Gates of Hell Parading as Gates of Eden

Paul sent the following note to Daniel Botkin, author/editor of The Gates of Eden newsletter.

Hi Daniel,

I am responding to your reply to Elliot Yudenfriend in the Jan-Feb 2007 newsletter. The subject is the judgment of the Jews who do not believe in Yeshua.

I begin by quoting Elliot:

“I will stick by my assertion that God in His mercy and His unfathomable understanding, is not sending those unbelieving Jews who love Him with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their mind, to spend eternity with Hitler in Hell.”

There are three things that are drastically wrong with this statement, which you did not mention, let alone address. (I am sending a copy of the letter to Elliot so he can hear, be edified, corrected, and comforted, if he can receive it.) You did not mention or address them, not because you were negligent, but because you do not see or know them yourself as you need to.

Item #1: The notion that it is possible for one who does not know or have Christ to love God with all his heart, soul, and mind is resolutely 100% false. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the commandments, beginning with the first and foremost one, on which all others depend, that being to love the Lord your God. No Jew or any other person, no matter how religious and observant he or she might be, whether professing Christ, Buddha, Muhammad or Krishna, loves God except he or she has been born again by the Spirit of Christ and walks by His power, a new creature by His grace. And if one is born again, he or she will not be professing any Name but the One of Him that saved him or her, the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no way around this. There is no hidden mysterious presence that can or will effect the changes wrought by repentance in His Name, being baptized with His Spirit, and taking up the cross to be identified with Him in a wicked world. You have suggested or hinted at this, Daniel, but I am stating it uncategorically, as Truth unmovable, the Chief Cornerstone.

A few Scriptures will demonstrate this, and more are available if necessary:

“Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and you have seen Him” (John 14:6-7 EMTV).

“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; and he who does not believe the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36 EMTV).

“Whoever confesses that Yeshua is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15 HNV).

“That if you will confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9 HNV).

“And there is salvation in no other One; for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12 MKJV).

Item #2: The idea that one can be judged worthy of Heaven is antiChrist. I use a strong word here, but entirely accurate, appropriate, and necessary. “AntiChrist” means to substitute for Christ, and to say that some can and will make the grade, while others will not, is to attribute righteousness to man. It is to believe and live the lie that “I chose Christ,” rather than to have and know the truth that “He chose me.”

(Read The False and Misleading Gospel of “Accepting” Jesus Christ.)

The Scriptures are clear that no man is good, no man seeks after God, all are corrupt, without hope and without any possibility whatsoever of “making it into Heaven”:

“And I wept very much, because no one was found worthy to open and to read the book, nor to look at it” (Revelation 5:4 MKJV).

Romans 3:10-19 EMTV
(10) Just as it is written: “There is none righteous, no not one,
(11) There is none who understands; there is none who seeks God.
(12) All have turned aside; together they became unprofitable; there is not one doing kindness, there is not so much as one.”
(13) “Their throat is an opened grave; with their tongues they deceived”; “ the poison of asps is under their lips”;
(14) “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
(15) Their feet are swift to shed blood;
(16) Ruin and misery are in their ways;
(17) And the way of peace they did not know.
(18) There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
(19) Now we know that as many things as the law says, it speaks to those under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

Elliot’s statement implicitly declares that some are indeed righteous, that they love God and are profitable, at least enough so that they would be “accepted” into Heaven; it was mitigating circumstances that kept them from believing all the way. That is justification by works, not faith, the faith of the only Begotten Son of God:

“For if Abraham was justified by works, he has grounds for boasting, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ Now to him who works, the reward is not accounted according to grace but according to debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him that justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (Romans 4:2-5 EMTV).

Faith is not something earned. It is a gift:

“For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves. It is God’s gift, and is not on the ground of merit-- so that it may be impossible for any one to boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 WNT).

Elliot’s approach, and yours (which is essentially the same), is based on the belief that God has some kind of measuring system that will be applied to each and every person upon death to determine whether or not he or she was good enough to make it into Heaven, or must be discarded in Hell. Such a system does not exist. I have just shown you the Scriptures that prove this. (I am sure you are familiar with these Scriptures, yet you do not understand them. Glossing over them now without sincere and humble contemplation would be doing yourself and others a great disservice.) A person enters the Kingdom by faith, not by works (“Today you [a thief with no works] shall be with Me in Paradise” – Luke 23:43).

