STATE OF THE DEAD
These Last Days Prophecy Course
Lesson 9
There has been quite a debate over what happens to you when you die. There are many websites out there with many opinions from faiths of all kinds.
There is only one source that is reliable and that is God Himself in His Holy Word, the Bible. Below I will give you Scripture verses that pertain to what happens to you after death, what a soul is and where you stay and wait until Christ comes again.
Section one
What happens to people when they die?
1. Question: When a man dies, where does he go?
Answer: Job 21:32 Yet shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb.
2. Question: Job said he would wait in the grave until what came?
Answer : Job 14:13 O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
Job
In 1 Corinthians
Job is waiting for Christ to come and wake him, to change in a twinkling of an eye when the last trumpet is sounded. We who are righteous will receive new bodies.
3. Question: Has David already gone to heaven?
Answer: Act
4. Question: Where is David now?
Answer: Act 2:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day.
David still sleeps in the grave waiting to be raised by Christ.
5. Question: How will God awaken the dead?
Answer: 1Thessalonians
6. Question: Until then where do the dead wait?
Answer: Job
7. Question: Where did Jesus say the dead are?
Answer: John
8. Question: How much does a dead man know?
Answer: Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
9. Question: What happens to his feelings and emotions?
Answer: Ecclesiastes 9:6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in any thing that is done under the sun.
10. Question: What happens to all his thoughts?
Answer: Psalm 146:4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
11. Question: Can dead people praise the Lord?
Answer: Psalm 115:17 The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
12. Question: Can the dead thank God or even remember Him?
Answer: Psalm 6:5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
How much plainer can the Bible tell us what God is saying, that there is no remembrance of Him in the grave or for anything else for that matter. Therefore how can man say that our spirits or souls leave the body and go to heaven when it plainly states here that it does not?
Let us now see what Paul says about Being absent from the Body as stated in 2 Corinthians 5:8. Then we will go on to our next set of questions that will answer further “What is a Soul?”
Being Absent From the Body
In 2 Corinthians 5:8 Paul speaks of being absent from the body and present with the Lord. Does this mean that when a person dies, he leaves his body and goes to be with the Lord? Let us read the whole context to see what the apostle is saying.
In Chapter 4 Paul discusses the trouble and affliction which come to us in this life. Yet, he says, this trouble is nothing when compared to the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (4:17) which we will receive in the future life. We do not need to worry about what happens to this body. We are now but earthen vessels (4:7). The Lord will one day give us new bodies which will never deteriorate.
In Chapter 5 Paul discusses the two bodies, the earthly, and the eternal. He metaphorically refers to them as houses. For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (5:1).
Next, the apostle speaks of his longing to be clothed with the immortal body. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven (verse 2). To be clothed here means to be living in a body. In this life we are clothed in a mortal body. In the next life we will be clothed in an immortal body.
Now notice Paul's emphasis in verse 3. If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. If clothed means to be in a body, to be naked is to be without a body. Notice that Paul makes it very clear that the future life is a clothed state and not a naked state! He gives absolutely no support to the teaching of life without a body. Speaking of the future life, he says, Being clothed we shall not be found naked.
In verse 4 he re-emphasizes the same thing. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon. It was not an unclothed, bodiless state which Paul anticipated, but a clothed state in a body.
The next question is, When will we receive the immortal body? When will mortality be swallowed up of life (verse 4)? To the Corinthians this was no question. Paul had already told them in his first letter. He had devoted the whole of 1 Corinthians 15 to the subject of the resurrection. There Paul had clearly told them when mortality is swallowed up in immortality: In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory (1 Corinthians 15:52-54).
When does it happen? At the last trump, at the resurrection, at the coming of Jesus. Then it will be said, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? (1 Corinthians 15:55).
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming (1 Corinthians 15:22,23).
So far we have learned that: (1) There is no life in the unclothed, bodiless state; and (2) It is at the time of Christ's coming that we will be made alive.
Let us go back to 2 Corinthians 5. At this point in our passage Paul begins an evaluation of the two bodies the mortal body which we have now, and the immortal body which we will receive at the resurrection. Keep in mind that the setting of this whole discussion is Paul's encouragement to his readers not to become discouraged with present afflictions. Not only will the resurrected body be incorruptible and eternal, there is another factor which will make it far more to be desired than the present life. That factor is the presence of the Lord.
This theme of being with the Lord is found also in Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians: For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).
As Paul considered the two bodies, the present and the future life, he longed for the privilege available only in the future life, of being bodily with the Lord. Therefore, he continues in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8, we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the [present] body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight :) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Keep in mind that Paul is not describing an unclothed, bodiless state. He is referring to the time when he will receive the immortal body. The body from which he will then be absent is his present earthly body, but he will not be bodiless (naked) at that time. He has made that very clear in the preceding verses.
Notice again in 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17, how Paul expected to get present with the Lord. He describes the glorious coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the translation of the living saints. Then he says, And so shall we ever be with the Lord. That word so means, thus, in this way, or by this means. He is saying, This is how we will get with the Lord.
If, therefore, it is by means of the coming of Christ and the resurrection that we will get to be with the Lord, then it is obvious that we will not be with the Lord before that time. It is clear from the above facts that when Paul spoke of being absent from the body and present with the Lord, he was not thinking of the time when he would be dead. He did not earnestly desire death. He was looking beyond the grave, beyond the resurrection, to that glorious moment when he would greet Jesus face to face, and live with him forever.
Paul's Desire to depart and be with Christ
Another passage which has confused some people is Philippians 1:20-25. Some have used these verses to promote a doctrine which is contrary to Paul's own clear teachings on the subject of death. However, when we look at it objectively we find the passage to be fully consistent with the rest of the Bible.
Highlighting a few phrases in the passage will show us Paul's train of thought. He is discussing my earnest expectation, my hope, what I shall choose, having a desire, and what is more needful. These are not expressions one uses when presenting a doctrinal discourse. He is opening to his readers his deepest personal aspirations.
Paul's greatest desire in this passage is that Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. The problem is that he cannot tell which is best, to live or to die. He wants to do that which will best glorify Christ.
He longs to be with Christ. He knows that he will be with Him in the next life. This thought is wonderful to him. Yet, realizing that his labors are still needed in this life, he concludes, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith.
The phrase which some people have stumbled over is Paul's desire to depart, and to be with Christ. Notice that he does not say that he will depart and immediately be with Christ. Neither is he discussing a bodiless presence with Him; for his desire was that Christ shall be magnified in my body.
