Three Big Things

By Bill Borders

The fascination with the end times seems to be more popular today than ever. There is a constant stream of new books, movies, and TV shows dealing with the coming apocalypse, rapture, and the Lords return. With every news story coming out of the Mideast, many are convinced the end is surely near. Christians often turn to the scripture or evangelists to understand more clearly what is taught in the Bible regarding the end times, only to find they are even more confused than before. Three Big Things brings clarity to what the scripture really says regarding the Lords return, hell, and Satan.

Christians and non-Christians alike are often not only confused but seriously concerned and even feel in bondage when thinking about these three subjects. Three Big Things cuts through the unbiblical ideas so prevalent in pulpits and the culture of today concerning these subjects. Jesus said, If you continue in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine, you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. This book hopes to bring freedom to those in bondage by clearly explaining the words of Christ and the other inspired writers of the scripture.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jul 24, 2018
• ISBN: 9781973633808

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Copyright © 2018 Bill Borders.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission.

The Holy Bible, Berean Literal Bible, BSB Copyright ©2016

Scripture taken from Young’s Literal Translation.

Scripture quoted by permission. Copyright 1993 by Jay P. Green Sr.

All rights reserved. Jay P. Green Sr., Lafayette, IN. U.S.A. 47903.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-3379-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-3381-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-3380-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018908165

WestBow Press rev. date: 7/20/2018

For my good wife Sheryl and my good friend Ken.

CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction

The New Heavens and New Earth

The Last Days and the End of the Age

Christ’s Return

First And Second Thessalonians

1 Corinthians 15

Romans 8

The Dating of the New Testament

Bible Translations

Hell

Satan

Conclusion

PREFACE

T he writing of this book was approximately 18 years in the making. The conclusions that I have written about concerning the subjects of the Lord’s return, hell, and Satan are the complete opposite of I once believed. In fact I began the study of these topics to prove the untruth of the very conclusions I now believe to be true. Because of my conclusions I have had many interesting encounters with other Christians. I have written Three Big Things partly as a defense of what I believe. In this book I discuss the ups and downs that my life in church has taken. I have also written this book because I have observed how Christian’s views regarding these subjects are hurting Christianity. I truly believe the ideas presented here can free Christians from the bondage they may feel regarding these subjects and is a Scriptural view of what God has revealed to us.

It is my hope that the information presented here will encourage all Christians to look at Scripture and examine why they believe the things they do regarding these three subjects. I believe this book can aid our understanding of God’s word and cause us to be more consistent in what we profess regarding these subjects. I also hope this book will encourage others that have reached the same conclusions I have to speak up and let their thoughts be known.

The chapters in this book often use the same Scriptures to prove different points. Because of the relationship of these subjects the same passage may have aspects that speak to all three subjects in this book. This may seem repetitive but I believe this is important to understanding these subjects correctly. It is my aim to make my thoughts regarding these three subjects standalone if one wants to read about them individually.

There are many people that I would like to acknowledge for their contribution in this study. The men who have worked as evangelists in the congregations I have attended have always considered Scripture as inspired by God and the light that guides us in this life. Although probably none of them would agree with what is presented here, I am thankful for their reverence toward the Bible and the effect that has had on me. I also would like to recognize the work of James Stuart Russell, David B Curtis, Sam Dawson, David Chilton and Cecil Hook. All of these men have done considerable work concerning the subjects I have written about here. I want to thank my good friend Ken Marshall who spent many nights discussing these subjects with me. Lastly I want to thank my wife Sheryl for her support during the difficulties we have faced because of the conclusions we have reached from Scripture.

Bill Borders

Bowling Green KY

July 17 2018

INTRODUCTION

W hen I was about to enter the third grade, my family moved across town. This meant going to a new school and meeting new friends. I remember entering class at the new school and the teacher telling me about some boys I shouldn’t sit with because they wouldn’t be a good influence. For some reason I took a seat with the very kids I had been warned about. I wasn’t a rebellious child, so I don’t know why I didn’t heed the advice from the teacher. They turned out not to be bad kids at all. In fact, one of them now works as an evangelist and is still a close friend today.

What I found out was that the kids I had been warned about were very similar to me. My new friends and I weren’t really feeling it regarding what was going on at this school. The new school had adopted a new way of teaching. Each subject had these packets that were designed to cover a small amount of information. Most of these packets could be completed in a day or two. When you finished your packet, you were given the next one to complete. You worked at your own pace. If you were a more advanced and hardworking student, you could move ahead without the rest of the class holding you back.

The emphasis seemed to be on letting students work at their own pace. Well, for my new friends and me, that meant we could goof off all we wanted. If we didn’t keep up with the other students, that was fine. We were supposedly working at our own pace. Looking back now, I’m sure we drove our teachers crazy.