Entering the Kingdom of Heaven does not come by what we do, but upon Whom we believe (which then affects what we do, for the better). You are measuring “what we do” by the works of the flesh, considering that one might do enough of the works of men or have enough of a profession of faith to make it into the Kingdom. Whereas the one who believes is already in the Kingdom, which is proven by his or her works (James 2:18), for those who have eyes to see.

Those in the Kingdom do not think they made it by their works, nor do they measure others in similar manner, but know that the true works of God reflect His faithfulness and righteousness:

“So likewise you, when you shall have done all the things commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants, for we have done what we ought to do” (Luke 17:10 MKJV).

Which brings me to the last point, which is the most abominable doctrine ever manufactured by man, supported by the false foundation of items 1 and 2.

Item #3: The assumption that God has designated a place of eternal torment for those who do not make the grade in this life, whatever that grade may be, is totally antithetical to the Character and Nature of God as revealed in Jesus Christ. The way you, Daniel, put it on your website’s “Statement of Beliefs” is:

“At the end of the age, the saved and the lost will be resurrected: the saved unto everlasting life, and the lost unto eternal damnation.”

While these words, or words like them, are used in the Bible, it can be easily shown by examination of the words “eternal” and “damnation” from the original languages that they do not mean what has been commonly attributed to them by men. What they do mean, in essence, is: “Correction lasting for as long as it takes to accomplish it.” Here is a link that gives Scriptural examples that show the meaning of “forever”: The True, Scriptural Meanings of “Forever” and “Hell”

Think about it: How can it be that God, in His great power and omnipotence, created something that He is powerless to change, but must concede to submitting to torture (what else can you call punishment without end or purpose?), time without end? Would you, as evil as you are in your flesh, create human beings that you knew would be destined for a fire that never ceases, having them suffer in conscious torment one billion years from now, their pain just beginning? Would you, being evil, do it to your own children? And you will ascribe this to our Holy God, Who is love, and Who laid down His life for the whole world? You blaspheme the Holy Spirit!

What kind of victory do you believe Christ has won, when most of your families and ancestors will presumably be roasting in hell forever (not to mention the billions of heathen in the history of the world)? Your false doctrine causes you to twist the meaning of Scriptures in order to try to justify a monstrous “eternal hell” with the hopes that you and your loved ones will escape it, causing you to overlook the weightier matters of repentance and renewal in the Holy Spirit that would deliver you and your hearers from a present internal hell. In your gospel of “accepting” Christ, or even His “mysterious influence” saving the conscientious non-believers, you settle for a form of godliness that assures you of a future Heaven, even as you do not leave the precincts of the hell that now is. You have not repented or received the Holy Spirit. You lower and twist the bar to make sure you and yours qualify to a mythical heaven, while everyone and everything else goes to hell, literally.

I do not exaggerate; your own words tell this story. All I have done is applied the Scriptures as the Lord has made them known to us. I cannot and do not condemn you in your unbelief. I am made of the same stuff, and would do no differently without the grace of God. I am telling you these things that you might be turned away from your error and the self-righteousness it breeds. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Whom we preach), and you will be saved. Do not believe, and you will come under judgment, more severe because you profess to believe and to see. Even greater yet is the judgment on those who presume to teach others:

“My brothers, let not many become teachers, knowing that we shall receive greater judgment” (James 3:1 EMTV).

There are several documents in our The Restitution of All Things section appropriate to the subject, going into greater detail from the Scriptures and stated intent of our Creator and Savior. Also read these from “Diabolical Doctrines”:

14) “Salvation is possible in this life only.”
15) “Those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ will be fearfully and forever tormented, without end.”
19) “God is trying to save the whole world now.”
33) “The dead are unconscious.”
34) “The wicked are annihilated.”

In the Lord Jesus Christ, Yehoshua HaMashiach, we represent to you the true “Gates of Eden.” Through these only will you enter the City of God, by His grace and faith. He is not willing that any would perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Daniel, you entertain much carnal reasoning and foolish thinking in your response to Elliot, which I need not go into, having told you the truth about your essential errors. However, if need be, I can say more. I hope you will not simply read through what I have written and sent you with your doctrinal blinders on, “full speed ahead,” defending yourself rather than being honest and acknowledging the Truth. Nevertheless, if that is the case it will also serve God’s ultimate purpose of judging you and the world, to bring all things into submission to Himself.

