| Acts 14:22 22 Strengthening the souls of the disciples and warning and exhorting them to stand firm in the faith; saying that it is through many trials and tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.1 [Tribulation is pain and suffering, which destroys sin and works patience. Obtaining purity on earth through crucifixion of the selfish, human nature is not easy; but purity on earth is far less painful than purification in Hell; and the reward for obtaining the kingdom while on earth is to be a king and priest to God with eternal peace, continual joy, and pleasures forevermore. Everyone passes through the fire, in this life or the next. From the Word of the Lord within: "Either pain in this life or the next." The pain of a wound cleanses away evil, so do stripes purge the inward parts [including the heart] of man. Pro 20:30.] | |||||||||
1 Paul and Barnabas were warning and exhorting them to stand firm in the faith; saying that it is through many trials and tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. Note! There is no entering the kingdom of God, unless you have suffered through many trials and tribulations. Peter concurs: Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in the flesh is finished with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 1 Pet 4:1-2... For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps. 1 Pet 2:21 . And Paul again: This is a faithful saying: If we are dead with him, we will also live with him. If we suffer, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us. 2 Tim 2:11-12.
You either make your peace with God here, through the cross and suffering in tribulations, or your make your peace with God through the horrible suffering in Hell. As man continues to live in sin, he fills up his cup with his sins; and when he dies still sinning, he must drink that cup (Hell) without the love of God helping him — God leaves him to suffer without his help and comfort, which is available to a man on the earth through God's conviction, man's repentance, and God then removing the sin from his heart by grace. In Hell man gets the desires of his heart in obsession; he replays every wrong action in his life over and over until he sickens of them, and until his desire is "burned out," one desire at a time. This is the torturous, painful experience of fire and brimstone. God is a consuming fire and he burns those desires away, when man becomes so desperate he would do anything, rather than continue that desire.
However, all is well that ends well, for all will be reconciled to God: the few who are crucified, purified, and perfected while on earth with great reward; and the many who are purified in Hell. "And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, to reconcile by him [Jesus], all things to himself [the Father]; by him [Jesus], I say, whether they are things on earth, or things in heaven." Col 1:20. "Therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe." 1 Tim 4:10. See the web page, Is there Hope for ALL Men and Women? for further detail.
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