DOCTRINAL STATEMENTS IV
Heaven:
We believe that no one’s eyes have observed, nor has anyone’s ears discerned the extent of the tremendous, unimaginable things that God has in store in heaven for those who love and serve him with all of their hearts. We believe heaven to be God’s dwelling place, the seat of his throne, a place of indescribable beauty and excellent purity. We believe heaven to be the place where the beauty of God’s glory outshines the sun and where God’s ingenious creativity is unleashed without boundaries for those to behold who are found worthy. We believe heaven to be the place of abode for the heavenly host: the cherubim, the seraphim, the host of angels, the 24 holy elders, and the innumerable company of righteous saints whose sins are washed in the blood of the lamb. We believe heaven to be a place of unfathomable wealth and inconceivable architecture: the twelve gates of the city are constructed of pearls, it contains beautiful mansions constructed out of the most dazzling, rare, precious and valuable jewels; and these mansions are available and accessible to each one of its residents. We believe heaven to be a place of unceasing, everlasting and eternal worship, praise and thanksgiving, for we believe that the redeemed shall sing songs to the Father and Son that even the angels cannot sing. In that wonderful place, there shall be no more tears, nor crying, no sickness, nor sorrow, no more darkness, nor evil, no more pain or death: that wonderful place is where we long to be.
Hell:
We believe that in the Old Testament, hell was primarily identified as being the place of departed spirits, the grave, the compartment of the dead, where souls still awaited the arrival of Jesus Christ to set the captives free. In the New Testament (upon the entrance of Christ Jesus into the world and the unveiling of his glorious ministry) we believe that greater revelations and deeper insights regarding the mysteries of the kingdom and spiritual truths hidden from the foundation of the world were unveiled and unfolded; including spiritual truths regarding hell, wherein hell became identified as a place of eternal punishment and untold, immeasurable suffering associated with fire and brimstone where the worms never die. We believe hell to be a place of extreme, severe, and unceasing torment which consists of varying degrees; and we further believe that punishment shall be meted out or apportioned by the righteous judge, Christ Jesus himself, and executed by his angels according to:
1). the level of knowledge and revelation a person received
2). the amount of disobedience and rebellion against the truth and/or against conscience exercised by each and every sinner.
We believe hell to be a place of darkness – absolutely no light whatsoever save the flickering light of the eternal flames of fire. We believe that hell is continually enlarging itself to accommodate the vast untold number of people who choose to disobey the word of God and reject Jesus Christ. We believe that the torment of hell shall be eternal: that is, it will last forever and forever from which punishment there is absolutely no appeal. Thanks be unto God who has provided a way of escape through faith in his only begotten son, Jesus Christ!
Temple of Praise Church of God In Christ
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 1224
Canton, MS 39046