Salvation from the Lake of Fire: The Beauty of John 3:16

Copyright © 2021 Elisabeth Christine Nelson.

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ISBN: 978-1-6642-2998-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-2997-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-2999-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021906725

WestBow Press rev. date: 03/11/2024

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973 1978 1984 2011 by Biblica, Inc. TM. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version® Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

CONTENTS

Dedication

Acknowledgments

An Invitation to a Journey

Part 1: A Biblical Overview for Spiritual Growth

A Statement of Biblical Theology

Spiritual Edification—A Firm Foundation

An Overview

The Word of God

In Today’s Uncertain Turbulent Times

Spiritual Warfare

Standing Firm

The Bible: Our Manual for Living

Spiritual Discernment

Spiritual Awareness Questions

Background—The Inspiration

Grounded in the Word of God

Introduction—The Start of a Journey

An Overview

A Little About Myself

U-Turns

Introduction to the Three Views

Wrapping Up the Introduction

Part 2: A Biblical Overview of God’s Attributes and His Divine Wrath

1. The Three Views of the Lake of Fire

An Overview

Definitions and Summaries

Conditionalism

Universalism

Traditionalism

Comparing the Views

Analyzing the Views

Chapter Summation

2. A Balanced God

The Nature and Character of God

An Overview

Is God Balanced or Unbalanced?

A Triune God

God is Sovereign

A Biblical Retrospect of God’s Attributes

His Lovingkindness, Grace, and Mercy

His Justice and Judgment

His Holiness and Righteousness

Do All Roads Lead to the Same Place?

Unbelievers: What If You Are Wrong?

Scenario One

Scenario Two

Chapter Summation

3. The Lake of Fire

An Overview

Biblical Warning Signs

Defining the Lake of Fire through Scripture

What is the Lake of Fire?

How long will it last, and Who will be in it?

Clarifying Revelation 14:9–11

Continuing with—Who Will be in It, and How Long Will It Last?

Is It Real or Just a Metaphor?

The Rich Man and Lazarus

Chapter Summation

4. The Beauty of John 3:16

An Overview

Spiritually Defining John 3:16

Some Areas of Concern Regarding Salvation of Special Situations

Innocent Babies and Children

5. Jesus’ Descent to Hades

Background

Discussion

Side Trip: Is the Rich Man and Lazarus Story a Parable?

Discussion Continued

My Perspective of Jesus’ Descent to Hades

What about Those Who Have Not Heard the Gospel?

What About Those Who Died Before Christ Came to Die for Our Sins

A Beautiful End to Christ’s Visit to Hades

Conclusion for Jesus’ Descent to Hades

To Sum Up Chapter 5

Does God Love Us?

Part 3: A Biblical Overview of Eternity—With or Without God

In Conclusion—A Soul’s Destination

The End Is Not the End

Is Death Final?

Other Philosophies and Beliefs

Misunderstanding Scripture

A Diminished Perception

Spreading The Word

Does the Bible Lie or Contradict Itself?

Does Sin go Unpunished?

Are we going to be Thinking of our Loved Ones Suffering in Hell?

POWs Being Tortured Daily

You Cannot Have It Both Ways

People Choose Their Soul’s Eternal Destination

Heaven or Hell? Your Choice!

Epilogue—To Wrap Things Up

Spiritual Awareness Questions

Part 4: A Biblical Overview for Continued Growth

A Special Message from Elisabeth

Benedictions—Blessings Be upon You

Selected Benedictions from the Bible

The Lord’s Prayer

For Further Reading—To Assist You on Your Journey

Pro-Life Resources and Advocates

BONUS MATERIAL

Article 1 – Biblically Justifying the Sanctity of Life

Article 2 – Afraid for America!

DEDICATION

To My God

I dedicate this book to the Triune God, who led me through a spiritual journey of truth. I give Him all the glory for His divine inspiration.

To My Daughter

I also dedicate this book to my wonderful daughter, Rachel Lynn Nelson, whom I love dearly. God truly blessed me with her.

To the Reader

As we journey together through the Scriptures, I pray the blessings of the Lord be upon you and that you come to know that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was because of His unconditional love for you.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To Honor Those Who Assisted

I give special thanks to several persons who helped me in countless ways, especially for all their encouraging words. I appreciate everyone’s contributions.

Family First

I want to thank my wonderful family for all the constructive criticism, reading updates, sharing theological views, and answering many questions.