For the purposes of his present discussion he sees no need to digress into the details of the decomposition of his body, the oblivion of death's sleep, and the specifics of the resurrection. That is not the subject at hand. Yet, even so, the words he uses describe the experience of death most explicitly. To the individual's consciousness, death does not register at all. Thousands of years may pass. The dead know nothing of it. Their first conscious moment at the resurrection knows of no lapse since their last conscious moment before death. After Paul's death, the next thing he would know, he would be with Christ. His description is experiential rather than technical, and thus perfectly harmonizes with his direct doctrinal instruction on the state of the dead.
When did Paul expect to be with Christ? In 2 Thessalonians 2:1 he clearly explains that the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto him take place at the same time. In Colossians 3:4 Paul says, “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” We will not be with Christ in glory until His appearing, His glorious return in power and majesty.
Paul also speaks of the appearing of Christ in 2 Timothy 4:8. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. Paul realized that his crown of righteousness would be laid up in store for him, until the coming of Christ, not to be received until that day.
Let us now look at the error that man claims the thief went to heaven the day he died.
The Thief on the Cross-
There are people who have suggested that the dialog recorded in Luke 23:42,43 indicate that the righteous go immediately to paradise when they die.
If so, in order for Christ to be true to His promise, both He and the thief would have to make it to heaven before the sun set that very day.
Let us see if they actually did. First, did Jesus go to heaven that day? The Bible tells us that He did not. For when He was resurrected He said, I am not yet ascended to my Father ( John 20:17). Therefore, Jesus did not go to heaven that day. What about the thief, did he? The Bible tells us in John 19:31-34 that at the end of the day the soldiers went and found the two thieves still hanging there on the cross, both still alive. Then they broke their legs and let them down off the cross for the Sabbath. Therefore, the thief did not make it to heaven that day either.
Well then, did Jesus tell a lie? No. The problem is easily solved when we realize that when the Bible was written, there were no punctuation marks. Commas were added hundreds of years later when the Bible was translated into English. In Luke 23:43 the comma should have been placed after, rather than before, the word today. It actually reads, Verily I say unto thee today, thou shalt be with me in paradise.
Jesus promised him that day a promise He will not break. For when the Son of man shall come in his glory and all the holy angels with him... then shall the King say...Inherit the kingdom prepared for you ( Matthew 25:31-34) For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works (Matthew 16:27). Moreover, that is all the thief was asking for anyway. He did not ask to go to heaven that day. He simply said, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom (Luke 23:42).
Another error taught by man is that Jesus after dying preached to the dead.
Jesus Preaching to Dead People
Some have wondered if while Jesus was dead He could have taken the opportunity to preach to other people who were also dead. The question comes from 1 Peter 3:18-20, a passage which now deserves our close attention.
It is always important to remember that the Bible does not contradict itself. Whatever this verse says must be in harmony with what the rest of the Bible teaches on this subject. Otherwise it could not be the inspired word of God.
Isaiah 38:18 says, The grave cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. There would be no point in Jesus preaching to those who cannot have hope.
The Bible also says that the dead know not any thing (Ecclesiastes 9:5). Preaching to the dead does not fit in with the Biblical description of death.
Let's look at 1 Peter 3:18-20 to see what it says and does not say. Verse 18 tells us that Jesus was put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. The word quickened means brought to life. It is when they are raised to life again that the dead are quickened (John 5:21).
Our passage in 1 Peter 3 does not tell us when Jesus was quickened. We are simply told two things: (1) that Jesus was put to death, and (2) that He was brought back to life. To find out when He was brought to life we must go to the actual account in the gospels. It tells us that He was crucified on the day of the preparation ( Matthew 27:62), and brought back to life on the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1). The Scriptural account is clear.
Our passage says that Jesus was quickened by the Spirit. That is, the Holy Spirit. Jesus Himself declared that it is the spirit that quickeneth (John 6:63).
So by comparing Scripture with Scripture we have a very good explanation of verse 18. Jesus was put to death in the flesh on Friday afternoon, and raised to life again by the Spirit on Sunday morning.
The next three words in our passage are by which also. The word also indicates the introduction of a different event, the common factor being the involvement of the Holy Spirit. Christ was resurrected by the Spirit, He also by the Spirit preached.
Christ, by the Spirit, preached unto the spirits in prison. The word spirits in this verse simply means people. Often in the Bible a figure of speech is used by which a characteristic part of a thing stands for the whole. Since the spirit or breath of a person is a characteristic part of the person, the word spirit is sometimes used to represent the person. For example, in 1 Corinthians 16:18 my spirit simply means me. In Galatians 6:18 and 2 Timothy 4:22 your (thy) spirit simply means you.
The prison concept is elsewhere used in the Bible in reference to the condition of those who are entrapped in sin. The wicked . . . shall be holden with the cords of his sins
(Proverbs 5:22). For of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage (2 Peter 2:19). The work of the gospel is to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound (Isaiah 61:1. See also Isaiah 42:7, 22).
With that thought, 1 Peter 3:19 simply says that it was through His Holy Spirit also that Christ preached to people bound in sin. Notice that verse 19 does not tell us when this preaching took place, to find that out we must go to verse 20 which says, “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing”. There it is. Verses 19 and 20 are talking about what happened in the days of Noah!
Noah was called a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5). Through his preaching the Holy Spirit worked upon the hearts of the people. But because of the wickedness of that generation and their refusal to obey God, the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years (Genesis 6:3). For 120 years Noah preached. Those people had more opportunity to hear and accept the gospel than any other generation. Yet, few, that is, eight souls were saved. When those 120 years were up, their opportunity for salvation was forever gone. They would hear no more preaching.
Peter does not say that Jesus did anything while He was dead. He, by the Spirit, preached to the people in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared.
And that's all the text says. It says nothing about a purgatory. It makes no mention of disembodied spirits. It says nothing about preaching to dead people.
1 Peter 4:6 tells us that the gospel was (past tense) preached to people who are (present tense) dead. They are dead now, but nowhere does it say that they were dead at the time the gospel was preached to them. Such a claim would contradict everything the Bible teaches about death, salvation, and the justice of God. The living, the living, he shall praise thee . . . the father to the children shall make known thy truth (Isaiah 38:19).
Stephen's Spirit
What happened to Stephen's spirit when he died, the same thing that happens to everyone else's spirit when they die. The verse is Acts 7:59,60. As Stephen was being stoned, he was calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
Your spirit is simply the spark of life which belongs to God. You lose it when you die. When the Bible says that the breath of life returns to God, it does not say that it carries with it any portion of your mental capacity. Human consciousness is a physiological process which is dependent upon nerve and tissue. In reference to man, the Bible never speaks of any consciousness of disembodied spirits.
