HEAVEN - IS IT REAL?
HEAVEN - IS IT REAL?
This book is written and published by - Robert R. Richard Sr.
Author of this Blog
This is copywrited material.
Printed in the United States of America.
All rights are reserved.
All Scripture quotaions are taken from The New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise indicated.
PREFACE
There is a polka that goes:
IN HEAVEN THERE IS NO BEER, THAT IS WHY WE DRINK IT HERE. AND WHEN WE’RE GONE FROM HERE, ALL OUR FRIENDS WILL BE DRINKING ALL OUR BEER.
The reason there is no beer in heaven is because the only one who ever died and went into heaven is Jesus Christ, and I don’t think He was much of a Beer drinker. When man dies, the simple truth is, he does not go to heaven, hence the lack of beer in heaven. What does happen to man when he dies? Is there any way to really know? There is only one way to find out what happens to you when you die. That is by studying the scriptures, the word of God. If you do not understand what the scriptures are trying to tell you, you will be in for a big surprise at the end of this age! If you do not personally study the scriptures, you cannot ever really know what happens. Contemporary Christianity would have you believe that when you die your soul and\or your spirit goes on living separate from your body. Christians believe that the good go to heaven and the bad go to hell. The problem is, the Bible does not teach this. The only way you can establish this concept is by taking scriptures and interpreting them out of context. Your soul and your spirit do not exist separate from the body. Your body is powered by your spirit which in turn generates your soul. Without the body, the spirit has nothing to power and therefore the soul can not be generated. The concept is similar to electricity, a light bulb, and light. Electricity
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is power which represents your spirit from God. The light bulb represents your body created by God. The light represents your soul. Like the light is generated by the light bulb through the power of the electricity, your soul is generated by the body through the power of the spirit. Without the light bulb there is no light. Without the body there is no soul. Take the light bulb away and the electricity simply does nothing. It is the same with the body and the spirit. Contemporary Christian doctrine teaches that dying is like going through a door. You will often hear the phrase when someone is near death, "he/she is at death’s door". If you want to relate death to going through a door, I guess there is nothing wrong with that analogy. The problem comes when Christians try to explain what is on the other side of that door. Contrary to popular belief, nothing is on the other side of the door. When we go through deaths door, we do not travel through a tunnel, we do not head towards a bright light, and we do not meet with God. We do not go to be with Jesus. Bad people do not go to hell. They are not condemned to a life of torture and they are not going to meet some being in a red suit. When people die they simply no longer exist in any state of being. There is a joke that says, " there are only two things in life that are certain, death and taxes". This is true. In fact, both death and taxes are two evils that man imposed on himself. Taxes are imposed on the people by their own governments. Death was imposed on man because the first man, Adam, chose to disobey God. Because of disobedience, all men are destined to die a first death .
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. (Romans 5:12) This is a punishment by God that must be endured by "all men". It would not be much of a punishment that if when
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you died you went immediately to be with God. The Bible tells us that ". . . because all sinned . . ." that ". . . death spread to all men . . ." . Yes, the Bible tells us that because of Adam everyone, even Christians, will suffer the punishment of death. Christians, do not need to despair because we have hope.
But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5: 19)
The Bible does teach us about eternal life. It is just not the way contemporary Christianity teaches it. The Bible does teach that eternal life is offered to all men through the grace of God. It does not teach that this eternal life starts as soon as we die. There is much more in God’s plan for mankind that has to happen before we are given eternal life and get to meet our Savior and God our Father and Creator of the universe.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
1 INTR0DUCTION 1
2 THE BIBLE - DISCOVERING THE TRUTH 8
3 WHAT IS THIS BOOK - THE BIBLE 20
4 LIFE AFTER DEATH 36
5 AT DEATHS DOOR 70
6 BEYOND DEATHS DOOR 93
7 THE TRUTH ABOUT LIFE AFTER DEATH 116
8 PHYSICAL VS. SPIRITUAL DEATH 125
9 PREPARING FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD 141
10 HEAVEN ON EARTH 152
BIBLIOGRAPHY 178
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INTRODUCTION
The contemporary Christian doctrine on heaven is quite simply a false doctrine. The Bible does not teach that when Christians die, they are immediately whisked to heaven to be with God. This is a Pagan doctrine instituted by the early church in order to make it easier for people to convert from their various religions, with their different beliefs and practices, to Christianity. Contemporary Christians use the verse, Genesis 5:24, "And Enoch walked with God: and he [was] not; for God took him," as proof of heaven. They interpret this verse as God taking Enoch up into heaven to be with Him. The Bible specifically teaches us that God has not taken anyone into heaven to be with Him except for His Son Jesus Christ. The Bible does teach a resurrection where the righteous, including Christians, will be taken by Jesus into heaven at which time they will receive their reward. This will happen some time in the future, but not when we die. Unless you interpret Biblical passages out of the context of what the original text was trying to say, there is no scriptural proof of anybody going to heaven after they die. In fact, Jesus tells us very explicitly that "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven." (John 3:13). It is amazing how clear this passage is. How could Jesus make this simple statement if the verse, Genesis 5:24, is interpreted to mean that Enoch went to heaven to be with God? That would not make sense. In order to interpret that Genesis 5:24 means that Enoch went to heaven to be with God, then Jesus is nothing but a liar. People say that the Bible is confusing. Yes it is to those who refuse search for the truth. Most Christians today interpret
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the Bible using secular beliefs, or beliefs gleaned from other religions. Most Christians today do not search the Bible for answers, rather they accept what is spoon fed to them by their church. Beliefs that have no origin in the Bible itself. Genesis 5:24 is one of the passages Christians simply refuse to see as just a clear and simple message from God. It is a lesson on living our lives that God wants us to understand. All scriptures are messages from God. Each message contains information that mankind is supposed to use to understand how God wants us to live. If you do interpret Genesis 5:24 as Enoch going to heaven then you have to admit that the Bible does contradict itself and therefore it is not a reliable source of information. The Bible simply does not contradict itself. Man, ever since the inception of the early Roman Christian Church, has been contradicting what the word of God has to say. He has been interpreting the Bible out of the context of the rest of the Bible. If what Jesus said in John 3:13 is true, then the only conclusion you can come to is that interpreting Genesis 5:24 to mean that Enoch was taken up into heaven to be with God is the wrong interpretation. If you take each Hebrew word from the original scripture and translate them with common usage, in the spirit of the rest of the scriptures, while at the same time completely ignoring secular philosophies and contemporary Doctrine, it reads, "Enoch walked God, God took," (Chanowk halak 'elohiym 'elohiym laqach). The Hebrew word "halak" commonly interpreted "walk" can also have the common translation, " to live" as in "a manner of life" or "a way to live your life". The Hebrew word "laqach" interpreted "took" can be interpreted to mean "accept". So this verse could actually be interpreted " Enoch lived a life according to God and God accepted him". Putting it in context with what the rest of the scriptures teach, this scripture is telling us that Enoch had a relationship with
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God and God recognized him as him as a righteous person. God accepted Enoch on the basis of how he lived his life. In Genesis 5:24 God is telling us that a righteous person lives his life a certain way. If you ignore the interpretation that this scripture is proof of heaven, we can see that this ties in with what Jesus was trying to tell Nicodemus in John chapter 3. Nicodemus thought that Jesus was teaching that a person had to be literally, physically born again as in from the womb. Jesus was actually teaching that, being born again was when one brings another person over to his way of life, to convert someone by changing the way he lived his life. He said that this change in a persons life was not caused by being baptized by water or being physically reborn from the womb. A person changed because he changed his spirit. He had to change the vital principal by which he feels and thinks and then acts. A person needed to change his actions, the way he lived his life. He did this through his relationship with God. He was reborn in spirit. Enoch was made righteous by living his life according God’s ways. Along with all Christians, he will be resurrected and will serve with the rest of the saints during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, here, on earth, in the Kingdom of God. He will have this privilege along with the patriarchs, the prophets and all other righteous who died before Christ died for our sins. They are saved because of the way they lived their lives. The scripture does not tell us that Enoch was not taken into heaven to live with God. In John chapter 3 Jesus told Nicodemus that unless a person changes his way of thinking he would not enter the kingdom of heaven. Even in this passage Christians interpret this as proof that when a Christian dies he goes to heaven. If you understand what the Jesus taught about the kingdom of heaven, you would know that this kingdom is located on earth and will not be established until sometime in the future. If this
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kingdom is not yet in existence, how can you die and go to it? Genesis 5:24 and John 3: 1-18 have nothing at all to do with anybody going to heaven. Enoch did not go to heaven and Christians do not go to heaven when they die because Jesus clearly says that ". . . No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven." ( John 3: 13). It is simply a lesson on our relationship with God. If we do not go to heaven when we die, what does happen? Death has probably been on the mind of every human being since the time when Cain killed his brother Able. Up until that time Adam and Eve were living under the first lie that Satan told them. In the very beginning God told Adam and Eve a very basic truth. That truth is the fact that man is not immortal. Man can die!
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Genesis 2: 16-17)
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’? And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’" Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
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(Genesis 3: 1-6)
Satan, the serpent in the Garden of Eden, is questioning Eve on commands that God had Given to her and Adam. God had instructed them that they were not to determine for themselves what is good and what is evil. God wanted them to come to Him so that He could instruct them, teaching them what is right and what is wrong. Satan on the other hand told Eve that she didn’t need to go to God for answers. He said that they could make decisions on their own. That they could determine for themselves what was right and what was wrong. Satan convinced Eve that God was lying to them. Satan told Eve that God did not want them ". . . knowing good and evil . . ." because they ". . . will be like God . . .". Satan told Eve that God was withholding information from them because God did not want them to become like God. Eve, being the vain woman that she was, decided she didn’t need to wait on God for answers and instruction. Eve decided then and there that no one, not Adam and not even God was Going to boss her around. She made up her mind that she was going to do what ever she wanted. God told Adam and Eve that if they turned away from Him, did not look to Him for instruction and decided to make choices apart from Him, this would eventually lead to their death. Their decisions and their actions would eventually lead them to cease to exist. They would be no more. ". . . they (would) surely die. . .". God did not tell them that they would stop living as they were, but would continue on in some other plane of existence whether it be heaven or hell. God made it plane and simple. He said they would die. When Adam and Eve decided to follow an alternative life style, similar to the way we live our lives today, apart from God and the Bible, they insured the truth in the statement made by God that ". . . you surely will die . . .".
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As did with Adam and Eve and Enoch, that is what happens to us today, we ". . . surely will die . . .". Adam committed a sin. That sin was turning his back on God. Because of this, man, down through the ages has been dying. We do not know how to act. We do not know how to live our lives so we can live forever. Look at the world today. It is a disgusting mess. Wars, famines, disease, murders, rapes, drug abuse, homosexuality/aides, are all man made. If Christians actually did live by the laws of God they wouldn’t die. The simple fact is that we do not. Mankind has been killing himself down through the ages all because Adam and Eve decided they could determine right from wrong. When Adam and Eve sinned, God sentenced mankind, all of mankind including Christians, to a punishment for their disobedience. That punishment we are all sentenced to is to die a first death.
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. (Romans 5:12)
God is telling us a simple truth, death will came to all men, this would include Christians. Death is man’s punishment for the sin of Adam. Because of Adam all men will endure that punishment. What kind of punishment would it be if that when we die we are immediately whisked to heaven to be with Jesus Christ and God. That would be no punishment at all. The Bible does tell us that we die. It does not say Christians die and then immediately go to heaven. It is not in scripture. This doctrine is simply false. This book will look at what the Bible says about heaven and life after death while ignoring secular and pagan beliefs. It will look in the Gospels and see what Jesus taught about what happens to Christians after they die. It will look at what the
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Apostles believed and how Jesus and the Apostles based their teachings on what is revealed to us from the Old Testament.
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CHAPTER ONE
THE BIBLE - DISCOVERING THE TRUTH
Most of society today has some view of life, death, life after death, or the lack of life after death. Linked to these views are beliefs in some type of higher power or being that has control over everything in the universe. Then there is the Atheist that, in general, does not believe in any type of God. They believe that we are a product of random chance. They believe that we did not exist before we were born and we do not exist after we die. Our spiritual self exists while we are alive but ceases to exist at death. There are many different doctrines of Atheism but in general they do not believe in an after life spent in heaven with a God. They believe that both man and animals will suffer the same fate, that eventually we will become extinct. There is also the skeptic. A skeptic is defined by "Webster’s New World Dictionary" as "one who habitually questions matters generally accepted . . . one who doubts religious doctrines". Because of this the skeptic would not be able to accept the idea of any type of life after death, much less the Christian false doctrine on heaven. A Marxist thinks that the Christian explanation of life and God are mere illusions and that they are like the drug opium that keeps the general population high so they can ignore the realities of life and the cold hard facts about death. ( 1[ pg 2]). " A Hindu thinks of the present life as just one of the many lives in a cycle of births, deaths, and rebirths. When the individual eventually becomes good enough, he achieves
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eternal bliss as he is absorbed into the universal spirit, what ever that is. " A Buddhist lives a highly disciplined life in order to extinguish all desire and to attain a vague impersonal existence he calls nirvana. " A Muslim devotes his life to the teachings of the prophet Muhammad in an attempt to make himself worthy of acceptance into paradise and to escape the torments of hell. " . . . A follower of Jesus Christ may sacrifice fame, fortune, and power in this life, knowing that he will receive God’s approval in the life to come." ( 1[page 2-3]) Can anyone know what does happen to you after death? Is there any source of information that can give you the answers to this question that can stand as truth? The answer to this question is yes. The truth can be found in the Christian Bible. But how can we know this to be true? The first thing we need to do is to establish that the Bible is a reliable document. Does the Bible stand up to history? Does it stand up to other known truths in the modern world? Does it stand up to known scientific facts? The burden of proof is not on those who believe in the Bible, it is on the skeptics. In our own courts of law, a person is innocent until he is proven guilty. Just as it is up to the courts to prove that a person is guilty of a crime, it is up to the skeptics to prove that the Bible is not a reliable source of information. In the wake of all known and proven facts in today’s world, secular society has yet to prove the Bible to be an unreliable source of information. If the Bible is to be considered a reliable source of information, then it should contain information that is relative to the world as we know it today. That does not mean that it should be the only source of information. There are many other sources of information that are true and informative and should not be disregarded. But, if other sources of information cannot prove that the Bible is wrong, then we can have a high
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confidence in the fact that what is written in the Bible is authoritive information. In order for a person to be a well rounded individual, he/she needs to have an understanding of many different subjects such as mathematics, science, physics, economics and history. Each of these are not detailed in the Bible. But, the Bible does support each one of these disciplines and they support the Bible. There has yet to be proven any contradiction between these disciplines and the Bible. Any discrepancies are a matter of misinterpretation in both the religious and the secular camps. People down through the ages have gained knowledge through many different sources such as research, scientific experiments, observation of trial and error, studying historical facts, and analyzing archeological discoveries. All of this has helped man understand the world as it is. All of this knowledge has still left us incomplete. None of this knowledge, outside of what is written in the Bible, can tell us why human beings were created or where we came from, or how we were created. They cannot explain who we are and why we are here. These are questions that everyone ponders at some time in their lives. They wonder where they can go to find answers to these questions. Hard answers that leave most of secular society at a loss. The problem is most refuse or neglect to look at one reliable source that is at their disposal, the Bible. The Bible can be proven to be a reliable source and provides us with the answers to these questions. There are ways to determine whether a source of literature can be determined to be reliable. One of the ways is to establish the historical reliability of the work. The scriptures should and can be tested with the same methods that all ancient literature is tested. In the book titled "Introduction to Research in English
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Literary History", the author explains that there are three basic principles of historiography. There are the bibliographical test, the internal evidence test, and the external evidence test. It has been proven that historically the Bible passes all three of these tests. There is no way that the Bible can be proven to not be a reliable source of information based on these tests. If the Bible is deemed as not being reliable, then most of all other ancient literature also has to be dismissed. You cannot use one standard to test secular literature and then use a different standard to test the Bible. As a piece of reliable ancient literature, the Bible has nothing that comes even close to it, whether it is literature from other religions, such as the Koran , or secular literature. (5) The fact that the Bible is historically reliable does not mean that is the inspired word of God. Just because something is accurate does not mean that is came from God. The nightly news casts are considered to be accurate but that does not mean that the information came from God, even though the liberal media would like to think that it is. The thing is the Bible does make the claim that it is the inspired word of God. The question is, how can we prove this? We already know that the Bible can be proven to be historically accurate. If this is the case, the characters portrayed in the Bible and the writers of the Bible would have to have been real people living in the past. What these people believed, what they wrote about, what actually happened and what was recorded also has to be reliable and accurate. The writers of the Bible could not record something to be read that was not true because the people reading it would know by first had evidence that it wasn’t true. A good example of this would be something written on WWII. If the writer was claiming that what he had written was fact, then it better be fact because there is too much first hand eyewitness evidence available to discredit the claim. If it is not
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fact it could very easily have been disproved. The Law in the Old Testament, the first five books, are considered by most to be written by Moses. The same would be true in this case. There would be too much first hand evidence to disprove him if what he wrote was false. If Moses consistently wrote and spoke non truths he would have little if any credibility with the people of his day. If that was the case why would anything he wrote be passed down from generation to generation and held up as "The Law", the truth inspired by God. All through the Bible the writers claim that the Bible is the "Word of God". Eighteen out of the twenty books of the Old Testament clearly state that what is written comes from God. Moses made many explicit claims of inspiration from God.
Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets. (Exodus 32:16)
Now the LORD called to Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting . . . . (Leviticus 1:1)
So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying: 26 "Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there as a witness against you; (Deuteronomy 31:24- 26)
Now when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD given by Moses. (2 Chronicles 34:14 )
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All through the Old Testament the Law of Moses was commanded to the people that is was the word of God. It was a law from God given to and spoken by Moses and the people, they understood and believed that Moses’ words were God’s words. The actual proof that the " The Law" was the word of God is the documentation of the fact that God tested the people to see if they would ignore "The Law".
And they were left, that He might test Israel by them, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the LORD, which He had commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses. (Judges 3:4)
Then Samuel said to the people, "It is the LORD who raised up Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. Now therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD which He did to you and your fathers: When Jacob had gone into Egypt, and your fathers cried out to the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt and made them dwell in this place. And when they forgot the LORD their God, He sold them into the hand of Sisera, commander of the army of Hazor, into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them. Then they cried out to the LORD, and said, ‘We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and Ashtoreths; but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You. (1 Samuel 12:6-10)
God would supernaturally make something happen to the people. The punishments are documented throughout the Bible.
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"O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. We have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem. "As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. Therefore the LORD has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice. (Daniel 9:8-14)
The consistency in their disobedience and their punishments makes it impossible to be coincidence. Historically the people would know the truth of what had happen and again the writing would have no credibility with the people of that time if it were not true. If that was the case it would be hard to believe that the people would retain what was written as their law and the word of God. Today something that is considered to be not factual is easily and in short order discredited. It would have been the same back then Another important proof that the Bible is the word of God is what was written by the different people, prophets,
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throughout the Bible. These people were understood by the people of that time to be religious men of God. Prophets were people who had directly encountered God and whose intentions were that they were formal representatives of God. Those who were not prophets were then urged to take seriously what a prophet had to say. The Hebrew prophet was believed to be someone who could foretell the future. The Bible was written over a period of approximately three thousand years by many different prophets. These prophets had no direct connection with each other except through the word, inspired by God as written in the Bible, and common ancestry. The story line throughout the Bible remains consistent. If these were people that were not led by a common being, the message and the story would not be consistent. The fact is, you can start with the book of Genesis or the book of Revelation, and the story and the message does not change. "The prophecies of Daniel provide important keys to establishing the accuracy of Bible prophecy. Many of his prophecies are so detailed and specific that, if they stand demonstrably proven, even the most biased mind will be at a loss to refute them. "In fact, some skeptics have not challenged the content of Daniel's prophetic accuracy. Rather than admit that his words are indeed inspired, they have labeled his book a fraud. They claim that it was not written by Daniel in the sixth century B.C., as we can tell by events written of in the book, but was penned by an unknown author sometime after 200 B.C., long after many of the events prophesied in the book came to pass. This, critics allege, is the reason for the book's startling prophetic accuracy. "Perhaps the best-known incident in the book of Daniel features Daniel in the lion's den (chapter 6). Daniel's testimony challenges the critics. But let's first consider the nature of the
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critics' approach. They dispute Daniel's authorship because he refers to himself in the early chapters in the third person, as if writing about someone else. However, as Gleason L. Archer Jr. points out in The Expositor's Bible Commentary, this "was the custom among ancient authors of historical memoirs . . ." (Vol. 7, p. 4). In relating some of his experiences Daniel did write in the first person (Daniel 7:15; 8:15; 9:2; 10:2). "The identity of Daniel's critics is significant as well. The first person to question the authenticity of Daniel's authorship was the Greek scholar and historian Porphyry, who lived A.D. 233-304. He is labeled by historians as a Neoplatonist, which means he subscribed to the doctrines of the Greek philosopher Plato rather than the Bible. "Porphyry is well known as a violent opponent of Christianity and defender of Paganism" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, Vol. 22, p. 104, s.v. "Porphyry"). "Since Porphyry was an enemy of Christianity, his objectivity is open to question. He had no factual basis for his opinion, and his view contradicted the testimony of Jesus Christ, who referred to Daniel as the author of the book (Matthew 24:15). "The biblical scholar Jerome (A.D. 340-420) refuted Porphyry's contention. Thereafter no one took Porphyry's remarks seriously again until many centuries later. ". . . He was more or less dismissed by Christian scholarship as a mere pagan detractor who had allowed a naturalistic bias to warp his judgment. But during the time of the Enlightenment in the eighteenth century, all supernatural elements in Scripture came under suspicion . . ." (The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Vol. 7, p. 13). "Some of today's scholars with liberal leanings have recycled these centuries-old arguments. Old Testament historian Eugene H. Merrill says their beliefs are built upon feeble evidence. "[Daniel's] rhetoric and language are
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eminently at home in the sixth century [B.C.] . . . It is only on the most subjective and circular lines of evidence that the man and his writing have been denied historicity . . ." (Eugene H. Merrill, Kingdom of Priests, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, 1996, p. 484)." (2[pg. 17-18]) In this light there is just too much independent, reliable confirmation of historical fact that what was written in the Bible was factual information. In Ezekiel chapter 26, Ezekiel tells of God's future judgement against the ancient city of Tyre, the Phoenician capital. He foretold that King Nebuchadnezzer of Babylon would destroy the city. Ezekiel then precisely foretold how a coalition of nations would complete the destruction. History proves that his prophecy came true down to the tiniest details. There are explicit and detailed news reports, first hand reports, archived about the invasion of the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, propelling us into WWII. There are at least two generations of people who were not alive when this happened, but they can find out if what they read is the truth because of the historicity of the information. Not only are the facts accurate, but the style of writing matches the period of time when the events happened. This is the same way we know that what Ezekiel wrote is not only true, because history proved it, again to the tiniest detail, but also because the writing style is from a period of time that history says is long before when it actually happened. If it was written in a much later time period, the style, information and written content would not match that period. One of the older books in the Bible, Job, written about 1500 BC, tells us about a coming redeemer who we know as Jesus Christ. There is no other book in the world ever written that can actually predict the future. There are thirty prophecies in the Bible about Jesus Christ alone. The statistical probability that all thirty of these prophecies could come true makes it
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impossible without Divine intervention. All the prophecies on Jesus Christ had come to pass and are recorded in the Bible. Isaiah, Daniel, and many others wrote of future things in minute detail and they came true. God challenges man to disprove this hard evidence. God had these prophecies recorded throughout the Bible to prove its divine origin. God told His messengers of events that would happen centuries later, then He made them happen. This in and of itself is hard to ignore. If anyone could consistently and accurately predict the future, betting on the horses would be a thing of the past. Since man by himself can not accurately predict future events, prophecy is an excellent indicator of a supernatural influence. A majority of the prophecies in the Bible have already come true and can be proven by secular history.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16)
Here, in the New Testament" the Apostle Paul tells us very plainly that "all scripture" comes from God. It is hard to ignore what he is trying to tell us. Based on the reliability as both being historically accurate and also being inspired from God, we can confidently state that the Bible provides us with an understanding of why we were created, how we should live our lives and what is our destiny. This is a book that contains truths that cannot be proven by any other source. If a person reads and understands what is written in the Bible he/she can benefit today and in the future. The Bible reveals that ". . . Godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which
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is to come" (Timothy 4:8) The Bible is the absolute truth from God to man. It is not and does not claim to be the entire truth. There are many things that God chose not to reveal at this time. It is the truth that God wanted to reveal to man now so that man would know how to live his life in this present age. It tells us of a way of life that will bring happiness. "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly . . . but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates night and day . . . Whatever he does shall prosper" (Psalms 1:1-3).
