As you can see from the chart above, there seems to be significant discrepancies from what most Christians believe and what Scripture actually says. I know, there are Scripture justifications for some of the beliefs on the left, too. That is the problem! There seems to be some major contradictions in Scripture!

There are many others, as well – for example, that whole controversy between law and grace. (Acts 13:39, Rom 3:19-31, 6:14, 7:6, Gal 2:16 ff, 3:24 ff, 5:4 ff, Eph 2:9) Some places in the New Testament seem to imply that the entire Old Testament law has passed away. Christians are now freed from the law and justified solely by faith. After all, the Old Testament law was just a “shadow of things to come.” (Heb 10:1) God is writing a new covenant on our hearts. “When He said, ‘A new covenant,’ He made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.” (Heb 8:13 ff) It seems quite clear that God has ditched the Old Testament as a bad job, and started over with the New.

Then Jesus messes it up by claiming that, “…until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the [Old Testament] Law [Torah] until all is accomplished.” (Matt 5:18) What is going on here? Has God changed His mind or what?

I do not believe in a god who contradicts himself or gives up and starts over. The problem is not the Scriptures. I firmly believe that God inspired them, and He does not make mistakes. The problem is in our understanding. We have inherited lies about the Scriptures. Our minds are clouded, darkened as with a veil. Quoting Isaiah, Jesus admitted that God “…blinded their eyes, and He hardened their hearts, lest they see with their eyes and perceive with their hearts and be converted, and I heal them.” (Jn 12:40)

But all is not lost. Also from Isaiah is this wondrous prophecy.

“…YHWH of Hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all the peoples on this mountain… and on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all the nations [Gentiles, pagans, heathen]. He will swallow up death for all time, and Adonai YHWH will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for YHWH has spoken. And it will be said in that day, ‘Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is YHWH for whom we have waited; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.’” (Isa 25:6-9)

I believe that God is doing that right now. And that is why I wrote The Feasts of Israel, God’s Plan of the Ages. It’s a daunting task, going through the entire Bible attempting to resolve all the seeming contradictions! It takes a very big book. It requires telling the story of Israel from God’s perspective – His Plan of the Ages – rather than the traditions we’ve inherited. That is what I‘ve attempted to do with these five volumes.

The gospel, the “good news” of salvation in Jesus Christ, is called an “eternal gospel.” (Rev 14:6) It is not just called “eternal” because it promises eternal life. It is also called “eternal” because it has no limit, just as the eternal Father is without limit. “Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom 10:13) Most people limit the gospel to those who get “saved” before they die, but Scripture does not limit the gospel. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.” There are no time or location limits there, or anywhere in Scripture. It may take ages of time, but ultimately,

“God also highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth [in hell], and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:9-11)

That should be pretty clear, especially since we know that “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.” (Rom 10:9)

So now we know the last chapter. In the end, everyone is saved.

“Every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth [in hell] and on the sea and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.” (Rev 5:13)

 You can’t get any more “all inclusive” than that. But what happened to those who got cast into the lake of fire? I’m sorry for them. They rejected the gospel and blasphemed the Holy Spirit. That is the one sin that is unforgivable. They refused the sacrifice of Christ to atone for their sins. They must suffer the “eternal torment” of the wages of their sin: death, both physical and spiritual, in hell.

Jesus took on Himself the sins of all who believe. But Scripture makes it quite clear that all who rebel and reject the call of the Holy Spirit must pay sin’s penalty for themselves. Even though Jesus, the righteous Son of God, tasted death for everyone (Heb 2:9) and paid their penalty in only three days in hell, yet not everyone will accept that gift, and He does not force them. The blood of Jesus’ sacrifice is sufficient to atone for every sin ever committed, but “sufficient” is not enough. “If we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin.” (Heb 10:26)

The righteous Judge of all the earth has assigned a strict penalty for each and every evil deed, and it will be paid. For those who willfully go on sinning, it will probably be a lot more than three days in hell. Believe me, it is a horrifying choice to reject the perfect sacrifice of Christ and have to pay sin’s penalty for yourself!

Yet ultimately, when every penalty for every sin is paid and that evil sin nature that Satan “fathered” (Jn 8:44) is destroyed, (1 Jn 3:8) we know that the sinner will get another chance to believe, for we know the last chapter. Ultimately, God the Father becomes “all and in all.” (Rom 11:32-36, 1 Cor 15:28, Eph 1:23 and 4:6, Col 3:11)

“He [the Father] delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. And He [Jesus] is the [visible] image of the invisible God, the firstborn of [first expression of God into] all creation. For in Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created through Him and for [unto] Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together… for it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him [Jesus] and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or in heaven.” (Col 1:13-20)

That is the good news of the eternal gospel, the unlimited gospel. How can this be? How does it happen? Scripture really makes it quite clear, once we get past our preconditioning.

“Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” (2 Cor 5:18-19)

Who is the “us” in this passage? The Church, the true Israel, the Bride of Christ. And what is the message we have to preach to all those who rebelled and got left out or sent to hell?

