Arnold Murray is the "pastor" of a
church called the Shepherd's Chapel out of Gravette, Arkansas, with
over 200 television stations carrying his ministry.
Murray teaches the doctrine of
annihilationism. This view teaches that all unbelievers will not be
tormented eternally in Hell, but will completely disappear.
"We know man
can kill our earthly bodies, but only our Father in heaven has the power
to wipe out the existence of the soul… God's emotions are so much
greater than you can even imagine, and to roast one of his own children
day and night would be something only Satan would conceive of."
SOURCE:
Shepherd's Chapel, Newsletter #151
Christ, on the other hand, asserts that the unrighteous
will suffer
never-ending punishment in the lake of Fire (Matthew 25:41,46). Furthermore, this punishment
is a conscious punishment according to Revelation 14:9-11; 20:10.
2nd Thessalonians 1:8-9 plainly warn... "Even him, whose coming is after
the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with
all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they
received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved."
God's Word teaches that lost
sinners will burn in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:15, Greek,
Gehenna) forever...
"And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast
into the lake of fire." —Revelation 20:15
Conclusion
BEWARE of Arnold Murray! He is a wolf in
sheep’s clothing! Only an unsaved Modernist would deny the eternal
Lake of Fire for lost sinners, in view of the plain teachings of
Scripture. The Bible says
Hell has fire!
But the core of Murray's teaching centers around the
sinister "serpent seed" doctrine that has been linked to various identity
"Christian" and right-wing neo-nazi groups. What this doctrine teaches
is that in the Garden of Eden, Eve’s sin was that of having literal sexual
intercourse with the serpent, which resulted in a pregnancy that produced
Cain; the Devil’s literal offspring. Murray says the descendants of
this offspring are the "Kenites." This teaching is as bizarre as
it is unscriptural. Murray has also been accused of teaching various
other heresies, which are difficult to verify, because he has written no
books, and is extremely vague in his views of the Godhead and other
fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith.
God's Word proclaims that Hell is a place that
"burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Revelation
21:8). All who die in their sins, having refused to trust Jesus as
their personal Savior, will go to Hell for all eternity to be punished in
flames of torment. The good news is that eternal life is a "free gift"
(Romans 5:15;6:23), paid for by Jesus' literal, physical, precious blood
(1st Peter 1:18,19; Hebrews 9:12). Acts 26:18 states, "To open
their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of
Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance
among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me." Amen and
amen!
"But as
many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of
God, even to them that believe on his name." —John 1:12