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CHAPTER TWO
WHAT IS THIS BOOK - THE BIBLE?
God created man with a high degree of intelligence. He gave us a curious nature with an capacity to learn. Down through the ages man has been gathering information and then passed it down to succeeding generations. Today we have a store house of knowledge that mankind has discovered on his own, using the intelligence that God gave us. We have collected and stored this knowledge through our natural abilities. God did not need, or want, to program us with this knowledge. God did not create robots. God created beings with the ability to learn and create on their own. God created us to become His children to be like Him, "Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness . . ." (Genesis 1:26). What God gave man was a book that contained knowledge that he could not gain on his own. The Bible is a book that contains knowledge some which can only be revealed by God. This information is spiritual information that is revealed to human beings living in a material world. This information cannot be discerned by man. This spiritual information is revealed to physical human beings living in real physical settings acting and living in history as documented in secular literature. This knowledge relates to the spiritual in relationship to a material physical world. The spiritual knowledge that is needed for man to be cohesive within the physical world. There could not and is not any contradiction between the Bible and the secular physical world as we know it. Again, if there seems to be contradictions, then it is a matter of interpretation. The Bible does not claim to be a science book, but it does contain scientific knowledge. When the Bible is
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examined it can be proven that the Bible is accurate. As with everything, not all skeptics will be satisfied. The Bible does tell us this truth. The Apostle Paul noted in Titus 1:2 that God cannot lie. Jesus Christ said of God His Father that "Your word is truth" (John 17:17). There are many things that were thought to be true by science that contradicted the Bible but have since been proven to be wrong. Then there are things that are yet to be discovered. Modern archeology has proven many historical facts in the Bible to be true that were thought to be wrong. This is based on recent finding and new technological advances in archeology. There are many things written that cannot be proven but they also cannot be written off as being false. With our daily advancements it just be a matter of time before these will be proven as truths also. A good example of how it appeared that science appeared to contradict the Bible is the announcement by Copernicus, a Polish astronomer in the 16th century, that the earth was not an immovable disk, the center of the universe, and everything revolved around it. Through observation and the use of mathematical charts and tables, Copernicus came to the conclusion that the earth was actually a sphere that was actually in motion moving around the sun. ". . . His discovery brought shock and alarm to many religious authorities. His view was about as welcome to the educated mind during the Middle Ages as the plague. Upon Copernicus's presentation of his evidence to influential men in education and religion, his reward was jeered and ridicule. The established church branded Copernicus as an apostate for challenging the conventional wisdom of the day. How did this conflict arise? The churchmen had taken their views from Ptolemy, a Greek astronomer living in Egypt, who had decreed in the second century that the earth was the center of the universe (ibid., p. 116), ( 2[pg. 5]).
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The problem that arose amazingly did not come from the secular world. It came from organized religion, more importantly, the Christian Church! "Organized religion of the second century accepted Ptolemy's geocentric view but ultimately rejected his belief that the earth was spherical. Theologians chose instead to "endorse the absurd geographical dicta of Topographia Christiana, a treatise by the sixth-century monk Cosmas . . . who . . . held that the world was a flat, rectangular plane . . ." (ibid.). "Copernicus was later joined in his heresy by others. The astronomer Galileo confirmed the findings of Copernicus but recanted under threat of torture. But their scientific findings could not be restrained forever. The result was a loss of the monopoly that religion had over men's minds. The Copernican discovery triggered the greatest credibility crisis that church authorities of the Middle Ages had to face. In defending their position, they presented human opinion, which could be—and was—overturned by scientific observation and experimentation. "Belief in the Bible and ecclesiastical authority would never be the same. Now a movement had begun that would eventually, in the minds of many, discredit the Scriptures as a legitimate source of authority." (2[pg. 5]) Was the Bible wrong? This is where the problem lies in today's church. The fact of the matter is the Bible was not wrong. What was written in the Bible about the science of the earth is true. Rather it was the misinterpretation of the scriptures. One of the scriptures that was misinterpreted was Psalm 93:1:
The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD is clothed, He has girded Himself with strength. Surely the world is
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established, so that it cannot be moved. (Psalm 93:1) The verse is not saying that the earth is standing still motionless in space. But, many in the early Roman Catholic Church interpreted this passage this way. Knowing what we know about science now we can interpret the original Hebrew script to say that the earth is in a fixed, established and stable orbit. This explanation fits the original Hebrew text. It was God who determined this orbit, placed the earth in it, and keeps it fixed in that orbit ". . .so that it cannot be moved." "When the Renaissance dawned, scholars who awoke to the structure of the solar system were centuries behind the Bible in basic knowledge of the structure of the universe. One might wonder how people could have remained in the dark for so long. We must realize that with the arrival of the Dark Ages man sank deep into an intellectual and moral morass that lasted from about A.D. 400 to 1000. During this time "intellectual life . . . vanished from Europe. Even Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman emperor and the greatest of all medieval rulers, was illiterate." It was a period of "almost impenetrable mindlessness" (Manchester, p. 3). "The belief that the earth is not the center of the universe died hard. In some places this new truth was not accepted by religious leaders for more than 300 years after Copernicus's discoveries. Tremors were felt throughout organized Christianity because many believed that the astronomical reality cast doubt upon the veracity of the Bible. In reality it did no such thing. It was not the Bible that was found wanting; it was the interpretation that had been adopted by religious authorities. The facts merely confirmed what the Bible had said all along." (2[pg. 6). Copernicus wasn't the only one with a theory that cast a shadow on the validity of the Bible. There were many controversies that would arise that made it seem that science and the Bible contradicted each other. One of the most hotly
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debated controversies that is still debated today is the age of the universe. "Astronomers see evidence that the universe is many billions of years old, and generally believe that it came into existence between 10 and 20 billion years ago through an event commonly called the Big Bang. Some biblical literalists, on the other hand, dogmatically maintain that the universe is only about 6,000 years old. They arrive at this figure by calculating the chronological benchmarks in Genesis and other books of the Bible. "Astronomers are correct in responding that this view is insupportable. They offer evidence, gathered from viewing the heavens by powerful telescopes, that support their position. Asks one, "How is it that there are astronomical objects more than 6,000 light-years away?" (Sagan, p. 28). A light-year is the distance that light, moving at 186,000 miles per second, travels in one year. "It is obvious there are light-years between some religious people and science on this issue. Some advocates of the biblical record reason around such evidence by stating that the seeming age of the universe (and of the fossil and geological evidence of the earth itself) is "simply part of 'an appearance of age' that God built into the universe." Many people, including some theologians, properly respond that this "raises the problem of a God engaged in deception" (U.S. News & World Report, Dec. 23, 1991, pp. 59-60). "Yet the arguments are unnecessary. The truth is that the Bible does not contradict scientific evidence, and science does not disprove the biblical record. The point missed by most people on both sides of the argument is that the Bible does not say when the universe was created. "According to the Bible, Adam was the first man (1 Corinthians 15:45; 1 Chronicles 1:1), and adding the figures in the biblical genealogies yields a date of about 6,000 years ago
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for Adam's creation. "However, the Bible does not state that the creation of mankind and the creation of the universe occurred at the same time. The age of the universe is simply not stated in the Bible. It may well have been 10 or 20 billion years ago. The Big Bang is simply the most popular of the theories advanced to explain the creation of an enormous and majestic universe without acknowledging God and the biblical record. The theory's advocates admit that the universe came into being at a specific moment (even though they cannot explain the origin of the material from which the Big Bang supposedly proceeded)." (2[ pg. 6-7]). Scientists in all their infinite knowledge cannot tell us who or what caused the "Big Bang". They want to naively believe that the "Big Bang" was caused by no one out of nothing! What does the Bible tell us about the beginning of the earth and the universe as we know it?
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)
This simple verse tells us more than most want to admit. The problem is most people tie this verse to the second verse as a complete thought. This verse can stand alone and says everything you need to know. The verse tells us there was a beginning. It tells us that God was there at the beginning. Most of all it tells us that God was the one who ". . .created the heavens and the earth. In the light of the scientific facts that we know today there is no reason to tie this verse to the second verse. The first and the second verse do not necessarily have to have been written at the same time. The first verse could have been a thought inspired by God and placed in the writers mind which he jotted down in a book of notes which he kept for reasons of
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his own, possibly similar to our personal diaries. The very next verse we see written is:
The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:2)
Is it necessary that this thought be tied directly to the first verse or could it be part of a completely different thought process. The writer could have jotted this thought inspired by God in his diary years, even decades after the first verse. Think about your own beliefs. Did everything you believe come to you at the same time? Why would it be a stretch of the imagination to think that these two verses were not conceived at different times and were two different and separate thoughts. Contemporary Christianity is just as guilty of ignoring scientific fact as secular society is guilty of ignoring the Bible. Christian doctrine wants us to believe that the earth is only 6,000 years old. Hard scientific evidence tells us that life, especially intelligent life, existed on the planet for more than six thousand years. Science also tells us that the earth itself is much older than the time that the Bible says that life, especially man, existed on earth. The problem here is not which is right and which is wrong. The problem lies in the interpretation of what is written in the Bible. You cannot just interpret the Bible and ignore scientific facts. How can we reconcile this solid evidence with the creation story as written in Genesis chapter one? Lets take a look at what God is actually saying about creation. Genesis chapter one, verse one simply says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Verse two says "The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." The phrase "without form" comes from the
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Hebrew word "tohuw" which carries the meaning of confusion and emptiness. It describes a place of chaos It can also describe a place as a wasteland or a wilderness. The word "void" comes from the Hebrew word "bohuw" which means "empty", but, it can also be used to describe "waste". This verse is describing the earth as being a place of great confusion and chaos. It is described as being a wasteland and a wilderness. Why would any Christians believe that this is how God created earth? If we take the scientific evidence that the earth is at least 4.6 billion years old as a fact, and we make the simple deduction, which you will see is backed up by scripture, that God would not create earth in this condition, then we must conclude that the time period Genesis chapter one verse one is talking about and the time period verse two is talking about are not the same periods of time. The earth was not created six thousand years ago. Contemporary Christianity is preaching a glaring false doctrine. In the face of the hard scientific evidence, it would be plain stupid to just except the claim by the Christian Church that the earth is only a little over six thousand years old. When you read the Bible you must read it with the understanding that God does not give you all the information at once. "His word is not organized so that we can turn to one passage and read all of His revelation about a particular truth." (3[ pg. 27] ) He does this to make you to continue to search for the truth. The book of Hebrews it tells us the very same thing. "God's truths are not revealed all at once. Although He often provides a broad outline of a truth early in the Scriptures, we find that He later fills in many of the details elsewhere in the Bible. The Bible itself speaks of this principle when it talks of ‘God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, [and who] has in these last
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days spoken to us by His Son . . .' (Hebrews 1:1-2)." (3[ pg 27] ). God may have a prophet write about something only to have it fully explained by someone else, such as Jesus, many centuries later. "The biblical prophets did not always understand the significance of the prophecies they recorded under God's inspiration . . . . Their knowledge of the particular truth they received was sometimes incomplete. ‘Of this salvation,' writes the apostle Peter, ‘the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ [which] was in them was indicating when [it] testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven-things which angels desire to look into' (1 Peter 1:10-12). "The prophets obviously had only partial information about eternal truths revealed to them. This is also the case with the account of creation in Genesis 1. God would reveal additional details later. Many Bible readers, however, mistakenly assume everything the Bible has to say about creation is explained there. Yet the Bible adds details later that clarify the Genesis 1 account." (3[ pg. 27] ) The Bible reveals to us that there was a time period before the period described in Genesis chapter one verse one.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (John 1:1-3)
The apostle John was describing a time before the earth was
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created. John is describing Jesus as "the Word". He tells us that Jesus was with God before the creation of the earth. It was through Jesus that all things were made, which would include the earth. In the beginning there was Jesus and God. Jesus did do the creating, but it was through the power of His Father that He did it. The scriptures are clearly telling us that there was a period of time before the earth was created. Genesis one verse one simply states that the ". . . heavens and the earth . . ." had a beginning. By reading John 1:1-3, we know that God existed before the time period that Genesis 1:1 is talking about. You will see later on in this chapter that the book of Job tells us that the angels were there when the earth was being created. If that is the case, then there was a time period before the creation of the earth when God created the angels. Genesis 1:1 " . . . describes the beginning of the universe.
Along with the creation of the universe, the earth was also created. The universe had a beginning caused by a . . . force out of this physical universe." ( 4[ pg. 10]). There had to be an entity outside of our physical universe which was the cause of the event which took place that created the matter that makes up our universe. This specific event was " . . . the beginning of the time as we measure it." ( 4[ pg. 10]).
By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (Hebrew 11:3)
This verse tells us that we need to have faith in what the rest of the Bible says, in the word of God, to understand that not only was the universe, "worlds", created by God, but that they were also created out of "things" that are not visible, understandable, to us at this point in time.
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The Bible also reveals to us that the angels were present when the earth was being created.
"Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:4-7)
Here it is revealed to us that the angels, "morning stars", were present when the earth was being created. If the angels were already there, they would have to have been created at some period of time before the creation of the earth. God reveals to us something even more important. When the earth was being created all the angels were of one accord. This had to be before Satan revolted. Verse seven tells us that ". . . all the sons of God shouted for joy. . .". The verse tells us that "all" the angels were shouting for "joy". It says that the angels ". . . sang together . . .". They were all happy. This verse reveals another important fact. Since the angels were shouting for joy, the earth must have been created to be something spectacular, something extremely beautiful. God's plans for the earth had to be so fantastic it had angels singing and shouting for joy. It could not have been created as the chaotic wasteland that is described in Genesis chapter one, verse two. Something terrible must have happened between the time the earth was created and when ". . . the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." (Genesis 1:2) The Bible reveals to us in the book of Isaiah that at
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some point Satan, Lucifer, lost his position in the heavenly government. It tells us that Satan fell from this position. This time period had to be after the earth was created because the angels were no longer of "one accord".
"How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! (Isaiah 14:12)
For you have said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' (Isaiah 14:13-14)
You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created.
"You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.
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By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground (Ezekiel 28: 13-17)
Jesus said that He ". . . saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." (Luke 10:18). Satan not only wanted to be higher than all the angels, ". . . stars of God. . .", but Satan wanted to be like God . Satan wanted to be worshiped as God. Because of his position and power in heaven, he wanted to have this power over earth. Satan started a rebellion against God and enlisted the help of a third of the heavenly angels. Because of this, Satan lost his position and power in heaven. Satan was physically cast out of heaven by Michael the arch angel and Jesus saw "Satan fall". Even though he lost his position and power in heaven, Satan retained his authority on earth.
Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours." (Luke 4:4-7)
The devil in this passage is telling Jesus that he would give Jesus the authority over all the kingdoms of the world. The verse is telling us that the authority over the earth was
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Satan's. The only one who could have given Satan this authority would have been God. Satan would not have said what he did if he did not have this power and authority over the earth. As we know, Jesus did not accept this temptation to rule the earth because He knew that ultimately God would give it to Him. It is important to note that "Christ resisted this temptation but He did not dispute the assertion of Satan's present authority." ( 14 [ pg 28] ). In second Corinthians chapter four verse four Paul called Satan " . . . the god of this age . . ." Satan rules the earth to this day! "It is no accident that in Genesis 3, shortly after God created Adam and Eve, Satan appeared on the scene. The earth was - and still is - his domain. As noted in the account of the temptation of Christ, Satan had received authority over the earth. He rebelled against God and in a battle, he lost and he was cast down to the earth . . . . The earth is Satan's realm. The book of Job records God asking Satan, ‘From where do you come?' Satan's reply was, ‘From going to and from on the earth and from walking back and forth on it' (Job 1:7)." ( 3 [ 28] ) We know from Genesis chapter three that Satan was on earth and had influence and power over the earth because he was able to get into the Garden of Eden and tricked Adam and Eve into disobeying God. If Satan was without power or authority he could not have done this. We also know that Satan had the ability and power to do things that God chose not to be privy to because in Job 1:7 God asks Satan what he was up to. We also see that even though Satan was stripped of his power and authority in heaven, he still had access to heaven. The Bible so far has revealed to us that God created something that was so "awe-inspiring" that he had all the angels, including Satan, singing. At some point Satan decided
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to revolt against God and God stripped him of his power and authority in heaven. We also saw that Satan still had his power and authority over all the earth. By investigating more scriptures we know for that the earth was not created the way it is described in Genesis 1:2 . Isaiah tells us in chapter 45, verse 18 that God ". . . did not create it in vain . . . (but) . . . formed it to be inhabited . . .". God, through the prophet Isaiah is telling us that He did not create the earth as it is described in Genesis chapter one verse two. Satan, because he lost his position and power in heaven was destroying the very thing that God gave him power over, the earth. He was destroying a world that existed prior to Adam and Eve. The Bible does not have to contradict what science is telling us. As you have just seen, there is written in various passages of the Bible, information that could lead a person to believe, know, that the earth is not only six thousand or so years old. The scriptures indicates that there was a period of time between when the earth was actually created and when Adam and Eve appeared on the earth. The Bible does not spell out that period of time, but science does give us and idea. The Bible dose not conflict with science and science does not discredit the Bible, it is the interpretation that is wrong. Time and time again it appears that the Bible contradicts secular knowledge but if we continue to investigate we find out that it does not. Society makes the mistake of thinking we need to accept one or the other because both cannot be true. The Bible itself tell us that ". . . He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him." (Proverbs 18:13). If you have preconceived ideas and refuse to investigate what is written, then shame on you. God's word encourages us to seek out the truth. Too many people, including Christians assume that the Bible says what it does not. Others will hold
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fast to a mind-set that is prejudiced against the Bible because they feel there is just too much evidence against it. "Sadly, it will be difficult for such people to give the Bible a fair hearing. But they should emulate the noble and open-minded approach of the people of the city of Berea as recorded in the book of Acts. The Bereans were "more fair-minded" than those in other areas. As a result, "they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11)." (2[pg. 15]).
There is a message here from God that most seem to miss. The passage describes the Bereans as being "fair-minded" and because of this they "received" the information the apostles brought to them. The more important thing the passage is revealing is that they didn't just take what was given to them on blind faith. It says they ". . .searched the Scriptures daily. . ." trying to find out if what they were told was true. Most Christians today have closed their minds to such an extent that they will never know the truth. Most will not search the scriptures. Most Christians take what they are told on blind faith and never investigate to separate fact from fiction. The Bible is the truth and it is the word of God. It was written by many different authors over a period of thousands of years. The authors are from different periods of time and their writing styles reflect this. Even though this may be true, the message throughout the Bible is the same. This holds true for everything, including life after death. It is up to every one to continually seek that truth.
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CHAPTER THREE
LIFE AFTER DEATH
The two passages,
So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:6-8)
and
I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; (Philippians 1:23)
appear to explain what happens to a person after he or she dies. Most Christian preachers use these two passages as proof of heaven. It is described as a place where a Christian goes when he dies. Most Christians believe they go to be with Jesus and God immediately after they draw their last breath. It is a wonderful thought, but it is not consistent with what is written in the Bible. People do not die and go to heaven. Jesus never taught this and the Apostles never taught this. The Old testament does not teach this. This is a pagan belief invented by man and adopted by the early Roman Christian Church. When interpreting the Bible, scriptures cannot contradict each other. If they appear that they do, then the interpretation is wrong. The Bible cannot be interpreted by secular philosophies or another religion’s beliefs. The Bible interprets itself. The Bible does not contradict itself. If the meaning is not
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clear, you need to continue to search in other parts of the Bible. If two passages contradict each other, then the interpretation of the particular scripture is wrong. Again, you need to continue to search the Bible to clarify the meaning. The message of the Bible is the same in the book of Genesis as it is in the book of Revelation and all the books in between. This includes what it teaches about heaven, hell, and life after death. What does happen when we die? This question has probably crossed every human's mind since the time when Adam and Eve defied God and ate that apple. When Cain killed Abel, Adam must have been wondering exactly what happened to his son. What happened to what made Abel . . . Abel. Where did he go? Adam no longer had God to provide him with the answers. Medical doctors can not tell you what happens after you die. Scientists have studied this and they have no clue as to what happens. What they can tell you is when the heart stops, the breathing stops, and when the body gets cold. What they cannot tell you is what happens to the you that makes you . . . . you! You have a mind and a consciousness, this is what makes you who you are. There isn't anyone who can tell you what happens to your mind or consciousness except God. He does this through the Bible. The Bible gives you a clear and picture of what happens to you after you die. It is not just secular science that does not understand. Within the contemporary Christian community there is a gross misinterpretation on life after death. Generally Christians believe that the souls or the spirits, (most Christians use soul and spirit interchangeably), of the dead reside in some place after death. The problem is that this is not backed up anywhere in the scriptures. Christianity today has a fantasy like doctrine that teaches that when you are good and then die, your soul, and/or
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your spirit, (depending on who you are talking to), goes to heaven. Christianity also teaches that if you are bad, you will go to hell. If you read and understand the bible , Mother Teresa is not in Heaven and Hitler is not in Hell. Now don't get me wrong, Mother Teresa will be awarded for what she has done and Hitler will be punished for what he has done. The Bible is very explicit on what God will do to the wicked and to the righteous. So what does happen after we die? Dead is defined by "Websters New World Dictionary " as "no longer living" and "without life". The Bible describes the dead as being in a state of unconsciousness where there is no awareness of the passing of time. When we are dead we can not see, hear, taste, smell, or touch anything. The prophet Job writes
But man dies and is laid away; Indeed he breathes his last And where is he? As water disappears from the seas And a river becomes parched and dries up, So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, They will not awake Nor be roused from their sleep. "Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, Till my change comes. You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands. (Job 14:10-15)
Job was lamenting his life and basically wishing that
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God would let him die. Job knew that in death he would be unconscious and would not feel any of the pain he was feeling in his present life. This passage is interesting because it doesn't say anything about Job going to heaven or to the hell that contemporary Christians believe in. In this passage Job makes it clear as to what happens when a person dies. In fact the passage tells us that Job knew about the resurrection. It does not hint or imply that he would go to heaven to be with God or to hell to be tortured for what he thought he had done to incur the wrath that he thought God had against him. Job clearly says that a ". . . man dies and is laid away . . . he breathes his last . . . As the water disappears from the sea, And the river becomes parched and dries up, So man lies down and does not rise." Job goes on to tell us that it will be at the resurrection that he along with others ". . . would be roused from their sleep." Job asks God to ". . . hide me in the grave, That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past . . .". Job wanted God to hide him in the grave or, "sheol" as the ancient Hebrews called it. Job is simply asking God to let him die and that God ". . . would appoint . . . (him) . . . a set time . . ." when Job would be resurrected from his grave. ". . . You shall call, and I will answer you . . .". Job new that his resurrection would be sometime in the future. Job knew that when he died, "As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, So he who goes down to the grave does not come up." (Job 7:9). He likens his death to a cloud that ". . . disappears and vanishes away . . .", just as man does when he dies and goes to the grave, he is no more. When man dies he is not off someplace else, he very simply just ". . . .disappears and vanishes away. . .". Job likens death to sleep. He says ". . . man dies and is laid away . . . (t)hey will not awake(n) or be roused from their sleep." When a person is asleep they are not aware of anything around them. This passage in itself is a pretty clear indication of man’s state of being after he dies.
