Why did a “loving” God permit the evil of the Holocaust?

God allows evil to exist because we chose it, self-righteousness and narcissism, over His paradise; also, our entire creation is the resultant of a war initiated in the Spiritual Realm and this Earth is a temporary repository for that war as God is demonstrating to the faithful angelic creation (that He adores beyond human comprehension) the ramifications, the horror, of disobedience and rejection of His law and His love. Truth be told, human beings think far too much of themselves and live and act as if God owes us something as though we’re entitled.

The thousands-of-years of Satan’s limited dominion upon the Earth will ultimately act as a bulwark against future rebellion in the Kingdom of God where free will remains extant out of necessity. Human kind has been given the opportunity by grace to ally with God in this war between good and evil by following and serving Jesus Christ as Lord; you are free to choose victory in Jesus Christ and live eternally; you are free to choose defeat in Satan and die the “second death” in Hell as God’s enemy. You are free to choose your eternal destiny; this is war, you’re a warrior regardless of your station in life; therefore, choose wisely!

A future Tribulation prefacing Messiah’s Millennial Reign. Why?

Our entire creation within the Realm of Time is the resultant of Satan’s rebellion in the Kingdom and God removing that destructive war from His Kingdom and commissioning the Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:35), to create this Earth (John 1; Hebrews 1; Colossians 1) as a repository to deal with Satan’s destructive sin partially constrained by Time and physics (Hebrews 11:3). The previous 6000+ years have been God’s display to the faithful angelic creation, those remaining loyal during the rebellion, of the horrors of sin, disobedience, the ramifications of rejecting God’s authority. The first major “tribulation” period that displayed God’s wrath concerning Satan’s deception on the Earth was the Noahic generation that God ultimately destroyed with water (Genesis 6).

Tribulation #1,

5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Genesis 6

Subsequently, wars and rumors of wars have come and gone and many millions if not billions of human lives have succumbed to starvation-murder-torture-hate-suffering families and men and women and children, the Holocaust, abortion…these are examples God has given to the faithful angelic creation relevant to WHY Satan was cast from Heaven (Luke 10:18; Ezekiel 28:11+) and why Satan, the fallen angels, must one-day be sequestered in Hell forever; this, while God has defeated and destroyed the works of the Devil via selfless love through the Gospel (Genesis 3:15; Genesis 3:21; 1 John 3:8b; John 3:16).

The coming Tribulation Era will be another stark display of evil and I believe the Holy Spirit’s restraining power will be at least partially lifted (2 Thessalonians 2:7) and the horror of pure, unrestrained, evil will be witnessed upon the Earth and in the Heavens; at that time, the Nation’s of Russia-China-Iran/Islamic coalition will ally against Jerusalem, Israel and an unconscionable nuclear war will ensue (Zechariah 14:12).

Tribulation #2,

12 And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem:Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths. Zechariah 14:12 (NKJV)

The 2nd-Tribulation Era will culminate with Jesus Christ victorious over the armies who have fought against Israel initiating the 2nd-Advent of Messiah Jesus and the initiation of His Millennial Reign. At the initiation of the Millennial Kingdom, Satan will be bound for 1000-years and perfect peace will reign upon the Earth; this, another stark, experientially relevant, model differentiating Satan’s 6000-years of destruction v. World peace for 1000-years while the rebellious cherub angel is incarcerated.

At the end of the Millennial Reign of Christ, Satan will be loosed once again to deceive the Nations with lies and apostasy and a rebellion against God’s authority will once again manifest; this is a final demonstration to the faithful angelic creation concerning Satan’s horror through deception and the faithful angels will ultimately concur with Jesus Christ that Satan does indeed deserve punishment in Hell, forever (Revelation 20:10).

So then, the coming Tribulation dispensation will be one of the final major demonstrations by God relevant to the horrors of disobedience, the catastrophic consequences of ignoring God and His moral law; the demonstration of Satan’s horror upon the Earth will ultimately act as a bulwark against rebellion in the New Jerusalem for both the resurrected saints and the angels as free will remains extant and uninhibited but controlled via experiential relevance gained through 6000-years of observing Satan’s deception upon the previous Earth that will have been purified by fire (John 8:44; 2 Peter 3:7).

