As you can see from the above definitions, a word study is very important to understand the complexity and the scope of what salvation means in the context of the bible. When the term salvation is used in the bible, it is referring to an action being taken either in the present tense, or in a futuristic tense. When it is used in a present tense, an action is being taken to deliver, rescue, protect or restore something that is happening as the story unfolds. When used in a futuristic tense, salvation almost always refers to being redeemed from the curse of the law – or more plainly, saved from eternal separation from God in hell. Now, before you get too excited, allow me to explain…

Back in the beginning of time in the book of Genesis when God created the heavens and the earth, He created them to follow certain natural laws. These laws we have studied and have come to understand. The law of gravity, for example, says that if I jump off of a cliff I will head straight for the ground. When God created Adam and Eve, he also created spiritual laws which he instructed Adam to follow. Adam was to teach Eve and all of his offspring of these spiritual laws. In fact, Adam and Eve were actually created outside of the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:5-8, 3:23), so that Adam could see the barrenness and lack of life around him that symbolized life without God. God instructed Adam of the spiritual laws, and showed him the consequences of disobedience, outside of the Garden of Eden, and then took him inside the fortified walls of the garden and showed him the blessings of obedience. Unfortunately, both Adam and Eve fell short and partook of the fruit of the tree that was sanctified and set apart for God, of which they were commanded not to touch. Consequently, sin entered the Garden of Eden and had to be cast out – as was the rule that God showed Adam. However, immediately upon Adam and Eve’s sin, God prophesied His plan of salvation and redemption of both Adam and Eve and all of their offspring, through Jesus Christ (Gen 3:15).

God showed Adam that the consequence of sin was death, both spiritual and physical. This is also referred to the curse of the law. In disobedience to spiritual laws, we are cursed – not only in life – but cursed to eternal separation from God in hell after physical death, which was symbolized by Adam’s exile out of the Garden. You see, the spiritual world existed before the natural world, and will continue to exist after the natural world expires. Because we have a free will, we have the power to choose between two or more factors, and there are consequences to every choice. We have a choice between spiritual life and spiritual death, henceforth; there are two places to live in the spirit world, one created for life, and one created for death. Hell was not created for man. Hell was created for spiritual death – which is the consequence of sin and disobedience (first created for satan who fell out of heaven after his own act of disobedience). Hell is described as a fiery furnace, a place where souls are tortured continuously. There is no separation between night and day. Souls that are in hell have a clear memory of their life on earth, and of all the times the gospel was preached to them. Their senses are heightened; the most dominant emotion felt is fear. There is endless screaming, moaning and groaning at the physical pain, sorrow and despair that is endured. Death is desired, but not attained. Souls are thirsty but cannot find drink, hungry but are not fulfilled. This, however, is the least of worries. People in hell have the form of a skeleton, with a dirty gray mist of a soul. Their flesh is eaten by worms, it then decays and falls off. The skeleton form is then consumed in fire, and the flesh re-grows only to start the process over again.