
  Redemption is also universal !!!
  Oh… wait… redemption is FROM suffering.
  So… of course the two are joined at the hip.
  I think we can make the argument that “suffering” brings us along to a humble place. And that you cannot be “humble” without “humiliation” being part of the process.
  FRIGHTFUL SIDE NOTE: Do YouTube search for “Before and After Makeup”… it should scare the crap out of anyone with eyeballs… I’m saying clearly that IF, IF, IF, we as humans, male or female, remained young and beautiful, forever… we’d all be the most ugly of creatures. But THANKS BE TO GOD… that He humiliates us… with this grand eonian purpose of His… and even the most cocky and insolent eventually say “Help me”.
  So…
  Suffering is universal….
  Redemption is universal…
  As well as justification, conciliation, reconciliation, salvation, and vivification.
  (Romans 5:18-19, I Cor 5:18-19, Col 1:20, I Tim 4:10, I Cor 15:20-28, I Tim 2:4)
  So, our attitude towards suffering — changes depending on our youth, our maturity, our view of God, and our standing in the ranks of society. The suffering only stops when we die. But the suffering shapes us along the way.
  There are times in my life in which I totally “embraced” my sufferings… and other times I was running away from it as hard as I could.
  These days… in my mind… the cross of Christ is the only answer to our suffering that makes sense. He died, He was entombed, and on the third day, God raised Him from among the dead. This gives us pause. This gives us reason to trust God, the Father of all. If He raised His boy from the dead… and we were all created in Him… our destiny is all wrapped up in Him and we can be assured that our suffering will be undone as Christ’s suffering was.
  So, I’m thinking that “our suffering” does not “save” us… but merely gives us a realization of what we’re being saved from. So, perhaps this is an answer… “we suffer for His sake” means our suffering is just part of the bigger picture, of all of us IN all of Him… and in good time… we’ll all see it properly and when death, the last enemy is abolished, suffering will go with it.
  So, our suffering does not save us… but merely gives us something to be saved from.
  If you see any videos of those women who look awful before the makeup… and then look flawless after the makeup… it makes it’s mark in your mind… and you realize “appearance is everything, reality is nothing.” And cockiness is an appearance as well.
  I would pray that God humble us… but that is a useless prayer… as that seems to be God’s primary job. And nothing is going to stop Him from humbling us… good and hard.
  If only we could get God fired from that job. Maybe if we complained to HR.
  (Checking side chat comments)
  (hmmmmm…. )
  Listen, I don’t know where to go with this thought (suffering for His sake also) — I can only conclude that WE ALL SUFFER… and that Christ’s suffering was efficacious… and that our personal suffering provides the perfect backdrop by which we can appreciate the redemption of God… when the ole Boy gets around to redeeming the race. And all creation.
  So… let me close up with the passage where I found this lovely phrase “suffering for His sake”… look at it in context… and leave a comment telling me what you think it means, could mean, and how we might view the big idea.

Grace to you…. Here it is: (It’s the last verse, verse 29)
PAUL TO THE PHILIPPIANS
Chapter 1 1 Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, together with the supervisors and servants: 2 Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I am thanking my God at every remembrance of you, 4 always, in every petition of mine for you all, making the petition with joy, 5 for your contribution to the evangel from the first day until now!!!!!, 6 having this same confidence, that He Who undertakes a good work among you, will be performing it until the day of Jesus Christ: 7 according as it is just for me to be disposed in this way over you all, because you, having me in heart, both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the evangel, you all are joint participants with me of grace, 8 for God is my Witness how I am longing for you all in the compassions of Christ Jesus. 9 And this I am praying, that your love may be superabounding still more and more in realization and all sensibility, 10 for you to be testing what things are of consequence, that you may be sincere and no stumbling block for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that is through Jesus Christ for the glory and laud of God. 12 Now I am intending you to know, brethren, that my affairs have rather come to be for the progress of the evangel, 13 so that my bonds in Christ become apparent in the whole pretorium and to all the rest, 14 and the majority of the brethren, having confidence in the Lord as to my bonds, are more exceedingly daring to speak the word of God fearlessly. 15 Some, indeed, are even heralding Christ because of envy and strife, yet some because of delight also; 16 these, indeed, of love, having perceived that I am located for the defense of the evangel, 17 yet those are announcing Christ out of faction, not purely, surmising to rouse affliction in my bonds. 18 What then? — Moreover, seeing that, by every method, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being announced, I am rejoicing in this also, and will be rejoicing nevertheless. 19 For I am aware that, for me, this will be eventuating in salvation through your petition and the supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ, 20 in accord with my premonition and expectation, that in nothing shall I be put to shame, but with all boldness, as always, now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death. 21 For to me to be living is Christ, and to be dying, gain. 22 Now if it is to be living in flesh, this to me means fruit from work, and what I shall be preferring I am not making known. 23 (Yet I am being pressed out of the two, having a yearning for the solution and to be together with Christ, for it, rather, is much better.) 24 Yet to be staying in the flesh is more necessary because of you. 25 And, having this confidence, I am aware that I shall be remaining and shall be abiding with you all for your progress and joy of faith, 26 that your glorying may be superabounding in Christ Jesus in me through my presence with you again. 27 Only be citizens walking worthily of the evangel of Christ, that, whether coming and making your acquaintance, or being absent, I should be hearing of your concerns, that you are standing firm in one spirit, one soul, competing together in the faith of the evangel, 28 and not being startled by those who are opposing in anything, which is to them a proof of destruction, yet of your salvation, and this from God, 29 for to you it is graciously granted, for Christ’s sake, not only to be believing on Him, but to be suffering for His sake also,
6:19 a.m.
Thanks for joining me…
Grace to you.
Ace.