A Plea to seek Life – to the Islamist, the Jew, the Israelite, the Legalist, the Atheist… (Response to an Islamist who blasphemed Jesus as Messiah)

The Torah’s specific purpose is to point you to Jesus as your Messiah and if you reject Jesus, you reject Torah (John 5:46). If you die in Torah, you will perish in Hell as well (Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:10; James 2:10).

The Quran is a work of the Devil as Islam’s Allah is Satan masquerading as an angel of light via the Arabic Moon god (2 Corinthians 11:14). Islam is born of adultery between Abraham – Hagar producing the “wild donkey” named Ishmael (Genesis 16:12) who is the progenitor of the Ishmaelites who are the progenitors of a 7th-Century demon possessed pedophile, murderer, thief, named Muhammad who plagiarized the Torah to construct the Quran in an effort to convince the Jews in Media to follow the ways of the book-or Islam…there is no life in the Quran or the Torah…neither provide atonement for your sin (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 10:4)…

Only the shed innocent blood of Jesus will atone for your sin and without Jesus as your Lord to Mediate that sin before the Father, you have no hope (John 3:16-19; 14:6; 8:24). You are on a path of darkness and hopeless headed to Perdition in nihilism and meaninglessness…repent, trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior…LIVE!

Confusion existing over Luke 18:25:

24 Seeing the man’s sadness, Jesus said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”

Jesus was not using hyperbole but His audience understood the import of His statement and analogy as they could relate to the “eye of the needle” and the camel in an experiential way we cannot in modern times. In ancient cities, there was a wall around them to provide security for the citizenry within and these walls had rather large main gates at various positions to allow ingress/egress during the daylight hours; during the night hours, security was a concern; therefore, a small gate was constructed adjacent to the large gate or at a strategic place in the wall sufficiently large for a person to pass through and enter the city after dark to access protection and shelter…this small gate was referred to as the “eye of the needle” and only required one or two guards to maintain security.

Jesus is teaching that it’s NOT impossible for a camel to pass through the “eye of a needle” but that a laden camel must first be unloaded, its possessions, its cargo, removed and the camel would most likely have to get on its knees and scoot through the narrow opening with much difficulty. Jesus is teaching that one must place their wealth, their possessions, in the proper perspective in order to enter the Kingdom of God…lay aside all encumbrances and make God and His Kingdom your number-one priority…then you can return and take possession of your wealth, your property, and use them for God’s glory with thanksgiving.

The Holy Spirit’s work in the New Covenant?

In the New Covenant of Grace as opposed to the Covenant of Law, the Holy Spirit is given as an eternal Gift to the one who believes with a sincere heart that Jesus is Lord who died to pay their sin-debt and it is the Holy Spirit who is the seal and Guarantor of covenant relationship with the Father, forever (Ephesians 1:13-14; John 14:16); contrast this work of the Holy Spirit in the New Covenant with the Spirit’s work in the Covenant of Law where the Holy Spirit was only given to specific individuals who were tasked by God with a Kingdom responsibility that mandated specific anointing and the Holy Spirit, in the Covenant of Law, could be taken away – removed for disobedience to God’s will (Psalm 51:11).

When one believes that Jesus is Lord and receives the Holy Spirit of Promise in the New Covenant, they receive every ounce of the Spirit’s presence, omnipotence, gifts, they will ever receive; unfortunately, there are those in the world of “charismata” that believe a filling of the Holy Spirit manifests subsequent to salvation but this is an error that often times leads to heresy and apostasy through works of self-righteousness or a works salvation doctrine e.g. tongues mandated to verify salvation, the “filling of the Spirit” as in some factions of Pentecostalism. This charismatic heresy leads to schisms in the Church body, self-righteousness, pride, arrogance, fear and doubt over one’s salvation status if they don’t participate in the pagan practice of gibberish – ecstatic utterance in an “unknown tongue.”

