BACKSLIDING TO HELL by Mike Peralta (best books to read in your 20s txt) 📕

That Jesus is referring to salvation or eternal life is also confirmed by the phrase "and he will be My son" in verse 7.

Notice also in verse 7 the word INHERIT, and that eternal life (the spring of the water of life) is what is being INHERITed: "He who overcomes will INHERIT all this." In this page of scripture Jesus is specifically referring to eternal life as what is being INHERITed. This is also consistent with what Jesus stated in Mat 19:29: "And everyone who has left houses or brothers [etc.].. for my sake will.. INHERIT eternal life." - Matthew 19:29

Eternal Life: Who INHERITs It And Who Does Not

Let Us Now Read All Of Revelation 21:5-8 :

5 He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." 6 He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 He who overcomes will INHERIT all this, and I will be his God and he will be My son.

8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts [witchcraft], the idolaters and all liars -- their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." Rev 21:5-8 (NIV)

In contrast to those who INHERIT eternal life, in verse 8, Jesus mentions those who will not INHERIT eternal life. Notice that THE UNBELIEVING ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES BEING CONDEMNED TO HELL. In addition to the unbelieving there is also, "the cowardly [those who deny Christ], the vile, the murderers, the SEXUALLY IMMORAL, etc... their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur." (I emphasize the grievous sin of sexual immorality because it is such a prevalent sin in our day and age -- even by many who profess to be Christians.

Jesus makes no distinction as to whether these sinful people were previously saved or not. In fact, He makes it a point to include the UNBELIEVING as only one class of people who are being condemned to Hell.

Notice that when John was addressing believers he stated: "Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him." (1 John 3:15)

Notice the phrase "NO MURDERER HAS ETERNAL LIFE IN HIM." Since according to Jesus in Rev 21:8 the sexually immoral person will meet with the same fate as the murderer then we can also say that, NO SEXUALLY IMMORAL PERSON HAS ETERNAL LIFE IN HIM.

There are not two kinds of murderers -- saved and unsaved. There are not two kinds of witches -- saved and unsaved. There are not two kinds of sexually immoral people -- saved and unsaved. According to Jesus in Rev 21:8, all the cowardly are unsaved, all the unbelieving are unsaved, all the vile are unsaved, all the murderers are unsaved, all the sexually immoral are unsaved, all those who practice magic arts (pharmacia) are unsaved, all the idolaters are unsaved, and all liars (in greek “false ones” – as in false teachers, false prophets, false brethren, etc.) are unsaved. And they will all end up in Hell, unless they genuinely repent in this life and come (or come back) to Jesus.

Notice also that taking illicit drugs to get high (in greek pharmacia) is part of practicing magic arts and is also condemned as worthy of Hell fire.

Similarly, in 1 Cor 6:9-10 Paul states: "Do you not know that the WICKED will not INHERIT the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexuals nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will INHERIT the kingdom of God." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

The term WICKED has already been explained. The term INHERIT has also. This scripture is another confirmation of what Jesus said in Rev 21:5-8. As you can see the terms and meanings here are very clear, direct, and sound. If you choose to doubt -- you do so in clear contradiction to the word of God.

Notice that the pages Rev 21:5-8 and 1 Cor 6:9-10 are parallel scriptures. Both are referring to salvation and both use the term INHERIT to refer to those who will or will not make it to the kingdom of God.

I realize that very few preach on these pages of scriptures but God’s word stands forever. God is faithful and His words cannot and it will not be altered: "I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered." Psalm 89:34

Jesus began the Rev 21:5-8 page by saying in verse 5: "Write this down, for these words are TRUSTWORTHY and TRUE." Jesus was emphasizing this page of scripture so that we would all be forewarned of the ETERNAL danger of transgressing into these grievous sins. Jesus does not give idle warnings and He does not exaggerate. He gives us clear and specific words and phrases so that we will know what the truth is. Notice again in Rev 21:8 , "the SEXUALLY IMMORAL .. their place will be in the FIERY LAKE OF BURNING SULFUR."

As hard as it is for some to believe, GOD WILL SEND THE SEXUALLY IMMORAL TO HELL -- even those who once came to Jesus in the past but now went back into the pollutions of the world.

There are many popular even evangelical ministers telling people that their sinning -- even gross evil sins such as murder, and adultery, etc, will not send them to Hell. It is the same thing satan told Adam and Eve. " ’You will not surely die,’ the serpent said to the woman." Genesis 3:4

According to Jesus, not only will the UNBELIEVING end up in Hell, the SEXUALLY IMMORAL will also end up in Hell (as will the cowardly, the vile, the murderers, etc.) -- whether or not they were previously saved or not.