Praise God; He is more than up to the task to accomplish all that His heart desires. It is our great pleasure and privilege to identify with and to serve Him in His great work of reconciliation.

Paul Cohen

Daniel Botkin did not send a reply, only a couple of articles to support his doctrines, one of them including an insert by Moishe Rosen (Jews for Jesus).

Paul’s reply:

Daniel,

I received your articles in response to my letter on the egregious error of your teachings on hell. There is nothing in these articles that answers anything in my letter or from the articles on our website to which I directed you. It is all just a rehash of what we have already addressed. From the appearance of things, you have not red or carefully considered anything. You are just trotting out, as if in sleep (which is indicative of your condition – one of spiritual deadness), the same old tired doctrines and explanations.

Once again you speculate about what the Scriptures are saying, openly so, admitting you do not really know the answers yourself. Where, Daniel, do you see the apostles or prophets speculating in their teachings on what God says or means? What about, “Let your yea be yea”? Yet here you are presuming to teach others, your yea a “perhaps” or “we will find out later.”

Your transgression is more than just teaching false doctrine – by your very stance you are teaching others that knowing God is impossible, and the best anyone can do is guess at what He means to tell us. You are declaring that He is not here, present in the “now,” which means He has not risen from the dead. That being the case, you are the one who is dead, yet in his grave, because we are sure He has been raised. We know this because He is here, with us, informing us, guiding and teaching us, because He has raised us from the dead, as He has all His sheep who hear His voice. We, therefore, preach and teach by Him, not by our own minds and interpretations, as you candidly confess you do.

What is worse than sharing your speculation as truth (as if that were not bad enough), is that when given a well reasoned, factual Scriptural presentation, you ignore it in preference to your theories, which you defend as fact, even when stating you do not know these things for sure. Which is it, man? Your behavior is truly reprehensible, and because you presume to teach others, you are held more accountable. You are acting as a proud fool, the rich man trying to save face and position.

You are saying that men ought to fear being destroyed in hell. The Lord never taught a fear of hell, as you propose, in order to motivate people to repent. He said to fear HIM that is able to destroy soul and body in hell. You, on the other hand, are teaching them to worship death and hell. Is it no wonder that the Lord said of such as you that your proselytes are twofold children of hell?

Notice He said “destroy,” which means, taken to its logical conclusion in context, to “do away with.” That which you do away with cannot be existing time without end.

When the Lord rebuked the Pharisees, He said:

“Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How shall you escape the judgment of Hell?” (Matthew 23:33 LITV)

He did not warn them to repent when pronouncing this judgment on them. Why? According to you these people were headed to a literal fire that would literally roast them forever and ever, their bodies able to constantly burn yet be renewed for more torture. So why would the Lord not give them a chance to escape such a fate while they yet lived and there was presumably time, pointing them to the way out? Why did He insist there was no alternative but for them to go to Hell?

And why did He forgive them from the cross if they were doomed to burn in Hell forever? What good is His forgiveness if they will never receive it? Does He forgive just to rub it in and seal men’s fates in eternal torture? Or is it to save only His own soul?

You, Daniel, also cannot escape the judgment of Hell, for which I thank God. You have not been baptized and processed with fire. Every man will be salted with fire, and you have yet to have your turn. That is how and why you can so audaciously and presumptuously stand there and denigrate the character of God as if you have the right and knowledge to do so, depicting Him as an overly sensitive, egotistic, sadistic brute. That depiction is a portrait of yourself. You unwittingly make God in your own image. One thing you say in your writing that is true is that “sin must be far more evil and hideous than we can possibly imagine.”

You quote Moishe Rosen, who also imagines himself to be more righteous than God, and has done much harm by his religious pretensions. He declares, posturing so piously:

“While I do not like the idea of hell, punishment, and the destiny of those who prefer not to accept Christ, I recognize one crucial thing. I am not in charge of reality. God is!”

If God is in charge, and He is, then who can “accept” Christ? Christ, Who is in charge, chooses, not men. Who can resist His will? If He draws and chooses, it is His will, not our preferences. We all have preferred to do our own thing. No man, the Lord Jesus Christ said, is good. You and Moishe say otherwise. You are liars. And we know that all liars have their part in the Lake of Fire.