When the Holy Spirit is given as the Guarantor of our relationship with God by faith in Jesus as Lord, the power and the work of the Holy Spirit within us is wholly dependent and contingent upon the individual surrendering to the will and work of the Spirit in their life through obedience and study of the Scriptures and diligence in prayer and one’s desire to be pleasing to the Father using the gifts that have been given them (1 Corinthians 12:8-10) through the Spirit’s leadership in the daily process of sanctification (Galatians 5:16). Apart from the Holy Spirit’s work in your life, you can do nothing that positively impacts the Kingdom of God and only those works done through the Holy Spirit’s power and guidance will successfully pass judgment at the BEMA Seat Judgment of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:10-14; 2 Corinthians 5:10).

In conclusion, it’s NOT about how much of the Spirit you possess…it’s about how much of yourself are you willing to give to the work of God and how much are you willing to commit to God’s will for your life? The Holy Spirit is completely capable of using your life to impact the Kingdom of God for good but the question is, are you willing to step-out in faith with courage and allow the Holy Spirit to work through you to accomplish His will in Time and Eternity in this wicked and adulterous generation?

How can a spirit burn in Hell?

Hell was not created for mankind but specifically for Satan and the fallen angels (Matthew 25:41); mankind will enter Hell by choice/free will through unbelief; that is, rejecting faith in Jesus as Lord who died to pay our sin-debt (John 14:6; John 3:16-18; John 8:24). Mankind who has rejected Jesus will not stand in the Judgment of the Condemned (Revelation 20:11-15) in spiritual form only but those who stand in the Great White Throne Judgment will have received a resurrected body of corruption (John 5:29) as they are extricated from Hades/Sheol-Torments (Luke 16) and they will be judged in that body of corruption for the sin they have committed during their life constrained by Time and physics; the condemned will be adjudicated “guilty” for sin and their name will not be found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life and they will be cast into the Lake of Fire/Gehenna and they will suffer commensurate to the evil done in their body while in Time and then die the “second death” for eternity in nihilism and meaninglessness.

The second death is necessary as nothing impure is permitted to enter the Kingdom of God (Revelation 21:27) and only those who have received forgiveness of sin and the imputation of Messiah Jesus’ righteousness into their life by faith in Him as their Lord (2 Corinthians 5:21) will be resurrected in righteousness (Luke 14:14; John 5:29) and receive a resurrected body likened to that of Jesus Himself (Philippians 3:21) and these will enter the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21) and serve Jesus Christ forever to glorify our Lord for what He has done for us by selfless love in defeating the Evil One (1 John 3:8b).

Must I believe that Jesus is God in order to be saved from sin and receive eternal life?

Jesus specifically warned a Jewish audience in John 8:24 stating,

24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

In the Greek text, the “He” is not present, and the Scripture therefore reads,

“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins.”

“I am” from John 8:24 in the Greek reads as follows,

1. **I = egó:** I (only expressed when emphatic)Original Word: ἐγώPart of Speech: Personal PronounTransliteration: egóPhonetic Spelling: (eg-o’)Definition: I (only expressed when emphatic)Usage: I, the first-person pronoun.

2. am = eimí (the basic Greek verb which expresses being, i.e. “to be”) – am, is. 1510 (eimí), and its counterparts, (properly) convey “straight-forward” being (existence, i.e. without explicit limits). **eimí (“is, am”)** – in the present tense, indicative mood – can be time-inclusive (“omnitemporal,” like the Hebrew imperfect tense). Only the context indicates whether the present tense also has “timeless” implications. For example, 1510 (eimí) is aptly used in Christ’s great “I am” (ego eimi . . . ) that also include His eternality (self-existent life) as our life, bread, light,” etc. See Jn 7:34, 8:58, etc.Example: Jn 14:6: “I am (1510 /eimí) the way, the truth and the life.” Here 1510 (eimí) naturally accords with the fact Christ is eternal – maning “I am (was, will be).” The “I am formula (Gk egō eimi)” harks back to God’s only name, “Yahweh” (OT/3068, “the lord”) – meaning “He who always was, is, and will be.” Compare Jn 8:58 with Ex 3:14. See also Rev 4:8 and 2962 /kýrios (“Lord”).