The Ace Theological Company’s
95 Theses

27

39º out there… boy that’s warm, some of that snow can melt off now.
80% chance of water falling out of the sky.
6:25 a.m.
Jan 5th, 2022.

Let’s get this show on the road….

Good morning, saint of God.

Remember when Paul showed up at Athens, in Acts 17?
He finds himself downtown, at the – what – farmers’ market? At the bazaar? At the town square… and sure enough, they had a habit of entertaining street preachers. And it says they entertained these “hawkers” so they could “hear something new”.
I think about those guys from time to time. And I’ll tell ya why. It’s because I think it’s normal and healthy to “hear something new.” — And it’s normal and healthy to settle down into the routine. But — my question is — when do you go in which direction?
So these Athenians were gathered “to hear something new” — And Paul gives them the “ultimate” in “newness”.
He tells them “In God we live and move and have our being”. That’s kind of new. Not quite… but kind of.
Then he tells them “God gives life and breath and all to all.” Again… it’s not totally new to the audience… but it’s almost refreshing… as the vast majority of humanity never gets to the thought that “God gives life and breath and all to all” — they are just stuck on “why me” kind of thoughts.
But you have to know… Paul set them up.
So far, these two statements were just a warmup act for Paul’s real sucker punch.
The real knock out blow came when Paul told them that God raised His boy from the dead. — THE ULTIMATE in a new thought… a new message and one with universal implications.
And it was THAT message that got Paul kicked out of the town square.
My point though… at this moment… is just about this NEWNESS THING… They gathered to hear something “NEW”…
Keep in mind… I’m just going to ramble from here on out… I’m not sure I have a real point to make… I’m just using you to clear my head of these thoughts. Maybe, just maybe it will make sense at the end.
1. We all love Newness.
2. We all love routine.
3. But sometimes we need a little more of one, and a little less of the other.
4. Most divorces happen (80%) because someone gets bored. Now when you ask a person why they got divorced… they might say over finances, or over communication… but truthfully, 80% of break ups happen over too much routine. You’ve seen, I’m sure, a woman will leave her doctor/lawyer husband with a cape cod split level and a white picket fence and run off with the biker dude who doesn’t have two nickels to rub together. — Boredom.
I remember reading, some time ago, a famous psychologist was called into a zoo… as the otters were acting listless and depressed. He studied the otters for a few hours and recommended they hang a piece of paper from a sting into their cage.
The paper on a string was NEW… It brought their curiosity back to life. They played with the paper and string, and then kept acting happy and curious from then on.
It seems to me… that some folks with some amount of brain damage… (autistic? Aspergers? Etc?)… can’t handle too much “NEW”… and freak out at the newness. Years ago, I had a friend who, in a mental meltdown, would rock back and forth repeating a phrase over and over again… She said it gave her “comfort” to repeat the phrase. I’m thinking her brain, at that time, needed routine… so it could anchor on something beside the chaos that was annoying her.
And we have the opposite as well… prisoners, stuck in solitary confinement… with NOTHING NEW going on, go crazy as well.
So… some “mental illness” is too much “NEW” and some “mental illness” is not enough “NEW”…
So, Paul came into the town square and ripped those guys a new one… The ultimate “new”— God raised Christ from the dead.
5. So God comes along… and begins creation (Gen 1:1)
Keep in mind, the Concordant version of Genesis 1:1 says…
In “A” beginning God creates the heavens and the Earth.
Can we say that God has a big job of bringing on the “new” in a moderated fashion? Not too much all at once? There are folks who say “If God is so great, why doesn’t He make the whole world and universe with NO EVIL.” !!!
If only God would have consulted with them first.
Too much “new”???
Too much routine???
This faith we have… faith that God raise Him from the dead, and will one day raise us all from the dead… is that too much?
It is a hope for the ultimate “new”.
And until then, we live lives of quiet devotion. Hoping against hope, that the Creator of all, will complete His task and fulfill the hopes and dreams of all creation (Romans 8:20-21)— that all their “why’s” will be answered.
So… according to my musings just now… my prayer for you… is to have enough NEWness in your life… and just enough routine to give it meaning.
God gives life and breath and all to all.
For in Him we live and move and have our being.
And — just for good measure, He raises His boy from the dead — let’s see you throw rotten eggs at that !!!