Baptism for the Dead-
Does Paul teach in 1 Corinthians 15:29 that we should be baptized for the dead? No, he does not.
This chapter is discussing the resurrection. Whatever conclusion we reach as to the meaning of the verse, we must recognize it as an argument in favor of the resurrection. The line of reasoning goes as follows: Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead? He is promoting, not consciousness during death, but resurrection after death.
Paul here may have been referring to a pagan custom of being baptized for the dead. Notice that he uses the word they rather than we. He does not say, we should be baptized for the dead. He simply says that they are. Without actually endorsing their practice, he was saying, Even the pagans who are baptized for the dead believe there will be a resurrection. Else why would they be baptized for them? The argument is similar to verses 16-18 where Paul says, For if the dead rise not . . . then they also which are fallen asleep . . . are perished. The only hope for the dead is in the resurrection.
The Bible clearly teaches that a man must personally repent, believe in Christ, confess his sins, and be baptized in order to be saved (Acts 2:38; John 3:16; 1 john 1:9). You can only work out your own salvation ( Philippians 2:12). They shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness (Ezekiel 14:20). None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him (Psalm 49:7). The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him (Ezekiel 18:20).
Those who die in sin have no more opportunity to repent. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest ( Ecclesiastes 9:10). Now, while we are still alive, while the blood still flows in our veins, while we are still capable of responding to Christ's invitation now is the time for us to give ourselves fully to Jesus.
Now let us look at the question-
What Is a Soul?
Lesson 10
1. Question: What two elements did God use to form a living soul?
Answer: Genesis 2:7 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 soul.
DUST + BREATH = SOUL
the Biblical definition of a soul is simply a breathing body. Notice that the text does not say that man was given a soul, but rather he became a soul. A soul is not something a person has it is the person. Souls have blood (Jeremiah 2:34). Not only are people souls, but so are fish (Revelation 16:3) and animals (Ecclesiastes 3:19).
The Hebrew word for soul, nephesh, is variously translated “person” (Genesis 14:21), “self” (Leviticus 11:43), “life” (Psalm 31:13), “me” (Judges 16:30), “creature” (Genesis 1:21), “beast” (Leviticus 24:18), “man” (2 Kings 12:4), “thing” (Ezekiel 47:9), and “fish” (Isaiah 19:10). When translated “body” the nephesh is usually dead (Leviticus 21:11).
The Greek word for soul, psuche, has the same meaning. In Matthew 16:25 Jesus commends anyone who will lose his soul (psuche) for Christ’s sake. It is often translated simply as “life” (Matthew 2:20). It means “person” (Acts 7:14). “My soul” and “your soul” are idiomatic expressions meaning “I” and “you” (Matthew 12:18; 2 Corinthians 12:15, margin).
2. Question: How is the process God used in creating a soul reversed when we die?
Answer: Psalm 104:29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath; they die, and return to their dust.
SOUL - BREATH = DUST
“If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath; all flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.” Job 34:14, 15
3. Question: Can a soul die?
Answer: Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
4. Question: When life ends, what is left?
Answer: Genesis 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
5. Question: What returns to God?
Answer: Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
6. Question: Where is this spirit located in a person?
Answer: Job 27:3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;
7. Question: What is it that is found in a person’s nostrils?
Answer: Genesis 7:22 All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.
The Hebrew word for spirit (and ghost, Job 3:11), ruach, and the Greek word, pneuma, mean breath, wind, or vital element. It is the spark of life which makes you able to live. It is “the breath of the Almighty” (Job 33:4). When the Bible uses those words in reference to man, not once does it say that ruach or pneuma is something in man that retains consciousness after the person dies.
Angels are called spirits (Psalm 104:4) because to human eyes they are as invisible as breath. But man does not possess the nature of angels (Psalm 8:5), nor does the Bible indicate that he assumes it at death.
8. Question: What goes forth when man dies?
Answer: Psalm 146:4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
9. Question: Is the breath in man any different from the breath in beasts?
Answer: Ecclesiastes 3:19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
10. Question: Is there any difference between a dead man and a dead beast?
Answer: Ecclesiastes 3:20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
A soul is like the light that results when a light bulb is connected to a power source. The spirit, or breath of life, is the electric current. Electricity will produce light only while it is flowing through the bulb. When the filament in the bulb breaks, the electrical circuit is broken, and the light goes out,
just as the light cannot exist unless there is both electricity and a bulb, so there must be both the breath of life, and a functional body in order for there to be a living soul.
11. Question: After a person dies, can he return and appear to those who knew him?
Answer: Job 7:8 The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.
Job 7:9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more.
Job 7:10 He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.
Job 16:22 When a few years are come, then I shall go the way whence I shall not return.
12. Question: In these last days some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to what?
Answer: 1Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
13. Question: What type of spirits will appear, working miracles?
Answer: Revelation 16:14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
14. Question: In the garden, Satan disguised himself in the form of what?
Answer: Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
15. Question: What can Satan transform himself into? Answer: 2 Corinthians 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
16. Question: What can his ministers appear as?
Answer: 2 Corinthians 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
17. Question: If they speak not according to the law and to the testimony, it is because of what?
Answer: Isaiah 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
18. Question: Instead of trying to contact the dead, going to mediums and wizards, whom should God’s people seek for truth?
Answer: Isaiah 8:19 And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
19. Question: What types of individuals will not be found among God’s people?
Answer: Deuteronomy 18:10, 11 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
20. Question: All that do those things are what?
Answer: Deuteronomy 18:12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
21. Question: What words did Paul have for a sorcerer?
Answer: Acts 13:10 And said, O full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
22. Question: Can a person have fellowship with the Lord and with devils?
Answer: 1 Corinthians 10:21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.
23. Question: With Satan’s influences all around us, what does God call us to do?
Answer: 2 Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
Christians will have nothing to do with magic, fortune telling, horoscopes or séances; or games, books, movies or toys containing elements of witchcraft or spiritualism.
However, it is sad that many of today’s so-called Christians do believe in witches and speaking with the dead and fortune telling, psychics and horoscopes.
Now our final lesson on this subject
The Secret of Immortality
Lesson 11
1. Question: What kind of man are we, mortal or immortal?
Answer: Job
2. Question: What is your life?
Answer: James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
3. Question: What characterizes God the Father and Jesus the Son?
Answer: John 5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
4. Question: Who is eternal and immortal?
Answer: 1 Timothy 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
5. Question: God is the only one who has this.
Answer: 1 Timothy 6:16 Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen.