“The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come! Let the one who wishes take the Water of Life without cost.” (Rev 22:17)

You know that Satan is the father of lies, the father of all that is evil, the father of our own evil natures. Jesus says of those with hard hearts, “You are of your father, the devil!” (Jn 8:44) Yet we also know that Jesus came to destroy Satan and all his works. (1 Jn 3:8) That is what hell was made for! (Matt 25:41) But who is the Father of our spirits? (Heb 12:9) Who breathed into us the breath (spirit) of life from the beginning? (Gen 2:7) You know the answer: God! For there really is only one spirit and it is all from Him (Eph 4:4-6) and is returning to Him. (Rom 11:36)

God’s awesome love for His precious ones is not in competition with his incredible hatred of their sin nature. They both work together to accomplish His eternal purpose, either by death on the cross (if we can accept it by faith) or death in hell (if we reject his call). Either way, that sin nature that Satan fathered will be destroyed and the beautiful person that the Father of Spirits sent forth will ultimately return like the prodigal son or the little lost sheep that went astray.

So, here is the key. God's hatred of sin is a “perfect hatred.” To really learn how to love, you must also learn how to hate. Jesus says, “If anyone come to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.” (Lk 14:26)

So am I to divorce my wife and throw out the kids? No, of course not. He also commands us, “You shall love… your neighbor as yourself.” (Lk 10:27) “Husbands, love your wives.” (Eph 5:25) “He who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (1 Jn 4:20) “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God and every one who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1 Jn 4:7-8) Do these and many other passages contradict Luke 14:26?

Again no, of course not. God is one. There are no contradictions in His Word. The “perfect hatred” of God is always combined with the “perfect love” of God, and He wants us to become like Him. A footnote in my Bible resolves this by saying we are to hate everyone else only by comparison to our love for God. “He who loves father or mother more than Me [comparatively speaking] is not worthy of Me, and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matt 10:37) Well, that’s part of it, but it goes deeper, much deeper.

To know God, we’ve got to love as He loves. To love as He loves, we’ve simply got to learn to hate as He hates. He doesn’t hate the sinner, oh no! His perfect love reaches out to everyone, even His enemies. (See Matt 5:43-48) He hates the sin! More than that, He hates the sin nature which has enslaved His beloved. He is working throughout the ages of time to destroy that sin nature, so He can set His beloved free! Wouldn’t you also hate all that is harming your beloved?

That is what hell is for. God’s justice must be satisfied. The sinner must be punished. God’s perfect hatred is a consuming fire. Yet once every evil deed has received its due penalty and that sin nature has been burned up and destroyed, the rebel sinner will get another chance to bow the knee and “confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil 2:11) God loves the sinner, too, and Scripture assures us that His love never fails. (1 Cor 13:8)

 “What do you think. If any man has 100 sheep and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the 99 on the mountains and go search for the one that is straying? And if he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the 99 which have not gone astray. Thus it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.” (Matt 18:11-14)

This is why Jesus came to Earth, to “seek and to save those who were lost.” (Lk 19:10) And who could be more lost than those who wind up in hell? Remember Jesus’ life verse? When He first began to minister in the “power of the Spirit” (Lk 4:1 & 14) He quoted from Isaiah 61, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” (Lk 4:18-19) He stopped there, even though Isaiah goes on to say “…and the day of vengeance of our God.” (Isa 61:2) because it wasn’t time yet for God’s vengeance.

But that day will come, soon, when God’s vengeance and terrifying wrath against sin will cast the wicked into hell to pay the just penalty for every evil deed. (Rev 20:11-13) So, has the mission of Jesus now changed? No. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, yes and forever.” (Heb 13:8) He is still the Savior, the Good Shepherd, out to seek and to save that little lost lamb. He is still the Redeemer, out to open the eyes of the blind and set the captives free. Yes, God’s perfect vengeance of the Law must be satisfied. But when the penalty for every evil deed has been satisfied, you know Jesus will be there reaching out in infinite love, for that is what His perfect hatred does. It cannot let go until all that is harming His beloved is destroyed.

And then, finally, that great prophecy will be fulfilled, when at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, whether those in heaven, or on the earth, or under the earth (in hell), and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. (Phil 2:10-11) Thus they shall be saved, for we know that, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.” (Rom 10:9) Now all the “contradictions” in the Bible are resolved, as love and hate, heaven and hell, justice and mercy are fully revealed in the light of the nature of God Himself, in perfect oneness, a unity beyond our imagining.

 Finally that last enemy, death, the wages of sin, is cast into the lake of fire and destroyed. Why? It is no longer needed, for Christ has won the victory over sin, destroyed the sin nature, and abolished death. With that, He can also abolish all rule and authority and power – there is no need for them when everyone is in willing submission.

“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. …and when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will be subjected to the One [the Father] who subjected all things to Him, that God may be all in all.” (1 Cor 15:22-28)