CONTENTS IMPORTANT PREFACE - 2021 DEDICATION - TO MY FATHER INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE - WHAT IS MAN? CHAPTER TWO - THE LIVING SOUL CHAPTER THREE - THE SPIRIT WITHIN MAN CHAPTER FOUR - IS THE SOUL IMMORTAL? CHAPTER FIVE - LIFE, DEATH AND RESURRECTION IN THE PAULINE EPISTLES CHAPTER SIX - A WEEKEND IN HELL OR IN THE TOMB? CHAPTER SEVEN - HELLFIRE AND DAMNATION CHAPTER EIGHT - THE WRATH TO COME CHAPTER NINE - THE DAY OF JUDGMENT APPENDIX SCRIPTURE INDEX |
2021 REVISED PREFACE
HIS book, which I began writing in early 1999 was my very first attempt to detail the results of my Biblical research which had begun a few years prior. My desire to share my findings with others led to the creation of the very first Harvest Herald web site later that year and this work was to be its centerpiece.
Having come from a fundamentalist Baptist background, I had begun to feel increasingly disillusioned by those teachings which, to my mind, conflicted with what I was reading in the scriptures. That sense of disillusionment is what led me to begin a fresh study of the scriptures, and this book was the result. It was also born out of much personal pain that I was experiencing from the death of my father in the fall of 1999. Thoughts of life, death, the afterlife, heaven, hell, reward, and punishment were of paramount importance. This work is flawed in many ways. I began to write too soon in my new spiritual walk. Some of it was poorly and hastily written. It was too ambitious. At times its tone and spirit are grating and bombastic It exhibits a palpable anger that I was feeling at the time against my previous religious instruction; Instruction that I felt had misled me. As ambitious as this project was at the time, I was not ready to complete it. My own understanding of such vast scriptural topics was not nearly full enough, and for that reason the project stalled. While this work argued strongly against the doctrine of eternal hellfire in favor of the permanent annihilation of the wicked, I came to appreciate that the love and grace of God, though not without judgment or punishment might in the "times of restitution of all things" result in the ultimate reconciliation of all mankind and the absolute abolition of death - even the second death. Because of the eschatological nature of the subject matter I was required to inquire deeply into prophetic doctrines surrounding the second coming and the nature of entities such as the 'beast' and 'false prophet'. My entire prophetic and eschatological paradigm shifted from a largely futurist point of view to the historicist. Years passed as I attempted to complete a fully harmonious, scriptural framework from which to continue. By the time I felt I was ready to resume the work, it became obvious that much of what had been written would require serious revision, or in some cases an entire re-write. Due to personal issues and circumstances this was not something that I ever found time to commit to. To this day the work remains flawed, incomplete, and in some ways no longer reflective of my current understanding of scripture. So why still publish it at this late date? |
First, because there is still a lot of good information contained within its pages. It shows, I believe, convincing and conclusive evidence that the doctrines of man's inherent immortality and the eternal torment of the wicked are deeply flawed and unscriptural teachings.
Second, more than any other work that I've ever written or published, this one has generated the most positive feedback, and I am grateful to all who have taken the time over the past several years to let me know how much this work has helped. Since the most recent web site update five years ago, old links to this work have been broken and many have emailed me asking to please make it more widely available once again.
But perhaps even more, this work remains here because it is an important part of my own spiritual journey; Flaws and all.
One may have noticed that for some time Chapter 9 of this work was missing from this new format. This was due to both an oversight and a difficulty. While going through my files for this new format I discovered that I had begun to completely re-write the first part Chapter 9 in significantly more detail before attempting to complete it. It was during the re-writing of this chapter back in 2002 that my views on several points began to evolve significantly, and because of this, it was never finished.
For this edition I have combined the previously unpublished re-written, expanded portion or Chapter 9 and combined it with the unfinished sections which were previously available.
At this time no attempt has been made to revise this work. Except for formatting changes, some notes by way of explanation, and typos, it stands as it did. In spite of its defects it remains my prayer that some will still find hope and comfort within these pages.
Your Servant in Christ,
David J. Heintzman
January 2021
Second, more than any other work that I've ever written or published, this one has generated the most positive feedback, and I am grateful to all who have taken the time over the past several years to let me know how much this work has helped. Since the most recent web site update five years ago, old links to this work have been broken and many have emailed me asking to please make it more widely available once again.
But perhaps even more, this work remains here because it is an important part of my own spiritual journey; Flaws and all.
One may have noticed that for some time Chapter 9 of this work was missing from this new format. This was due to both an oversight and a difficulty. While going through my files for this new format I discovered that I had begun to completely re-write the first part Chapter 9 in significantly more detail before attempting to complete it. It was during the re-writing of this chapter back in 2002 that my views on several points began to evolve significantly, and because of this, it was never finished.
For this edition I have combined the previously unpublished re-written, expanded portion or Chapter 9 and combined it with the unfinished sections which were previously available.
At this time no attempt has been made to revise this work. Except for formatting changes, some notes by way of explanation, and typos, it stands as it did. In spite of its defects it remains my prayer that some will still find hope and comfort within these pages.
Your Servant in Christ,
David J. Heintzman
January 2021