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In second Samuel, King David is talking to his servants about his child that had just died.
So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, "What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food." And he said, "While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?' But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." (2Samuel 12:20-23)
King David's child had been sick and while the child was alive, he mourned for and prayed to God in order that the child might live. The child died anyway and after this happened the scripture tells us that David cleaned himself up and ". . . went into the house of the LORD and worshiped . . .". After that David went home and ate probably for the first time since the child took ill because the scripture tells us that he had "fasted". This confused the servants. David explained that while the child was alive there was a chance that he might survive the illness but now that he was dead, he could not ". . . bring him back again. . . ". David said that now that he was dead, the most he could do was ". . . . go to him . . . " because David knew that his child could ". . . not return to . . ." him. He knew that the only thing that he could do anymore was to die and then he would go to the same place his child was, the grave. His child was dead and there was nothing that he could do to bring him back. If his son was a spirit as most Christians
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believe, wouldn't the statement that David made in 2 Samuel 12:23 be false. Would it not be possible for the child's spirit to visit David as some Christians believe. This is a good example of how false Biblical doctrine, taught by some Christian Churches, affect the actions of well meaning Christians. You cannot see or talk to the spirits of the dead because they have no consciousness. Job tells us that "As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, So he who goes down to the grave does not come up." (Job 7:9) David knew that his son was in the grave and would ". . . come up. . .". In the book of Daniel we find that the prophet is told that ". . . at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake . . ." (Daniel 12:1-2). He is being told that sometime in the future people who have died, ". . . asleep in the dust . . .", will be awakened. We see that both Job and Daniel knew of the future resurrection of the dead. Here is a good example where if you interpret the scripture in the context of the rest of the Bible, the meaning is quite clear. Daniel said the dead "shall awake". The Hebrews viewed the dead as being asleep, unconscious, not aware of their surroundings. In light of this scripture alone, how can you support a doctrine claiming that the dead are with Jesus, unless they are all tucked in bed . . .sleeping! How can the dead be up in heaven with Jesus and God if the scriptures very clearly describes them as being unconscious! The apostle Paul also tells of a future resurrection of the dead.
Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put
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on immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:51-53)
Here the apostle Paul describes this resurrection in much greater detail. First of all he says that it is a mystery. Before Paul established the Church in Corinth, most of the Corinthians were pagans and knew very little about Old Testament Hebrew scripture. To people who do not know God or understand the scriptures, the idea of the resurrection of the dead at some future date would have been a mystery to them. Paul tells them that it will take place ". . . at the last trumpet . . .". He is describing the end times during the tribulation period. Jesus also described this time to His disciples.
"Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand) . . . For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened . . . "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:15-31)
Jesus is describing a time in the future during the "great tribulation". Jesus says that an angel will come and sound a trumpet and gather ". . . His elect . . .". The apostle John in the book of Revelation describes
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the seventh trumpet which is the last trumpet that is described by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthians.
Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: " We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and reigned. The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth." (Revelation 11:15-18)
John is describing the rapture of the Church when Jesus comes back for His faithful and takes them up into the clouds. This is when the ". . . the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed . . .". It is at this time that Christians and the righteous dead will be raised so ". . . that they should be judged, And that . . . (Jesus) . . .should reward . . . ( His) servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear . . . (His) . . . name, small and great . . .". The Apostle Paul tells us that ". . . it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment . . . (for) . . . To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation." (Hebrews 9:27-28). The Bible is clearly telling us that man will die once, then the next thing that will happen will be the judgement. This
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judgement will take place during the tribulation after the rapture of the church. This is when the ". . . servants, the prophets and the saints, And those who fear . . . (His) . . . name, small and great . . . " will be rewarded. This is when Jesus will return " . . . a second time apart from sin, for salvation . . ." (Hebrews 10:28) of mankind. The Bible very clearly tells us that Jesus is coming back for us, we do not go to Him when we die. You cannot make that claim and then try to explain these passages. Job, David, Daniel, Paul and John clearly understood that the dead were not in heaven. They all knew that Jesus would be coming back for them.
"Man who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue. And do You open Your eyes on such a one, And bring me to judgment with Yourself? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one! Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass. Look away from him that he may rest, Till like a hired man he finishes his day. "For there is hope for a tree, If it is cut down, that it will sprout again, And that its tender shoots will not cease. Though its root may grow old in the earth, And its stump may die in the ground, Yet at the scent of water it will bud And bring forth branches like a plant. But man dies and is laid away;
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Indeed he breathes his last And where is he? As water disappears from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dries up, (Job 14:1-9)
Job tells us that when man dies. He does not continue on in heaven or in any other place. We just ". . . fade away. . .". God has determined how long we will live and then after that we die. We do not go to see Jesus. We disappear , ". . . as water disappears from the sea . . .". Job says that ". . . man . . . does not rise . . ." and will not rise ". . . til the heavens are no more . . .". Job thinks he has sinned and that is why he is going through all these troubles. He knows that sinners, those who did not fear God, (Revelations 11:18), would not be raised at the same time that the ". . . servants the prophets and the saints . . ." are raised. These would be raised when ". . . the heavens are no more . . .", a thousand years after Jesus returns to earth.
And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished . . . Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it . . . And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades, [the grave], delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works . . . (Revelation 20:4-13)
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. (Revelation21:1)
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Job wrote that the people before Christ who did not fear God, who were sinners, would die and sleep until after the thousand year reign of Jesus and the saints. At that time there would be another resurrection and judgement. It was at this time that the old heaven and earth would pass away and there would be a new heaven and earth. James, the brother of Jesus taught that ". . . For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." (James 4:14). James makes it pretty clear in this passage that you do not go on living in some other state of being. If this were so, James would have taught that. He would had made that clear in what he was writing. James would not have told us that our lives are like vapor that is around for a little while and then "vanishes". James is says that when man dies he disappears, he is gone, he no longer exists. James, the brother of Jesus, who clearly understood the resurrection knew by first hand witness that when Jesus died, Jesus did not simply vanish away like vapor. James clearly understood and believed that Jesus did rise into heaven to be with His Father. If James believed that when we died we would be with Jesus, he would have said that. He would have described what happens to us after we died as similar to what happened to Jesus. Instead he says that man just " . . . vanishes away . . .". Similar to Job writing that ". . . as a cloud disappears and vanishes away, so he who goes down to his grave does not come up." (Job 7:9), King David also writes in Psalm chapter 78 that God knows that man was ". . . but flesh, A breath that passes away and does not come again." (Psalm 78:9). Once man passes away, he does not exist anywhere because he says that he ". . . . does not rise again . . .". King David knew that man does not have an immortal soul and does not go on living in another plane of existence. The idea that the soul is immortal, or that we go on living
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in some form of consciousness is a pagan doctrine instituted by the early Roman Catholic Church. The idea has its origins with Satan and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Satan told Eve that ". . . surely you will not die . . .". God told Adam and Eve that if they ate the "fruit" from the tree of ". . . the knowledge of good and evil", they would die. (Genesis 2:17) That was pretty plain. It is amazing how blatantly wrong contemporary Christian doctrine is even when the Bible makes things as clear as it is in this very passage. Why can't CHRISTIANS see this! This is how Satan confuses mankind and how man comes up with religions and doctrines which cannot be backed up by history, sciences, archeology, or basic simple logic. Satan wants you to believe that when you die, your soul will go on living. This is how he gets you away from the truth, what the Bible is actually trying to tell you. This is where perverted doctrines come from that instigate the type of terrorism that we have in the world today. Now you can understand who or what is behind sick doctrines that causes people to kill and maim innocent men, women, and children. The Biblical concept of death in the passages we have just looked at is consistent and clear. When you die, you disappear, vanish, are not aware of the passage of time. It is as if you are asleep. Throughout the Old and the New Testament, the Bible refers to dead people as being asleep. The Bible describes death in various ways to give a clear and concise picture. Contemporary Christianity would have you believe that we do not know what happens after we die. That is false. The Bible is clear on what happens. The idea that a person goes to heaven after he dies comes from many ancient pagan cultures and today is prevalent in many different religions. Many cultures today and throughout history have tried to explain the existence of man by trying to attach a spirit or soul to him that goes on living after he
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dies. Man has always wanted to embrace the idea of life going on after death in a place of happiness and bliss. It provides a security blanket to the people who are looking for a better life in the future than the one that they are presently living. It is used by terrorist nations in the name of a religion or their god to get their people to perform wicked and heinous acts against others. This is why people strap bombs to their bodies and blow up themselves and innocent people. In their insanity they think they are going to some pagan view of heaven to live with a bunch of virgins!! How stupid is this belief? This doctrine is so stupid it is laughable. But then . . .this is how good of a deceiver Satan is. Christians live and die believing in the false doctrine that their loved ones who have died before them are in a better place. Parents comfort themselves when their children die thinking that they are now safe and with Jesus. Spouses comfort themselves thinking that their deceased spouses are up in heaven watching over them. We are comforted by Christian preachers and teachers, who should know better, that our loved ones are in heaven smiling down on us. Unfortunately there is nothing in the Bible that tells us that this is true. This is a doctrine that originates and is perpetuated by Satan himself. Satan was, is and always will be a deceiver of mankind. ". . . that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world . . ." (Revelation 12:9).
The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' " "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:2-5)
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God told Adam and Eve that if they ate from the tree that they would die. Satan on the other hand deceived them making them believe that they were immortal and that they would not die, but rather would be more like God. Satan lied to Adam and Eve about their immortality and also about the consequences of disobeying God. Satan lies to Christians today about their immortality. Satan has the majority of Christians today believing that when they die, somehow they will actually go on living in heaven with Jesus. This just is not so. When man dies he vanishes, disappears, the Bible says that he ". . . lies down and does not rise . . .". Is there life after death? Yes, but not the way contemporary Christianity teaches it. The truth from the Bible is that when you die you do not go directly to heaven to be with Jesus and God. Contrary to popular belief, "Mother Teresa is not in Heaven and Hitler is not in Hell!" In 1Corinthians, Paul tells us what the scriptural belief was at the time. In talking about Jesus appearing to people after His resurrection, Paul says:
After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:6)
Paul, referring to those who have fallen asleep, is talking about the people who saw Jesus after He was resurrected, but have since then died. Paul does not refer to these people as being in heaven, waiting for the rest of us. He did not tell his audience that when they die, they would also go to heaven to be with their brethren. Paul does not refer to the dead brethren as being anywhere in a conscious state. He refers to them as being asleep! DO YOU GET IT? HE SAYS THEY ARE ASLEEP!!
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Further on in Chapter 15 Paul again refers to the brethren in Christ who have died as being asleep.
And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. (1 Corinthians 15:17-18)
When will man be resurrected?
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead came also through a man. (1Corinthians 15:20-21)
It must be noted here that the word "came" was added to the original text. This changes the original meaning. The resurrection of the dead didn't happen yet. The Bible says that "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive" (1Corinthians 15:22). The scripture here tells us that all will be made alive. The question then is, when? Paul tells us when this will happen. He says, "But each in his own order. Christ the first fruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming." (1Corinthians 15:23) This passage tells us when Christians will be resurrected back to life. Jesus, referred to as the ". . . first fruits . . .", is already risen from the dead. Paul says that ". . . those who are Christ's . . ." will be raised when Jesus comes back, ". . . at His second coming." 1Corinthians 15:23 is pretty clear hear, we are raised at Christs second coming. Christ has become the first fruits of all the righteous who have died and will die before the second coming of Christ. What is Paul talking about when he calls Christ the "first fruits"? Under Mosaic law, the Hebrews would go into the field right before the harvest and would gather a small portion of the
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crop and then present it to God in the Temple in gratitude of the harvest to come. This was referred to as the first fruits, the first fruits of the harvest to come. First Corinthians chapter 15 verse 20 tells us that Jesus Christ is the first fruits of all who will be resurrected, harvested from the rest of the humans. Paul here is referring to a command God gave to Moses.
And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your behalf . . . (Leviticus 23:9-11)
Just like the first fruits of the harvest were presented to God on the Israelites behalf in gratitude of the harvest that was to come, Jesus has been presented to God on the behalf of all Christians and Righteous dead who will be harvested from among the rest at the rapture of the church. The Bible specifically says that, ". . . now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep." (1 Corinthians 15:20) Paul is specifically calling Christ the first fruits. Christians are not first fruits. Christ was offered to God as first fruits for Christians. Contemporary Christian doctrine tries to relate 1Corinthians 15:20 to Revelations chapter 14. Revelations chapter 14 does speak about first fruits, but these first fruits that are offered to God are different than the first fruits Paul is referring in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 who was Christ himself. First fruits can be different offerings to God, and there can be more than one first fruit offering. Before every harvest the Hebrew offered first fruits to God. The first fruits that were offered one year was not the same one that was offered the
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next year. Every year the Hebrews went back out into the field to harvest another first fruits. Jesus will offer to God another first fruits. Revelations chapter 14 is not implying that Christians are already in heaven representing the "first fruits" as doctrine tries to teach. In order to understand what Revelations Chapter 14 is talking about, you have to understand the time period John is referring to. Christian doctrine teaches that Revelations is talking about Christians who have already died and are presently up in heaven. This is not the case.
Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion . . . (Revelations 14:1)
John is talking about future events. The next time the Lamb, Jesus, will stand on Mount Zion will be after He returns. This is after the rapture of the Church.
. . . and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads. (Revelation 14:1)
John is speaking about the Hebrews who had who remained righteous in the face of persecution down through the centuries. They were taken care of by God all the up until the end of the tribulation. These people are descendants of the remnants of the twelve tribes of Israel. These are people considered righteous by the way they lived their lives similar to the way Enoch was considered righteous in the eyes of the Lord.
Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. (Revelation 12:1)
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This woman represents God's people, the Israelites. The twelve stars represents the twelve tribes of the Hebrew Nation. The sun represents light, truth, and the moon represents darkness, evil, untruth, and deceit, (Satan and his demons). At the head of God's family are the "twelve stars" which represent the twelve tribes of the Israelites.
She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. (Revelation 12:5)
Out of God's family, this woman, was born a male child who is Jesus Christ, God's Son and our Savior. After Jesus was crucified, He ". . . was caught up to . . . (God's) . . . throne" where Jesus is living with God today. This verse tells us that Jesus is in heaven with God and it also tells us that Jesus, at some future date, will ". . . rule all nations . . .", this will be sometime in the future. In Revelation 12:6 John describes Christ’s church as "the woman".
Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. (Revelation 12:6)
Christ’s church will flee from the serpent, Satan, and will be scattered throughout the world, "the wilderness". Then, for a stated period of time, "one thousand two hundred and sixty days", God nourished Christ’s church. These passages are not describing the same time period as Revelation chapter 14. This time period is before the return of Christ, before the rapture of the church. Satan was thrown out of heaven, the government of God. This enraged Satan.
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Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. (Revelation 12: 13)
This period of time is describing events after the crusifiction of Jesus and before His return for His Church. If you go to Revelation chapter 14 we are looking at a completely different time period.
They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men, being first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no deceit, for they are without fault before the throne of God. (Revelation 14:3-5)
This passage is clearly talking about after the rapture of the church. It talks about the one hundred and forty four thousand as those who were redeemed from the earth. As we have already seen, this happens when Christ returns for His Church. It has not already happened. There are no dead Christians, or anyone else other then Jesus, who is presently in heaven offered as "first fruits".
After the end of the tribulation, the ". . . one hundred and forty four thousand . . ." will also have been redeemed from the earth. The scripture plainly tells us that ". . . (t)hese were redeemed from among men, . . . first fruits to God and to the Lamb . . .". These one hundred and forty four thousand Hebrews had been saved, redeemed, from among the rest of the people
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both dead and alive. Jesus, in the tradition of Mosaic law, offered them to God as first fruits of the harvest that was still to come. As you can see, there is no proof and none of these passages indicate that there is anyone in heaven at this time other than Jesus Christ. The Bible clearly does talk about life after death, but you cannot depend on man made doctrine just because a Christian Church is teaching it. If the doctrine cannot be backed up by scripture or if it contradicts what the scriptures have to say, than it is not true. You cannot take a verse out of context and then build a whole doctrine on it backing it up with secular thinking and philosophies. An example of this is found in the discovery Series Booklet, "Is There Life After Death?" which is put out by RBC ministries. There are basic false teachings in this booklet that cannot be backed up by scripture when you take it in context with the rest of the Bible. The booklet says "Our future resurrection should not be confused with the resuscitation of a corpse. That's what occurred with Lazarus (JN 11) and several other New Testament instances. In these cases, the life process that had stopped and started going again in a manner somewhat similar to what occurs today when people are brought back from clinical death." (10[p. 4]) To believe this statement is not only blasphemy, but it is just plain ridiculous. Satan would have you believe that what Jesus did was no more than what Doctors, nurses, paramedics, anybody that knows CPR, can do on a routine basis. Satan told Adam and Eve that they could be like God and today many people do believe they are God. Jesus performed miracles for one reason. He did them to reveal His Fathers Glory. By performing things that only God Himself could do, Jesus was proving to His disciples who He really was. Jesus was proving His deity. Satan would have
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you believe this lie because he knows that God, and only God, can bring a person back from death. Yes, doctors on a routine basis bring people back from what they call " clinical death". The fact is, this is called clinical death because the doctors just didn't know that their patients were not really dead yet. Their patients were actually still alive but the human made equipment indicated that they were dead. Satan wants you to believe that what Jesus did was nothing more than resuscitating someone who was basically just unconscious or in some type of coma. If you believe this, than you will have to believe that when Jesus turned the water into wine at the wedding feast of His cousin, He was no more than an exceptionally good wine maker or an extremely clever magician. If you read the chapter in its entirety you will see that Jesus did not merely resuscitate Lazarus. Jesus, through a miracle that only God could do, actually brought Lazarus back from being dead.
"Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up." Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well." However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. (John 11:11-14)
When Jesus first told His disciples that Lazarus was sleeping, they misunderstood Him and thought that he was just sick and resting. If you take what is happening in the context of the previous scriptures in this part of the writing of the book of John, you would know that Jesus' life had been recently threatened in Jerusalem. Lazarus lived on the outside of Jerusalem and the disciples feared that if Jesus went back, He, along with them would be captured and killed. That is why they
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said that if he were only sick he would wake up so that there would be no real need for Jesus to go there and put their lives in danger. This passage makes it real clear that Jesus wanted them to know that Lazarus was really dead. He was not just sleeping, unconscious, in a coma or any other thing like that. He was dead and Jesus made sure that he was dead for at least three days. Jesus makes it clear to His disciples and it is important to understand that Lazarus, his soul/spirit, was not off someplace else safe. He was not "in the bosom of Abraham". He was dead!
And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. . . . (John 11:15)
Jesus is telling His disciples that He did not want to go there earlier because Jesus wanted to make sure that they knew and believed that Lazarus was dead. Jesus wanted to be sure that there was no mistake that Lazarus was dead so that they would believe that He was who He said He was. In order for Jesus to prove that He was the Messiah, the Son of God, Lazarus could not just be sick, unconscious, or in a coma. He had to be dead!!
Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!" And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?" Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a
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stench, for he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me." Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go." Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. (John 11:33-47)
We see that Jesus was ". . . deeply moved in spirit and troubled . . ." and that He ". . . wept . . .". Why is this significant? Jesus was not crying and troubled because His friend had died. Because of the very gospel that Jesus was preaching, Jesus knew that Lazarus' death would not be permanent. Jesus knew that His friend would live again. That was not what was bothering Him. Jesus wept because His closest and dearest friends lacked faith in Him. Jesus knew if he could not convince them that death is not permanent, that He could overcome anything, that He was here to overcome death, how could He convince the rest of the world. Martha, the sister of Lazarus, had doubts about Jesus' abilities right up to where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus, was groaning in Himself. Why was this? Because of everything that was written in the scripture, and everything He was preaching, they still did not understand
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that He did not come here to prevent people from dying. Jesus came to give people eternal life. They did not understand, and most Christians today still do not understand that Jesus's power is in His ability to grant us salvation, resurrect us from the dead, and give us eternal life. Lazarus was in a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God? (John 11:38-40) Jesus needed Lazarus to be unmistakingly dead right down to the foul order that was emanating from the tomb which would mean that he was decomposing. The glory of God that Jesus spoke of in John 11:47 was that Jesus has the power to raise people from the dead, not resuscitate them! This is how false doctrine perpetuated. Lazarus was dead, just like everyone else is who has died since Adam and Eve. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, just like Jesus was raised from the dead and just like Christians will be raised at some future time. The only difference is that Lazarus was raised as a mortal human Being. Jesus was raised immortal just like Christians will be raised, as immortal spiritual beings. In Philippians chapter one, Paul makes a statement that preachers and teachers use as a strong argument for going to heaven immediately after we die.
For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. (Philippians 1:23-24)
To understand what Paul was saying, you must understand what he believed and what he taught. Paul, as did Jesus and
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the apostles , understood and taught from the Old Testament scripture. From the book of Ecclesiastes, Paul would know that the dead have no consciousness. For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten. (Ecclesiastes 9:5)
This scripture clearly tells us that the dead are not conscious of their surroundings. If this is the case as taught from the Old Testament, then how could Philippians 1:23-24 be interpreted to mean that Paul knew that after he died he would be immediately with Jesus? Even if this were the case, it wouldn't make sense that Paul would consider this to be something to look forward to because the scripture tells us that after Paul died he wouldn't even know he was with Jesus because the scripture clearly says that the ". . . dead know nothing . . .". This one simple verse is even more revealing in that Paul would ". . . have no more reward . . ." and Jesus would not know who he was because the scripture says that the ". . . the memory of them is forgotten." If you compare Philippians 1:23-24 with Ecclesiastes 9:5, contemporary Christian teaching on life after death doesn't make any sense at all. When he was talking about being with Jesus after he dies, he wasn't talking immediately after he dies. Paul is talking about some time in the future, when he is resurrected.
