(VIII)

(Continued from part 7)

                This is a cull from Britannica Encyclopaedia which teaches the religion of Zoroastrianism.

According to Zoroaster, a good and evil force struggled for mastery in the universe. Humanity had to decide on which side to align itself in this fateful contest. This dualism was greatly elaborated in later Zoroastrianism. Good, personified as the god Ormazd, and evil, personified as the demonic Ahriman, would contend for 12,000 years with varying fortune. At last Ormazd would triumph, and Saoshyans, his agent, would resurrect the dead for judgment. The righteous would pass to their reward in heaven, and the wicked would be cast into hell. But this situation was of temporary duration. A meteor would later strike the earth, causing a flood of molten metal. Through this flood all would have to pass as an ordeal of purgation. The sensitivity of each to the anguish would be determined by the degree of his guilt. After the ordeal, all humans would become immortal, and all that Ahriman had harmed or corrupted would be renewed. Salvation thus took the form of deliverance from postmortem suffering, for ultimate restoration was assured to all after suffering the degree of purgation that the nature of their earthly lives entailed. (Britannica encyclopaedia).

Worshipping Zoroastrians

                According to Zoroastrianism, the corruption on the surface of the earth is as the result of the conflict between the forces of Good and Evil. If that be the case, no Adamic creature is guilty of the original sin. If Ahriman, the arch enemy of the Good God, is a demon, then he has more authority as the god of this world, than Lucifer. Lucifer is a fallen angel and not a demon (read my post DEMONISM: this is the URL of part one) https://hoojewale.wordpress.com/2016/04/30/demonism-part-one … which explains more).

Is Lucifer as strong or powerful as the Almighty?

                Many years back in my teenage years to the  mid-twenties, I believed that both God and Lucifer were equally matched in power and wisdom or probably that Lucifer would do too much damage to Jehovah’s creation if they should engage in any physical war. Now that I know the Bible so well, I can say, categorically, that Satan, the Devil, is not in any conceivable way a match for the LORD God. Quoting Jesus in Luke 10:18 is, “And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” Also, in Matthew 28:18, we have, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” Satan is a conquered foe.

Before his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ grants salvation to souls by the Harrowing of Hell. Fresco, by Fra Angelico circa 1430s

                Where did Zoroaster get the idea of purgation? “And as it is appointed unto men once to die,” it is revealed in Hebrews 9:27, “but after this the judgment:” is the conclusion of this prophetic verse. Universalism is quite unscriptural. I am really sorry for those who think that hell is not for eternity. Anyone who is not born again is in danger. Mark 3:29, “But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.” Jesus told a parable of the two types of people on the judgment day: sheep and goats. The end of each set is stated in Matthew 25:46, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” For those who refuse the simple gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, 2Thessalonians 1:9, warns, “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” There are more verses that prove the unscriptural position of universalism.

Hell is real! Remember Sodom & Gomorrha!

                Jude 1:7, “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” Jude 13, “Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.” And for Lucifer, the Antichrist and the human apologists of Satan is Revelation 20:10, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Hell is eternal. Get born again!

                Getting born again is strictly a conscious effort on the part of an individual. It is of a personal conviction that, as the word of God says, Jesus is truly the only Saviour of the world. A soteriological dependence on the finished work of Jesus is the sole belief requirement of Scripture. Get born again by saying this simple prayer.

“Dear heavenly Father, I come to You now in the name of Jesus Christ. I believe in my heart that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sin. I believe that You raised Him from the dead. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and I receive Him now as my Lord and my Saviour. I give God all the glory. Amen!”

(…to be continued…)

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