Page 84 - Gods Plan of the Ages

to Tartarus. The wrath of the Greek gods was never to be assuaged. The punishments would
have no end.
The Greeks also taught that Hades, the god of the underworld, guarded the place of
the dead and would never permit any who went there to depart. Hades was commonly
pictured with a staff in his hand. He had a three headed dog named Cerberus who guarded
the gates of Hell.
These Greek beliefs were carried over into the Roman Empire that followed. The
church of Rome was corrupted as tares were sown among the wheat. Men like Emperor
Constantine took unto themselves the highest position in the church, while granting the
church freedom from persecution. Many Christians rejoiced that the centuries of
persecution were ended, but they did not reckon on the destruction wrought upon the
church by the introduction of false beliefs and doctrines by men who were devoid of the
Holy Spirit.
The Roman Catholic Church adopted the practice of syncretism, the merging of the
pagan beliefs of Rome's citizens with the doctrines of Christ and His apostles. Soon truth
was abandoned and the original teachings of Christ and the apostles were no longer
tolerated. Truth had been replaced with myths and fables. The apostle Paul accurately
predicted the state of the church regarding these things.

II Timothy 4:3-4
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have
their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own
desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

It is from this embracing of myths and fables that the church came to believe in a place
of eternal torment. Additionally, the Biblical view of Satan was replaced by a caricature that
closely resembled Hades, the god of the underworld. Common depictions of Satan show
him with a trident, a three headed pitchfork in his hands, guarding the gates of hell. Satan
is commonly viewed by many Christians today as ruling over those who are cast into hell.
Such a belief is foreign to the Scriptures. The Bible never suggests that Satan will have any
rule or authority in hell. Whether Satan is being temporarily bound and cast into the abyss,
or whether he is being cast into Hades (Hell), he will have no more authority than any other
creature experiencing the wrath of God.

Revelation 20:1-3
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great
chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and
Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it
and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the
thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

Revelation 20:7-10
When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison... And the
devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast
and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night to the ages of the
ages.

Some years ago I was invited to attend a drama being put on at a local church. The
drama was performed by a sizeable ministry that sent out teams of actors throughout the