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
It would be at this time that Christ would come back for
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Paul with his "crown" as his "reward" for being a faithful servant. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. (2 Timothy 4:6-8)
Paul was simply saying that after he dies, his next conscious moment would be when Christ returns for him. This is why he says, ". . . to depart and be with Christ . . .". Rather than go on living and continue to endure the type of suffering he was enduring, Paul thought that he would be better off if he left, "departed", this life. He knew that if he were dead he would not know or feel anything, he would no longer have to suffer, and then in his next conscious moment he would be with Christ. This passage does not tell us when he would be with Jesus. You would have to imply that when he departed this life he would be immediately with Jesus. This does not agree with other Bible scriptures. It also is not logical to think that just because he was departing this life, the very next instant he would be along side of Jesus. If a person was to depart one place to be in another, would that imply that the instant he departed, he would have arrived at the other place? No one would think of making that type of implication. If that is the case in our present day situations, why would it be any different for Paul? The simple fact is, Paul knew through old testament scripture that when he died he would, ". . . know nothing . . .", until the day when ". . . the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise . . .". It will be then and only then that Paul knew he would be ". . . caught
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up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And . . . [at that time would] . . . always be with the Lord." A lot of misunderstanding in Christian doctrine comes from the addition of punctuation and words to the original Hebrew and Greek script in order to clarify what has been written. Instead of clarifying the scriptures, often times it changed its meaning. A lot of this interpretation and addition of words and punctuation seems to have occurred while translating Hebrew and Greek script in order to rectify what the Bible is trying to tell us with man made doctrine. As liberal secular historians today try to rewrite history in order to fit their idea of what had happened in the past, Biblical translators started rewriting the Bible in order to fit the pagan and secular doctrines that had crept into the Christian religion since the period and the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. We see this very thing happen in the scriptures describing what was happening while Jesus was being crucified. Jesus was crucified between two criminals. One of the criminals, defiant to the end, insulted Jesus. The other criminal rebuked the defiant one:
Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us." But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong." Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." (Luke 23:39-42))
You can see that the criminal clearly understood the teachings of the Old Testament scripture. He understood the consequences of defying God, (". . . Do you not even fear God . . ."), and he recognized who Jesus was. The criminal
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understood what the Old Testament taught about the "Kingdom of God". He did not ask Jesus to remember him in heaven, he says ". . . remember me when You come into Your kingdom ." . He understood that the Gospel that Jesus was preaching had nothing to do with people doing good things, believing in Jesus, and going to heaven. It had everything to do with recognizing Him as the Messiah, asking Him for forgiveness and being allowed to be a citizen of His coming Kingdom. This was a Kingdom that would be located on earth. The real misinterpretation of this scripture comes from what Jesus replies.
And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." (Luke 23:43)
The problem comes in the placement of the commas in the script. It looks like Jesus is telling him that he would be in "paradise" with Him today! This would not make any sense. Jesus was not going to be in heaven, "Paradise" that day. Where was Jesus going to be? By the scriptures we know that Jesus died on the cross. After the crucifixion, Jesus was dead and ". . . the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten." Jesus knew that after he was crucified that he would not be conscious of anything any more and in fact the memory of Him as a living being would be "forgotten". He would not be existing anywhere with any level of consciousness, He would be completely and totally dead! Luke tells us how much the knowledge of what was going to happen affected Jesus.
And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." Then an angel appeared to Him from
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heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:41-44) The question here is why was Jesus in such agony that He was sweating blood and an angel of the Lord had to actually come down and administer to Him. Most would have you think that Jesus was praying and agonizing over His coming arrest, trial, persecution and crucifixion. Again, as with all the other false doctrine that Christianity teaches, this does not make any sense in the context of what Jesus came to earth to tell us. Jesus expects His followers to suffer persecution and even death for His sake. Why would He ask this of others and not be able to except His own. Satan would have you believe this because if this were the case, then Jesus would look more like a human and less like the God He really and truly is.
And the high priest asked them, saying, "Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man's blood on us!" But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: "We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him."When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them. (Acts 5:27-32)
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:10)
Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater
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than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. . . (John 15:20)
I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women . . . (Acts 22:4)
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.'" (Revelation 14: 12-13)
It wasn't the persecution that Jesus was praying about when He prayed in the Garden saying ". . . Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." (Luke 22:42). It was the knowledge that he would suffer what no other heavenly being ever had to suffer, not even Satan. It was His impending death. Jesus was not praying about His crucifixation. He was praying about being dead. For the first time since the very beginning Jesus would be completely and totally separated from God His Father. The idea of this was just about unbearable for Him so much so that an angel of the Lord came to Him to give Him the strength He would need to endure the knowledge of suffering the ultimate fate, death! Jesus was going to be completely and totally separated from God for three days. He was not going to die and go to God. Jesus was going to die and be separated from God for three days. Based on the Biblical concept of death, the contemporary Christian interpretation of what Jesus said from the cross to the criminal doesn't make sense. So, how can this be reconciled? In order to do this you must understand that Jesus was speaking to the criminal in the language of the day. It is the placement of the comma that
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causes the misinterpretation. What Jesus told the criminal was, Today I am going to tell you that ". . . you will be with me in paradise. " (Luke 23:43) In this passage neither Jesus nor the criminal mentions anything about going to heaven to be with God. Jesus told him that when He establishes the Kingdom on earth, the criminal would be there also. The idea of going to heaven when you die as a Christian also comes from the misinterpretation and the misunderstanding of Hebrew and Greek words and phrases. Two such words are "spirit" and "soul". The whole false Christian doctrine of going to heaven when you die is built around the incorrect understanding and use of these two words. In order to understand the Gospel of life after death you need to have a basic concept of these two words, especially if you are going to accept the idea that Jesus and the convict would not be together in heaven the day of their crusifiction. The word "spirit" as used in the Old Testament, Hebrew, and the New Testament, Greek, basically means "breath" as in "the breath of life". It is also related to power, as to blow or wind. To blow and breath or wind, all of these are related to some form of force. The spirit is the power or force that gives us life. The spirit is a gift from God which gives us life.
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)
In the Old Testament the Hebrew word "rauch" is translated into English as "spirit". The literal translated meaning of the Hebrew word "rauch" is "the breath of life". Genesis 2:7 tells us that God breathed the spirit into the nostril of man and he became alive. It was this power from God that made man a living being.
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The word "soul" in The Old and The New Testament means "life" or "life force". This is not to be confused with the spirit or the force that creates life. The "soul" or life is what is created by the spirit. The soul is the essence or fundamental characteristic of who a person is. It is the spirit, "power or force", from God that gives us our soul, "life". God's spirit given to us as a gift is what makes us alive. Without our spirit, "power or force", we do not have life, "a soul". In other words, without our spirit we are dead, we have no consciousness, we cease to exist. There is a scripture in the Old Testament and two separate scriptures out of the New Testament that are related in the fact that they are saying the same thing. In the first scripture, Psalm 31, King David is singing a lament to God because of all the things that he had done. In this lament David is placing all his trust in God. In verse 5 David says that, "Into your hand I commit my spirit . . ." David is telling God that he is totally dependent on Him to the point that he is turning over the power that God gave him as a gift, his spirit, to do as He pleased. This is the power that drives David's life, that drives David's soul. This is the power that makes David who he is. David goes on to say, ". . . "You are my God." My times are in Your hand. . . " (Psalms 31:14-15) David trusts in God to determine what will happen to him so he is turning over the control of his life to God. David wants God to take control of his life. This passage does not say that David intends to or even wants to go be with God at this point. He wants God to be in control of his spirit so that God can control his life. The second scripture is found in Luke chapter 23 verse 46. Jesus is being crucified and He is near death. Just before He takes His last breath, Jesus cries out " 'Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.' . . .". Again, in order to understand what Jesus was saying to His Father, you must know the definition of the Greek word for "spirit". The Greek word for
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"spirit" is "pneuma". The definition is breath, air, or to blow, a type of energy. Since the New Testament scriptures were written based on the teachings of the Old Testament, it would be logical to assume that the definition and the usage of word and scripture would be the same. Jesus, right before He dies tells His Father that He is entrusting His Father with the power or force that keeps Him alive. Jesus is giving it to God and, as David did, has total and complete trust in His Father to use this power, Jesus' spirit, to resurrect Him back to life in three days. Jesus will be dead for these three days. He will be out of contact with His Father for the first time in eternity. For the first time since the very beginning, Jesus will have no power, no connection to God. Jesus will completely and totally cease to exist. As mentioned earlier, this is why Jesus was in such agony in the Garden of Gesthenemy. This is the punishment He suffered for us. The third scripture is found in Acts 7 verse 59. The apostle Stephen had just given an impassioned speech before the Sanhedran. At the end of his speech Stephen admonished the members :
"You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it." (Acts 7:51-53)
This infuriated them to the point where they dragged him out of the city and stoned him to death. While Stephen was being stoned, the scriptures say that he prayed ". . . 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' ". As an apostle and the possessor of the "Helper", the Holy Spirit which Jesus promised would come
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to them when He was gone, Stephen fully understood the Gospel that Jesus taught during His earthly ministries. Stephen knew that he wasn't going to be with Jesus at this point. What Stephen knew was that his spirit, the power that made him who he was, the power that kept him alive, was about to leave him because his physical body was being destroyed by the ones who were stoning him. Stephen was offering it to Jesus. Stephen was entrusting Jesus with the power that made him alive with the knowledge that Jesus would resurrect him back to life. Stephen knew that at some time in the future, Jesus would return to earth for him. (1Thessalonians 4:16 and 1 Corinthians 15:52-54) Just like King David and Jesus had total and complete trust in God to take over the power to control their lives, Stephen had this same trust in Jesus to take over the power that controlled his life. Stephen knew that he was going to die. Stephen also knew that Jesus would bring him back to life again sometime in the future to live and rule with Him in His kingdom, which would be located right here on earth. When Stephen was being stoned, he knew he wasn't going right then and there to be with Jesus. Contemporary Christianity would have you believe this, but this is not the Gospel that Jesus Christ came to declare. Stephen knew he wasn't going to see Jesus again until he was resurrected sometime in the future. Stephen trusted that when the time came, just like God raised Jesus, from the dead, Jesus would raise him from the dead also. The answer to the question in the beginning of this chapter is quite simply, nothing! When you die you do not go to heaven, to see Jesus, to be with God. You do not go anywhere to live in any other plane of existence or consciousness. The scriptures teach that you quite simply "vanish"!
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CHAPTER FOUR
AT DEATH’ DOOR
Contemporary Christian doctrine teaches that we are born, we live our lives, and we die. At the point of death, we are commonly referred to as being "at death’s door". When we go through this proverbial door, is where most Christian doctrine becomes a little fuzzy. Most will concede basically everyone is judged, and then we are either sent to heaven or to hell where we will spend the rest of eternity. The good will receive their reward and live with God and Jesus Christ in heaven and the bad will be punished in hell throughout eternity. Christian doctrines disagree on what heaven and hell will be like. Probably because most doctrine is not entirely Biblical. Most doctrine is a combination of other religious beliefs and secular philosophies. The basic Christian doctrine on heaven is cannot be backed up by the Bible unless you take scripture out of context. Heaven is an afterlife concept found in many religions and spiritual philosophies. Those who believe in heaven generally hold that it (or Hell) is the afterlife destination of many or all humans. In unusual instances, humans have had, according to many testimonies and traditions, personal knowledge of Heaven. They presume this is for the purpose of teaching the rest of humanity about life, deities and notions of the afterlife. While there are abundant and varied sources for conceptions of Heaven, the typical believer's view appears to depend largely on his particular religious tradition. Various religions have described Heaven as being populated by angels,
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gods and goddesses, and/or heroes (especially in Persian Zoroastrianism and subsequently Greek mythology). Heaven is generally construed as a place of happiness, sometimes eternal happiness. In ancient Judaism, the belief in Heaven and afterlife was connected with that of Sheol (mentioned in Isaiah 38:18, Psalms 6:5 and Job 7:7-10). Some scholars asserted that Sheol was an earlier concept, but this theory is not universally held. One later Jewish sect that maintained belief in a Resurrection of the dead was known as the Pharisees. Opposed to them were the Sadducees who denied the doctrine of Resurrection (Matt. 22:23). In much of Christianity, heaven is a return to the pre-fallen state of humanity, a second and new Garden of Eden, in which humanity is reunited with God in a perfect and natural state of eternal existence. Christians believe this reunion is accomplished through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ in having died for the sins of humanity on the cross. In Eastern religions (and some Western traditions), with their emphasis on reincarnation and moksha (liberation), the concept of Heaven is not as prominent, but it still is present. In Buddhism, for example, there are several heavens, all of which are still part of Samsara (illusionary reality). Those who accumulate good karma will be reborn in one of them. However, their stay in the heaven is not eternal — eventually they will use up their good karma and will undergo a different rebirth into another realm, as humans, animals, or other beings. Because Heaven is temporary and part of Samsara, Buddhists focus more on escaping the cycle of rebirth and reaching enlightenment (Bodhi). In the native Chinese Confucian traditions Heaven (Tian) is an important concept, where the ancestors reside and from which emperors drew their mandate to rule in their dynastic propaganda, for example. In Hindu belief, likewise, heaven—called Swarga loka—is seen
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as a transitory place for souls who did good deeds but whose actions are not enough for moksha or merging (union) with Brahman. The popular belief of most faiths is that one enters heaven at the moment of death. This, however, is not part of the doctrine of all of Christianity. Some of Christianity along with other major religions maintain that entry into Heaven awaits such time as, "When the form of this world has passed away." Two related and often confused concepts of heaven in Christianity are better described as the "resurrection of the body", which is exclusively of Biblical origin, as contrasted with "the immortality of the soul", which is also evident in the Greek tradition. In the first concept, the soul does not enter heaven until the last judgement or the "end of time" when it (along with the body) is resurrected and judged. In the second concept, the soul goes to a heaven on another plane immediately after death. These two concepts are generally combined in the doctrine of the double judgement where the soul is judged once at death and goes to a temporary heaven, while awaiting a second and final physical judgement at the end of the world. Why is there so much confusion and why can’t anyone, especially the clergy give us a clear and precise answer about heaven and what it is like. Ignoring all other religions because it is understandable why there would be contradictions between different religions, why can’t contemporary Christianity come up with one concise and clear explanation on what happens to you when you die. The simple answer to this is that the early Roman Catholic Church mixed the teachings of the Old Testament Scriptures and that of Jesus Christ and the Apostles with pagan religious beliefs and secular philosophies. This can not be done. The Bible interprets itself because only the Bile is truth. What is the truth, what does happen at deaths’s door?
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The answer is simple, nothing! When you die you simply do that, you die, you are dead, you cease to exist. Your soul and or spirit do not continue on. If you ignore everything you have been taught and go into the Bible and study what the Bible says about death and life after death you will find a completely different story. Our spirit is not an entity in and of itself. The angels are spiritual beings. Satan is a spiritual being. When Jesus Christ was resurrected, he was resurrected as a spiritual being. They are all entities in and of themselves. They do exist but normally they exist in another plane. When Jesus was resurrected he would suddenly appear to his disciples, then just as suddenly disappear.
Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. (Luke 24: 30)
Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. (John 20: 19-20)
Contemporary Christian doctrine is so far out of touch with what the Bible teaches because Christians down through the centuries have taken scriptures out of context and built doctrines around them using pagan religious beliefs and ideas. This is why so many religious cults have sprung up through the years. Verses cannot be taken out of context and interpreted if it contradicts what other parts of the Bible say. The Bible
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interprets the Bible. In order to understand what happens at deaths door, you need to understand what the Bible teaches about the soul and the spirit. Without understanding the Biblical relationship between these, death will remain a mystery. What does Jesus and the apostles teach about what makes up you as a being created by God. There is a lot of false teaching in contemporary Christian doctrine about what makes up who you are. There are three things that make up every human being. There is the body, the soul, and the spirit. All three of them must exist in order to make up who you are. If one is missing, the other two ceases to exist. Your body cannot die and then your spirit and/or soul continue to exist in another state, somewhere else. To get a mental picture of the body, spirit and soul, visualize this. The human body is an electric motor. If you take this electric motor and set it on a table, without any other type of intervention, the motor doesn't do anything. It just sits there. It has no life, (soul), or life force, (spirit). A being of superior intelligence comes along and gives the motor, (body), the breath of life, (power/spirit). Someone plugs the motor into an electrical socket and all of a sudden it comes to life, (it has a soul). The motor gives off noise, heat, an odor, (electrical), it has power, (spirit), and there is motion as the motor vibrates and the rotor spins. The electric power, (breath of life/spirit), gave the motor, (body), an essence, (a soul). The essence of the motor is the fundamental nature of the motor or it could be described as its inherent characteristics. These characteristics would be the noise, heat, odor, power, and movement of the motor. If the motor were to be destroyed, it would stop working, (die). When this happens where does the essence, the fundamental nature or inherent characteristic, (soul), of the motor go? Does the essence of the motor go to another place? The answer is quite simply, no. The essence, the heat,
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noise, odor, power, (spirit), and motion of the motor ceases to exist. Without the motor, (body), the essence of the motor, (soul), basically died when the motor died, (stopped working). When the motor died, what happened to the spirit, (the breath of life), the electric power that ran the motor and made it alive? If the motor were disconnected from the power source, where does the electricity go? Basically, when an electrical motor stops working and is disconnected the electricity goes back to the source of that power. Without the motor the electricity has no function. Without the motor, the power can't do anything. If the motor were left alone, it would eventually rust up and over a long period of time eventually decompose back to its basic elements. Suppose the creator wanted to make another motor exactly like the one that "died". Could it be done? All he would have to do is go back to the original blueprints of the motor and make another one. If he followed the exact specifications of the original blueprint, he could recreate a motor, (body), exactly like the original one with the same essence, (soul). He could give it power, (the breath of life or spirit), and the motor would come back to life with the same power, (spirit), and essence, (soul), that the original motor had. This is a simple analogy, yet it shows realistic relationship between the body, soul and spirit. Without the body, the spirit has nothing to drive in order to create the soul. It is the body with the power of the spirit that creates the soul. In order to get a complete understanding, what we need to do is study what the Bible says about the spirit and the soul. The body has to exist for the soul to exist. The body is what generates the soul and the soul is the essence of the body. That is the soul is the basic, real, and invariable nature of a thing or its significant individual feature or features. Without the body, there is no soul because by definition the soul is the essence of a thing. The body, the soul and the
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spirit cannot and do not live independently of one or the other. If the body dies, the spirit and the soul no longer exist. The spirit does not exist without the body. It is similar to electricity and a light bulb. As long as the light bulb is present, the electricity functions to make the light bulb work, to do what it was created to do, make light. When the light bulb functions properly, it gives off light and heat. The light and the heat created by the light bulb are the essence of that light bulb. If the light bulb breaks, the electricity no longer has any function. Without the bulb the electricity cannot create any light or heat. The essence of that light bulb ceases to exist. Without the body, the spirit has no function either. Without the body there is no soul. The spirit, the power given to us in order to make us alive, cannot see, hear, taste, smell or think. The spirit has no consciousness. The spirit is a power from God that puts life in your body. Your body then generates your soul. Your soul is the conscious makeup of your self. The body contains your senses. Your body is an intricate biological sensor. Your body receives information from its environment and then processes this information. Your soul is the interpretation of the information gathered by your senses. From this process comes the sum total of all our thoughts, feelings, and actions and then our body responds. It is the interaction of all three that makes us who we are. This is why it is important to have a relationship with God. It is our communication with God through our spirit that gives us the wisdom we need to live according to His ways. Otherwise, our ways are the ways of the world. That was the original sin of Adam and Eve. Spiritually they turned away from God, lost communication with God, and started to follow their own ways. When we die the power that made us alive returns to God, our body decays and without the body and the power to
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keep it alive, our soul simply ceases to exist. The idea that we die and go to heaven was never taught by Jesus, nor was it taught during the apostolic period. It has its roots in pagan doctrine used by the early church in order to convert people to Christianity. When we die, we do just that, we die, we are dead, we no longer exist. As the Bible puts it, it goes to sleep. It is like when you are asleep at night. Your soul is aware of nothing. No human being except for Jesus has ever ascended into heaven. The Bible does say that our spirit does go back to God, but is dose not say that it has a consciousness. We cannot speak to our dead relatives or friends. You can speak to beings in the spirit world. God and Jesus Christ are Spiritual Beings. The angels are spiritual beings. But, unless you are speaking to God or Jesus, you are probably speaking to Satan or one of his demons. God has left us strict warnings in the Bible not to pray or speak to anyone in the spiritual realm except Himself or Jesus. If you are not praying to God or Jesus Christ, then you are probably speaking to an evil spirit. God's angels do not do anything except for what is commanded by God. Unless God directs an angel to do so, it will not contact you or speak to you on its own. You cannot call on one of God’s heavenly angels because it will not speak to you on it own accord. God tells you not to contact the dead. This isn't because He just doesn't want you to. Do you not think that this would be good advertisement for God if you were able to talk to dead relatives and friends in heaven? They could tell you how neat it is up there and everything else that is good about heaven. It would be a good way to get a lot more converts to Christianity. If your dead relatives and friends were alive in the spiritual realm, up in heaven with Jesus and God it would be logical to think that they would be falling all over themselves
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trying to get a hold of you back here on earth. Wouldn't they tell you how great a time they are having and that you should just die as quickly as possible so you could be with them? Or at the very least they might try and advise you on how to live your lives so you do not end up in "hell". They do not contact you and you cannot contact them because they are DEAD! In the spiritual realm there are beings. These beings do have bodies. Their bodies are created spiritual and immortal. Our bodies are created physical and mortal. Satan and his demons, beings created by God as immortal can never die. Even though they rebelled against God and will be punished for this rebellion, they still are immortal and cannot be killed. But, what God can do is punish them throughout eternity in a lake of fire that will be created just for them. After the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth, Satan and his demons will be thrown into this pit of fire where he will be tormented and tortured forever as payment for what he has done to God's creation. Jesus tells us not to be afraid of the person who can kill the body. He tells us to be afraid of the One who can kill the body and the soul. That is because anyone can kill your body and when they do your soul will cease to exist, but God has the power to resurrect the body and when you do your soul will be again be alive. On the other hand only God can not only kill your body and your soul but also He has the option not to ever resurrect your body again in effect killing your soul forever. Only God has the power to kill your body and soul. In the book of Genesis God does tell Adam and Eve that if they disobey Him, they would die. Ever since then, that is what has happened, we die! God how the power to resurrect us or leave us dead, effectively killing our soul Exactly how is the word for spirit used in the Bible. In the Old Testament the English word "spirit" is interpreted from the Hebrew noun, "ruwach". The Hebrew word "ruwach" is related to the verb meaning, "to breathe", or "to blow", The
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primitive Hebrew root of the word "ruwach" means breath as in "the breath of life", or to blow as in blowing air from the nostrils. The translators took this Hebrew word and interpreted it to best fit the false doctrines that were being taught by the early Roman Catholic Church. The thing is, they changed the meaning of what the scriptures are trying to tell us leading to mass confusion. The intent or meaning of the Hebrew word in one scripture needs to conform with the rest of the Bible as does its translation. The word maybe able to be translated several different ways but ultimately it needs to conform with the rest Bible scripture. There are many variations in the Biblical usages of this Hebrew word. Ruwach can refer to wind, breath or to the mind such as in a state of agitation. It could describe a person as physically being in a fast motion, such as a horse breathing quickly or being vivacious or animated with vigor. It can also describe a psychological state of being such as being mad or angry. It could describe your temperament as being courageous or describe your disposition as impatient, angry, bitter. All of these descriptions can describe the spirit of a man. All of these descriptions are abstract and refer to a state of being. The spirit of a man is an abstract description. It is not a physical entity. The spirit doesn't think or have any thought process. It cannot speak, see or talk.