 Grace to you… 
 I like you.
 7:07 a.m. 
Ace.

The Ace Theological Company’s
95 Theses

28

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE
“DISCIPLES OF CHRIST”.
Good Morning Saint of God.
I have a good one for you.
We’re going to kick the “Disciples Of Christ” in the butt.
“Screw em’ — ha.

Moonlight man… good morning.
It’s 36º out there… the snow is melting off.
It should hit 44º so “they” say.

Ok… where were we… Oh yeah…
I’m here to tell you that WE ARE NOT DISCIPLES OF CHRIST… Instead… “We are SONS of God.” And boy what a difference.
You see, the “disciples of Christ” was a book of Acts thing. It was a “circumcision” thing. It was an “early transitional” thing.
And as long as you’re screwing around thinking that the WHOLE BIBLE is for you, you’re going to miss some real gems reveal in the book of God.
The whole bible IS NOT “for you”… most of it was written to, for and about the Jews, the chosen nation, and it concerns the promises and covenants made with them.
It is THEY who were “disciples” of Christ. And only they.
And to be a disciple, you had to work at it. Yikes. Daily.
You see, God has promised to Israel a special “kingdom” (on the Earth) and they, for a while will rule over all the nations with Christ, the messiah, seated on the throne. Well… as we scoot along in the book of God, we get to this Paul fellow… to whom God reveals a “secret” (King James says “mystery”). And this “secret” shows that God has big, bigger and biggest plans, that goes way beyond Israel’s expectations.
We today… we who believe… have a special calling, a special status in God’s sight. And when you grasp it, it will knock your socks off.
We are SONS OF GOD. – And THE BODY OF CHRIST.
Nowhere in Paul’s letters does he ever mention or encourage us to be “disciples” of Christ. It’s a big deal I tell you. Big.
Analogy time:
When my daughter was about 14, 15 years old… she was in the high school girls’ choir. I went to her performance. There must have been 50 girls involved in that thing.
Most of it was unremarkable. It started with a one-girl solo, singing her heart out. Then a duo. Then a trio. And so forth.
Finally, all the girls were out in force and bellowing out like warblers. Still.. it was a forgettable performance, except for the pride of a father in his daughter’s on-stage accomplishments.
But, what happened next was — to me — mind blowing.
Unexpected.
The girls left the stage… and next up, to my surprise, out pours all these 15, 16, 17 year-old boys… in the high school’s JAZZ BAND… And before they even hit one note, they looked and behaved like they owned the joint. Sure. Confident. Relaxed. Like nothing could go wrong.
Unlike the girls on stage, who were shy, demure, and hoping for approval, these boys were there to “bless you” not get a blessing from you.
And when they began playing, the back wall blew out. It was awesome.
“Sons of God”. I TELL YOU.
My next analogy: THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, by Mark Twain.
It is perhaps the most spiritual book ever written by Twain. It’s the story of these two boys who looked very much alike, one was the prince and the other was just some poor kid on the streets, and they traded places— just for kicks.
An epic journey for both boys.
But for my purposes… I see in the story of the prince… confidence and knowing… even though he was on the streets among the ruffians and in a great deal of newfound danger.
If you don’t get this thought into your mind and heart, you’re going to miss out on some things… trying your best to be a “disciple of Christ” is going to lead you into one frustration thing after another… come closer Bucky… get that thought out of your head… You’re a SON, not a disciple. Stick to Paul’s letters to figure out your proper standing before the God of heaven. (“WE ARE HOLY AND FLAWLESS IN HIS SIGHT !!! – Says Paul.)
There are a ton of “christians” out there, who don’t “rightly divide” the word of truth. (Remember, Paul says to “rightly divide”) — These “christians” treat the Bible as one big grab bag of incantations, charms and personalize “get-ahead” sayings. But that’s whacky.
The Bible is the book of God… therefore it’s about God, not you. Imagine that.
You may crack it open to see WHAT GOD IS DOING… Not what God needs from you. Check this out, from Acts 17: 25 neither is He attended by human hands, as if requiring anything, since He Himself gives to all… life and breath and all.
See that??? “As if God needs anything from you”… ha.
So… we’re exploring the big idea that WE ARE NOT disciples of Christ, but instead WE ARE SONS OF GOD.
In my early days as a “christians” I did not know how to “rightly divide” the word of truth… so I looked at the whole bible as applicable TO ME… Me, me, me, — get it?
And so, if you don’t see THE TRANSITION God has made in the book of Acts… to bring Paul in as our apostle, the apostle of the nations… with the message of GRACE… man, oh, man, you’re going to be eat up with guilt, shame and frustration… because “discipleship” is no longer a thing, in God’s eonian purpose, right now. Plus… The Pentacostal miracles are also no longer a thing. So… don’t get your panties all bunched up, if God does not heal the lame when YOU lay your hands on them. The whole program of God has changed for the moment… Get this: GOD IS DEALING GRACIOUSLY WITH ALL. Until the compliment of the nations is brought in. — See Paul.
You’re going to have to spend some time with Paul to get clear on this message. You’re not going to learn about it in “church” — they are going to preach some form of “discipleship” to you… a guilt message… a message to make you nervous about your behavior… a message focused largely on YOU, YOU, YOU.
But, keep in mind: YOU ARE A SON OF GOD. And as a son, your standing is sure. The dynamics are different. You know the Father. You trust the Father. Your’s — can we say it? — Your’s is to rule with Christ among the celestials-in the oncoming eons —see Paul.
If “rule” is the wrong word, at least we’ll be “put on display” in the eons to come. (See Ephesians 3)
I’m telling you something vital… if you don’t “rightly divide” you’re going to get all caught up in the deception that comes out of the modern day “churchanity”. They want you in a “discipleship” program… It’s a way of controlling and using you.
But what we’re exploring here, it THE WORK OF GOD. And it just so happens that GOD IS THE SAVIOR of all.