6. Question: Jesus has brought to light the possibility of life, and immortality through the what?
Answer: 2 Timothy 1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
7. Question: Who only will receive eternal life, and what word describes the fate of everyone else?
Answer: John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life. John 3:36
8. Question: How does the Bible emphasize that life can exist only when there is a connection to the Lifegiver?
Answer: 1 John 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life: and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
For in him we live and move, and have our being Acts 17:28.
9. Question: What are the two alternatives?
Answer: Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
10. Question: At what event will this mortal put on immortality?
Answer: 1 Corinthians 15:52, 53 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
The Question of Eternal Torment
Does the Bible support the theory of eternal torment for the wicked? Some believe that the word hell in the Bible means a subterranean lake of fire into which the souls of the wicked are cast at death where they will burn in the flames throughout eternity. It is important to make a careful examination of every text that mentions hell. This will reveal what the Scriptures teach.
1.What is the meaning of hell in the Bible?
There are three meanings of hell.
a. It means the grave. Thirty one times hell is mentioned in the Old Testament and in each instance it comes from the Hebrew word Sheol meaning the grave. In the New Testament of the twenty four times hell is mentioned eleven times it comes from the Greek word Hades which means the grave. Hades is the Greek equivalent of Sheol. Compare Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:27, both meaning grave.
b. It means darkness. Once in the New Testament hell comes from the Greek word Tartarus and has reference to the darkness of the material universe. Read 2 Peter 2:4, and Jude 6.
c. It means the Valley of Hinnom. Twelve times in the New Testament hell comes from the Greek word Gehenna, a transliteration of the Hebrew word meaning the Valley of Hinnom just outside Jerusalem. Christ used this valley to illustrate how the wicked will be destroyed in the lake of fire at the end of the 1000 years of Revelation 20. Read Mark 9:43-48 and Revelation 20: 7-9, 14, 15; 21:8.
2. What is meant by the worm not dying?
“Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” Mark 9:44.
Note:
When Jesus talked about Gehenna the people understood He was talking
about the Valley of Hinnom which was the city incinerator. In their
early history it had become a symbol of judgment, for in that valley
divine judgment fell upon their idols and their idolatrous ancestors.
See Jeremiah 7:32, 33. And that which the fire did not devour the
worms did. The worm does not refer to a soul. The Greek word skolex,
in this instance, means maggots. Inasmuch as the fire was not quenched
indicates it was inextinguishable because there was a constant supply
of refuse being placed there every day. However, no fire is burning
there today! The undying worm and unquenchable fire serve to show that
the final destruction will be complete.
3. How long is forever?
Forever in the Bible is repeatedly applied to a limited time rather than an indefinite period of time.
A. Philemon 15 tells us Onesimus was received by Philemon forever; but when he died he could no longer be a servant.
B. Deuteronomy 15:17 speaks of a servant serving his master forever; but this forever closed with the death of the servant.
C. 1 Chronicles 28:4 says David was to be king forever and yet he ruled only 40 years.
D. Jonah 2:6 tells of Jonah’s
experience in the belly of the fish and Jonah says he was there
forever; but Jesus said he was in that fish three days and nights see
Matthew 12:39, 40.
Note: The length of forever is determined by the way it is applied, and the nature of the subject to which it is applied. If we apply it to the area of life and say, God lives forever, or that the saints will live forever, we mean their lives will be endless because God is immortal by nature and the saints will be given immortality. If we say the wicked will burn forever, we mean as long as they live, which will not be endless because by nature they are mortal and are not given eternal life. See 1 John 5:12. It does not necessarily mean a condition that never ends. It means a continuance without a break and the length of continuance depends upon the object to which it is applied. The word tall is like that too. For instance, a tall man may be 6 ½ feet; whereas a tall mountain might be 6,000 feet.
4. Will Satan exist throughout eternity? If not, what will be his final end?
“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed; into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:41
Note: Under the figure of the Prince of Tyrus, the following is prophesied of Satan: Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.” Ezekiel 28:18, 19.
5. Will hell fire go out?
Just as God destroyed the impenitent of Babylon, so will He ultimately destroy and expunge from the universe all traces of sin.
“Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.” Isaiah 47:14.
Note: It is said that “the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelation 20:10. This torment can be only until he is brought to ashes. When the smoke of their torment has gone up, it is gone forever. Read Revelation 14:11.
6.Will there be everlasting punishing?
No. This would indicate a continuing act. Jesus did
say that the punishment of the wicked would be a completed act. It will
be everlasting in its nature.
“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” Matthew 25:46.
Note: In fact, the act of punishment will be so final and complete that the wicked will no longer exist. Read Psalm 37:9, 10.
Conclusion.
Why will there be a lake of fire? It is God’s intention to make a clean universe. To do this, the devil and all sin and sinners must be destroyed. God says, “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? Ezekiel 33:11. A person need not end up in hell fire; Jesus is our only way of escape. Read John 3:16.
THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS
Another passage of scripture which is also a
parable very widely used to support the doctrine of inherent
immortality is the account of the rich man and Lazarus.
Two views
are taken of this scripture: Some say it is a literal history of two
men, others say it is a fictitious story used as a parable. The second
is used to prove two doctrines: that man is conscious between death and
the resurrection, and that men go to their reward or punishment as soon
as they die. This thinking is error brought about since the Garden of
Eden and through out pagan history, right up into the Catholic church
of today. The Church has continued to spread that error to other
churches and here we must make things right by bringing the Truth to
those regarding such places as Hell, Purgatory and the State of the
Dead.
Luke 16:19-31 the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.
Here
is a Parable from the Bible that has been taken out of context
regarding the subject of Hell. I wish to clarify, that this is only a
story with a message that hell does not exist the way many people were
taught by their churches to perceive hell. Hell is not a place of
eternal damnation where you burn in flames like lumps of coal,
screaming and writhing in pain. What Hell is in reality? It is the GRAVE.
There are many verses in Scripture that prove that we sleep in the grave and that our brains no longer function and that we have no knowledge that we are dead, and that the spirit does not leave the body and float up to heaven. You can read my Hell page in the Hell is the Grave section of this website.
Another myth is a place called Purgatory, this place is NEVER mentioned in the Bible and you will never find it with its pages. Both Hell and Purgatory were invented by man to rob the people of their money and to control them with fear; the Catholic Church has been made rich by the sins of the people. They are told, and out of fear, that if they pay to have masses for the dead said, and to pay to have their loved ones released out of purgatory, that God will hear them and be pleased. This is error at its worst. The people like sheep to the shearer follow blindly after a church that reeks with error and lies and deceptions and a church which does not belong to God but in fact belongs to Satan.