And the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." (Genesis 6:3)
In this verse the Hebrew word "ruwach" is interpreted "spirit". God is saying that His spirit or the power that keeps us alive, his breath, will not be with us forever. This is something that God has the power to take from us. In this verse we see that God's spirit is a power that He gives to us and then can
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also take it back.
His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish. (Psalm 146:4) The Hebrew noun "ruwach" in this verse is also interpreted as "spirit". In this verse King David is telling us that when we die, the power that keeps us alive leaves the body and our bodies return to the earth. David says that any plans that we had for the future dies with us because we simply cease to exist. We do not continue on in another realm.
In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? (Job12:10)
In this verse the Hebrew word "ruwach" is interpreted as "breath." Bible translators have translated the same words in Hebrew to different words in English. This happens throughout the Old and the New Testament. This is where the problems come in. When you are talking about the spirit in relation to a human being, you must understand that this spirit is not the same thing as a spiritual being. Our spirit cannot hear, see, smell, taste, touch, or think. Biblically it is defined as breath, to blow, or wind. It is a force that has energy. Job 19:17 interprets "ruwach" as breath.
My breath is offensive to my wife, And I am repulsive to the children of my own body. (Job 19:17)
Job is not saying that he has bad breath. He is talking about his psychological condition. The state of his mind. In Exodus 10:13 the same Hebrew word is interpreted as wind.
So Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the
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LORD brought an east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. (Exodus 10:13)
This is an interesting passage because here the Hebrew word "ruwach" is interpreted as "wind". In this verse it appears that God simply made the wind blow. This is not the case. The "east wind" that God "brought . . . on the land . . . " was actually power coming directly from God. The power of God is what brought the locusts to Egypt. In Ecclesiastes in the New King James Version of the Bible the Hebrew word "ruwach" in chapter one verse fourteen is interpreted as wind yet the very same word is interpreted as "spirit" in the King James version of the Bible.
I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind. (Ecclesiastes 1:14]) (NKJV)
I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit. (Ecclesiastes 1:14]) (KJV)
The same Hebrew word, "ruwach" is also used when it is referenced to animals. In Genesis 6:17, God describes how He will destroy all flesh on earth, human and animals, that have "the breath of life."
And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. (Genesis 6:17)
It is important to understand what is being written here. The
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phrase, "the breath of life" is an English interpretation on the Hebrew word "ruwach". This same word in other passages is also interpreted wind, power, and spirit. All these interpretations have to be related in what they are referring to. None of the interpretations ever refer to an entity, a thing that exists by itself. It is a result, state, disposition or condition of the body reacting to its environment
Now it came to pass in the morning that his spirit, (ruwach), was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh. (Genesis 41:8)
Here ruwach was interpreted as spirit. This is a good example where the false doctrines come in. It looks as if the spirit in this verse is an entity in itself and that it was troubled. Being troubled was the emotional state of the Pharaoh. It was his disposition at that point in time. If the Pharaoh were to drop dead right then and there, his troubled spirit would not continue on. Since the Pharaoh would be dead, he would no longer have any disposition. Your disposition, ruwach, does not go on living after you die.
And it shall be when they say to you, ‘Why are you sighing?' that you shall answer, ‘Because of the news; when it comes, every heart will melt, all hands will be feeble, every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming and shall be brought to pass,' says the Lord GOD." (Ezekiel 21:7)
Here again it looks as if the spirit is an actual thing that has the ability to faint. This is not what the verse is saying. Ezekiel is not trying to say that every heart would literally melt
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like a snowball. He is also not trying to say that everyone's "spirit", (whatever that is supposed to be), will become unconscious and fall over. What God was telling Ezekiel was that just as when something melts and it changes in appearance, so will the hearts of the people. The very essence of who they were was going to change. God was saying that the disposition, ( . . . spirit . . . ), of the people would change. The disposition, of the people would grow weak, would become darkened and would fail, ( . . . will faint . . . )
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. (Psalms 51:10-11)
The Hebrew words leb and lebab are nouns which describes a person's inner being. These words are translated in the Bible as heart. The Hebrews considered the heart the center of a person's being. They thought that this was where a person's thoughts, emotions, feelings, disposition and temperament resided. The heart was the seat of affection, will and mind. They thought that the emotions of hate, anger, love and hurt all came from the heart. The heart was the essence of who they were. David is speaking of his disposition, his temperament. He wanted his inner man, his mind, his will, his understanding, (his heart), to be morally and ethically pure and he wanted his disposition and temperament to be firm, stable and established.
But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him. And Saul's servants said to him, "Surely, a distressing spirit from God is
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troubling you. Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. And it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well." (1 Samuel 16:14-16)
Spirit, (ruwach), in this passage is also referring to temperament and disposition. It has the same meaning as when you use it to describe a person who is nasty and you describe that person as being "mean spirited". That does not mean that there is something inside of him that is nasty, it means that his disposition or temperament is nasty. No one would say that a person's disposition or temperament can go on living after that person dies, in the same way a person's spirit does not either. The above passage is good example of how false doctrine is created. The passage is several different interpretaions of the Hebrew word "ruwach". First it is talking about the power of God that gives Saul strength and helps him to do the right thing, ". . .the Spirit of the Lord. . .". Then it is talking about the power of God to cause people to think about what they are doing and when they know what they are doing is contrary to what God wants, it causes them to be stressed out. ". . .a distressing spirit from the LORD. . ." was causing Saul to think about what he was doing and this "troubled" Saul because he knew what he was doing was wrong. The Old Testament also used the word " ruwach", "breath of life", whether the writer was referring to man or animals.
And behold, I Myself am bringing flood waters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. (Genesis 6:17)
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In this passage God is talking to Noah. He wants Noah to build an ark because God is going to bring about a Great flood over the whole earth. God tells Noah that He is going " . . . to destroy from under heaven all flesh . . . ". That would include animals as well as man. Here again the writer uses the same Hebrew word, "ruwach" when he is referring to animals.
And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. (Genesis 7:15)
The "breath of life" as used in the Old Testament is always translated from the Hebrew word "ruwach". As mentioned already it is the same Hebrew word that is also translated as spirit in other passages. Even though the translators took the liberty of translating a Hebrew word into English words that have totally different meanings, you cannot change the meaning and intent of the original Hebrew text. In Genesis 7:15 and Genesis 6:17, the writer is speaking about the same thing he is speaking about in 1 Samuel 16:14-16 when speaking of "spirit". The "breath of life" that was given to animals is the same "breath of life" that was given to man. In both instances it could be translated as "spirit". The point is no matter how it is translated it still has the basic meaning of some type or form of power. Animals have a spirit and man has a spirit. There is one big difference, only man was created in the image of God.
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:26-27)
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What differentiates us from all other animals is how we were made. We are different from other animals " . . . in our God like abilities to make decisions, plan and create. Rather than providing us with animal-like instinct, God created in us intellect, self-awareness, the capacities to reason, communicate and produce." (12 [P.5]). What differentiates us from other animals isn't the fact that we have a spirit. The Bible says that the spirit, (ruwach), was given to all creatures. The difference is in how we were designed. We were designed to act as a God through the power of the spirit given to us. Animals were designed to act by instinct with the same power that was given to them. We have the ability to communicate and learn from God something animals cannot do. God created us to have a level of intelligence similar to His. Other creatures were not.
No one knows the things of God accept the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:11-14)
It is through the Holy Spirit that God gives us our wisdom of things that are not only natural and physical but things that are spiritual. Only Christians through the Holy Spirit can understand the true Word of God. It is through the spirit, a spiritual link with God, that Christians have the ability to understand what is God's purpose for life. Our spirit is the gift
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that allows us to realize that we were created to learn to become an immortal spirit being in the likeness of Jesus Christ. We are studying to be brothers and sisters of Jesus and co-heirs to the Kingdom of God. We are preparing for the immortal spirit world to live with Jesus Christ and God our creator. Our spirit is part of our total being, just like the Holy Spirit is part of the God Head. Our spirit does not live on after we die. Just like the analogy of the light bulb, without our body, our spirit, power, ceases to exist. The writers of the Bible considered a person to be made up of three things, the body, the spirit, and the soul. The Hebrew word for soul is nephesh. This word is mentioned in the Bible more than 750 times. When the writers used this word, it was always in conjunction with a physical being, never with a spiritual being. There are many variations in the meaning. All the variations can be boiled down to three categories. The first category is life or the force of life, especially in relationship to the blood. The second is a person's non physical being such as a person's intelligence and emotions. The third is in reference to the actual physical person or individual. In all cases, the soul was used in connection with the physical and it was not just used with man, it was used in conjunction with animals also. The Bible does not refer to the soul as a spiritual being the way contemporary Christianity teaches when they refer to our souls going to heaven or hell after we die. In the Bible our body, spirit, and soul are considered interconnected as one and do not exist alone. If the body dies, the soul and the spirit cease to exist. The spirit and the soul are the nature of a human being. The nature of a human is animated, or comes to life through the Spirit of God, the "breath of life". This is the power that
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brings our bodies to life. The animation of our bodies is our soul. The force, the power or strength of that animation, is our spirit. Without the body, there is no soul and without the body and soul, there is no spirit. It is quite simple. If you die, your spirit and your soul cease to exist. They are no more. You do not go to heaven. You are not with Jesus. When you die you do just that, you die! In the New Testament the Greek word that was translated soul is psuche. The writers of the New Testament used this word similarly to how the Hebrew writers of the Old Testament used it. The word psuche means life. It referred to the animation of the person and is the essence of that person. Nephesh, the old testament translation for the word soul, refers to a living and breathing creature, one that has blood actively flowing through its veins. It can refer to an animal or a human being.
So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:21)
In this verse, nephesh was translated into the word creature referring to sea creatures. The Bible tells us that animals also have a soul. This word was not only used in relationship to man. The first place in the Bible where we see the word nephesh used in relationship to man is in Genesis chapter 2, verse 7.
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)
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The phrase "living being" is translated from the Hebrew word nephesh. This is the first time in the Bible that the word nephesh was used to describe man as a living being. Up until this point the word was used to describe animals. When you read the Book of Genesis, it is clear that when God created Adam and Eve, God did not create them as immortal souls. The writer of Genesis uses the word "nephesh" when describing Adam. Adam was created as a living soul not an immortal soul. The soul lives when the body is alive.
For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son - both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die. (Ezekiel 18:4)
God told Ezekiel that the soul is not immortal. God did not say that the body will die, God said that the soul will die.
The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him. (Ezekiel 18:20)
These passages do not tell us that the soul goes on living, it tells us specifically that the soul will die. The immortality of man is such an important message in the Bible that God made it clear when referring to man's soul. Here, God does make perfectly clear that the soul dies. Where did the teaching of the immortal soul come from if it did not come from the Bible? The concept of an immortal soul was taught in ancient Egypt and Babylon. " The belief that the soul continues in existence after the dissolution of the body
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is . . . speculation . . . no where . . . taught in Holy Scripture . . . The belief in the immortality of the soul came to the Jews from contact with Greek thought and chiefly the philosophy of Plato, its principal exponent, who was led to it through Orphic and Eleusinian mysteries in which Babylonian and Egyptian views were strangely blended." (Jewish Encyclopedia, 1941, Vol. VI, "Immortality of the Soul", pp 564, 566). The Old Testament scriptures taught of a soul, nephesh, but this was in relation to a living breathing creature. During the Apostolic period an immortal soul was not taught. It wasn't til after writing of the New Testament that the idea of an immortal soul was incorporated into Christian doctrine. The Christian doctrine in the early Roman Catholic Church was influenced by Greek philosophy and ideas. This doctrine is not Hebrew teaching and it is not found in Hebrew scripture. Jesus Christ and the Apostolic Church taught and read from the Old Testament. The idea of an immortal soul is not in the Old Testament and it would not have been taught by Jesus or any of the Apostles. This is a false doctrine that came to being after the apostolic period. The following passage is a good example how contemporary Christians misinterpret Old Testament passages.
And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin. (Genesis 35:18)
In this passage, soul, was translated from the Hebrew word nephesh. If you substitute "life" in the verse, you can understand this verse to say that her life was departing. In other words she, as a living creature was, dying. She would soon to be dead. The "Webster New World Dictionary" defines dead as no longer living. This verse is not trying to infer that her soul was immortal and going someplace. Depart simply
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means to "come out". It doesn't tell us that her "life" went anyplace and it certainly doesn't tell us that it was going there forever. The Hebrew scripture said, ". . . (for she died) . . . ", then her soul was dead. Every reference to the soul, "nephesh" in Hebrew scripture is to a living being. If the soul is the essence of who she is and the scripture says ". . . (for she died) . . .", then it is telling us that her living being died. Her soul did not go on living somewhere else. In Hebrew scripture the word "nephesh" always refers to something that is living. "Early Christianity was influenced by Greek philosophies even as the Gospel of Christ was preached to the Greek and Roman world. By AD 200, the doctrine of the immortality of the soul became a controversy in the established church. "The Evangelical Dictionary of Theology notes how Origen an early and influential church theologian was influenced by Greek thinkers: ‘Speculation about the soul in the subapostolic church was heavily influenced by Greek philosophy. This is seen in Origen's acceptance of Plato's doctrine of the pre-existence of the soul . . . ' (1992 p. 1037, "Soul")" (1[p. 12]). The immortality of the soul is a secular belief that was embraced by many ancient pagan religions. It is not a Biblical teaching and was not taught by Jesus Christ or any of the original Apostles.
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)
The "breath of life" in verse seven is interpreted from the Hebrew word ruwach which means power. The power was not some type of conscious being or entity when it was given to man to make him a living soul. If it were, different words would
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have been used to describe exactly what God was giving to man. If this gift was not a conscious entity when it was given, why would it be when it goes back to God? The phrase "living being" is interpreted from the Hebrew word nephesh which means soul. God breathed His Spirit, (power), as a gift, into the dust of the ground and it became a "living being", a human soul. The Hebrew word nephesh does refer to an individual or a person. When God breathed the breath of life, spirit, into the dust, it became a living person, a soul. When a person dies his soul, "living being", goes back to the dust of the ground, the "breath of life", the spirit, goes back from where it came, to God. Man did not become a "living being", a soul, until God breathed the "breath of life", spirit, into him. Man's "soul" did not exist before God took the dust of the ground and created a human body. Man’s spirit, or the power of his animated soul, did not exist before man was created. When man goes through "Death’s Door", his body will return to the dust. His soul, the essence of who he is, and his spirit, the power of his essence, will cease to exist.
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Chapter FIVE
Beyond Death’s Door
Christianity teaches that when we die, the good go to heaven and the bad go to hell. Before the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Apostolic period, the common Hebrew thinking of the time period was that when people died, they went to some type of holding place as portrayed in the story of "Lazarus and the Rich Man". This is a very interesting and revealing passage in the Bible in many respects but for reasons that are different from what contemporary Christianity teaches. As a Christian you have to believe that what Jesus was teaching is true and logical. To read this passage and then come to the conclusions that there are millions of dead souls waiting in some holding place somewhere in anticipation of their judgement is just plain stupid doctrine! Before people can be sent to heaven or hell there needs to be a judgement and the Bible clearly tells us that there will be no judgement what so ever until after Jesus returns for His Church. Based on this alone, how can Christians believe that their dead relatives are in heaven or that bad people are in hell.
"Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'" (Luke
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16:27-31) There are several interesting things that come to light in this passage. The rich man is begging Abraham to send someone to warn his brothers what will happen to them if they do not change their ways. The writer used the same word when he had the rich man and Abraham talk about the dead. The writer uses the Greek word "nekros". Nekros comes from the Greek primary root "nekus" which refers to a corpse. Greek usage of this word is to describe someone who is dead, who has breathed his last. It is used to describe lifelessness or someone who is inanimate, in other words, motionless. It is used by the Greeks to describe someone who has disappeared. It is clear that the writer wasn't talking about people who were somewhere in some other state of being. If he was, he would have chosen to use a different Greek word to describe the "dead" that would be more descriptive of their actual state of being. The writer, Luke, who was a doctor by trade, knew exactly the state of being that the dead are in and that is why he chose to use the word that he did. Luke knew from Old Testament Scripture that the dead were not aware of anything, they were unconscious, they literally were no more. This is just one example of the writer using contemporary thinking of the time to tell a story. There is something else that this scriptures tells us that most preachers seem to forget to point out. In this passage Jesus is prophesying His own resurrection and the fact that even though He will be coming back from the dead, there will be those who still will not believe in Him. Jesus told them directly that " ‘. . . neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'" The story of Lazarus and the Rich man is nothing to do with life after death. This is a good example of how scriptures are perverted in order to preach false doctrine. Christians take
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many scriptures out of context of what the scripture is actually talking about, what the actual message is and they then try to build all kinds of false doctrines that cannot be backed up by the rest of the Bible. This was already happening only a short time after Jesus was resurrected.
Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. ( 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4)
Here Paul is writing a letter to the Church in Thessalonia and is warning them to not be deceived by false teachings. He makes it perfectly clear that the "Day of the Lord", the time when Jesus will return to earth and set up His kingdom, will not happen until Satan, "the man of lawlessness", is revealed. It is interesting to note in this passage that Paul reveals to us that this is when we will be "gathered to Him". Since this has not happened yet how can anyone preach a doctrine that says when Christians die they immediately go to heaven to be with God and Jesus? That is why there is so much confusion when reading the Bible. This gives the sceptics and the non believers plenty of ammunition to use against Christianity in their attempt to prove that it is just another false religion and that what is written in the Bible is not true. It looks to them like the Bible is
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constantly contradicting itself and is just plain not logical. The message of Lazarus and the rich man has nothing to do with heaven or hell. Jesus is simply talking about the hardness of people's hearts toward the message of scriptures. He is talking about people who are not looking out for their fellow man but are caught up in themselves to the point where they allow the suffering of those around them and have no compassion for the less fortunate. The rich man and his brothers simply represents the Hebrew elites of that time. Jesus is saying that even if someone rose from the dead and went to the Hebrews and warned them, they still would not change their ways. Jesus simply tells them that if they cannot be persuaded by the scriptures, the actual word of God, they will not be persuaded by someone who has risen from the dead. Remember, Jesus Christ did rise from the dead with a message for mankind and most still refused to listen and believe.
For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. (Philippians 1:23-24)
Theologians pull this passage out of their arsenal of scriptures like they are drawing a gun. Just about every time I hear a preacher and he is speaking about life after death or heaven, he uses this passage. It is very important to remember that the Bible must interpret the Bible. Never can an interpretation of a passage from the Bible contradict passages in other parts of the Bible. If the interpretation does, then you have the wrong interpretation. Sometimes in order to understand what is being said, you must also look at what is not being said. This scripture is one of those cases.
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Paul is talking about all the strife and trouble he has gone through and the trouble he is presently in and is wondering whether it is worthwhile to continue on living or if it would be better for him if he died. The Greek word used for "depart" in this verse is "analuo". The tense of this Greek word is characterized by the concept that the verb is considered without regard for past, present, or future time. When Paul says he has the desire to depart and be with Jesus, the particular usage of this Greek word indicates that Paul knew that he wasn't going to die and be immediately with Jesus. If Paul thought that and wanted to portray that message, he would have chosen a different Greek word to indicate that is what would happen. To read this passage with the idea that Paul thought that when he died he would be immediately with Christ, is reading into it something that is not true. Paul clearly understood Old Testament scriptures and the teaching of Jesus Christ. Paul knew exactly when he would see Jesus next. It would be when Jesus's came back for His saints, at the rapture of the church. To understand why Paul knew that he wasn't going to be immediately with Jesus, you need to research other scriptures. In John chapter fourteen Jesus is speaking to His disciples:
"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. (John 14:2-3)
Jesus did not tell them that when they died, they would go to Him. He specifically says, " . . . I will come again and receive you to Myself . . . ". Jesus is coming back for all of us at a particular time in the future. We do not die and go to Him
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or to heaven.
. . . "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up." Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well." However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe . . . (John 11:11-15)
Here we see that Jesus had just been informed that his good friend Lazarus had just died. Jesus knew that Lazarus was very sick, but instead of going to him and healing him, Jesus waited until Lazarus died. Jesus told His disciples that their friend "sleeps". The disciples thought that Jesus was saying that Lazarus was actually sleeping. They were afraid to go back to the town where Lazarus was because it was so close to Jerusalem and they knew that if they went back there, their lives would be in danger. They figured that if Lazarus was actually just sleeping, he would awaken and there would be no need for Jesus to go back. This could not have been farther from the truth. In order for them to understand, the verse says that " . . . Jesus spoke to them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead . . . ". In John chapter eleven verse eleven, Jesus was speaking metaphorically the way the Old Testament describes death as sleep. In verse fourteen Jesus wanted them to understand that Lazarus was not just sleeping, he was actually dead. Jesus tells His disciples that He was glad He left Lazarus die because Jesus wanted to use this opportunity to Glorify Himself and God in order to prove His Deity , " . . . I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe . . . ". What is even more interesting is what Jesus tells Martha later on in this passage. Jesus was explaining to Martha what He was going to do when "Jesus said to her, ‘your brother will
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rise again' ". Jesus did not comfort her by telling her not to worry, that Lazarus was somewhere safe and no longer suffering. In fact Martha knew the Old Testament scriptures well enough to understand what happened when you died. She knew Lazarus wasn't in heaven, she knew Lazarus wasn't anywhere. Martha knew Lazarus was simply no more. If she believed that he was in heaven with God or a the very least, resting in the bosom of Abraham where he would be safe and no longer suffering, why would she be weeping? He was dead. That is why she was weeping.
But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. . . . (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
When you read this passage, it is hard to misinterpret when Paul believed that Christians, dead and alive, would go and be with Jesus. It is very clear that Paul knew the dead were not yet in heaven with Jesus of God. Paul tells the Thessalonians that Jesus " . . . will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. " The dead are not up in heaven. If they were, why would Paul tell us that Jesus will " . . . descend from heaven . . . " and then the " . . . dead in Christ will rise . . . "? Paul makes it
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perfectly clear where the dead in Christ are. The dead are not in heaven with Jesus because the Apostle says that the dead will rise and " . . . shall be caught up . . . " and that they would then meet Jesus " . . . in the clouds . . . ". If the dead are already in heaven, why would he say that Jesus would ". . . descend from heaven . . . and the dead would rise. . ." If the dead are already in heaven with Jesus, why would we be told that they will rise from the earth. There is still farther proof that Paul knew he was not going to be with Jesus immediately after he died. In Paul's second letter to Timothy he wrote:
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day . . . (2 Timothy 4:6-8)
Paul knew that his end was near and that he would soon be executed. In this passage Paul knew exactly when he would see Jesus Christ and when he would receive his reward for what he had done for Christ. Paul says that he would receive his " . . . crown of righteousness . . . on that Day . . . ". It would be at the time of Christ's second coming. It would be then that Paul and the rest of the righteous in Christ would receive their crown of glory.
Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him. (Isaiah 40:10)
Paul knew from the teaching in the Old Testament book of
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Isaiah that we are told that the Lord will be becoming back and He would be bringing our reward with Him. Jesus reveals to the Apostle John in the book of Revelations: "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." (Revelation 22:12-13)
Again, if you ignore contemporary Christian teaching, this passage is hard to misinterpret. Jesus said that he is coming back and He was bringing everyone's reward with Him. This passage is clear that Jesus is coming back to us! We do not die and go to Him. He has everyone’s reward and He is bringing them back to earth with him ". . .on that day . . .". This would include Paul’s reward. If you read and understand these passages, how can anyone interpret Philipeans 1:23-24 to mean that Paul thought that it might be better if he died so he could immediately be with Jesus? People who preach this are preaching a false doctrine. You can see that the Apostles clearly understood what happens when you die and when you would be with Jesus and receive your reward. The Old Testament taught and as they preached from those scriptures, when a person dies, basically he is asleep. A dead person has no consciousness until Jesus comes back at the second coming. Dead people do not go immediately to heaven to be with Jesus. This will not happen until sometime in the future. This is similar to when you fall asleep at night, you are unconscious to your surroundings, the next thing you know it is morning, time to get up. When you die, your next conscious moment will be when you are resurrected and are with Jesus Christ in the clouds In today's secular society there are many references to life after death. There are TV series such as "Touched by and Angel" and "Highway to Heaven," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
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and "Sabrina the Teenaged Witch". There is the old TV cartoon classic, "Casper the Friendly Ghost", and the more modern "Scoobie Doo", where the characters are constantly dealing with some type of spirit or ghost. There are blockbuster movies such as "Ghost Busters" and the more serious and romantic "Ghost" played by Demi Moore and Patrick Swazi. Then there are the classics such as "The Amnityville Horror', "Poltergeist", and "It's a Good Life", which stars the great Jimmy Stewart. All of these make some type of reference to Life after death. That is to say that when a person dies, his soul and/or spirit go on living in some other state of being. This idea is a common doctrine in most contemporary Christian Churches today. The belief is that when you die you go immediately to your reward, heaven, if you are good or to your punishment, hell, if you are bad. The Bible simply does not teach that dead people go on living in some other state of being. Our dead friends and relatives are not in heaven. We cannot speak to the dead. Solomon observes that mankind and animals are destined for a common fate in death.
For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust. (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20)
Solomon, through the inspiration of God had a clear idea as to what happens at death. Unless you read into this scripture it is hard to misinterpret. Solomon says that we are no different from the animals when it comes to death. He says that what happens to man also happens to animals. They both die and " . . . all go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to
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dust." To say that the essence of what and who man is, what identifies who we are as individual human beings, (our soul), goes some place else, whether it is heaven or some other place would mean the same thing happens to animals because it says that " . . . what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals . . . ". This passage is as clear as day and does not need an educated theologian to interpret the meaning. The verse says that " . . . one dies, so does the other . . . ". It says that " . . . all are from the dust and all return to the dust . . . ". It does not tell us that " . . . all are from the dust and all return to the dust . . . " and man's soul goes on living some place else in another state of being. If this were true why would Solomon not tell us this? Contemporary Christians then point to verse 21 in trying to prove that man goes on living after he dies.
Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? (Ecclesiastes 3:21)
The New King James Version, "The Nelson Study Bible" on page 1085 explains the passage this way; "Both humans and beasts die and go to the grave. This is not the end for human beings . . . People and animals differ; their bodies go back to dust from which they came, but the human spirit is immortal." The Bible does never mentions the immortality of the spirit or the soul. Solomon was not talking about man's soul, nephesh, he was talking about man's spirit, ruwach. Remember, in the Old Testament these two words are not used interchangeably. Contemporary Christian doctrines use them interchangeably all the time. This is not Biblical. Just like apples are apples and oranges are oranges, a person's spirit is his spirit and his soul is his soul. This passage says that man's spirit goes upward. If you
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understand the basic meaning of the Hebrew word for spirit, ruwach, and man's soul, nephesh, you would understand that the "life", (soul), of man or the essence of whom that person is, the thing that identifies that person, is not what Solomon is talking about. Solomon is talking about the power, which is the Hebrew word, ruwach, which is interpreted in English as spirit. The spirit of a man is the power of the soul. It is a form of energy. The spirit is the power that came from God that gives our bodies life. The spirit is the energy that our bodies give off. It is a gift that God gives to all creatures, man and animal alike. It is an energy given off by all creatures. It is not known why the spirit of the man goes back to God and the spirit of the animal does not. In Ecclesiastes 3:21 King Solomon simply says, "Who know . . ." why? He was the smartest man that ever lived yet even he could not answer that question. The spirit is a power by which man communicates with God. This is what Solomon is saying that goes upward.
Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it. (Ecclesiastes 12:7)
In this passage it says that the spirit, ruwach, will go back to God, not the soul, nephesh. What identifies who we are, our soul, is not what returns to God, it is the power, spirit, that returns. Another thing that Solomon tells us is that the dead are not aware of their surroundings. They are not in some other state of consciousness.
For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten. (Ecclesiastes 9:5)
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Solomon is telling us that the dead do not know what is going on, that it is like they are unconscious and do not know that time is passing. This passage would directly contradict the Contemporary Christian doctrine of the spirit and or soul consciously living in heaven with God and Jesus. Our spirit goes back to God as the verse in Ecclesiastes 12:7 tells us, but it is not a conscious spiritual being because Solomon tells us directly that ". . . the dead know nothing . . .". The prophet Daniel spoke of the state of those who were dead when he wrote about the end of times:
. . . And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Everyone who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:1-2)
Old Testament writers used the word sleep as a euphemism for the word death. A euphemism is defined as by Webster's New World Dictionary as "the use of a less direct word or phrase for one considered offensive.". The Old Testament writers may have used it not only because it was less offensive, but also because the average person of the Old Testament times would be able to relate to the state of "sleep" when referencing death. As they understood that a person who is asleep is in a state of unconsciousness, a person who is dead would be in the same state. The Apostle John was aware of this Old Testament teaching because he wrote in reference to this passage:
Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those
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who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. (John 5:28-29)
The apostle teaching from the Old Testament book of Daniel was saying that those who were dead would be resurrected. They were not in heaven with Jesus or God. They were dead and buried in the dust of the ground. Daniel says that at some future date they would be resurrected. The dead were "sleeping" in their graves.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17)
In this passage you have to conclude that the dead Christians are not in heaven but are dead and will be coming along with the Christians that are alive, from earth. That is when the dead will finally meet with Christ. The dead will " . . . meet the Lord in the air . . . ". If they are going to meet the Lord at that point in time, how could anyone conclude that they are with Him already. Again, that just does not make sense. To preach that we are already in heaven with Jesus completely contradicts the passage. In Revelation 17:12-14, you can understand that the ". . . chosen and faithful . . ." who were with the Lord, were not always with Him in heaven, but were " . . . caught up to the Lord . . ." during the rapture of the church. Christ will then
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return to earth with His heavenly army. This army would include His saints who met with Jesus in the clouds at the rapture of the church and all of God's heavenly angels.
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. (Revelation 19:11-14)
Jesus returned to the earth to defeat Satan and his armies which would include all mortal humans living in that time period who had taken the " . . . mark of the beast . . .". In Revelation chapter 20 verse 4 John says:
And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4)
The apostle is talking about a time after Jesus returned to earth. This is not taking place in heaven. This is taking place on earth. John is speaking about people who became Christians after the rapture of the church. Because of their disbelief before the coming of the Lord, they suffered through the wrath of God during the second half of the tribulation and died believing in Jesus Christ, refusing to take the mark of the
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beast or to worship the beast. Jesus is now on earth, He is establishing His kingdom on earth and one of the first things He does is resurrect the Christians who were martyred, "beheaded", during the tribulation. John describes this as " . . . the first resurrection." (Revelation 20:5) The first resurrection is the resurrection of all Christians who lived and died in Christ after the rapture of the church. The Christians who died during the tribulation, finally believed in Jesus after they saw that everything the Bible predicts to happen, was happening. Because they became Christians, they refused to "take the mark of the beast" and because of this they are martyred. They are seen on earth in the Kingdom of God. Christ is establishing this kingdom after His second coming. And these Christians will now be judged for their reward. John goes on to say, " . . . the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished . . . " (Revelation 20:5) This verse is clear and very hard to misinterpret when you take it in context. The rest of the dead are not in another state of being, somewhere, awaiting finale judgement. The apostles Paul and John taught that all the people who died since Adam and Eve were and will be "sleeping" in their graves until the second coming. No one will see heaven until Jesus Christ comes back for His church.
And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. (1 Corinthians 15:45)
In this verse Paul was paraphrasing Genesis chapter 2 verse 7:
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a
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living being. (Genesis 2:7)
The Apostle Paul used the Greek word "psuche" in the place of the Hebrew word "nephesh". Both of these words are often translated soul. Soul was used by the writers to depict man as a living and breathing being who could die. The soul was never depicted as an entity in it self but was always attached to a living creature. Jesus Christ during His ministry on earth, often used the words life and soul interchangeably when describing the same thing. The word for soul is always used in describing life, never death.
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:25-26)
In this passage the Greek word psuche was first translated into life and then right after that in the very next verse it was translated twice as soul. This is very interesting since the Greek word was translated into two English words with completely different meanings. The Greek word psuche comes from the primary Greek root word which is a verb which means to breathe or to blow. It has the same basic meaning as the Hebrew word nephesh. Again, both the Hebrew and the Greek words always dealt with life. But when you look at the two English words they that they were translated into, the English words do not refer to the same thing. The problem is that when the translators take a word and then translate it into two different words, it adds confusion. When Christians die they do not go to heaven. When we die, we do not go anywhere. We simply cease to exist. The Bible is full of evidence that this is fact. The Bible never
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says, and Jesus never taught, that our soul or spirit is immortal and goes on living after we die. This is not true and Christians that preach this are teaching a false non Biblical doctrine created by Satan himself. And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'" Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:2-5)
All the way back in the Garden of Eden, Satan deceived Eve into thinking that she would not die. God specifically told them that they would die. This indicates mortality. The idea of having immortality, to go on living, is a false doctrine created by the Devil and carried on down through the centuries. God has a plan for our immortality but we are not born nor was Adam created with it. When Jesus was born, He was not born with immortality. Jesus gave up His spiritual being to be born as a mortal human being just like you and I. When Jesus was born and when He lived on earth He could feel all the emotions and pain that we experience. He was a mortal man that could be killed. That is why we see in the scripture time and again that He was careful not to let the pharisees capture Him before He was ready. Jesus needed to be mortal so that He could give His life for us as payment for our sins. Giving His life for our sins means when He was crucified, He died. He was dead. He was dead and he was buried. His soul did not go somewhere else. What kind of payment would that be? It was not the suffering that He went through that was the payment, although that was part of it. It was that fact that for the first time in eternity he ceased to exist.
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The "good news" is that God resurrected Him just like Jesus said He would. Jesus was resurrected in His spirit body and ascended into heaven to be once again with God. Now in order to complete the Gospel that Jesus brought to us, He will come back for us.
For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. (Matthew 16:27)
Jesus, as a spiritual being is coming back for us and that is when Christians will be rewarded with immortality, not before that time.
"Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. "For David did not ascend into the heavens . . . (Acts 2:29-34)
This passage is clear where King David is and where all men are after they die, " . . . he is both dead and buried . . . ". It cannot get any clearer than that. How much more clear can the Bible get when it tells you straight out that " . . . David did not ascend into the heavens . . . ". You do not need to be a religious scholar to get this one right. Of all the people in the world you would think that King David would be up there with
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Jesus. This passage tells us that he is not. If you search back through history, you will find that many diverse cultures had the belief that human beings existed as more than a physical entity. The basic belief is that man has a separate part of his existence usually described as a spirit or a soul, which was immortal and lives on after we die. Most Christians today believe that when we die we go immediately to heaven where we will live with God as some type of spiritual entity apart from our physical bodies. This is not true and it is not supported by the Bible. These beliefs are pagan superstitions which we have seen go as far back to at least the Garden of Eden. The Bible clearly tells us that our soul is mortal and can and does die.
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17)
God did not tell Adam that if he ate the apple that his body would die but his soul would go on living in some other state of being. God made it very clear to Adam that if he did not listen he would die.
The soul who sins shall die . . . (Ezekiel 18:20)
Ezekiel put it rather bluntly in this verse, the soul is not immortal because we are told that it can die. The Apostle Paul taught that because man had sinned he will not go on living. He knew that the Old Testament scriptures taught that we would have to work for our food until what time we would die and go to our grave.
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In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return." (Genesis 3:19)
. . . it is appointed for men to die once . . . (Hebrews 9:27)
How much more clear can the Bible get? Paul taught that it was because man sinned against God that God appointed all of us to die at least once. God was very specific when He sentenced Adam and Eve for their crime. God told Adam that because of what he had done, man will now suffer death.
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— (Romans 5:12)
Before Adam had sinned there was no death. Man was originally created to become immortal. But Adam's sin changed all of this. Paul in 1 Timothy tells us that Jesus is the only one that ever died and gained immortality.
He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality . . . (1 Timothy 6:15-16)
The scriptures clearly teach us that man is not an immortal being and he does not possess a immortal soul. Timothy makes it clear in this verse that Jesus " . . . alone has immortality . . .". The immortal soul is not a teaching held by Jesus Christ and was never taught in the early Apostolic Church. Up until
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the end of the Apostolic age, early Christian teaching was based on the three and a half year ministry of Jesus Christ as witnessed first hand by the Apostles. These teachings were based on the Old Testament scriptures. In his second letter to Timothy Paul wrote:
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, (2 Timothy 3:16)
Paul also writes in Romans:
For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. (Romans 15:4)
Clearly the scriptures Paul was talking about was the Old Testament. The New Testament had not been put together yet so all teaching had to come out of the Old Testament. That is why the New and the Old Testament cannot contradict each other. What is true in the one is also true in the other. The scriptures do not teach the doctrine of an immortal soul or spirit. When we die, we do just that. We cease to exist. We are no more. We have no consciousness and we are not living somewhere else in another state of being. Because Adam had sinned, man is being punished for that sin. The sentence that was handed down from God is that " . . . it is appointed for men to die once . . . ". That is not to say that there is no hope for man. The Bible does promise us eternal life.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
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God will give eternal life to all those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. All those who do believe will live throughout eternity in the Kingdom created here on earth, not in heaven, as children of God, brothers and sisters of Christ and heirs to God's creation which, by the way, was God's intent from the beginning.
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CHAPTER SIX
THE TRUTH ABOUT LIFE AFTER DEATH
There is a large segment of society from all religious back grounds that have a curiosity about what is referred to as near death experiences. A near-death experience (NDE) refers to a broad range of personal experiences associated with impending death, encompassing multiple possible sensations ranging from detachment from the body, feelings of levitation, extreme fear, total serenity, security, or warmth, the experience of absolute dissolution, and the presence of a light, which some people interpret as a deity or spiritual presence. Some cultures and individuals revere as a paranormal and spiritual glimpse into the afterlife. Such cases are usually reported after an individual has been pronounced clinically dead, or otherwise very close to death, hence the entitlement near-death experience. Many reports, however, originate from events that are not life threatening. With recent developments in cardiac resuscitation techniques, the number near death experiences reported is continually increasing. Most of the scientific community regards such experiences as hallucinatory, while paranormal specialists and some mainstream scientists claim them to be evidence of an afterlife. Popular interest in near-death experiences was initially sparked by Raymond Moody, Jr's 1975 book "Life After Life" and the founding of the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS) in 1978. According to a Gallup poll, approximately eight million Americans claim to have had a
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near-death experience. NDEs are among the phenomena studied in the fields of parapsychology, psychology, psychiatry, and hospital medicine. "Karlis Osis and his colleague Erlendur Haraldsson examined whether NDEs varied between cultures. In their book 'At the Hour of Death' (published in 1977) they concluded that, although there were considerable similarities between Indian and American NDEs, the religious personages and symbols appearing in death-bed visions were different for each culture. Although the majority of reports of NDEs describe the subject as having been in a state that could be likened to heavenly bliss, this is not universally the case. The myths on which many of us were reared, which conceivably may have their roots in experiences of the ancients akin to NDEs, are myths of both heaven and hell. As mentioned earlier, not all NDEs are sweetness and light." (9) There are people who describe how they hovered above their lifeless bodies as the doctor and nurses worked feverishly in order to bring them back to life. Some speak of going through some type of tunnel that had a bright light at the end. They speak how the are drawn towards this light but for some reason, which no one can clearly explain, they are drawn back towards this life. Most of them usually speak of some unfinished business but they usually don’t know what this unfinished business is. All these stories are arguable because there is no way they can be proven to be true. There is no science that can prove any of this to be true. In fact if you are a Christian and believe that the Christian Bible is the truth, these stories can actually be proven to be false. Through the Bible there is convincing truth of life after death, but not the way it is preached by the contemporary Christian Church. The Christian church is preaching a pagan doctrine on life after death, a doctrine that was never taught by Jesus Christ or any of His
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Apostles. The Bible teaches us that over two thousand years ago a mortal human being, Jesus Christ, was resurrected from the dead. The basis of the Christian religion is the fact that God does have the ability to actually resurrect people after they have died. This is part of the Gospel or good news that Jesus Christ came to earth to preach. This is a simple truth taught in the Bible. The problem comes in when Christians try to explain to us exactly what happens after death. The truth is if Christians would use the Bible instead of secular beliefs and philosophies, they would have the answer. When Christians talk about life after death and their future resurrection, there is a lot of confusion. Contemporary Christians muddy the waters by separating the two and teaching that these are two different planes of existence. Christians explain that when we die we enter another plane of existence. We are floating around in some ghost like existence in the presence of God and Jesus. Christians explain that when we die our soul and or our spirit leaves the body and travels to heaven. Some speak of an angel of death that meets with us when we die and escorts us to the Pearly Gates where we are met by Saint Peter. All of this sounds comforting and makes for good stories but unfortunately it is not true. I would think that God has something better for Saint Peter to do than be a gate keeper. Then Christians speak of coming back from this existence and being resurrected in a spiritual body, at the second coming of Christ. In order to tie all of this together, the Christian Church has come up with non Biblical doctrines on heaven, hell, the soul, and the spirit. They have so twisted the Biblical doctrine that they need to twist all passages to fit doctrine. One example of twisting doctrine is RBC Ministries
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interpretation of the story where Jesus raised Lazarus. (7[pg. 4) Instead of calling it what was, a resurrection, they try to explain is as a resuscitation. The Webster’s Dictionary defines a resurrection as bringing somebody back from the dead and a resuscitation as bringing someone back from near death. If you read what the scriptures say about this event, you would know that Jesus did not bring Lazarus back from near death.
Jesus answered . . . "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up." Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well." However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. (John 11:9-14)
This passage is perfectly clear on the state of Lazarus, he was not near death or Jesus would have said so. ". . . Jesus said to them plainly "‘Lazarus is dead.’" Why would a ministry pervert a passage that is as plain as this? To interpret the passage to mean that Lazarus was not really dead, but was near death would make Jesus out to be a liar. Jesus plainly said that Lazarus was dead. The confusion comes in because doctrine has been so polluted that preachers cannot reconcile the fact that the Bible resurrected Jesus with a spiritual body yet Lazarus was clearly resurrected with a mortal body, as described in the John chapter 11. That physical body eventually died again. There is more confusion when they try to interpret the following passage. Here it is clear that when Christians are resurrected their bodies will be changed and they to will be resurrected with their spiritual bodies.
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised
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imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory. ( 1Corinthians 15:51-54)
We will be raised "imperishable", in other words immortal. We will raised as spiritual beings just like Jesus was raised. When Christians try and reconcile these two passages they make the wrong assumption that everyone is resurrected will be resurrected with a spiritual body. That is why they make the wrong assumption that Lazarus must have been resuscitated. This is wrong and simply bad doctrine. 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 is not talking about everyone that will be resurrected. That passage is talking about a specific group of people during a specific time period. These are the people who will be resurrected when Jesus comes back for His church. There are other resurrections that are described in the Bible that happen in other periods of time.
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:12-14)
This passage describes one of those other resurrection and if you read it carefully there is something that is omitted
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from the description of this one that is in the one in 1 Corinthians. The one in 1 Corinthians makes it perfectly clear that those who are resurrected were changed and became immortal. The passage in Revelation 20 makes no mention what so ever of anyone becoming immortal or being changed. It simply states that they, like Lazarus, were simply resurrected from the dead. And like Lazarus, they will be resurrected with mortal bodies. The reason for this is that the wicked, like Adolf Hitler, Osamu Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, who are resurrected at this time will suffer "the second death". This is what the Bible says! You cannot die if you are immortal. In order to suffer the second death as appointed by God, they have to be resurrected as mortal human beings so they can be KILLED! Exactly what does the Bible tell us about life after death? As you can see, up to this point there is a lot of confusion and unclear doctrine. If you go up to any priest and ask him to give you a straight answer, they can not. That is because much of what they preach and believe cannot be backed up by the Bible unless you take scripture and interpret it out of context. Ministers are notorious for this in their weekly sermons. They will read several scriptures out of the Old and New Testaments at the beginning of a service and the spend the next half hour or so preaching a sermon that usually has very little to do with the original intent and meaning of the scriptures they just read. A great example of this, again, is the story about Lazarus and the Rich Man. To say this is a classic example is an understatement. If you listen to religious radios and tv talk show, this is one of the stories they use because it is so well known. Because of this fact they do not have to read it in context, they do not even have to read the entire passage. All they need to do is read a verse or a partial verse and they will have the whole congregation shouting and singing. The sorry truth is most of the congregations do not know what they are
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shouting and singing about. Preachers will generally read excerpts from this passage and use it as proof of heaven and hell to give credence to their sermons. The following is the entire passage.
"There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
"Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’
"Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’" (Luke
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16:19-31) If you understand anything at all about the Bible, you would understand that Jesus was telling a story. Jesus did that. Jesus told stories to get His congregation to understand a point or a principle. There is no where in the Bible that it is ever indicated that everything that Jesus said was a fact about something that is real, physical or something that is occurring, has occurred, or will occur. Some of the things that are recorded in the New Testament as statements from Jesus are stories. He made up stories using provincial thoughts of the time period and used them to prove a point. Yes, Jesus told stories using the vanacular of the time that was just that, stories using contemporary knowledge and understanding of that time period, to point out a greater truth. What was the truth that Jesus was trying to point out here. One thing it had nothing at all to do with is heaven or hell. What it had to do is with the hardness of peoples hearts. Jesus is warning us that because we have so hardened our hearts towards God and the spirit of His word that a person coming back from the dead, even someone we recognize, would not change our minds. The rich man wanted Abraham to send Lazarus back to the living from the dead in order to warn his brothers. Jesus is not saying that Lazarus is dead and in a place where Jesus could send him from, Jesus is prophesying His own resurrection. Jesus is telling them that they know Him now and He will come back from the grave with a warning and they will still not believe Him, which history proves to this day, they didn’t. So where do we go from here? So far we have looked at many passages in the Bible and picked them apart and have not come up with the answer to our question. What is the truth about life after death? Can the question be answered? The answer is yes! The thing you
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need to do is change your way of thinking. There are two things we are talking about here. The one is death and the other is life after death. Most People lump this into one single category. Death is death. That is where you completely and totally cease to exist. Life after death is a whole different subject.