Additionally, my family and friends assisted in selecting an image for the book’s cover. I offered various images to them, and they voted on it. A majority vote went to hands with a cross. I added the crown of thorns to remind us that God’s mercy came with a price.

Friends in Christ

Uche Anizor, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Theology, Talbot Theological Seminary at Biola University (La Mirada, California), and author of numerous books and articles. Anizor evaluated part of my manuscript and offered valuable critiques.

Kenneth Berding, whom I first met at church. He was teaching a Sunday School class on the Gifts of the Spirit. Berding encouraged me from the very beginning and kept me on target. Berding reviewed part of my manuscript and shared his constructive theological comments.

Robert Bishop, Lead Pastor, Redemption Hill Church (Whittier, California). In the beginning, Pastor Bishop encouraged me with my journey, which inspired the theme for my book.

Stephen G. Raines, D.Min., Pastor Emeritus. Raines pastored two churches in Arkansas from 1992 to 2023. Raines retired in July 2020 after sixteen years of teaching as an Assistant Professor (Social Studies Department) at Central Baptist College, Arkansas. Raines is a former high school classmate from American Heritage Christian Schools (Hayward, California). He encouraged me along the way, recommended Scriptural references, reviewed part of my manuscript, and offered his words of wisdom.

I want to extend an extra thank you to the young woman at work who openly shared her strong faith in Jesus Christ. She permitted me to share our conversations within the book if it would help others. Even though we disagree on certain biblical subjects, we respect each other’s thoughts and appreciate our engaging discussions to this very day.

I express my gratitude and appreciation for whom I had conversations with, whether at church, work, online, or family gatherings, regarding my book’s research questions.

Thanks to you all! I could not have done it without you—it took a village!

A Tribute to American Heritage Christian Schools

I want to honor American Heritage Christian Schools, Hayward, California. The school opened its doors in the Fall of 1968 and closed in May 2005. Initially, the school campus was at Fairway Park Baptist Church, and the school’s superintendent was the pastor of the church, Rev. Elliott T. Paulsen. Rev. Paulsen was a dedicated minister and a strong advocate for the school. I am unsure of the year, but learned that Rev. Paulsen is with the Lord. Internet research showed that the school moved (not sure of the exact year) to a different location before closing its doors.

We had a football team and a cheerleading squad, which I was on. I was also Vice President of the student council during the time I attended (1968–1970). My father was in between pastoral church assignments, so he joined the faculty at American Heritage. I had my father as a geometry and English teacher. And, no, he did not show favoritism. Two of my siblings also attended this school. My mother painted the school signage, including drawing and painting the school mascot, the Bald Eagle. My father accepted a new church assignment in Citrus Heights (near Sacramento), California, so our family moved in the Spring of 1970.

I usually did not care for history classes; however, I did like the class, Rudiments of our American Government. This class taught the real history of our country. The following definitions are from the 1969 and 1970 yearbooks. First, rudiments taught us perceiving the history of Christianity and America as inseparable and requisite to understanding the relation of individual character to a nation’s government.¹ Second, the government class was a study of the American Christian constitutional form of government and the idea of liberty with law.² Further, the History class was a study of Christ: His story, the westward movement of Christianity, Christian liberty, government, and individual character as contrasted with the pagan and socialistic story.³

Additionally, these three main principles were taught:

•God’s Principle of Individuality

•For every ounce of freedom, there is an ounce of responsibility

•One person’s rights end when another’s begin

I highly doubt our American public-school system teaches those philosophies, including the three principles. For most of my school life, I attended public schools, which were excellent [at that time], but they did not teach those values listed above. For example, God and prayer used to be in our public schools. When I was in kindergarten, we prayed before our milk and graham crackers and then took our naps. Also, I remember when I graduated from eighth grade, the public school, Porter Elementary (Alameda, California), asked my father to pray before our graduation picnic party. Imagine that!

To all the past American Heritage Christian Schools students and faculty—Go Team Go! I miss you all.

¹ Rudiments, definition taken from American Heritage Christian Schools yearbook, 1969.

² Government, Ibid.

³ History, definition taken from American Heritage Christian Schools yearbook, 1970.

An Invitation To A Journey

I, Elisabeth C. Nelson,

personally invite you

to take a journey through

scripture with me.

As we progress through

the pages of His Word,

we will learn together

the truth of God’s message

to every person.