Discussion,

Must one initially believe or understand that Jesus is God, Elohim, I AM, to be saved by grace through faith and enter into covenant relationship with the Father and receive eternal life through the indwelling Holy Spirit? No…BUT…the one who is truly born again by faith in Jesus as Lord having believed with a sincere heart that Jesus Christ died to pay their sin-debt and they believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead for their justification leading to eternal life (Romans 10:9-10), the one who is truly born again WILL UNDERSTAND AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS GOD HAVING MANIFEST IN FLESH TO PROVIDE BLOOD ATONEMENT FOR THEIR SIN. If anyone suggests they are a child of the Living God, a Christian by faith in Jesus as Lord, and they reject the deity of Jesus Christ, they do NOT possess the Holy Spirit and they remain in their sin.

It is the indwelling Holy Spirit who is our Teacher, our Wisdom, our Knowledge, concerning spiritual matters (1 John 2:27; John 14:26) and the one who possesses the Holy Spirit as Guarantor of covenant relationship with the Father by faith in Jesus as Lord (Ephesians 1:13-14) will KNOW that Jesus is God, Creator, Elohim, I AM, eternally (1 John 2:22). Do not be deceived! It is a Christian’s acknowledgement and understanding that Jesus Christ is God, eternally, that differentiates the Christian from every religion, sect, cult in the World.

Does the Apostle Paul seek to abolish the Law of the Covenant?

Paul does not abolish the Law but places the Law in its proper perspective. The Law was given because of transgressions (Galatians 3:19) and the Law defines God’s holiness and our culpability before God but the Law provides no form of atonement leading to eternal life (Romans 3:20); therefore, Paul warns the obstinate, self-righteous, Jews that seeking self-righteousness through Law is futile because the Law mandates absolute perfection if one is to attain righteousness through it (James 2:10) and mankind is encumbered with a sin-nature (Romans 7:14-25) and all of mankind (with the exception of Jesus) has sinned and fallen short of God’s righteous standards (Romans 3:23); therefore, the Law only condemns and curses mankind to death in Hell (Galatians 3:10) by defining our culpability while offering no escape from Hell (Romans 3:20); but…

God did not leave us in our hopeless condition; God the Father sent the Son (John 3:16) in a body like ours (Philippians 2) but without sin (2 Corinthians 5:21) because Jesus circumvented the sin-nature of Adam’s seed through the virgin birth (Genesis 3:15; Romans 5:12) and Jesus therefore walked among man and before the Father without sin (2 Corinthians 5:21; John 8:46) and became our only acceptable blood sacrifice for sin in accordance with Leviticus 17:11 (John 14:6) and God the Father commanded that Jesus walk to the horrors of a Roman Cross (Luke 22:42) and shed His innocent blood for YOU and by trusting-believing in what Jesus did for you on that Cross at Golgotha (John 3:16-18), God the Father by Grace (unmerited favor) through your faith in Jesus as Lord agrees to declare you “not guilty” of all sin (past-present-future) (Hebrews 8:12) and God promises to impute the perfection, the righteousness, of Jesus into your life and give you His Holy Spirit to dwell within you, forever, and guide you in the ways of holiness through sanctification and prepare you for service in the New Jerusalem (Ephesians 1:13-14; John 14:16; 1 John 2:27; Galatians 5:16).

Paul does not speak against the Law as the Law is good and Holy as it defines our need for an Intercessor (Romans 7:7-12), Paul simply emphasis the TRUTH that Law saves no one and only faith in the Law Giver, Jesus Christ, will you find life with the Father and eternal life in the Kingdom of God (Romans 10:9-10).