Having said that, let us take a look at this parable and break it down so that the Truth and not the Lie shines forth.
Luke 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
Luke 16:20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
Luke
16:21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich
man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
Luke
16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the
angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
Luke 16:23 And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Luke
16:24 And 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.
Luke 16:25 But
Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy
good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted,
and thou art tormented.
Luke 16:26 And beside all this, between us
and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from
hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us that would come from
thence.
Luke 16:27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
Luke 16:28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
Luke 16:29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
Luke 16:30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
Luke
16:31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Now that you have read the parable, let’s examine it more closely: In the entire Bible there is only one passage which speaks of conscious suffering in death. The inspired testimony of the rest of Scripture teaches that death is a sleep, and punishment is future. The purpose of this allegory was not to describe the state of the dead, but the parable does teach several important points.
It definitely teaches that every person will reap what he sows. God will not bend the rules in order to spare those who have consistently spurned His grace. The parable teaches that in this life men decide their eternal destiny. While they are alive God’s grace is offered to all people, but if they selfishly waste their lives, and fail to take eternity into consideration now, they have lost their opportunity for eternal life. There will be no chance to repent after they die.
This parable is also a warning to those who trust in their riches rather than in God. And it tells that the time is coming when those who are poor in this world’s goods, but have trusted in God, will be exalted.
Closely examined it is doubtful that anyone would
claim its details as the basis for a doctrinal position on the subject
of life after death. The details certainly do not present the beliefs
of those who teach the immediate torment of a bodiless “soul” at death.
( See Below the explaination of What is a Soul )
Point #1. In the parable, there is no mention of a bodiless soul at all. The rich man was in hell with a whole body. He had eyes, a tongue, etc. No one believes that the bodies of the wicked go into the flames as soon as they die, (only those who have been taught that error by their churches).
Point #2. Nobody believes that Abraham’s literal
bosom is the abode of the righteous dead. In keeping with the nature of
the allegory, this is obviously a figure of speech. Incidentally, the
angels will gather the saints, see verse 22, but according to Matthew
24:31, that takes place at the second coming of Jesus and not at death.
Another words, when you die, you do not go directly to heaven or hell
or purgatory which is a lie of the pagan and heathen teachings. Let me
also explain here again that the practice of hell and purgatory started
in the Garden of Eden with the first sin and continued into Ancient
Babylon. The word Babylon means “confusion.” And who is the father of
lies and confusion? None other than Satan! And that is exactly what
Satan wants you to be, confused. So the Catholic Church comes along and
carries this error over, mixed with truth to the people, in order to
control them and by using fear to do it. They tell them that they can
save their deceased loved ones in purgatory, if the people give them
money for masses to be said for the dead and that their loved ones
would be released from purgatory with their money and prayers. Well
guess what? Only Jesus can save you, not man!
Point # 3. Another point is that paradise and Hades are here pictured to be situated that their inhabitants may hold normal conversations with each other across the gulf. But the Bible says that for the redeemed, the former earth will “not be remembered, nor come into mind. Isaiah 65:17 says: For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. If you look up the Greek translation of the word Hades or hell, it means the grave.
Point # 4. The rich man’s request in verse 24 is hardly characteristic of someone in his condition. Here he is, his body on fire, and all he asks for is that Lazarus dip the tip of his finger in water and then come and touch his tongue. How much relief could he expect to get from that? He would need a whole ocean of water to quench the fire. Especially after Lazarus has to traverse the gulf and make his way through the flames to get to him. How much moisture did he think would be left on his finger after such a journey? No one believes that this type of thing takes place between the righteous and the wicked after death.
Point #5. In speaking of the request for Lazarus to go and warn the rich man’s living brothers, the Bible says that Lazarus would have to be risen from the dead. See verse 31. This is far from supporting the idea of conscious communication of mobility in death; this gives support to the fact that in order for Lazarus to do anything at all he would have to be resurrected! In the parable, Jesus points out to us the source of divine instruction. “They have Moses and the prophets: let them hear them. See verse 29. That is where we must look to learn the fate of the wicked. Jesus made the details of his story so obviously unreal that no one would take them literally. He wanted his hearers instead to focus on the lessons brought out in the parable. Apart from the intended point for the moral of the story, we cannot base doctrinal beliefs on the incidentals of an allegory. When dealing with parables, ask yourself, “What is the speaker trying to illustrate by this parable?” Then if you want to know about the nature of dead people, go to a passage where that is the topic of discussion.
As to the word forever in the Bible, it has a
duel meaning. As pertaining to the state of the dead and burning in
flames, the word forever means, how ever long it takes for your body to
be consumed by the flames. For example, "you" and "Satan," both
committed sins on this earth, your sins are minor compared to the sins
of Satan against God, so therefore your body will burn maybe 3 hours
before it is completely consumed by the flames until you become ashes
and you are thought of no more. But in the case of Satan, he may burn
for 3 days because his sins were worse than yours. His forever and your
forever were determined by your sins. Understand now?
Remember, Trust no man, but seek out God and Trust Him to give you the Truth. Read the Bible for yourselves, seek it out, study it, research it, and ask the Holy Spirit to sit on your shoulder while you read its pages so that He can guide you through it.
God Bless you
For further study read below Ellen G White's study on this same topic, it ties in beautifully with the above study.