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CHAPTER SEVEN
PHYSICAL VS. SPIRITUAL DEATH
God used man inspired by His word to reveal to mankind certain truths. One of these truths is death. What is the meaning of death? The question "what will happen when I die?", has probably crossed everyone's mind at one time or another. Actually, it is not as big as a mystery as most people lead you to think. Even Christian preachers become very vague when backed into the corner. The reason for this is that most refuse to accept what the Bible actually says about death.
The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29:29)
There is information in the Bible that God has chosen to reveal to His people. It is concealed to most of mankind. That is why there is so much confusion when it comes to death. But, Down through the centuries God has revealed Himself and His intentions to His chosen people. This was then recorded and is compiled in what we know as our Bible. Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: ‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house? (1 Samuel 2:27).
The LORD has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations. (Psalm 98:2)
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. . . has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. (2Timothy 1:10)
These revelations have been recorded for our benefit so that we can exist in this world and prepare ourselves for the age to come. God has revealed things to his people that others cannot see or understand. God tells us what our destiny is. The Bible is very clear that all of mankind is destined to die once.
To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2)
And as it is appointed for men to die once . . . . (Hebrews 9:27)
. . . And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:13-15)
As you can see, the Bible clearly states that we are all destined to die at least one time. This is made clear in the Bible. Secularly, death is defined by Webster's dictionary as follows:
· The event of dying or departure from life · The permanent end of all life functions in an organism or part of an organism · The end of life · The personification of death · The absence of life or state of being dead
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· The time when something ends · A final state
The Bible also defines death. It defines death three different ways. When reading the scriptures is important not to get them mixed up. There is the physical death of the body. This is when the body is destroyed, when it ceases to function any more. The body then physically decomposes back to its natural elements. Webster's dictionary says it is the ". . .permanent end of all life functions. . .".
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return." (Genesis 3:19)
Our physical death is the direct result of man deciding to live by his own rules apart from God. The second type of death is a spiritual death. Spiritually all of mankind died when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. They were spiritually separated from God because they decided to disobey God and make choices on their own apart from God. Adam and Eve did not physically die at that point but they did die spiritually through their separation from God. Their spiritual death started to cause them to make bad decisions in how they were going to live their lives. This insured that they and all of the rest of mankind would eventually die a physical death through disease, wars, famines, murder, (the very first murder happened when Cain killed his brother Abel), and every other malady that effects our world today. When someone dies physically, it is not because of anything God has done. It is because mankind had already spiritually died because of the sin of the first man, Adam.
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Webster's dictionary defines this death as the ". . . personification of death." It also defines it as ". . .(t)he time when something ends." Mankind, Adam and Eve, died spiritually when they committed the first sin. Since that time all men are born spiritually dead and we are all commanded by Jesus to be born again.
. . .Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!". Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." (John 3:3-8)
Since Adam and Eve all men are born spiritually dead. We are born dead to God because God separated the power, spirit, between ourselves and Him. Unless we come to Him through His Son Jesus Christ, we remain spiritually dead. The third type of death is actually a combination of the other two. It is described in the book of Revelation:
Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6)
The word "death" in this verse comes from the primitive root of the Greek word "thanatos" which means to die or be dead. "Thanatos" describes the death of the body, our
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physical death. The embellished Greek word also carries a meaning of spiritual death. "Thanatos" in Revelation 20:6 is describing our eternal death. People who endure the second death never came to know God and Jesus Christ. They are already spiritually dead. They will now suffer a physical death from which they will never return. Before the period of time described in Revelation 20:6, all of mankind had the opportunity to be spiritually reborn. Unfortunately there will be multitudes who will not take advantage of this opportunity. Jesus said that God does what He intends to do and people may hear Him, but they do not understand Him because they are not born of the spirit. In this way, those that are born again of the spirit will also not be understood by those who are not born again. This is why so many people do not understand what God tells us about death. They are not "born again".
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15)
This will be the time at the end of the age when people will have run out of chances to spiritually connect again to God and receive eternal life. This will be man's finale judgement. If
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you refused up until this time to accept God and His commandments, you will be judged not fit for eternal life. At this time all who refuse will be physically destroyed when they are thrown into the lake of fire created for the devil and his angels. This lake of fire is commonly referred to as "hell". Revelation 20:6 is speaking of physical death. In the beginning the first man, Adam, spiritually died to God when he chose to disobey God and do his own thing. Eventually Adam also physically died. Man down through the centuries continue to endure spiritual death because the Bible tells us that because of Adam all men sin and fall short of the glory of God which in turn leads to our physical death. When Jesus came to earth the first time, He did it with the purpose of spreading the "Gospel", good news. This good news was that this first physical death was not permanent because God has the ability to resurrect man and give him eternal life. Those who believe, who are spiritually born again will resurrected to eternal life. Man died spiritually when he committed the first sin in the Garden of Eden. Because God turned His back on mankind and left Him to his free will, since that time, man has been also dying a physical death. At the end of this age if a man is still spiritually dead, seperated from God, he will suffer the second death. He will be spiritually dead, separated from God, and physically dead, no biological functions, throughout eternity. To get a better understanding about death and what it is you need to also understand the resurrections.
According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and
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the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." (1 Corinthians 15:50-54)
I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4-6)
These three passages are talking about two different resurrections. The two passages are talking about when Jesus
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returns to earth for His Church. It speaks of the people who were born again in their spirit. Up until the time Christ returns millions will have died, but many are still alive on earth. The passages tell us that the ". . .dead in Christ. . ." will be the first to rise up into the "clouds". After that those ". . .who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air." The second passage goes on to tell us that ". . .the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality." At this time the people who are resurrected will resurrected as immortal beings. It is at this time that we will go with Jesus to heaven for a period of time. But we will not remain there forever. Some time after this resurrection Jesus will return to earth, defeat Satan, and set up His millennial Kingdom on Earth.
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation 19:11-18)
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key
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to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. (Revelation 20:1-3)
Jesus returns to earth with His heavenly army and defeats Satan and His army. At this point in time, Satan is not thrown into the lake of fire, hell, and is locked up, restrained, because God still has plans to use him. It is then that we have what the Bible described above in Revelation 20:4-6). It should be pointed out that this is considered and called the first resurrection. These people were not "born again" in spirit before the second coming of Christ. Since they did not believe in Christ through faith but only believed in Him after they saw what was written had come true, they physically died but were already spiritually dead. An important detail must be noted. The passage in Revelation 20:3-6 simply states that they came to life. It does not say that they were raised immortal, it simply says that they came to life. It then goes on to say that they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. It also needs to be pointed out that the passage does say that the ". . .second death has no power over them." Those who are resurrected and were not spiritually reborn, those who did not believe in Jesus Christ before His second coming will be resurrected as mortal human beings. They will be those who started to believe in Christ after the rapture of the Church, that is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16:17 and 1 Corinthians 15;50-54. They will reign with Christ for a thousand years and then there will be a second resurrection.
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Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15)
It is now that every other Human being who died will be resurrected and stand before God in Judgement. It tells us that at this time ". . .each person who is resurrected will be judged according to what he had done." It will be also at this time that the mortals who were resurrected at the first resurrection will stand before the Lord and be judged. But, they will not be judged for punishment. Similar to how Christians were judged when Jesus came back for them, these mortals will be judged for how they lived their lives for the last thousand years. It is at this judgement that Jesus will separate the sheep, the righteous, from the goats, the wicked, and He will outline His criteria for the judgement that is to follow.
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats
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on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." (Matthew 25:31-46)
In that period of time all mortal human beings, including the ones resurrected at the beginning of the millennial reign will be judged. The Bible told us in Revelation 20 that those
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mortals resurrected at that time will not have to fear the second death. They are called the sheep and will automatically be placed on the right hand of Jesus along with the others being judged during at this time and deemed worthy. It is then that Jesus will give them their . . . "inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world." The above scripture says that ". . .they will go . . . to eternal life" It is at this point in time that they will receive immortality. If anyone is deemed unworthy, there will be a second physical death which will be for eternity. ". . .they will go away to eternal punishment . . .". At this time they will be physically destroyed with no hope of resurrection ever again.
but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:17)
The death that is described in Genesis 2:17 carries a more significant meaning than just a physical or spiritual death. At the end of this verse the author used the word for death twice in sequence. The Hebrew word "muwth" means to die, perish, or to be put to death. It also can mean to die prematurely, by the neglect of wise moral conduct. In other words, by not living by every word of God. In passages Genesis 2 15-17 and Revelation 20:6:
Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6)
the Bible is talking about two things. It is talking about our spiritual death that we suffer because Adam disobeyed God and God separated Himself from us. Since we are no longer
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living by the word of God, spiritually we are dead to God. These passages are also talking about our physical death. Our physical death is a direct result of our spiritual death or separation from God. So where does this lead us? The answer to this question lies in the fact that "No matter what our status in life, rich or poor, young or old, sooner or later our bodies will cease to function - we will die. The frequency rate of death has been the same from the beginning. Nothing can keep this from happening to us. Death brings pain to everyone. It does not matter what words are said over the dead body, or how normal the corpse looks when it is all dressed up. . . ." (8). The simple fact of the matter is that when you die, you completely and totally cease to exist.
By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return (Genesis 3:19).
When Adam committed sin, God pronounced His sentence against mankind. God specifically told Adam that he was taken from the ground and to the ground he would return. This is a prime example of a verse that is just as meaningful for what it does not say as it is for what it says. God was condemning Adam. The sentence that Adam, and the rest of mankind, was given was death. It is interesting that He made no mention of our spirit or soul. It would be logical to think that if this was our punishment, a punishment for a grievous crime against God, and if our soul or spirit were actually conscious, intelligent, feeling parts of our being which separated from our physical body at death, God would include in the punishment what happens to them? He does not!
This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing
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happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; Nevermore will they have a share In anything done under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 9:3-6)
King Solomon is talking about the evil in the world. Mankind is described as basically being evil. This is because mankind chose to live their lives separated from God. He says that man lives his life and after that he goes "to the dead". The Hebrew word used here is "muwth". Again, this word means "to die" or to put to death. It carries the connotation that this happens because of a punishment. It is interesting to note that the author specifically makes a point that when we do die, we have no consciousness because it states that the "dead no nothing". If the dead know nothing, why would it be logical to think that everyone who has died since the time of Adam is waiting some where for the second coming of Christ and judgement. This is why the common interpretation of the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man doesn't make any sense. If the dead know nothing, how would Lazarus know that he was suffering much less realize that Lazarus was resting comfortably "in the Bosom of Abraham".
Oh, remember that my life is a breath! My eye will never again see good. The eye of him who sees me will see me no more; While your eyes are upon me, I shall no longer be. As the cloud disappears and vanishes away, So he who goes down to the grave does not come up. He shall never return to his
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house, Nor shall his place know him anymore. (Job 7:7-10)
Death does mean a definite separation of the body and soul, but not in the sense that most Christian ministers preach it. You need to understand that your spirit is a form of power, it is energy. It is the power that God breathed into man in order to make him alive.
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)
The breath "of life" in this passage is translated from the Hebrew word to mean "power' or "spirit". At your physical death your spirit or power that God breathed into you to keep you alive is released or separated from your body. In the book of Ecclesiastes is does tell us that it returns to God but it also says "who knows why"? King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live did not know why this power, spirit, returned to God. The bigger picture is that just like electricity, the spirit can not hear, see, taste, smell or touch. Just like electricity, we cannot see it. It does not have conscious thought. It is not a conscious entity. It is not a ghost like aberration floating around heaven. Our dead friends and relatives are not looking down on us, they cannot come back to haunt us and we cannot contact them. Our spirit is a power given to us when we are conceived and taken from us when we die. The history of the creation of the first human being, Adam, shows that he was made with a body created from the dust of the ground and then God breathed a spirit or power into that body to make it alive. At that point through the power of the spirit that God breathed into Adam, he became a living being or soul. When the judgment of death was pronounced upon Adam, his body was eventually returned to the dust. He
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was no longer a living being, a soul. The power that kept the body alive went back to God. This process of dying, which begins at the moment we are born, is an enemy of humanity. The process was started in the Garden of Eden instigated by Satan. It is an inescapable fact, something we all must face. We will all die a first death. The good news or the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the fact that death is not the end of everything. Yes we are all going to die and for a period of time we will cease to exist. Buck up, Jesus did the same thing for us. The Bible does tell Christians not to worry because during that time period they will know nothing. It will be like when we go to sleep at night and then wake up the next morning refreshed. You will not remember the passage of time. It will be like one moment you were suffering in this cruel world and the next thing you know, you are in the presence of God and Jesus Christ in your Glorified body. When you are dealing with a God that is eternal, death is not the end, it is the beginning of what is to come.
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CHAPTER EIGHT
Preparing for the Kingdom of God!
The doctrine on Heaven is one of the biggest selling points in Christianity. If your going to endure all these rules and regulations in order to be a good Christian, the payoff better be real good or why else do it. If there is anything that, would convince people that they should convert to this new religion it would be to offer them a place that they could spend an eternity in and then make the idea as attractive and painless as possible. The idea of a place called heaven was fabricated by the early Roman Catholic Church. What better place could there be knowing that God and all your loved ones will be there. "What is it that makes home so attractive? Is it because we have a beautiful home? Is it because we have beautiful lawns? Is it because we have beautiful trees around that home? Is it because we have beautiful paintings upon the walls inside? Is it because we have beautiful furniture. Is that all that makes home so attractive and so beautiful? Nay, it is the loved ones in it; it is the loved ones there. . . .(I)t is the loved ones that make home so sweet to every one; it is the loved ones that are going to make heaven so sweet to all of us. Christ is there; God, the Father, is there; and many, many that were dear to us that lived on earth are there - and we shall be with them by and by. " (10) This is a sweet and lovely concept and yes it has comforted millions of people down through the centuries, knowing that if they die, or if one of their love one dies, it is not the end but the beginning of another life in a place far better
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than the one lived on earth. People left behind would comfort themselves and each other that the person who died, especially an innocent child, is, at that moment, in a far better place. A place where there in no more pain or suffering. A place where Jesus Christ and God His Father would provide for our every want and need. The biggest problem is, this is a false doctrine. It is not backed up by scriptures and it was never taught by Jesus Christ or the Apostles. Our loved ones do not go to a spirit realm. There is no blissful state that is free of all pain and desire that we travel to after death. There is no doorway to which we pass into an immortal life in some sort of paradise. The dead cannot affect our lives nor can we do anything to affect them. When you die, the Biblical truth of the matter is, you simply cease to exist. Then what do we as Christians have to look forward to? Again in order to get an answer to this question you need to go to the source, the Word of God, the Bible. You must search through all scriptures to find your answer. A writer of the book of Proverbs, most likely King Solomon, considered the wisest man to ever live wrote, ". . .the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding." (Proverbs 2:6) Who better to go to than God Himself to find answers to your question. The Bible clearly does talk about everlasting live. In John chapter 17 verses 1-3 Jesus confirms very plainly that God had sent Him to give everlasting life when He prayed.". . ."Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.
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There should be no doubt to any Christian that there is everlasting life and it will be in a place which Jesus Himself described as paradise, a place where even a convicted criminal could end up. He told as much to us when He spoke to the criminal being crucified beside Him and told him the he would be with Him in Paradise. (Luke 23:43) This paradise Jesus was speaking about was not a new idea. In fact any Hebrew with a knowledge of scripture would realize Jesus was speaking of God"s original intention for this earth. As long as man would remain obedient to God, He would provide us with an eternal happy future. This paradise was complete, providing man with everything he would ever need in order to sustain himself, his mate and his offspring. If man obeyed God he would never want for anything because God would provide it for him through the abundant and inexhaustible resources that were made available to him. Adam was given work, which ultimately would have been the responsibility of all men. That was to care for the paradise and to eventually subdue the entire earth.
. . .have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (Genesis 1:26-28)
Man was given God like powers to fulfill this task because the passage said we were created in the image of God and part of that image is the power He possesses.
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God still intends to fulfill His original purpose for man and the earth. In Isaiah 55:11, God clearly tells us that ". . .My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. God is pretty plain here in that He will complete what he started out to do. The original paradise on earth will be restored. How does God plan to carry out His Plan? You need to continue to search the Bible for the answer. The Bible tells us that at some time in the not too distant future God will send an angel who will have a " . . . gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth-to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people - saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water." (Revelation 14:6-7). Most Christian Preachers take this passage and use it to scare the living daylights out of people. This is the same twisted thinking that was used to come up with the doctrine on hell. If you notice, the verse says that the angel has a ". . . gospel to preach . . .". If you know that, "gospel" means good news. Then you would know that when Jesus came to earth, He came to give us the good news about the kingdom. The angel in Revelation 14:6-7 is doing the same thing that Jesus did almost two thousand years ago. The angel is announcing the arrival of God's kingdom. If the Gospel is the arrival of God’s Kingdom and announcement was made by Jesus, and will be made by the angel, here on earth, how does the Christian Church come up with the fanciful idea that if Christians attend church regularly give money to the Church, and live good wholesome Christian lives, when they die, the reward will be going to heaven to live with Jesus and God. Jesus never taught this, the Apostles never taught this and it is not in the Old Testament.
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Our friends, relatives, parents or children who have died are not in heaven with Jesus and God. They are not there being protected. They are not there, happy, with smiles on their faces, watching over us. They are dead and buried in their graves. They are in the grave unconscious and unaware of what is going on. As the Old Testament writers put it , they are "asleep". They will remain there, dead, unconscious and unaware of anything until Jesus Christ returns for them sometime in the future. If we die and do not go to heaven, what was the "Good News" or "Gospel" that Jesus came to proclaim to us? Well, the actual Gospel of Jesus Christ is far better than what contemporary Christianity, and Satan for that matter, would have you believe. There will be an actual Kingdom of God and it will be here on earth. The interesting thing about this concept of heaven is that the criminal hanging on the cross beside Jesus understood the scriptures better than Christians today. He did not ask Jesus to remember him in heaven. The scripture reads:
Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." (Luke 23:42)
He did not say heaven, he said kingdom. Today Christians lose sight of what Jesus Christ came to earth to proclaim. Going to heaven with Jesus when He comes for His church is contained in the message. We have seen that this will happen at a different and specific time. The gospel, which means "Good News", is about our destiny. This is what God has planned for mankind from the beginning. The Gospel is not just instructions on how Christians should live their lives. It is not about how we are supposed to act or react, treat each other or how we should give to the church, help the poor, feed the hungry. This is all
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good Christian instruction and this is what we should be doing. Much of this instruction on how to live is found in the Old Testament books on the law. The Ten Commandments are part of this law. God instructed the Israelites on how He wanted them to live their lives so that while they were living in "this present age", they could live more wholesome lives free of all the maladies that have plagued our societies down through the centuries. That is why Christians are instructed to read the scriptures. Christians are to live their lives according to these laws.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness . . . (2 Timothy 3:16)
Jesus, who preached from the Old Testament, gave instruction. The New Testament writers were all inspired to help Christians live better lives, more righteous lives. But, this is not the gospel, this is not the message that Jesus came to earth to proclaim. The first four books of the Bible are called the gospels. They chronicle the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. The gospels give us accurate historical information on important events that occurred during the three year period of Christ's ministry. They inform us what we should do as Christians while waiting for the coming of the kingdom. They tell us what Jesus did for us in order that we can be saved from our sins and receive eternal life. They tell us what we should be doing as Christians to prepare us for eternal life in the Kingdom of God. All of this is good news but, Christians are missing the most significant point of the gospel message. When a person goes to the store, he doesn't go there to pay the cashier money. In the end, that is what he does but his goal when he went there was to purchase something. When
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Jesus came to earth, He did not come here to be crucified. Jesus came to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom and He purchased our salvation so that we could become children of God and heirs to His kingdom. Jesus paid for our salvation with His life.
But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." (Luke 4:43)
Notice in this verse Jesus specifically tells us why He came. He did not say that he came to tell us how to live better lives. He was not just a good teacher, preacher or philosopher who understood and taught the scriptures as some people think. He is the Son of God sent to give us a message about God's kingdom.
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark 1:14-15)
Jesus came with good news from God. He was telling people to change their ways of thinking and prepare themselves for God.
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. (Matthew 4:23)
Along with proclaiming the Gospel, Jesus needed to prove His deity so that the Hebrews then and the Christians today would know that he came to fulfill prophecy. That He was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. He did this by performing
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miracles, healing the sick and raising the dead.
When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. (Luke 9:1-2)
Jesus also gave supernatural powers to His disciples so that the people in the towns they traveled to would understand that they were sent with a message, "good news", from God.
"When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' (Luke 10:9)
Jesus did not tell them to teach the people how to live better lives. The scriptures already tell them how to do this. He specifically told them to tell the people that ". . . the kingdom of God is near you . . .". Any Hebrew who feared God and understood the scripture should have known what Jesus was talking about. Unfortunately by this point in time much of the scripture was veiled to the Hebrews people, just as it is veiled to most Christians today. What exactly is the "good news" that Jesus was talking about? It is about an actual Kingdom that is from God for us, righteous believers, where we will spend eternity as immortal spirit beings, children of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ. The good news is that the world will not continue in the direction it is headed in today. Jesus is going to return and change all of that. The gospel is our salvation from a world ruled by Satan. Most Christians do not have the faintest idea what they are being saved for. You are not saved for anything this world has to offer. Jesus told Pilate, ". . . "My kingdom is not of this
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world . . . my kingdom is from another place." (John 18:36) Our salvation is for a kingdom from heaven that Jesus will establish when He comes back. His kingdom is a system of government under the laws of God. Jesus came to earth with the specific purpose of telling us what God's plans are for mankind. Along with that goal, Jesus carried out part of that plan. That was paying the price for our salvation. He did this with His blood on the cross. In John 18:30 ". . . Jesus said, ‘it is finished.' . . .". The only thing we need to do at this point is to believe that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior the Son of the Creator of the universe. We need to understand His message and follow the commands of God as outlined in the Old Testament. These commands or laws were given by God originally to His chosen people, the Israelites. On the cross Jesus accomplished what needed to be done in order for us to be saved. There is physically no more that we need to do except to prepare ourselves to rule, teach and preach in His kingdom by learning and living according to God’s word.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
You do not need to do anything else. Jesus has done everything that needs to be done. Jesus was not the first one to talk about God's kingdom.
"‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world . . .'" (Matthew 25:34)
God prepared this kingdom for us from the very beginning. His
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original intent was for us to become His children and heirs to all that is His.
For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them . . . . (Hebrews 4:2)
In the book of Hebrews, Paul tells us that the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets knew about the Kingdom of God which was written about in the scriptures. The Hebrew people did not have enough faith to understand what it was all about or to believe in it's reality. This is similar to most Christians today. "The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham . . ." (Galatians 3:8). The kingdom was planned for and explained to man long before Jesus was born. Even though the Hebrew people were chosen as God's people to inherit the kingdom by covenant, God's plan was to offer the kingdom to the rest of the world through faith in Him as the Creator and in His Son as our Savior. The Hebrews misinterpreted the scriptures back then as we do today. That is why, when Jesus was proclaiming the kingdom, the disciples right up to the end thought that Jesus was going to establish the kingdom right then and there. They thought that He was there to overthrow the Romans and free the Hebrew nation. They thought that Jesus was there to be their king and take over ruling the Hebrew nation. They did not understand that before He could be their king, Jesus had to first purchase our salvation. He had to die first and the kingdom would be established sometime in the future. Today there are many misunderstandings about the Kingdom. Most Christians have the belief that the Kingdom of God is up in heaven and that is where we will go to live. This is not mentioned in the Bible unless you take scripture out of
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context. The Kingdom of God will be established on earth. That is where we will live and rule with Jesus. There will be thousands of years between when Jesus was on earth the first time proclaiming the Kingdom of God and the time when He will come back for His Christian church. But, that still isn't when He will establish the kingdom on earth. There will be a short period of time, after He comes back for His church, before He comes back to earth again, to set up the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God will be a government located on earth. Jesus will be the head of that government and we as Christians, saints of God, will rule, teach, and preach under His authority.