When I finished grade school, I went to sort of an experimental high school. Our high school was built in circles. There were very few walls between classrooms; there were just big circular rooms with a few chalkboards and other things used as dividers between classes. I’m not sure what the goal of this design was, but it allowed interacting, whispering and joking with friends in different classrooms. I don’t think it was a very helpful environment for learning, at least it wasn’t for me. To paraphrase Paul Simon,

When I think back

On all the stuff I learned in high school

It’s a wonder

I can think at all

And though my lack of education

Hasn’t hurt me none

I can read the writing on the wall

After my career in school, the writing on the wall was about all I could read. As I went through all my years of schooling, I believe the only book I ever read was George Orwell’s book 1984 as a college freshman. I hadn’t developed a passion for reading. For whatever reason, that all changed when I was in my thirties and heard some men discussing Robert Bork’s book, Slouching Towards Gomorrah. During this same period, I heard a preacher say it’s good to read about seven books a year, so I bought and read this book. I found Mr. Bork’s book very interesting, and I was spurred on to read my next book.

At about that time, I began to watch Booknotes on C-SPAN every Sunday night. Various authors talked to Brian Lamb about their new books and ideas; this show was very intriguing to me. Almost every week I purchased a new book I had seen on Booknotes. I especially enjoyed reading and learning about history. Before I knew what was happening, my life had done a 180, and I had become a total nerd.

I read so many books that a few years ago my wife and I decided to build a study on the side of our house. I had to have somewhere to keep all these books. As we were finishing up this building project, I had an interesting encounter with the man working on our bookshelves. He noticed a book I have titled Pagan Christianity. This interesting book by Frank Viola and George Barna discusses current church practices and what the roots of them are. Many churchgoers, I believe, have confused rituals at church services with Scripture, so I found this book interesting. The fellow working on our bookshelves found the title interesting for a different reason. It turns out, he was an atheist. He proceeded to tell me that the only reason he believes Christianity continues is because parents take their children to Sunday school class and have them indoctrinated with ideas that no thinking adult would ever believe. He thought that generation after generation have perpetuated the idea of God and Christ because we have lost our ability to think outside the box.

What this man didn’t see was that beside my copy of Pagan Christianity was a commentary on the book of Daniel by Sir Isaac Newton. Mr. Newton was one of the most influential scientists in history. He is credited with the development of calculus and the laws on motion and gravitation. There is no doubt that he had one of the greatest minds man has ever known. Sir Isaac Newton was also a Christian, who felt the need to write a commentary on Scripture. Say what you will about the founder of Newtonian mechanics and the law of universal gravitation, but I guess he just couldn’t think outside the box. Apparently he just blindly went along with his parents when it came to God, I guess. Too bad he didn’t have the mental ability of the handyman working on my bookshelf and could take off the blinders and clearly see that this whole God thing was just a ruse.

Although I think the handyman’s ideas about Christianity are silly, there is something to consider in his argument. Anyone who takes an active role in a church can see fairly quickly that there are many people who haven’t taken the time to understand why they believe what they do. Many just believe what they were taught as children and haven’t investigated it any further.

I would say most people take the position as self-evident that there is a God. I would agree that creation makes the fact evident that there is a Creator. As complicated as some make this question of God’s existence, I cannot see that it’s complicated. I believe it takes much more faith to believe the entire universe came from nothing than to believe there is a Creator behind it all.

As evident as it is to me and others that there is a God, belief in a God isn’t the same as belief in Scripture or the God in Scripture. If someone hasn’t really studied Scripture, I can understand that he or she might not believe that the God of the Bible is the almighty God. Depending on where one looks for help in understanding these things, I can see why people are confused when it comes to religion and beliefs. I see why so many today talk about the universe when they are really talking about God. The uncertainty and confused thinking toward God so clearly seen today remind me of the inscription on the altar the apostle Paul found in Athens: To an unknown God. Many today who are unfamiliar with Scripture may think the universe is in control or that there is perhaps some force or Creator in charge of everything, but it’s unknown who this is.

Unfortunately, there are many churches filled with people who are also unfamiliar with Scripture. They haven’t read and studied it for themselves to see whether it’s valid or to determine why they believe what they do. In my opinion, this ignorance is hurting Christianity. I have found that many of those who attend church services but haven’t spent time trying to figure out why or what they believe are the very ones who cry the loudest when traditional beliefs are challenged. This is especially true when another Christian challenges traditional beliefs.

A friend once told me that churches have the best people in the world and the worse people in the world. I definitely know what he meant. I have found that some people belong to churches so they have an outlet to dominate others. They have found a group that tries to be humble and get along, so they are easy prey. Often these people are the same ones who don’t know why they believe what they do, but they take offense at anyone who questions their beliefs.