COL - Christ's Object Lessons (1900)
Chap. 21 - "A Great Gulf Fixed"
In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Christ shows that in this life men decide their eternal destiny. During probationary time the grace of God is offered to every soul. But if men waste their opportunities in self-pleasing, they cut themselves off from everlasting life. No after probation will be granted them. By their own choice they have fixed an impassable gulf between them and their God. {COL 260.1}
This parable draws a contrast between the rich who have not made God their dependence, and the poor who have made God their dependence. Christ shows that the time is coming when the position of the two classes will be reversed. Those who are poor in this world's goods, yet who trust in God and are patient in suffering will one day be exalted above those who now hold the highest positions the world can give but who have not surrendered their life to God. {COL 260.2}
"There was a certain rich man," Christ said, "which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table."{COL 260.3}
The rich man did not belong to the class represented by the unjust judge, who openly declared his disregard for God and man. He claimed to be a son of Abraham. He did not treat the beggar with violence or require him to go away because the sight of him was disagreeable. If the poor, loathsome specimen of humanity could be comforted by beholding him as he entered his gates, the rich man was willing that he should remain. But he was selfishly indifferent to the needs of his suffering brother. {COL 261.1}
There were then no hospitals in which the sick might be cared for. The suffering and needy were brought to the notice of those to whom the Lord had entrusted wealth, that they might receive help and sympathy. Thus it was with the beggar and the rich man. Lazarus was in great need of help; for he was without friends, home, money, or food. Yet he was allowed to remain in this condition day after day, while the wealthy nobleman had every want supplied. The one who was abundantly able to relieve the sufferings of his fellow creature, lived to himself, as many live today. {COL 261.2}
There are today close beside us many who are hungry, naked, and homeless. A neglect to impart of our means to these needy, suffering ones places upon us a burden of guilt which we shall one day fear to meet. All covetousness is condemned as idolatry. All selfish indulgence is an offense in God's sight. {COL 261.3}
God had made the rich man a steward of His means, and it was his duty to attend to just such cases as that of the beggar. The command had been given, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deuteronomy 6:5); and "thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Leviticus 19:18). The rich man was a Jew, and he was acquainted with the command of God. But he forgot that he was accountable for the use of his entrusted means and capabilities. The Lord's blessings rested upon him abundantly, but he employed them selfishly, to honor himself, not his Maker. In proportion to his abundance was his obligation to use his gifts for the uplifting of humanity. This was the Lord's command, but the rich man had no thought of his obligation to God. He lent money, and took interest for what he loaned; but he returned no interest for what God had lent him. He had knowledge and talents, but did not improve them. Forgetful of his accountability to God, he devoted all his powers to pleasure. Everything with which he was surrounded, his round of amusements, the praise and flattery of his friends, ministered to his selfish enjoyment. So engrossed was he in the society of his friends that he lost all sense of his responsibility to co-operate with God in His ministry of mercy. He had opportunity to understand the word of God, and to practice its teachings; but the pleasure-loving society he chose so occupied his time that he forgot the God of eternity.{COL 261.4}
The time came when a change took place in the condition of the two men. The poor man had suffered day by day, but he had patiently and quietly endured. In the course of time he died and was buried. There was no one to mourn for him; but by his patience in suffering he had witnessed for Christ, he had endured the test of his faith, and at his death he is represented as being carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. {COL 262.1}
Lazarus represents the suffering poor who believe in
Christ. When the trumpet sounds and all that are in the graves hear
Christ's voice and come forth, they will receive their reward; for
their faith in God was not a mere theory, but a reality. {COL 262.2}
"The
rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes,
being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his
bosom. And 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."{COL 263.1}
In this parable Christ was meeting the people on their own ground. The doctrine of a conscious state of existence between death and the resurrection was held by many of those who were listening to Christ's words. The Saviour knew of their ideas, and He framed His parable so as to inculcate important truths through these preconceived opinions. He held up before His hearers a mirror wherein they might see themselves in their true relation to God. He used the prevailing opinion to convey the idea He wished to make prominent to all--that no man is valued for his possessions; for all he has belongs to him only as lent by the Lord. A misuse of these gifts will place him below the poorest and most afflicted man who loves God and trusts in Him. {COL 263.2}
Christ desires His hearers to understand that it is impossible for men to secure the salvation of the soul after death. "Son," Abraham is represented as answering, "remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed; so that they which would pass from hence to you can not; neither can they pass to us that would come from thence." Thus Christ represented the hopelessness of looking for a second probation. This life is the only time given to man in which to prepare for eternity. {COL 263.3}
The rich man had not abandoned the idea that he was a child of Abraham, and in his distress he is represented as calling upon him for aid. "Father Abraham," he prayed, "have mercy on me." He did not pray to God, but to Abraham. Thus he showed that he placed Abraham above God, and that he relied on his relationship to Abraham for salvation. The thief on the cross offered his prayer to Christ. "Remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom," he said. (Luke 23:42.) And at once the response came, Verily I say unto thee today (as I hang on the cross in humiliation and suffering), thou shalt be with Me in Paradise. But the rich man prayed to Abraham, and his petition was not granted. Christ alone is exalted to be "a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." Acts 5:31. "Neither is there salvation in any other." Acts 4:12 {COL 263.4}
The rich man had spent his life in self-pleasing, and too late he saw that he had made no provision for eternity. He realized his folly, and thought of his brothers, who would go on as he had gone, living to please themselves. Then he made the request, "I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him [Lazarus] to my father's house; for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment." But "Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham; but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead."{COL 264.1}
When the rich man solicited additional evidence for his brothers, he was plainly told that should this evidence be given, they would not be persuaded. His request cast a reflection on God. It was as if the rich man had said, If you had more thoroughly warned me, I should not now be here. Abraham in his answer to this request is represented as saying; Your brothers have been sufficiently warned. Light has been given them, but they would not see; truth has been presented to them, but they would not hear. {COL 264.2}
"If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither
will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." These words
were proved true in the history of the Jewish nation. Christ's last and
crowning miracle was the raising of Lazarus of Bethany, after he had
been dead four days. The Jews were given this wonderful evidence of the
Saviour's divinity, but they rejected it. Lazarus rose from the dead
and bore his testimony before them, but they hardened their hearts
against all evidence, and even sought to take his life. (John
12:9-11.){COL 265.1}
The law and the prophets are God's appointed
agencies for the salvation of men. Christ said; Let them give heed to
these evidences. If they do not listen to the voice of God in His word,
the testimony of a witness raised from the dead would not be heeded.
