I am very tortured by something.  I learned of it from the History Channel special on Armageddon.  I looked into it, and it is in the Scriptures.  I asked Jesus to come into my life months ago.  And after, I felt His light shine into my heart.  My question: the thing that has been torturing me is that the Scriptures say those with the mark of the beast are those with a mark on their right hand or forehead.  Something will happen to them.  I’m unclear on what.  I think I know, but it tortures me.  I have both these marks, one on my right hand, from a burn, and one on my forehead, a scar.  I fear that my soul is already lost.  I WANT TO BE WITH GOD!  I asked and begged for His forgiveness and to have mercy upon my soul.  I don't want to go to hell.  I WANT TO BE WITH JESUS!  And it tortures me to think my path has already been decided.  I have been tortured by this.  I WANT TO BE IN GOD'S LIGHT!  I WANT TO HUG JESUS!  Please help me. Give me advice.  Anything.  I am very troubled and in need of guidance. Thank you.

Sincerely,
A Marked Man

Dear A Marked Man,

The verse you are referring to is Rev 14:9.  However, take comfort – it isn’t referring to you.  The book of Revelation is dealing with the struggle between christians and the idolatrous nation of Rome; therefore, it can’t be referring to the burn on your hand and the scar on your head; you weren’t alive back then!  Don’t worry; they get a lot of stuff wrong on television.

It is important to remember that the book of Revelation is a book written with symbolic and figurative language (Rev 1:1).  It is a vision the apostle John received on the island of Patmos that uses apocalyptic dream-like visions to teach on a real-life subject that was “soon to come to pass” and “at hand” (Rev 1:1 and Rev 1:3).  Considering John wrote the book somewhere between 65 A.D. and 100 A.D. – we are about two thousand years too late for the vision to specifically apply to us.  Today, you need to obey the Gospel in order to be in God’s light (1 Jn 1:5-6).  We recommend that you read “What Must I Do To Be Saved?”, so that you can feel confident about what will save your soul.  There is more to it than simply asking Jesus into your life.  After reading that, we would love to help you find a faithful congregation in your area to help you learn and grow in God’s Word.  Please e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org, and we will help you find a congregation.

While having a discussion, someone said that if you ask for forgiveness for your sins and transgressions, God will only forgive you one time.  My belief is that even if you live your whole life sinning – and at the end, if you ask and believe, God will forgive you, and you will go to heaven.  Who's right?

Sincerely,
Limitless Forgiveness

Dear Limitless Forgiveness,

God will forgive you more than one time.  John says that as we walk in the light, we have fellowship with Jesus, and He cleanses us from all sin (1 Jn 1:7).  The apostle John also said that if we confess our sins, we will be forgiven (1 Jn 1:9).  The number of times a christian will do that in their lifetime is without number.  Of course, these verses apply to those who already have become christians.  If you have not yet become a christian, there is more to it than simply confessing your sins.

In the book of Acts, we see what it takes to become a christian.  When Peter was asked by the Jews what they needed to do to be saved (Acts 2:37), Peter told them they needed to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38).  Everyone who wants to become a christian must be baptized to be saved (Mk 16:16, 1 Pet 3:21).  After repenting of your sins (‘repent’ means ‘change your mind’), the lost person is fully immersed in water and buried with Christ through baptism (Rom 6:4).  Once someone is baptized for forgiveness of their sins, they are a christian.  Then the continual cleansing described in First John would apply.

I'm going through a pretty rough time right now, and I'm seriously considering taking my life.  My mental conditions have gotten too much for me... hence, my questions: what happens to you when you commit suicide?  Does God send you to Hell because you try for relief?  And part two: when I was a teen, I kinda lost it and cursed God’s name.  I know that was wrong, and I am very sorry.  Can I still be forgiven?  Or is that unforgivable?  Thank you for considering my question and for helping so many others.

Sincerely,
Without Hope

Dear Without Hope,

Suicide is murder.  Your question is akin to asking, “Would God send me to hell for murder?”  No matter the reasoning behind self-murder, it is still wrong.  No matter what your situation is – and we believe you when you say it is extremely rough right now – God is faithful, and He can see you through it (1 Cor 1:9).  There is always a way of escape available, even in the most difficult situation (1 Cor 10:13).  We may not always know how to move forward, but there is a way.  Jesus came to give us hope (Matt 12:21).  There is always hope as long as there is still breath in your body.

As far as your previous sin of cursing God, you can be forgiven.  The apostle Paul cursed God and blasphemed, and yet, God forgave him (1 Tim 1:13-15).  No sin is so great that you can’t start over.  We recommend you read “What Must I Do To Be Saved” and find a faithful congregation in your area to start a new life of hope with.  E-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org, and we will happily help get you in contact with a sound, Biblical congregation in your area.

I have heard from different websites that only a few people will be saved.  I know what it says in the Bible about the path being narrow that leads to heaven, but some people say that only a certain amount of people will be saved.  Is this true?  I have forgotten what passage they are talking about, but I think it says something about 144,000 people being saved… or something like that.  Please help me understand this because it scares me to think only very few will make it.  Thanks for your help!

Sincerely,
Rumor Has It

Dear Rumor Has It,

The religion most famous for saying that only 144,000 will go to heaven is the Jehovah Witnesses.  They get this from Rev 14:1-5… however, they use those verses completely out of context.  The Book of Revelation is a highly symbolic book full of figurative speech and metaphors.  It is rarely appropriate to take the language in that book as literal.

The rest of the Scriptures are very clear that anyone can be saved.  Jesus died for the sins of all the world (Jhn 3:16).  If only 144,000 are allowed to be saved, Jesus really didn’t die for everyone’s sins.  Furthermore, Peter said that the promise of salvation was to the Jews, their children, and all the rest of mankind (Acts 2:38-39).  Salvation is available to all who turn to God.

The Bible says that Jesus said, "No one gets to the Father except through me", which I have been taught means if you don't believe God is the Father and Jesus is His Son, you don't/won't go to heaven.

My question is: does this mean that three quarters of the world's population (non-christians, Jews, Mormons, the Dalai Lama, etc.) who don't believe that Jesus is the Son of God aren't going to heaven?  It doesn't seem to me that the God I believe in would let this happen.

Sincerely,
Sympathy For The Masses

Dear Sympathy For The Masses,

The verse you are referring to is Jhn 14:6.  Here is a great example of a fork in the road for christians.  Will we take the Bible at face value and accept what God says, or will we ignore certain verses in order to mold God into an image that is more suitable for us?  You are absolutely right; there is no mistaking the implications of Jhn 14:6.  All that do not follow Christ will not be saved.  In fact, there are other verses that re-emphasize this message.  Jesus said that the way to salvation was narrow, and the way to destruction was wide (Matt 7:13).  He also says that many people will erroneously claim to have served God and will be turned away on the Judgment Day (Matt 7:22-23).

These verses do exclude large swaths of mankind from heaven.  However, if we believe the Bible to be God’s infallible Word (and we here at AYP do – read “Who Wrote The Bible” to see why we are so convinced), then we must accept that the same loving God who would send His own Son to die for our sins has a very good reason for being so picky about who goes to heaven.  Remember, God doesn’t condemn people to hell; it is our sinful choices that does that (Rom 6:23).  Jehovah offers us salvation through His Son, even though we deserve death (Jhn 3:16).