I had put off writing these thoughts on Scripture for several years now. In the past sharing my thoughts on what I think the Bible is teaching regarding these subjects has brought me much trouble. My only goal in studying the Scriptures has been to understand what our heavenly Father wants us to understand. I have no desire to be novel or different in what I believe. On the other hand, I have no desire to believe a teaching just because everyone else does. I have found in Scripture that often the one in the minority has been proved to be right concerning what our heavenly Father desires. God’s chosen people rejected most of the prophets and apostles because they said things that were hard to hear and out of the norm. I’m not comparing myself to the prophets and apostles but merely saying that throughout history what the majority thoughts were concerning Scripture or God’s instruction were often wrong.

The reason I’m writing this book now is because I want to be of use to God and His people. Because my views are different and unacceptable to those I have attended church services with, I felt the need to leave congregations on two occasions and basically disconnect from taking part in any form of leadership. I had become an elder of a congregation I attended for over twenty years when I was forty-one (I’m now fifty-eight). For most of my adult life, I have been very involved with church, serving in leadership and teaching. After my views became known to the other elders in my congregation, the majority of them asked me to resign and really not to take part any longer in any meaningful way. Although I had never expressed my views openly, because I knew they would be unacceptable, I was told I wouldn’t be allowed to lead a class or really lead anything else any longer.

I didn’t want to hurt that congregation, and I felt like my continued presence there would be a worse distraction for them than if I left, so I left. If I had stayed there, the congregation would have had so many questions about why I could no longer be part of leadership or teach. I thought that if I stayed and talked about my views, things would just get worse. I then began attending another congregation that had no problems with my views, I thought. Although I had never wanted to serve as an elder again, after a year I became one of the elders there. I later found out that some did have a problem with my views, and in an indirect way my beliefs became a problem for me again. Many in that congregation, however, share the views I am presenting here. There were several other issues that came up at that church, and I believe those that didn’t appreciate my views regarding Scripture worked to cause me trouble. Once again I felt the need to leave. Although I believe my views led a minority of that group to not want me there, my views are not why I felt the need to leave. I couldn’t believe I had twice left congregations because of trouble centered on me.

After going through two disasters at two different congregations and not wanting to be divisive, I thought it best to just sit quietly on the sidelines. I actually went back to the first congregation and have been pretty much not involved in church since then. After experiencing three years of this noninvolvement, I am beginning to feel like I’m not doing what I should to further the teaching of Christ or to build up His body, the church.

Recently I heard a song that made me think about doing what I can for the cause of Christ. I heard Van Morrison sing the old Irish hymn Be Thou My Vision. Look at the lyrics of this song (emphasis added).

Be Thou my vision, oh Lord of my heart

Nought be all else to me, save that Thy art

Thou my best thought in the day and the night

Waking or sleeping, Thou presence my light

Be Thou my wisdom, be Thou my true word

I ever with Thee and Thou with me Lord

Thou my great Father and I Thy true son

Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee one

Be Thou my breastplate, my sword for the fight

Be Thou my armour and be Thou my might

Thou my soul shelter, and Thy my high tower

Raise Thou me heavenwards, oh power of my power

Riches I need not, nor man’s empty praise

Thou mine inheritance through all of my days

Thou and Thou only though first in my heart

High king of heaven my treasure Thou art

Oh high king of heaven, when battle is done

Grant heaven’s joy to me, bright heaven sun

Christ of my own heart, whatever befall

Still be my vision, though ruler of all

I would encourage you to listen to Van Morrison’s version of this song. I find it very inspiring. Look again at the words in the third stanza. These are words regarding a soldier fighting for what is right. In the last stanza the writer looks back on his life as a Christian as a battle. I had recently been reading about King David’s thirty mighty men when I heard this song. I thought about what those men would have been like and how I would compare to them. I’m no fighter, but I would imagine that all men would like to think of themselves as brave and willing soldiers in the fight for what is right. The apostle Paul spoke of Christians putting on the armor of God and fighting the good fight. I want to fight the good fight. I want to do what I can to help spread the knowledge of Christ and what He has done for us. It is my hope that this book will allow me and others to do so.

It’s my opinion that a large percentage of Christians have misunderstood the Scriptures in three key areas. Not only have many misunderstood these areas, but I believe their teachings regarding these subjects are actually hurting efforts to bring people to Christ. The three subjects I’m referring to are Christ’s return, hell, and Satan.

From what I have observed, most Christians don’t know what they believe regarding these subjects; they know only what they don’t believe. I have found that teaching anything that doesn’t agree with what has been traditionally taught concerning these subjects is met with swift condemnation. It doesn’t matter what the Scripture clearly says or that most have no firm thoughts about what is correct.

These are subjects that can become very emotionally charged when differences of opinion are voiced.