Paul

Daniel Botkin published Paul’s in “The Gates of Eden,” and added this as his reply:

This Hell-hater from Helena has misconstrued some things I have written. Except for the direct quote, I did not write things in the words he uses, nor do his words describe my intended meaning. I do not have space to reply to each detail, but I do have to say one thing: You shouldn’t bash Moishe Rosen like that. –DB

Paul’s reply:

Daniel,

I am thankful that you published my second letter to you, even if out of context. The truth is there, nevertheless. But how are people to be fully engaged to know what I am talking about when they do not have knowledge of my first letter and the letters you sent me in response, to which I replied in the most recent letter printed in your newsletter? You did not even give your readers a synopsis, thereby granting them the opportunity to know how to begin to relate to the content and to be edified by the arguments. You have done a “Point-Counterpoint,” without presenting your point, and leaving out much of mine (covered in my last reply).

Why do you not grant your audience the same privilege you have had in hearing the whole matter from the beginning?

I will tell you why. You do not care about the Point of all things, the Truth, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is God Almighty. That is why you do not wish for your fellow man to be enlightened in the matter at hand. You do not care about him, either. You have, even in this small example (which is not at all small in God’s eyes), broken all the commandments according to the words of the Messiah, Who said on these two laws hang all the rest. So much for your Torah-keeping.

With great energy you have carefully and lovingly crafted an image, an idol that serves as your god, made in your own image. You rightly perceive this idol is under condemnation by what I have presented to you in the Lord, but, instead of repenting, you have looked to your podium and audience to protect and bolster you in your chosen, insupportable delusion. You presented my response, disembodied from any context, without any true answer of your own, because you find this the only way to assert you are right without evidence. You simply imply I am wrong, dismissing the whole matter with a lame excuse:

“I do not have space to reply to each detail....”

Who is any the wiser? As I said, you do not care that anyone would be. You simply expect your audience to accept your argument on your say-so, and thereby you are justified to remain in your darkness. Of you, in particular, the Lord spoke:

“How can you believe when you accept each other’s praise and don’t look for the praise that comes from the only God? Don’t think that I will accuse you in the presence of the Father. Moses, the one you trust, is already accusing you” (John 5:44-45 GW).

This Scripture also applies to you:

“Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar, just as it is written: ‘That You may be justified in Your words, and You may overcome when You are judged’” (Romans 3:4 EMTV).

We do not accept your say-so, Daniel, but you and your words are tried before God, that He might be justified rather than your judgment against Him.

You write:

“Except for the direct quote, I did not write things in the words he [Paul] uses, nor do his words describe my intended meaning.”

If my words have contended with what you teach and believe (using Scriptural arguments against your false doctrines), beginning in my first letter, and you cannot answer them, how can you say my words do not describe your intended meaning? I am describing more than your meaning; I am describing you, with proof. Your disagreement is, again, only based on your say-so, and is, as demonstrated already, as light and devoid of substance as cotton candy. Is this not arrogance?

Calling me a “Hell-hater” only proves what I have written to you: You have not red or carefully considered the things I wrote you. I never spoke of a hate for Hell, only for the diabolical doctrine by which men have invented their own version of a place they call “hell,” and have designated that to be the end of the majority of humanity, contrary to the claims and Nature of the Savior, Who declares that to Him every knee will bow and every tongue will confess, because He, and not death and hell, is the Omega.

On the contrary of speaking hatefully of Hell, I gave thanks for it in your presence:

“You, Daniel, also cannot escape the judgment of Hell, for which I thank God.”

As for Moishe Rosen, if I bash him, it is not for nothing or unrighteously that I do so, but you intend to only make yourself sound pious by saying I should not. You presented his opinion as worthy, and I exposed it as self-righteous confusion, which is totally vile in the sight of God. I corresponded with him on this matter, and include our letters here for you to know, whether you believe or not (and you do not – your fruits tell, contrary to your words), that God is no respecter of persons.

While you do not have enough space to address these matters, we do. Send me, if you will, by email, the documents for the articles you sent me by snail mail (“Teenage Killers and Hellfire,” and “Hell Fire”) and we will post this correspondence in its entirety on our website. [As you, the reader, can see, Daniel did not supply the articles via e-mail, but we are still posting the correspondence on our site. We can supply articles upon request.] I will give you the address for our correspondence, once it is put together, and you can share it with your readers. You may now respond to my letter(s) specifically, telling us all what you really mean.

We stand ready to bring all things to the light, for all to see. But are you? We will soon see. If you are able to prove us wrong, we will confess and apologize to all concerned, including your readers.