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CHAPTER NINE
HEAVEN ON EARTH
The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign for ever and ever." (Revelation 11:15)
At this point in time we are three and a half years through the tribulation. An Angel is sent from heaven to announce to the world the that Jesus is taking over the rule of all the world.
Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth." (Revelation 11:18)
All of a sudden, millions of people will disappear from earth. This is when Jesus will come for His Church and take all the saints, patriarchs, and prophets "up into the clouds". It is at this time that God's ". . . servants the prophets and the saints . . . " will receive their reward. This is the time that all the dead who feared God or who died in Christ will be resurrected and, along with the Christians who are still alive on earth, will be taken up into heaven.
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Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
This is when we will be made incorruptible so that we can be in the presence of the Lord. It is now that we receive immortality and finally get to be with Jesus Christ and with God.
For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (1Thessalonians 4:15-17)
This is the time when all Christians go to heaven, nobody else has ever went to heaven before this except for Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ said:
Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. (John 3:11-13)
Paul, in the passages 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 and 1Thessalonians 4:15-17 is talking about the same time period as Revelation 11:15. Paul says this will happen at the ". . . last
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trumpet . . .", John in Revelation says it will happen at the seventh trumpet. The seventh trumpet in Revelation is the last trumpet.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10)
It is at this time that we receive our reward. This is the same "reward" that is described by John in Revelations chapter eleven verse eighteen. There will be a great feast and celebration described in the New Testament as the "wedding feast". It is then that we will receive our reward. This will happen sometime in the future, three and a half years into the tribulation. Up until that time, no human being has ever went to heaven except for Jesus Christ. This is not the end of the story. The Bible tells us that after this period of time where we are enjoying the beginning of our spiritual lives up in heaven with God and Jesus we will return, along with Jesus and His army of angels, to earth where Jesus will defeat Satan and his armies. Satan will be locked in chains in a pit for a thousand years. Jesus will begin His millennial rule on earth and we will be right there with Him to help rule. We do not die and go to our eternal rest in heaven. On the contrary, God has much more in store for us. Christians along with the patriarchs, the prophets, and all those who feared God of the Old Testament will rule the earth as spiritual beings under the authority of the Supreme Ruler, Jesus Christ.
And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. (Daniel 2:44)
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If we are to rule on earth with Jesus Christ, why does the Christian Church have such a fixation on going to heaven when we die? It comes from the misunderstanding of how the gospel was used in the Bible. In Romans Chapter one verse one Paul refers to ". . . the Gospel of God." In the same chapter verse sixteen it is referred to as ". . . the Gospel of Christ . . .". The gospel is simply the message from God, sent to us by messengers from heaven. Jesus Christ was one of those messengers who came to earth with the specific mission of proclaiming this gospel. The message of this gospel is God's Kingdom, which is usually referred to as the Kingdom of God. Jesus came to earth to tell us about the kingdom and what God has in store for mankind. After His resurrection, Jesus spent forty days ". . . speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God." (Acts 1:4) In Mark, Luke and John the phrase "Kingdom of God" is used when they referred to the kingdom by name. The writer Matthew used the phrase "Kingdom of Heaven" and "Kingdom of God" interchangeably.
Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:23-24)
In these two verses, Matthew uses both phrases back to back. This is where the misinterpretation comes in. Christians take the phrase "Kingdom of Heaven" and conclude that is where it is and will be. This is not true. Matthew referred to it as the "Kingdom of Heaven", never the "Kingdom in Heaven", because he understood that it was not a kingdom like the ones around them. He understood it will be a kingdom from God who is in heaven to be established on earth at Jesus's second
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coming. (3[pp. 33,37-40])
Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. (Mathew6:9-10)
The Lord's Prayer, which every Christian should know by heart, say's that God's kingdom will come here to earth. We are not going to live in God's kingdom up in heaven. The prayer also tells us that the way things are done in heaven is the way it will be done here on earth. The way God's heavenly government is set up is the way Jesus will set up the government on earth. Satan on the other hand, does not want this kingdom set up here on earth. He does not want Jesus coming to the earth to rule. He does not want mankind to take over ruling the earth. Satan has been doing everything he can to prevent God from carrying out his plans because this is his domain and he want to remain the ruler of his earthly Kingdom. The Bible makes it perfectly clear that Satan is the ruler of this present age and Satan wants to keep it that way. Satan influences man into thinking the he can rule himself without the help of God but God is clear that this is impossible.
O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps. (Jeremiah 10:23)
Man does not know right from wrong without the help of God.
There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
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(Proverbs 14:12)
If this guidance does not come from God, it may seem right to us, but the scripture tells us that in the end it will only lead to our death. Instead of turning to God for guidance, mankind down through the centuries has tried to govern himself unaware that instead of having the guidance of God, he is being led by Satan.
But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)
The "god of this age" is Satan. Paul tells us that he has blinded mankind to the truth. This is evidenced in the corruption and moral degradation of the United States today. Our government was originally set up on Judeao - Christian morals and ethics. Today the ACLU and the liberal left continues to strip God from our government and laws. Our society is becoming morally corrupt.
"The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)
Without God's guidance most Americans do not even know how wicked our own society is becoming. That is why Americans today cannot see their sin for what it is. We have become a society where we are willing to accept everything and anything in the name of tolerance whether it is political, social, or religious. This is why our society cannot see that
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things that we accept as natural or normal, such as homosexuality, are in reality an abomination to God!
Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity. No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity. (Isaiah 59:1-4)
This describes our justice system right up to the Supreme Court. Our own government brings about wickedness and injustice through the laws that they pass and the laws that the courts uphold. Instead of basing decisions and laws on the Bible, government bases it on the concepts of secular philosophy and thinking. They base it on the ideas of man, instead of the teachings of God. This is how a society gets to the point where they can justify pulling a perfectly viable human being out of a woman's womb and then suck its brains out of its head. This is how we can justify starving to death a helpless woman and then have the President of the United States, George Bush, who is sworn to protect all the citizens, stand by and do nothing. Even most religious leaders turned their heads and said nothing when this poor woman was suffering, starving to death.
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Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace. (Isaiah 59:7-8)
This describes the majority of our population. This is how people can look at homosexuality, sexual promiscuity, adultery and pagan religious beliefs and practices and then just look the other way, or even worse, accepting this as being a part of a tolerant society. This is more like a society that has lost its moral base. This is more like a society that would be run by the devil.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (Romans 1:28-32)
We have become a society who is willing to accept and allow just about anything that is an abomination to God. This is God's reaction to a society the denies that God even exists. If we are left to ourselves under the guidance of Satan, we would eventually destroy ourselves and the rest of the world. We are
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well on our way today. For proof just watch the news. It gets worse every day.
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:21-22)
This is where we as a society are headed. Matthew tells us that unless God intervenes and shortened the time of the tribulation, everyone will be destroyed. God knew this from the beginning and that is why He sent Jesus Christ to proclaim the gospel. It was God's way of giving mankind hope so that those who believe in Jesus's message, and understands it, can prepare for the coming of the Kingdom of God. It is God’s way of giving us hope and ability to survive this present world until God can fulfill His Plan. Jesus told us that He was coming back to save us from ourselves. We have read earlier in this book that after we die, we would see Jesus when He returns to earth for His Christian Church. Dead Christians will be resurrected into immortality and the Christians who are still alive at that time will be changed from mortal human beings into immortal human beings. We will rise up with Jesus into heaven and prepare to return with Him and set up an earthly Kingdom.
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word
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of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation 19:11-16)
Non Christians will be resurrected as mortal human beings a thousand years after Christ returns to earth. Jesus is literally coming back here to earth. After His crucifixation when Jesus ascended into heaven an angel appeared. The disciples were just standing there staring up into the clouds and the angel said to them, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11). This angel made it clear that Jesus is coming back. Since we are not going to be floating around heaven, sitting on clouds and plucking harps, exactly what are we going to be doing? What is the Kingdom of God, or Heaven as Christians refer to it, going to be like. How will we be spending eternity? The throne of Jesus Christ will be a literal throne and His Kingdom will be a literal Kingdom and He will establish them in Jerusalem. Jesus will begin to rule a physical world as real and as tangible as the world is today. The Kingdom of Heaven isn't going to be some metaphysical, mysterious place in some type of spiritual second dimension. It is going to a physical place and Jesus will be ruling over mortal human beings just like you. Christians, and those who feared God, will be ruling with Jesus Christ as spiritual beings. Revelation 11:15 tells us that ". . . Then the seventh
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angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" Jesus Christ will take over every nation on earth, including the United States, if it is still around. There will be no more sovereign nations under their own separate rule. Every nation on earth will be under one rule and that will be the rule of Jesus Christ and the laws of God as written in the Bible. There will be no communism, socialism, or any type of democratic societies. There will be no totalitarian governments or religious states. Radical Islam with their terroristic ideologies, led by Satan himself, will be a thing of the past. Satan will be defeated along all those who took the mark of the beast .
Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God . . . (Revelation 14:9-10)
Satan and his demons will be defeated and Satan will be locked up in chains in a bottomless pit. The wicked who refuse to heed the warning of the third angel will be destroyed. When the kingdom is established, there will still be millions of mortal human beings on earth who have survived the tribulation and will live into the millennium. Over the next thousand years, generations of mortal babies will be born. They will be born to people who refused to believe in Jesus Christ or understand the Laws of God before the rapture of the church and survived the tribulation. They are not necessarily wicked, they just refuse to accept the truth. When Jesus sets up this world government, He will need help in governing the millions of mortal human beings who are still alive. The patriarchs and prophets and those who feared
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God and died before Jesus Christ was crucified along with Christians who died believing in Christ, Christians who died during the second half of the tribulation and Christians who were still alive at His second coming will be the ones who will help Jesus rule the world. In this world government there will be levels of government from the very top located in Jerusalem to local governments all over the world. Just like the levels of governments and general society today, there will need to be someone heading up and running these governments. There will be the need for preachers and teachers. There will be the need for the saints of God skilled in all levels of government and society. The need will be on the political, social, economic and religious levels. That will be the job of spiritual, immortal beings, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ and children of God. We will be in control of every level of government and society. We will be teachers, preachers, mayors, governors, police chiefs, senators, congressman, any position that needs to control society. What will we, as spiritual beings, be like? Genesis chapter 1 verse 26 " . . . God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness . . .". After Jesus was resurrected, He walked around and talked to people just like any other mortal human being, for forty days before He ascended to heaven. When Mary Magdalene first saw Him, He was so human like that she thought ". . . He was the gardener . . ." (John 20:15).
Later that day Jesus met up with two followers that were traveling from Jerusalem back to their hometown.
Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.
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And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?" Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?" (Luke 24:13-18)
Jesus meets up with them and they just continue on as if He was just another ordinary traveler. They continued on and discussed the events with Jesus until they reached their village.
But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He went in to stay with them. . .
According to the customs of the day, they persuaded Jesus to stay with them and have dinner with them since it was getting late. Jesus agreed and while they were eating Jesus "broke bread" and it was then that they recognized Him.
. . . Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. (Luke 24:29-31)
For all intents and purposes Jesus could look like any other mortal human being when he wanted to. The scriptures also says He had powers that we associate with the spirit world because in the above passage it tells us that He vanished. Not long after that Jesus appeared before His disciples. They were scared for their lives and had locked themselves in
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a room. They were in hiding. Jesus all of a sudden appeared among them. And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." (Luke 24:38-39)
Jesus not only had spiritual powers but He could also function, look, and feel like any mortal human being.
But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?" So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence. (Luke 24:41-43)
The scriptures do not say that he pretended to eat, is says that ". . . He took and ate in their presence.". Evidently He had the ability to function and act just like you and me!
. . . to the apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. (Acts 1:2-3)
It is clear from these scriptures that Christ wanted them to know that He was alive. He had flesh and He had bone, He could eat. Jesus was not just some type of ghost like spirit being, hovering around. He could function just like any mortal human being. At the same time, He had the power to appear and disappear. He had the power to enter and exit rooms without going through the doors or windows.
Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. (Luke 24:31)
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Jesus was sitting at the table with them talking like any other mortal human when all of a sudden he just disappeared into thin air. Later on the two men were talking to the disciples when Jesus all of a sudden appeared.
Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you." But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. (Luke 24:36-37)
It is clear that Jesus did not just walk into the room like any other person because the passage tells us that they were scared. They thought that they were seeing a ghost!
Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." (John 20:19)
He also had the ability to travel to heaven.
And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. (Luke 24:50-51)
In this verse it says that ". . . He was carried . . . up into heaven . . .". The phrase "carried up" comes from the Greek word "anaphero" which means "to lift up one's self". The scripture is telling us that Jesus carried or lifted himself up into heaven. It is clear from these passages, that after Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, He had the ability to look and
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act like any other mortal human being. These passages also tell us that He had the type of powers we would associate with the spiritual world. When we are resurrected, we will be resurrected as spiritual beings. Since the Bible tells us that " . . . God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness . . ." (Genesis 1:26), it is safe to conclude that we will have like abilities and powers. We will be spiritual beings living here on earth, heirs to the Kingdom of God, with the task of helping Jesus Christ run the world government and teaching millions of people how to live their lives according to God’s laws. As Christians that is what we are supposed to be preparing our selves for. We are supposed to be developing our God given talents so that we can use these talents during the millennial reign of Jesus. We are not developing these talents for the world today, although that dose not mean if you are developing them now you will not enjoy a better life. There will be a period of a thousand years where Jesus will need all of us to help run the world Government. There will still be millions of mortal human beings on earth at this time who will need to be taught how to live life according to God's ways, not the ways of man. We will be the spiritual beings who now fully know and understand what happens when you turn your back on God. We will be interacting with the mortal humans on earth in order to teach them God's way. It will be similar to how Jesus interacted with the people after He was resurrected, before He ascended into heaven. The only difference now, instead of there only being one, there will be millions of spirit beings spread out over the entire earth, in all the nations, brothers and sisters of Jesus and children of God, who will be helping to teach the mortals what they need to know in order to become children of God. How you learn the ways of the Lord and live our life now will determine your reward when Jesus returns. Your reward
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will be your status and position in the Kingdom of God. It will determine where you will fit in the Government of God. Over the next one thousand years many generations of mortal human beings will be born and will live full mortal lives on earth. The difference between then and now is that Satan will no longer be able to influence mankind and the governments on earth will no longer be the governments of man. They will be governments led by God. Under the laws of God, everyone will be given the opportunity to enter the eternal kingdom. They will be given the opportunity to exchange their physical mortal bodies for spiritual bodies just as Christians had the same opportunity before the return of Christ. The millennium will be a period of time where humans will experience happiness, prosperity and peace. There will be no more war, no more killing, no more hate. Disease will be the thing of the past. This kingdom will give all mortal human beings a taste of what the eternal kingdom will be like. This period of time is not new to the Hebrew nation. The prophets talked about a time where there would be no more war.
He shall judge between many peoples, And rebuke strong nations afar off, They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore. But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, And no one shall make them afraid; For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. (Micah 4:3-4)
There will be an end to human destruction.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the
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earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:9)
Nature will return to way God originally intended it to be. The earth will flourish as God originally intended it to. The animals will live together in harmony, the way they did in the Garden of Eden.
" The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. (Isaiah 11:6)
Man will no longer have to toil in the soil to provide food because God will provide for man just as He provided for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
" Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, " When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, And the treader of grapes him who sows seed;
The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, And all the hills shall flow with it. I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them, They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. (Amos 9:13-14)
I will make them and the places all around My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down in their season; there shall be showers of blessing. Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. They
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shall be safe in their land; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. (Ezekiel 34:26-27) The earth again will become a garden.
waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, There shall be grass with reeds and rushes. (Isaiah 35:6-7)
Disease and sickness and all physical infirmities will be a thing of the past.
. . . Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing . . . . (Isaiah 35:5-6)
Man will no longer be allowed to be corrupt, morally degenerate, wicked, evil; similar to the people of our societies today. All wicked people on earth will be completely destroyed. The wicked will no longer be able to influence or hurt anybody or any thing anymore.
Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 11:19-20)
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Without the influence of Satan, every nation on earth will learn to live the way God was originally teaching Adam and Eve to live before Satan persuaded them to go their own way. Many nations shall come and say, " Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (Micah 4:2)
The most important prophecy of the Old Testament is the fact that Jesus will be the ruler of the whole world!
For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)
The Old Testament prophets were all speaking of a time that is yet to come. This is a time period that the whole earth will enjoy as it has not enjoyed since the beginning of man. Jesus will come back to earth and He will take control and all the governments on earth will submit to His rule.
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It was the prophet Daniel who prophesied the taking over of the world governments by Jesus Christ. In chapter two of the book of Daniel he describes the world governments from the time of Nebuchadnezzer, (Daniel 1:17, 2:28), the Media and Persia empires and the empire of Greece, (Daniel 8:1-21). Later in history it was the Babylonians who conquered the Medo-Persian empire, (Daniel 5:30-31). Daniel goes on to describe the history of the world governments revealing the return of world empires under the rulership of Alexander the Great and then the oppressive Roman Empire., (Daniel 7:25). It will be in the last days that the world will again fall under a world empire disguised as the European Union. This will be the world empire in power at the return of Jesus Christ, (Daniel 7) Daniel reveals that the Kingdom of God will replace these earthly kingdoms. The kingdoms that Daniel describes were and will be real kingdoms with rulers and subjects. They were ruled by kings and presidents, they had systems of governments with laws. These were systems of governments that waged war on each other down through the centuries. Today's world governments are the worst since the beginning of man because now we have the power to destroy the entire earth many times over. Daniel reveals that God will replace these earthly kingdoms before man completely destroys the earth and everything on it, and Jesus will be the one who will rule the entire earth.
Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.' (Daniel 7:27)
Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
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That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:14)
Christians, "the saints of the Most High", will be given this kingdom and under the leadership of Jesus they will rule the kingdom which will last for ever. Every mortal human being on earth will be under the saint's rule and they will serve Jesus Christ. This will be a real physical kingdom located right here on earth. Jesus will establish a system of government that will solve the world's problems. This is something man hasn't been able to do for thousands of years.
There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. The person who labors, labors for himself, For his hungry mouth drives him on. An ungodly man digs up evil, And it is on his lips like a burning fire. A perverse man sows strife, And a whisperer separates the best of friends. A violent man entices his neighbor, And leads him in a way that is not good. He winks his eye to devise perverse things; He purses his lips and brings about evil. (Proverbs 16:25-33)
The gospel that the Christian Church should be teaching is the establishing of a world government led by Jesus Christ. This government will not be ruled by man who is under the influence of Satan. It will be a government ruled by laws
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established by God. Living by the laws of God, man will be guided so that man's ways will be God's ways. There will be no more governmental injustice, no more oppression. There will be no more terrorism. Families, communities and societies will learn to live the way God intended. Instead of liberal institutions of higher education there will be institutions teaching the laws of God. People will learn to live life based of the moral standards of God. People will learn the principles taught in the Bible on how to live a healthy life. People will learn how to build strong relationships in family and communities. They will learn the proper way to take care of the environment
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:9)
All mortal human beings who live during that time period will have their chance to become immortal spirit beings. This is not the end. The Bible says Jesus has more in store for us.
Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." And He said to me, "It is done! I
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am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. (Revelation 21:1-7) There will eventually come a time right here on earth where all corruption and wickedness will be completely wiped off the face of the earth. This will be the time when Satan will have been thrown in the lake of fire along with all his demons. No longer will Satan be allowed to influence mankind. It is then that God Himself will come and live with His children just as He walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden. Since the above passage tells us that ". . . there shall be no more death . . .", God will once again give us access to the tree of life which was taken away from man when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden.
Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"— therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. (Genesis 3:22-24)
In the beginning God took the "tree of life", immortality, away from Adam and Eve because they disobeyed God. God will give "the tree of life", immortality, back to man but this time only to the ones who obey God's commandments the way God originally intended him to.
Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. (Revelation 22:14)
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When man is changed from a mortal human being into a spiritual being and the child of God, he will be allowed access to Gods Holy city which will be located on earth in the City of Jerusalem. This is the gospel of the kingdom of God. When Jesus told the criminal in Luke chapter 23 verse 41 that he would be with Him in "paradise", this is the paradise that Jesus was talking about. Jesus did not mean that he would be in paradise with Jesus that day because Jesus was not going to be there. Jesus was going to be separated from God, dead and buried for three days. He was going to suffer what every man must suffer at least once, death. As in the Garden of Eden, Satan would have us believe that mortal humans, which is what Jesus was before He was crucified, " . . . surely would not die. . .". Jesus did die and He was buried. When the Bible was translated, the comma was put in the wrong place which changed the meaning of the verse. With the conception of the Roman Catholic Church, they had to make the scriptures fit the doctrine they were trying to preach to the pagan converts. The funny thing is, it was a criminal hanging on a cross beside Jesus who understood the scriptures better than most Christians today. He understood that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, the Messiah, sent here with the mission of proclaiming God's Kingdom which would come at a future date. He understood that Jesus was here to pay for man's salvation. Jesus said on the cross, ". . . it is finished. . .". All we need to do is prepare ourselves for the Kingdom of God and wait for Jesus to return. The good news is that there is a heaven, a paradise that God has prepared for us from the beginning. Jesus Christ invites each and everyone of us to join Him in this paradise which will be located here on earth. All you need to do is have faith in Him.
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It will be a paradise where all of your love ones, friends, relatives, mother, father, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives will all enjoy an eternal life of happiness. No more pain, no more sorrow, no more suffering will be allowed in this paradise. You will work, you will play, you will live your eternal life under the guidance of Jesus Christ and God. Look how far we have come, just imagine how far you could go under the guidance of God.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. "Where Do We Go From Here?", Managing Editor: David Sper, Copyright 1987, 2001 RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
2. "Is The Bible True", 1998-2000, Noel Horner, United Church of God, an International Association, Thomas Nelson, Inc., publishers.
3. Creation or Evolution, Does it Really Matter What You Think, (c)2001 United Church of God, an International Association.
4. Life's Ultimate Question: Does God Exist? 2000 United Church (c)2001 United Church of God, an International Association.
5. "The New Evidence that demands a Verdict", by Josh Mcdowell, Copyright 1999, Here’s Life Publishers, Inc., Campus Crusade For Christ Inc., chapter 4.
6. "The New Evidence that demands a Verdict", by Josh Mcdowell, Copyright 1999, Here’s Life Publishers, Inc., Campus Crusade For Christ Inc., chapter 11.
7. "Is There Life After Death?", copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1992, 2002,RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
8. http://blueletterbible.org/faq/nbi/100.html, Blue Letter Bible, Frequently Asked Questions, "What Is Physical Death", by Don Stewart.
9. 1993 edition, "Natural Death Handbook" 4th ed, by Stephanie Wienrich
10. http://www.biblebelievers.com/moody_sermons/m6.html, , D.L. Moody , "Heaven Inhabitants"
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