Gehenna Is Not Six Feet Under

In his writings Jeremiah claims that every man deserves a decent burial. Not to be buried is the ultimate disgrace. Why, then did the Jews throw some bodies into a place outside of Jerusalem’s walls, a place called the Valley of Hinnom? Their reasoning—though faulty—was:

“This person is a disgrace, he’s too vile to deserve a decent burial we will show our utter contempt by throwing his dead body into the valley of Hinnom just outside the city gates of Jerusalem.”

Need A D J?

True, it was their viewpoint that determined who is too vile, too wicked to deserve a resurrection, and that to them was characterized by its props utilized in this valley where it became a symbol.

“Too vile—undeserving of a decent burial—so throw him/her into the valley of Hinnom aka Gehenna! I’ve got to deal with that,” Emma Brio retorts, “wasn’t that metaphorically used by Jesus as a symbol too?”

“Yes,” Jerr answers, “because it was so convenient for them to dispose of what they had deemed unworthy of what truly belongs to Jehovah. God holds the right to pass a judgment that has everlasting, and irrevocable consequence—no life anywhere forever in a condition called Gehenna, and it’s not six feet under.

You see they could hasten the disposal process by burning, even adding sulfur to enable the process, but they couldn’t read into it—though they were trying to—by this dismal, and vivid metaphor to picture Jehovah’s mind set to support a lie. Everlasting torment in a place invented by Satan called hellfire. That’s one of Satan’s machination, and a lie.”

“Oh! Yeah? It’s so convenient for you to claim that Jehovah expressed repugnance for such a practice, but where did you read that?”

“It’s written in Jeremiah where as far back as the sixth century B. C. E. they used this, Valley of Hinnom, and declared it was God’s invention to build it into a sort of religious icon for Jews to make idolatrous sacrifices there, in order to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, but God didn’t invent that. He’s a loving God, not a hateful, vengeful, and vindictive God that would do such a thing. He says so himself, and Jeremiah records his words:

“They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, in order to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, a thing that I had not commanded and that had not come up into my heart.” (Jeremiah 7:31-33)

Like it says in the text, they have built the high places, so then it was the Jews’ invention to declare a dead body as unclean, and to use Hinnom. They are the ones who turned that valley in Hinnom into a dump for rubbish and the dead bodies they trough into it, so the Jews made it into a religious icon for their unlawful use.

Rewind back to the sixth century again when Jeremiah, who prophesied in the days of Kings Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah, it was his job as a prophet to express Jehovah’s judgment for the sins of the nation.

Back then, and the same, as it is today times were critical, and hard to deal with. It was the last days of Judah, Jerusalem, and its temple arrangement, but they did not want to hear of it. They became annoyed at Jeremiah’s preaching—like they do today. Think back to another post when Jehovah instructed Jeremiah to remain single. Why was that? Why did Jehovah instruct Jeremiah?

“You must not take a wife. You must not come to have sons and daughters in this place? The answer why is obvious times are too critical, too hard to deal with. Any sons and daughters that are born in this place, plus mothers and fathers, will experience deaths from maladies. We will not have time to bewail them neither will they be buried. As manure upon the surface of the ground they will become.” (Jeremiah 16:3-4)

Jeremiah is foretelling what is imminent for Israel. With no need for concern for a family, he can devote full time to the ministry of preaching for the benefit of the people in his territory. His territory consists of people too. They were alive, and Jehovah wants everyone to continue living.

What did Jeremiah describe, was it the dead bones of the kings of Judah, priests, prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem? Are they thrown into graves while still alive? Yes they’re still alive, but not people from graves, but spiritually dead without their beloved place of worship, now destroyed. They cannot say to Jeremiah:

“I have my own religion,” or, “I am not interested,” because where will they be when their beloved religion is gone?