“And this is the condemnation, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the Light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who practices truth comes to the Light so that his works may be revealed, that they exist, having been worked in God” (John 3:19-21 MKJV).

Paul Cohen

Correspondence with Moishe Rosen:

Paul’s letter:

Hi Moishe,

I recently received an article from Daniel Botkin, who has a ministry called “Gates of Eden,” which quoted from an article you had published in the “Jews for Jesus” newsletter of June 2001 regarding hell.

I have included the first letter to Daniel [posted at top] so you might have access to all that was said and provided to him as necessary background. You are in grave error, no pun intended, but very appropriately put. You will understand more if you read on.

Paul Cohen
Helena, MT

Moishe’s response:

Dear Mr Cohen,

I know a few people named Paul Cohen but I don’t know any in Helena, MT so am I right in presuming we have not met? Likewise I don’t think I know anyone named Daniel Botkin. I have to be careful because the medications I have been taking to treat recent illnesses does cause some memory impairment. So I am wondering why you wrote me.

If you wrote to tell me that you told Daniel Botkin:

“You quote Moishe Rosen, who also imagines himself to be more righteous than God, and has done much harm by his religious pretensions. He declares, posturing so piously:

“While I do not like the idea of hell, punishment, and the destiny of those who prefer not to accept Christ, I recognize one crucial thing. I am not in charge of reality. God is!”

If God is in charge, and He is, then who can “accept” Christ? Christ, Who is in charge, chooses, not men. Who can resist His will? If He draws and chooses, it is His will, not our preferences. We all have preferred to do our own thing. No man, the Lord Jesus Christ said, is good. You and Moishe say otherwise. You are liars. And we know that all liars have their part in the Lake of Fire.”

I wouldn’t answer what you say. True dialogue or discourse requires a modicum of mutual respect.

Paul’s reply:

Mr. Rosen,

You are correct that we have not met. As for Daniel Botkin, all I know is that he received permission to publish your letter from the “Jews for Jesus” publication. He did not mention or claim to be acquainted with you, though it is possible you had corresponded.

As for the substantive matters of faith and fruits of the Spirit, you amply demonstrate in your reply here that you are a religious pretender, one who contradicts himself and God. That is why you are sick and on medications.

Since when does telling someone the truth about himself show a lack of respect? It is just the opposite. Speaking the truth shows respect for God and true love of neighbor. Otherwise, you are condemning all the prophets and Yeshua HaMashiach, who also, according to your response, did not show “a modicum of mutual respect” for the religious pretenders of their days.

John the Immerser said this to your fathers:

Matthew 3:7-10 EMTV
(7) But seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
(8) Therefore produce fruits worthy of repentance,
(9) and do not think to say among yourselves, We have Abraham as our father. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham out of these stones.
(10) But even now, the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree not producing good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Yeshua said this to your fathers:

Matthew 23:25-28 EMTV
(25) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and unrighteousness.
(26) Blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside of them may be clean also.
(27) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness.
(28) Thus also you outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

These words apply to you because you make an appearance of righteousness, but are not producing the fruit thereof. You love yourself and your sins more than the truth, so you dismiss what I have spoken to you by claiming you deserve respect based on the appearance of righteousness you have manufactured. But God is no respecter of persons (Deuteronomy 10:17).

You, however, are a man pleaser, openly declaring so. You will gladly receive the praise of men (the “modicum of mutual respect” you seek), but you have no heart or care for the truth or the praise of God whatsoever, because you do not love Him. Bastard! It is bastards who maintain their “modicum of mutual respect” and will not receive correction or chastisement. You are a phony through and through, well practiced in deceit. Your judgment, however, is now made open and plain for all, including you, to see.

If a doctor told you the reason for your illness, which could be confirmed, and gave you a sure and proven remedy, you would be a fool not to listen to him. Yet that is what you are doing here. You prefer your imaginary honor above wholesome words of truth. You reject the Message, the Word of God for Whom you show no respect, complaining that the messenger does not respect you. How is it, “teacher,” that you do not know the Word of God?

“Let me not give respect to any man, or give names of honor to any living. For I am not able to give names of honor to any man; and if I did, my Maker would quickly take me away” (Job 32:21-22 BBE).

So, perish in your sins, foolish man. You have no excuse before God in His judgment on you, and He is vindicated and glorified in all that He does.

“Let sinners be consumed out of the earth. Let the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, my soul. Praise the LORD!” (Psalms 104:35 HNV)

Paul Cohen