PART ONE

A Biblical Overview for Spiritual Growth

A STATEMENT OF BIBLICAL THEOLOGY

I cannot express enough the extreme importance of God’s message to all humanity. The heart of the message of God’s holy Word is this.

•God wants a personal and spiritually intimate relationship with each of us because He loves us very dearly (John 16, John 16:27 NLT).

•God proved that love by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to take the sins of the world upon Himself and die on the cross, Calvary’s tree, and shed His precious blood to offer all humanity the gift of salvation (John 3:16; 1 Peter 1:18–21).

•This sacrificial act of love was completed (It is finished, John 19:30) because humanity has been in a state of condemnation since Adam and Eve fell into sin in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:17–19, Romans 5:12). Thus, humanity needs redemption. Furthermore, the initial sin of disobedience broke the relationship between God and humanity. Therefore, no one can come before God the Father except through Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Revelation 21:27).

•Jesus’ sacrificial act of love bridges the gap of the broken relationship.

•Humankind has been denying and rejecting God and has unbelief in Him, the theology of condemnation, and the refusal of redemption.

•Humankind has also refused to believe in [the existence of] the spiritual warfare between good and evil—God and Satan (Ephesians 6).

•Without redemption, each person’s soul’s eternal destination will be in the lake of fire (Daniel 12:2, Matthew 25:46; John 5:29; 2 Thessalonians 1:8–9; Revelation 20:14–15). If the lake of fire were complete annihilation or temporary punishment, there would be no need for God’s sacrificial love for humanity.

•Jesus died on the cross because there is a lake of fire with an eternal judgment that He wanted to save us from because He loves us. If there were no eternal lake of fire to save us from, Jesus would have died in vain.

•We need to understand the following concepts.

•In a lost and broken world, all individuals need salvation.

•A soul’s eternal destination is either heaven or hell.

•Only through Jesus Christ can we receive salvation as a free-will choice.

We have an enemy who wants us to think that our physical death is the end of our life; however, scriptures tell us the opposite. The Christian faith is set apart and above all others due to the biblical facts that Jesus was born of a virgin (Matthew 1:23, 25; Luke 1:27, 34), died (John 19:30), was raised from the dead (Romans 10:9, Acts 4:10), and sits at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19, Romans 8:34). Jesus is the Son of God and the son of man, and He is the Incarnate Word (1 John 1:1–3 NASB).

The biblical fact of eternal punishment in the lake of fire (Daniel 12:2; Matthew 13:41–42; 25:41, 46; John 5:29; Revelation 12:10, 20:15) is set apart and above all others due to the deep-rooted spiritual fact of what Jesus did on the cross; My grace is sufficient for you (2 Corinthians 12:9 NASB). The philosophies of complete annihilation, temporary punishment, or other non-biblical views devalue and diminish what Jesus did on the cross and diminishes the magnitude of sin.

Let’s start our journey together.

SPIRITUAL EDIFICATION—A FIRM FOUNDATION

An Overview

I feel this world is spiritually lost and blind to the truth of God’s Word. In Matthew 9:36–38 (NASB), we read how Jesus felt compassion for the people. In Matthew 9:37 (NASB), Jesus told His disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Through this book, I pray that I am one of those few workers by sharing what I have learned.

My intentions are not to offend anyone. I am not being critical or judging anyone’s beliefs. Instead, I want to share what I have learned so that we can learn together the truth of God’s Word.

Throughout this book, I made great efforts to scripturally document and support the theology I have presented. I diligently gave credit where credit was due. The opposing opinions and views of those I quoted, I respected and accepted their words as an education.

Some subjects I will be addressing are complicated and sensitive and may appear to be harsh and critical, but my goal is to help others understand the truth of God’s Word, which is not always easy. Therefore, I have compassionately presented the material in a straightforward and matter-of-fact methodology to offer easy-to-comprehend Biblical theology without mincing God’s word.

I pray I can use my gift of simplification of a challenging subject with respect and reverence. Stephen Raines, a former classmate from American Heritage Christian Schools, reminded me of the following passage.

But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3:15 ESV)

I conducted training meetings for two of the companies that I worked for in the past. I was able to break down complicated subjects so all could understand them. I heard comments such as, Before the training, my stress level was sky high. After the training, I heard, "Elisabeth, you made everything seem so easy, and my stress level dropped, and I could