And.. salvation is HIS work. Not ours. !!!!!!
The “discipleship” guys are not sure of that. They are too busy checking their navel, to make sure their poop does not stink. Call them “freewillers”… call them the “James Gang”… call them “the holiness movement”… call them “spiritual Israel”… They all have a bunch of “should’s” for you to do… while they themselves, excuse themselves for not “shoulding” themselves.
THE TYRANNY OF THE SHOULDS— comes out of those guys who don’t know much of the grace of God and Paul’s evangel of grace.
I hear through the grapevine, that what was once (in the 1970’s) called the “discipleship” movement, is now called the “Sheparding” movement, or the mentoring movement”. Either way, they’ve got you confessing your sins, checking in with the “elders’ before buying a pair of shoe laces, and any number of meddlesome things. It’s like a hen-pecking movement. YOU MUST do this… YOU MUST do that.
All the while, they know nothing of WHAT GOD HAS DONE, IS DOING AND WILL DO.
From I Timothy 4:10 — “For, for this we both labor and suffer reproach, that we rely on the LIVING GOD who is the savior of all mankind, especially of believers.”
From the verse prior — “Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all welcome…”
From the verse after — “These things command and teach.”
So, when we get up on stage (Paul says we’ll be put on display -Eph 3) , like those teenage boys in that Jazz band… we’re there with confidence and boldness, knowing full well that we’re about ready to blow the back wall out with our good news of the grace of God.
Could someone, find the verses where Paul mentions CONFIDENCE and BOLDNESS… and list them in the comments below? I remember those two words being prominent in his letters… but wasn’t prepared to bring ‘em, this morning. — Look them up in The Concordant Literal New Testament. — I’m not sure the popular translations will be as revealing as it.
OK… I think I’m done… rejoice… you are sons of God and no need to worry over petty, bygone matters of being “disciples” of Christ. — The disciples of Christ will yet have their day in the sun… when Christ returns and sets up His kingdom on Earth during the 1,000 year reign. But right now… God is dealing graciously with all. And granting faith to some. For the purpose of reconciling even those in the heavens back to Him, through the blood of the cross. (Colossians 1:20.)
Good point Paul Paulsen…let me grab it here…
“To summarize TRULY AND CONSEQUENTLY —
DISCIPLE comes from DISCIPLINE and is thus similar to a SOLDIER! Different are the members of CHRIST’S BODY — THEY BELONG TO GOD’S FAMILY…”

 Thanks so much for joining me, this morning. 
 7:13 a.m. 
 Coffee refill time. 
 Ace.