{COL 265.2}
Those who heed Moses and the prophets will require no greater light than God has given; but if men reject the light, and fail to appreciate the opportunities granted them, they would not hear if one from the dead should come to them with a message. They would not be convinced even by this evidence; for those who reject the law and the prophets so harden their hearts that they will reject all light. {COL 265.3}
The conversation between Abraham and the once-rich man is figurative. The lesson to be gathered from it is that every man is given sufficient light for the discharge of the duties required of him. Man's responsibilities are proportionate to his opportunities and privileges. God gives to every one sufficient light and grace to do the work He has given him to do. If man fails to do that which a little light shows to be his duty, greater light would only reveal unfaithfulness, neglect to improve the blessings given. "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." Luke 16:10. Those who refuse to be enlightened by Moses and the prophets and ask for some wonderful miracle to be performed would not be convinced if their wish were granted. {COL 265.4}
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus shows how the two classes represented by these men are estimated in the unseen world. There is no sin in being rich if riches are not acquired by injustice. A rich man is not condemned for having riches, but condemnation rests upon him if the means entrusted to him is spent in selfishness. Far better might he lay up his money beside the throne of God, by using it to do good. Death cannot make any man poor who thus devotes himself to seeking eternal riches. But the man who hoards his treasure for self can not take any of it to heaven. He has proved himself to be an unfaithful steward. During his lifetime he had his good things, but he was forgetful of his obligation to God. He failed of securing the heavenly treasure. {COL 266.1}
The rich man who had so many privileges is represented to us as one who should have cultivated his gifts, so that his works should reach to the great beyond, carrying with them improved spiritual advantages. It is the purpose of redemption, not only to blot out sin, but to give back to man those spiritual gifts lost because of sin's dwarfing power. Money cannot be carried into the next life; it is not needed there; but the good deeds done in winning souls to Christ are carried to the heavenly courts. But those who selfishly spend the Lord's gifts on themselves, leaving their needy fellow creatures without aid and doing nothing to advance God's work in the world, dishonor their Maker. Robbery of God is written opposite their names in the books of heaven. {COL 266.2}
The rich man had all that money could procure, but he did not possess the riches that would have kept his account right with God. He had lived as if all that he possessed were his own. He had neglected the call of God and the claims of the suffering poor. But at length there comes a call which he cannot neglect. By a power which he cannot question or resist he is commanded to quit the premises of which he is no longer steward. The once-rich man is reduced to hopeless poverty. The robe of Christ's righteousness, woven in the loom of heaven, can never cover him. He who once wore the richest purple, the finest linen, is reduced to nakedness. His probation is ended. He brought nothing into the world, and he can take nothing out of it. {COL 267.1}
Christ lifted the curtain and presented this picture before priests and rulers, scribes and Pharisees. Look at it, you who are rich in this world's goods and are not rich toward God. Will you not contemplate this scene? That which is highly esteemed among men is abhorrent in the sight of God. Christ asks, "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Mark 8:36, 37.{COL 267.2}
Application to the Jewish Nation
When Christ gave the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, there were many in the Jewish nation in the pitiable condition of the rich man, using the Lord's goods for selfish gratification, preparing themselves to hear the sentence, "Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting." Daniel 5:27. The rich man was favored with every temporal and spiritual blessing, but he refused to cooperate with God in the use of these blessings. Thus it was with the Jewish nation. The Lord had made the Jews the depositaries of sacred truth. He had appointed them stewards of His grace. He had given them every spiritual and temporal advantage, and He called upon them to impart these blessings. Special instruction had been given them in regard to their treatment of their brethren who had fallen into decay, of the stranger within their gates, and of the poor among them. They were not to seek to gain everything for their own advantage, but were to remember those in need and share with them. And God promised to bless them in accordance with their deeds of love and mercy. But like the rich man, they put forth no helping hand to relieve the temporal or spiritual necessities of suffering humanity. Filled with pride, they regarded themselves as the chosen and favored people of God; yet they did not serve or worship God. They put their dependence in the fact that they were children of Abraham. "We be Abraham's seed," they said proudly. (John 8:33.) When the crisis came, it was revealed that they had divorced themselves from God, and had placed their trust in Abraham, as if he were God.{COL 267.3}
Christ longed to let light shine into the darkened minds of the Jewish people. He said to them, "If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill Me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God. This did not Abraham." John 8:39, 40.{COL 268.1}
Christ recognized no virtue in lineage. He taught that spiritual connection supersedes all natural connection. The Jews claimed to have descended from Abraham; but by failing to do the works of Abraham, they proved that they were not his true children. Only those who prove themselves to be spiritually in harmony with Abraham by obeying the voice of God are reckoned as of true descent. Although the beggar belonged to the class looked upon by men as inferior, Christ recognized him as one whom Abraham would take into the very closest friendship. {COL 268.2}
The rich man though surrounded with all the luxuries of life was so ignorant that he put Abraham where God should have been. If he had appreciated his exalted privileges and had allowed God's Spirit to mold his mind and heart, he would have had an altogether different position. So with the nation he represented. If they had responded to the divine call, their future would have been wholly different. They would have shown true spiritual discernment. They had means which God would have increased, making it sufficient to bless and enlighten the whole world. But they had so far separated from the Lord's arrangement that their whole life was perverted. They failed to use their gifts as God's stewards in accordance with truth and righteousness. Eternity was not brought into their reckoning, and the result of their unfaithfulness was ruin to the whole nation. {COL 269.1}
Christ knew that at the destruction of Jerusalem the Jews would remember His warning. And it was so. When calamity came upon Jerusalem, when starvation and suffering of every kind came upon the people, they remembered these words of Christ and understood the parable. They had brought their suffering upon themselves by their neglect to let their God-given light shine forth to the world.{COL 269.2}
In the Last Days
The closing scenes of this earth's history are portrayed in the closing of the rich man's history. The rich man claimed to be a son of Abraham, but he was separated from Abraham by an impassable gulf--a character wrongly developed. Abraham served God, following His word in faith and obedience. But the rich man was unmindful of God and of the needs of suffering humanity. The great gulf fixed between him and Abraham was the gulf of disobedience. There are many today who are following the same course. Though church members, they are unconverted. They may take part in the church service, they may chant the psalm, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God" (Psalm 42:1); but they testify to a falsehood. They are no more righteous in God's sight than is the veriest sinner. The soul that longs after the excitement of worldly pleasure, the mind that is full of love for display, cannot serve God. Like the rich man in the parable, such a one has no inclination to war against the lust of the flesh. He longs to indulge appetite. He chooses the atmosphere of sin. He is suddenly snatched away by death, and he goes down to the grave with the character formed during his lifetime in co partnership with satanic agencies. In the grave he has no power to choose anything, be it good or evil; for in the day when a man dies, his thoughts perish. (Psalm146:4; Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6.){COL 269.3}
When the voice of God awakes the dead, he will come from the grave with the same appetites and passions, the same likes and dislikes that he cherished when living. God works no miracle to re-create a man who would not be re-created when he was granted every opportunity and provided with every facility. During his lifetime he took no delight in God, nor found pleasure in His service. His character is not in harmony with God, and he could not be happy in the heavenly family. {COL 270.1}
Today there is a class in our world who are self-righteous. They are not gluttons, they are not drunkards, they are not infidels; but they desire to live for themselves, not for God. He is not in their thoughts; therefore they are classed with unbelievers. Were it possible for them to enter the gates of the city of God, they could have no right to the tree of life, for when God's commandments were laid before them with all their binding claims they said, No. They have not served God here; therefore they would not serve Him hereafter. They could not live in His presence, and they would feel that any place was preferable to heaven. {COL 270.2}
To learn of Christ means to receive His grace, which is His character. But those who do not appreciate and utilize the precious opportunities and sacred influences granted them on earth, are not fitted to take part in the pure devotion of heaven. Their characters are not molded according to the divine similitude. By their own neglect they have formed a chasm which nothing can bridge. Between them and the righteous there is a great gulf fixed. {COL 271.1}
Hell, what is it, does it exist?
