DO 2142 2/85 ET# 22

1. SOMEBODY CRITICISED OUR PEARLY GATE PICTURE & SAID THEY DIDN'T LIKE THE NAME "JUDAH" ON IT. Well, there's not much we can do about that, God already put it on there, it's in the Bible! (Rev.21:12) So I fired back at'm & said, "Well, which name would you suggest? Which one would you put on there instead?" Judah's the most important one, that was the kingly tribe & the one from which Jesus descended & the most important one in the World today!—Ha! It may not please the Arabs, but it will sure please millions & millions of Jews! Besides, you can't go waving this poster around on the streets in Arab countries anyhow, but you can wave it on the streets of millions of other places where there are oodles of Jews & it will perhaps even make them happy & appeal to them!

2. WE'VE GOT MORE REASON FOR TRYING TO APPEAL TO THE JEWS THAN THE ARABS RIGHT NOW! Some of our recent revelations have pretty well put the Arabs in the shade, where the way they're going is the wrong direction. We especially can't be quite so sympathetic with the fundamentalists any more because of the F.P.! (See ML#1756.) So I certainly think there's a lot more to be gained by buttering up Judah than Arabia! So I rejected that suggestion. Whoever made it said they were afraid it would offend the Arabs. Well, I don't think there's anything you could put on there that would please the Arabs! They probably know the names of all those tribes.

3. AFTER BEING A LITTLE HARD ON THE JEWS, WE MIGHT AS WELL TRY TO MAKE THEM A LITTLE BIT HAPPY‚ WHAT DO YOU THINK? We've got to have some name on there, & I've always been kind of tickled by that emphasis in this particular picture considering how we usually talk about them. Probably a lot of people are going to question that‚ but that's tough! They exist & they are & God did choose'm! "'Tis odd that God should choose the Jews, but God chose which shows He knew His Jew!"—Ha!

4. ANOTHER SUGGESTED CORRECTION WAS ON THE "PEARLY GATES" BACKING TEXT WHERE IT SAYS: "SO THAT ONE DAY ALL THE PEOPLE WHO'VE EVER BEEN CREATED WILL FINALLY KNOW & LOVE THE LORD." Someone suggested that they didn't see how the people that weren't in the Book of Life could get to that point. Well, a lot of people are probably going to disagree with that & it is a pretty tough thing to swallow! Not many people believe in absolute Universal Reconciliation, although we have suggested it. As far as I'm concerned it's not a hard & fast doctrine, it's somewhat of a theory. But we certainly do know that everybody in the Book of Life is going to be There!

5. SO I SUGGEST WE CHANGE IT TO READ: "SO THAT ONE DAY ALL THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN HIS BOOK OF LIFE WILL FINALLY KNOW & LOVE THE LORD!"—And that will eliminate any controversy or question. I thought that was a good suggestion. Some people even believe the Devil's going to get saved, but the more I've been studying these Scriptures lately, I'm almost beginning to come around to the Seventh Day Adventist doctrine of annihilation! They believe a lot of these people are going to be saved etc., but there are some that are just too bad. They're not going to be left in Hell forever‚ but they're just going to be burned up, period‚ & gone forever, "Brute beasts created to be destroyed!" (2Pet.2:12) It's a little bit difficult to fit that Scripture in with absolute, complete Universal Reconciliation.

6. WE BELIEVE, OF COURSE, THAT A LOT OF THE PEOPLE IN PURGATORY ARE GOING TO EVENTUALLY BE LET OUT, & that those now living who haven't had a chance here are going to be given a chance in the Millennium—not a second chance but a first chance—& those now dead who never had a chance will be given a chance on the New Earth. But as far as the ones left in the Lake of Fire, I'm beginning to think more & more their end seems to be sort of permanent.

7. I DON'T BELIEVE IN THIS ETERNAL TORTURE DOCTRINE, I DON'T SEE ANY POINT IN THAT! I think it would be better to get rid of them! I'll recommend to the Lord He just gets rid of them so He can turn off the fire & not waste energy! How about that? We don't want to have people down there stoking coal in order to keep them burning. I think once & for all & done! It says "the smoke of their torment will rise forever & ever." (for ages & ages) (Rev.14:11) Well, their smoke can keep coming as far as I'm concerned as long as they're gone!

8. BUT THAT'S JUST A LITTLE IDEA THAT I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT LATELY, THE 7TH DAY ADVENTIST DOCTRINE OF ANNIHILATION! I never believed in that before & the churches were dead set against it because they wanted to make sure those people burned in Hell forever‚ eternally without any end! Think of it! Those church people are really mean characters! They really are vindictive! Anybody that caused them a little trouble here & wasn't saved, they wanted them to burn in Hell forever! That isn't very much love, if you ask me! I think it would be more merciful if they were just annihilated & they were tossed in & that was it! Get rid of'm! Good riddance of bad rubbish! That's what we do with our trash & garbage. So why should we keep on burning them forever? I can't go along with that eternal torment theory that the church preaches.

9. I THINK I'M GETTING MORE & MORE TO WHERE I DON'T KNOW WHETHER YOU COULD EVER REHABILITATE OR CONVERT SOME OF THOSE GUYS, like the Devil & the Antichrist, the False Prophet, Hitler & some of the worst characters in history & the cruelest tyrants & whatnot. I'm beginning to be a little doubtful as to whether there's any hope for some of those guys, they've just gone too far! They can be thankful they're just going to be annihilated & they don't have to be tormented forever. They're going to have been tormented for quite awhile‚ the Thousand Years of the Millennium & some things like that, so after the Great White Throne Judgement it looks to me like the best thing to do is get rid of the whole bunch that can't be rehabilitated!

10. AFTER ALL‚ I AGREE WITH THIS PARTY THAT SENT IN THEIR COMMENT THAT IF THEY'RE NOT IN THE BOOK OF LIFE, HOW ARE THEY GOING TO BE SAVED EVENTUALLY? The Book of Life is brought out at the Last Judgement‚ just before the New Heaven & the New Earth, & if they're not in then, how are they ever going to be? So I stand corrected, I think that's kind of a good thought! It means then that there are others that are not in it & don't deserve it, who don't deserve another chance. They obviously had their chance or they would be in the Book of Life for their first chance.

11. SO I'M INCLINED TO BELIEVE THAT WHEN THOSE GUYS ARE TOSSED IN THEN, IT'S PERMANENT!—Not continued eternal torture, but just permanently snuffed out, period, gotten rid of! Good riddance to bad rubbish for good! Hopeless cases! "Brute beasts created to be destroyed!" I don't think we want any of those around on the New Earth—ever! There'll be enough classes & grades & even low levels etc. without having those monsters around! So I'm going to recommend to the Lord that He just go ahead & burn'm up & get it over with & turn off the fire! Is that okay with you guys? After all, He says if you delight yourself in Him, He'll give you the desires of your heart! (Psa.37:4)