The Ace Theological Company’s
95 Theses

29

Q: When Did God Create Hell?
Before “Sin” Entered Into The World, or
After “Sin” Entered Into The World?
39º out there… a high of 50º expected.
Nice.
6:49 a.m.
Sunrise at 7:52 a.m.

Good morning fellow saint of God.

This morning we have before us a question that assumes that God created “hell” — as in the popular definition of it, you know like Dante’s inferno, etc. So, if this “hell” thing is real, and it is created by God… a pretty good, logical question is… WHEN DID GOD CREATE THIS PLACE CALLED “HELL” BEFORE THE ENTRANCE OF SIN, OR AFTERWARDS???
The popular mythology is that this thing exists, — “hell is real”… as I’ve heard many a christian say… But if it is “real” then it should be discussed and explained more in the “bible” as I see things. Yes, I’ve heard “Christians” say “Jesus talked more about hell than about heaven.” And I look at the places where He discussed “hell” … and many things are not clear. For example, Jesus discussed “Gehenna” a bit. But not “hell”.
“Gehenna” was merely the city garbage dump. Stinky and full of compost worms. And the bodies of dead criminals would be tossed there. A dishonorable burial.
And Jesus did warn some religious folks that they’d be headed there if they didn’t straighten up and fly right. But “hell”… nah… He hardly mentioned the one word regularly translated “hell”. And that word is “hades”.
Listen… if this “hell” business were as important as they say… it should be mentioned in the first chapter if Genesis, don’t you think? So, Genesis 1:1 might go something like this…
“And In The Beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and Hell.”
That would make sense, if it’s all that.
But my question of the day is, did God create this god-awful place BEFORE sin showed up or after?
If BEFORE… then we might ask, why oh why did God create mankind for such a possible doom and destiny????
Now, if God create this “hell” business after sin showed up, why oh why is Satan allowed to deceive the human race?
Wait a minute… Back to our fake verse in Genesis 1:1…
“And In The Beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and Hell.” Then, we go on to our fake verse 2:
“And Hell grew and expanded to contain most of the human race and God was satisfied with the leftovers. — For God was Just and Holy and cannot bear sin in His presence.”
At the moment, we’re not exploring the “truth” about “hell” we’re just exploring the mythology about hell.
Let’s see if we can outline the myth of hell:
1. Hell is for the wicked (Yet it is said that Jesus went to hell in Acts 2:27? Hang on… Yes, 2:27.) So, was Jesus “wicked”.
2. Hell is said to be “outer darkness” — (Yet, it is said to be lit with fire… endless fire. That’s not “darkness”.)
3. Hell is said to be prepared for Satan and his messengers…So, what is mankind doing there?
4. Hell is said to be “eternal”… and “eternal” is without beginning and without end… So, hell was around as long as God was around?
5. Oh, never mind….

Here are the FACTS about Hell:
Fact #1: “hell” is an English word.
Fact #2: “hell” could be a reference to “Gehenna” (a garbage dump)… it could be a reference to “hades” (the Greek word for “unseen”)… it could be a reference to “tartarus” (a word that only shows up one time in scriptures and has something to with with spirit beings being locked away… nothing clear, nothing to hang your hat on). Also, “hell” in the Old Testament could be a reference to the Hebrew word SHEOL… a grammatical form of a shoulder shrug.
Fact #3: By exaggerating this hell business, you are for sure marginalizing and making light of the accomplishments of Christ’s work on the cross. Death and hell, are the very things Christ died to rescue us all from… and if you make death and hell endless… you definitely don’t see the cross as something efficacious.
Fact #4: Christ gave himself a “ransom for all” (I TIMOTHY 2:6) . And if one is ransomed, the deal is done, no one can remained in bondage to death and hell for long… it’s only a matter of time… and this “hell” business will be proven to be a worrisome thing no more.
Exit, stage right.
Thanks for spending a few moments with me.
Grace to you.
Ace.

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