Rev 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; keys of hell and of death.
Many people do not realize that there are actually four different original words which are translated "hell" in the Bible. It appears 31 times in the Old Testament, and 23 times in the New Testament. Every time you see the word "hell" in the Old Testament, you can know that the Hebrew word used here is "sheol", which means "the grave".Jonah2:2 says: And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me: out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. Now lets look at this verse for a moment; first of all Jonah was not in hell, he was in the belly of the whale at the time he was crying out. Jonah felt like he was in the grave, because it was dark and dank, which is what the grave is, very dark and very dank.
In half of the instances in which Sheol is used, the translators rendered it "hell". In half, they used the word "grave". No where in Scripture does "sheol" denote a place of torment in which bodiless beings suffer. The Bible makes it clear that all people, both righteous and wicked go to "sheol" when they die, to the "grave! The Patriarch Jacob said he would go to Sheol when he died, and his son Joseph would go to Sheol also. Genesis 37:35 says: And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave (sheol) unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
Righteous Job used the word Sheol when speaking of
his own resting place. Job 17:13 says: If I wait, the grave is mine
house; I have made my bed in the darkness.
There every one
unconsciously awaits the resurrection. The New Testament contains three
Greek words which are translated "hell". And they each mean something
different. Ten of the 23 New Testament references are translated from
the word Hades, which is simply the Greek equivalent of Sheol, and
means the grave. Hades is not associated with conscious torment any
where in the Bible, except in a parable found in Luke 16:23
Also
the Greek word for hell, the eternal state of the wicked, is Gehenna, a
place of torment and suffering. With but one exception, every use of
Gehenna in Scripture comes from the lips of Jesus. It was probably used
to describe hell because of its background in the minds of the Jews; It
had been associated with the Valley of Hinnom outside of Jerusalem, the
site of human sacrifices during the dark days of Israel's history; and
a refuse dump at the time when Jesus spoke. The term Gehenna in the New
Testament confirms that it is more than an ancient valley outside of
Jerusalem. Gehenna is associated with fire, punishment, torment, the
undying worm, the gnashing of teeth, and eternity without God. All of
the language stressing the repulsiveness of hell is a description of
Gehenna. Illustration: The Scriptures incompletely describe Gehenna,
because such a place is psychologically impossible to comprehend.
It is very sad that this error, which was begun by
the pagan in Ancient Babylon, and picked up by the Catholic Church and
spread to all other churches; has deceived so many people. Purgatory is
another lie begun by the pagans and again the Catholic Church spread
the error to others.
Both Hell and Purgatory were used to keep the
people in line, to control them, and to rob them of their money. With
claims that if they pray and give to the church, the church in turn
will say masses for the dead, and your loved ones will be released from
Purgatory and go to Heaven.
People please open your eyes and open your Bibles and read the Truth. How long will you allow your priests and ministers to spread error and lies? The Bible says: Matthew 24:4 says: Take heed that no man deceive you.
So my friends, Put your trust in God and not in man.
None of us will see Heaven until Christ comes to
reclaim us at the Second Advent when He returns in Glory to defeat
Satan and his minions. On the Judgment Day, that is when we will be
told our fate, if we are bound for Heaven or Eternal Death.
Those
bound for the so called hell on the Judgment Day, will not burn for
eternity in a lake of fire, because there is no such place. What will
happen is, once you are judged, you will burn the duration of your
sins, what ever they were, and depending upon how bad your sins were in
life, that is how long you will burn. Then once burned up, all you are
is ashes, and the righteous will walk upon the ashes of the wicked.
Malachi 4: 3 And ye shall tread down the wicked: for they shall be
ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this,
saith the Lord of hosts. Read the Book of Revelation, and it will
explain very well what happens. The Catholic Church never wanted you to
read your Bibles, because they knew the truth and did not want you to
have it. The church wants you to be dependant on them, on your priests
and ministers. They want you to be taught by them and to trust them,
and by doing so, they keep you from the truth and deceive you. Do not
follow them; they will lead you to eternal death, to be separated from
God for ever. This is exactly what Satan wants, to take as many with
him as he can.
So take the steps to freedom from error, from lies
and from mans treachery and deceit. READ the Bible, seek out the Truth,
study its pages, and embrace it. It will never let you down, never lie
to you. God can not lie, He is incapable of it. But, Satan is the
father of lies, and will do what ever he can to keep you from God.
Don't lose your chance to be in Heaven for all eternity.
What is a Soul?
There are two elements that make up a soul, they are: DUST + BREATH = SOUL
Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into the nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
The Biblical definition of a soul is simply a breathing body. Notice that the text does not say that man was given a soul, but rather he became a soul. A soul is not something a person has, it is the person. Souls have blood see Jeremiah 2:34. Not only are people souls, See Revelation 16:3 and animals. See Ecclesiastes 3:19.
The Hebrew word for soul, nephesh, is variously translated "person" see Genesis 14:21 "self"" see Leviticus 11:43, "life" see Psalm 31:13, "me" see Judges 16:30, "creature" see Genesis 1:21, "beast" see Leviticus 14:3 "man" see 2 Kings 12:4, "thing" see Ezekiel 47:9, and "fish" see Isaiah 19:10. When translated "body" the nephesh is usually dead see Leviticus 21:11. The Greek word for soul, psuche, has the same meaning. In Matthew 16:25 Jesus commends anyone who will lose his soul (psuche) for Christ's sake. It is often translated as "life" see Mathew 2:20. It means "person" see Acts 4:14. "My soul and your soul" are idomatic expressions meaning "I and You" see Matthew 12:18 and 2 Corinthians 12:15.
Every living thing that God created, He breathed life into them. That breath as we have seen is your SOUL. Not a spirit that flies from your body and goes to heaven or hell. But Air. When you die, you lose that air, your breath, which does go back to God, but not as a spirit.
So when we die, the process is reversed: SOUL - BREATH = DUST.
Psalm 104:29 says: Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath; they die, and return to their dust.
If you wish to know more about this subject and the subject of Hell, it was taken from the These Last Days Prophecy Course, compiled by Chris Treu . If you write or email him, at lastdays@qtm.net he will gladly send you the course.
In order to find truth, the only place to go is the Bible, and if it is difficult to understand, God puts people in your path to guide you through its pages, with the help of the Holy Spirit. We never go anywhere with out Him, for you see, alone we can do nothing, but with God, all things are possible.