Picture the Jewish captives back then as they march being driven by Babylonian conquerors now walking like dead men into captivity that for many of them they would never escape alive. No, they were to actually spread their own torsos out to the sun and to the moon and to all the starry army of the heavens that they have loved as objects of worship and that they have served and that they have walked after and that they have sought and that they have bowed down to.

“At that time,” Jerr continues, “Babylon would conquer, and would bring forth live bodies, the bodies of people of Judah with live bones of its priests prophets, and inhabitants of Jerusalem like as if they are walking dead while carrying their graves with them. There in captivity they would have plenty of time—seven decades—to spread their tired old bones out to the sun day by day to be sun dried before sun down.

Babylonian conquerors are not grave robbers their job is not to exhume decaying bodies, but their captives are as good as dead spiritually. They got what they wanted now they have it as walking dead, carrying their graves with them with no need to be gathered for burial as manure upon the face of the ground.” (Jeremiah 8:1-3)

“Jerr, That’s a pretty strong comparison, what a dismal scenario, I would rather be dead than buried alive.”

“It needs to be strong, the desecration of graves of persons prominent in religion and politics should be taken literally, because they are keepers of the sacred pronouncements of God where it is written as a violation of Jehovah’s Ten Commandments.

Even the peace that they claim prevails when there is no peace would be broken. Then,” Jerry continues, “It will be a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. In Jehovah’s eyes, devout worshipers of false gods do not earn protective sanctity or holiness, especially not when they claim to be in relationship with the God of the Bible and yet break his plainly stated commandments.

‘You must not make for yourself a carved image or a form like anything that is in the heavens above or that is on the earth underneath or that is in the waters under the earth. You must not bow down to them nor be induced to serve them, because I Jehovah your God am a God exacting exclusive devotion.’” (Exodus 20:4-5)

Idolaters need a strong comparison—a dismal scenario—such as a lack of any respect for the walking dead, carrying their own graves.

Emma Brio, visibly shaken: “What a disgrace,” to be buried and then a body exhumed, left out in sun to be scorched, then what’s left eaten by scavengers until later defecated as waste manure upon surface of ground. Adam did not deserve that, and it was not his final judgment. It was Jehovah, who judged Adam, and it took a long time to be carried out, some 930 years, but eventually what Jehovah declared was carried out. They buried him, and he returned to where he had come from just as God warned him: ‘dust you are dust you will return for out of it you were taken.’”

“Exactly,” Jerr replies, “no hell fire, and no eternal place of torment for Adam his judgment was to be buried; not to be picked at until his bones were cleaned and bleached by the sun then his assimilated body parts passed through the entrails of another animal to be defecated as manure left to decay as fertilizer atop the earth, but I’ll tell you what,” Jerr continues:

“Starting from Adam man was not designed to direct, or govern, himself with total autonomy, or independence. To earthling man his way does not belong, but to determine that every man deserves a decent burial at least they got that right. It does not belong, or it’s not his right to direct his step, because man is designed to be governed by a higher power—by God.
(Jeremiah 10:23)

“Oh! Yeah? I believe what the serpent told Eve: ‘you will not die; you will live forever. God doesn’t want you to know that your eyes are bound to be opened you will be like god knowing good, and bad why you can be your own god.’”

“You miss the point,” Jerr argues, “ There’s a hidden motive behind this appeal for independence, because the appeal hides his hidden motive: ’you need me!’ From then on Adam is hooked. He merely exchanged one true God, for another, a false god. Now Satan uses his mode of operation to hide behind a front to use this powerful spirit force to step in to influence them.

You see whether they admit it or not all men need a god to influence them. None are able to do that unassisted. Now having been thoroughly seduced, this diabolic god would fill the need to direct their steps, but not to their advantage.

“Oh! Wow!” Emma shouts, “I can’t win for losing! Since then, and until now whether six feet under, walking dead, or defecated as manure ‘The whole world is lying in the power of this wicked one.’”
(1 Jo 5:19) Gehen-2011 ©