According to the Bible the following people are classified as SEXUALLY IMMORAL:

1. Fornicator -- An unmarried person having with someone else who is not married. (Gal 5:19, KJV)

2. Adulterer -- A married person having with someone other than their lawfully wedded spouse. Also an unmarried person having with someone who is married. (Gal 5:19, KJV)

3. Homosexual -- Someone who is having with a person of the same gender. (1 Cor 6:10, Jude 1:7)

4. Bestiality -- Someone having with an animal. (Lev 18:23)

Those who are living together but are not lawfully married are committing the sin of fornication. Although our present day culture may condone this sin, God does not and will not approve of this sin. This sin will send you to Hell as Jesus tells us in Rev 21:8. As already explained, this is true even if you gave your life to Jesus in the past but are now in sexual immorality.

In Luke 13:3 Jesus says "unless you repent you will likewise perish." If you are living with someone who is not your lawfully wedded spouse or if you have been indulging in sex outside of marriage then you are sexually immoral and God will have to condemn you to Hell if you die in that state. But God is not interested in sending you to Hell. God is calling you to repent from your sin -- even if you gave your life to Jesus in the past.

If this describes you, you must do 2 things:

1. Confess your sin to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you.

2. Repent of your sin by permanently leaving the partner or partners you have been having sex with. 

If you don’t truly repent then confession is worthless. You are merely giving lip service and it is an abomination to God. I realize that what I am saying here is very direct and stern but I want there to be no doubt about the decision and the consequence you are facing. I counsel you to believe God and repent -- or face eternal torment in Hell when you die. And you can die on any day. You are free to choose. But you are not free to choose the consequence of your choice. And according to Jesus, the consequence of a sexually immoral life is eternal torment in Hell.

Believe God -- He does not lie.

THE SIN OF LUST AND PORNOGRAPHY

Note: The first 5 pages in this chapter is based on Dan Corner’s article: http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/lust.htm

(Used by Permission)

In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus must have shocked the people of His day when He equated lust to ADULTERY! His actual words from Matthew chapter 5 verses 28 and 29 are:

"But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed ADULTERY with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into HELL."

Please note the serious consequence of lust or mental adultery. Immediately after verse 28 where Jesus equates lust to adultery He describes the consequence in verse 29. And the consequence is Hell itself. According to Jesus, who always tells the truth, if you lust you will end up in Hell ! Therefore, this sin must not be taken lightly, as many people do.

The chief aim of this article is to provide the facts regarding "lust" as used in Matthew 5:28. Many downplay the serious consequences of lust. Similarly, remember this: Temptation in itself is not a sin. Jesus was tempted, yet Jesus never sinned. Therefore, temptation is not a sin. It only becomes a sin when you yield to it.

The Greek word rendered "lustfully" in Matthew 5:28, NIV, is found elsewhere and translated in such a way as to help us know what the Lord equated to mental adultery. This same exact word is found in Luke 15:16 and Luke 16:21. It is also significant to note that Jesus gave us these other usages. Hence, he chose to use the same exact word in these other teachings as he chose to use in Matthew 5:28! Those verses translate lustfully as longed and longing, respectively:

"He the Prodigal longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything." "And Lazarus was longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores." The facts surrounding the sad circumstances of the Prodigal and Lazarus, two other places where Jesus also used the word rendered "lustfully" as mentioned in Matthew 5:28, help us to better understand its meaning.

Regarding its usage by the Lord in Luke's gospel, it seems evident that this word carries a meaning with it that makes it much deeper than just a casual glance at a woman, as some wrongly think. To substantiate this, Strong's Concordance defines this word as "to set the heart upon, i.e. long for". Greek Dictionary, page 31, number 1937.

Near the end of preparing this book, the Holy Spirit prompted me to explain a little more on the meaning of lust. Usually we think that only sexual fantasies qualify as lust. But the phrase “long for” is revealing more about what lust is about. Following the lead provided by Strong’s Concordance, I referred to a thesaurus and found that other words synonymous with lust are: longing, desire, covet, wish, yearn, hunger, crave, ache, and pine. If you are longing for, desire, covet, wish, yearn, hunger, crave, ache, or pine for someone who is not your lawful spouse then that my reader is lust. When examining your heart please consider these additional words and test your heart