A study by: Timothy M. Youngblood
Copyright © The
Master's Table
Important Questions:
Where do we go after death? Is there life right after we die, or is there
a time span before we come back to life? If we go to heaven or hell right after
death then what is the resurrection we read about in I Cor. 15: 42-58? Is there
a place of punishment for the wicked in some place called hell and has folk
lure added to the teachings over the years? If hell is a real place what does
the bible teach about this place called hell? What does the bible teach about
the soul and is there differences between the soul and the spirit? Does the
bible really teach that we are born again at baptism and if so what does that
mean? It is very important to answer these questions, however we do need to
answer them from the christian bible and not old pagan beliefs or folk lure
that was used in the same way as Santa will not bring you gifts if your not
a good boy or girl.
The way to study the scriptures is the same way a detective
will search for the clues at a crime scene. The detective does not go in with
preconceived ideas, or accepting what someone else has conveyed to him. No,
he keeps an open mind and let's the clues lead him to the truth. That is the
way we must study any subject we are trying to understand no matter if it's
history or biblical scripture which is in fact writings with much history involved.
As bible students we should inject
ourselves into the era of the times that we are studying in order to get the
flavor and true picture in which we are trying to understand. We should always
seek to put ALL scripture in it's proper context and compare what Jesus stated
about the subjects when studying the New Testament. Let’s continue on in order to
come to the truth about the concept that we go to heaven when we die. We must
consider the
TIME Magazine did a poll in the March 1997 issue under the Religion section,
pp 70-78.
The questions asked were. Do you believe in the existence of heaven, where people
live forever with God after they die? (81% answered yes,) Then they were asked;
do you believe in hell, where people are punished forever after they die? (63%
answered yes.) As you can see by this poll, most Christians believe they will
go to heaven or hell right after they die.
Where did this teaching come from?
Did Christ or His apostles teach that the soul is immortal, and goes to
heaven or hell when the physical body dies? What does the bible reveal concerning
life, death, the grave, heaven, and hell fire? What is the truth? Let's go to
the bible for these answers and compare what the bible states with the churches
long standing beliefs. If the churches beliefs coincide with the bible then
we can accept the teachings as correct. If we don't study to prove all things
from the bible we could become caught up in what some man teaches and not what
God wants us to know that leads to God's love, real faith, hope, true salvation,
and life everlasting. Our research have found that
the teaching of going to heaven after we die, as well as the teaching of the
immortal soul, came from the old pagan Hellenistic religion and is not biblical.
They taught that spirits in heaven would want to be born as humans and experience
life with all the challenges we have here. They contended that to do so would
raise them higher in their status as spirit beings. The more they returned and
overcame what they could not in their other physical lives the higher they would
rise. We have found in our research that the Hellenistic religion was embedded
in the Jewish religion at the time Jesus began His ministry. In fact we find
that the apostles had to preach against this very religion during their ministry.
We can read of this in Acts 9:29. "And he spoke boldly in the name of the
Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to
kill him." It is not my intent to go into the study of the Hellenistic
religion here, but you can go to the link at the end of this study to view our
research. It is notable that many of their beliefs were adopted by what became
known as the Catholic Church, and thereby filtered down to what is know today
as The Christian faith by way of the Protestants who separated from their mother
Church. We will cover in detail from the scriptures in the Christian bible who has immortality later on into this study.
It should be much more important
to know what Jesus taught so let's start by looking at what Jesus Himself stated
about the question of going to heaven recorded here in John
3:12-15. We read, "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. "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, "that whoever believes in
Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
(NKJ throughout)
Let's look at some more scriptures that shine a light on the fact we don't go to heaven after death. Let's look at what is recorded in John 5:26-29. "For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. 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 who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation." This means that all who have died (except Jesus) are still in their graves to this day. They are not in heaven or a place of torment. Notice again what Jesus states; "all who are in the graves will hear His voice" Now if all who are dead and in their graves will hear His voice, and come forth at the resurrection when Jesus returns, (yet future) what would be the point if people go to heaven, or hell at death? Again stated from Jesus’ own words we see they were in their graves! If the dead were in heaven, Jesus (Who never lies) would have stated so.
Another reason confusion about
this subject of going to heaven continues is because misguided preachers have,
and do misinterpret the scripture concerning when Jesus told the thief on the
stake next to Him "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with
Me in Paradise." Luke 23:43. The confusion comes in when they refer to
the word TODAY, but they don’t think it through. Let's do just that now; let's
think it through. The point is that Jesus could not have meant that very
day because Jesus did not go back to heaven THAT day...He went into the
grave for three days, and three nights. The thief went to the grave THAT day
also. What was Jesus telling the man next to Him if He did not mean that they
would be in heaven that day? Jesus was telling the man he had received salvation
THAT day because he believed Jesus was the Son of God, and our savior.
The transfiguration:
Some also refer to what is known
as the transfiguration to teach that people go to heaven after death. They say
that Moses and Elijah were there so they had to be in heaven in order to "appear"
with Jesus. Is this true? To find the truth we must remember the above
fact that Jesus stated no one has ever gone into heaven, and I for one
believe Him. Do you? So again we must look at the whole picture in order
to come to the truth. Just a few verses down in Matt 17:9 we read, “Now as they
came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the “vision”
to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead." Let's notice he
said “Tell the “VISION” to no one. When the Apostle John saw visions of things
depicted in the end time as we read in the book of Revelation; did they really
exist when he saw them? No! They were visions for the future, and were visions
very much like a movie, or a mirage. We see and hear people on T. V. that has
been dead for years but we all know they are still dead. So the question is
were Moses, and Elijah on the mount with Jesus during the transfiguration? They
could not have been because according to your bible the dead are dead and
know nothing, as we will examine scripture that teaches this fact on into
this study.
Life, Death and The Resurrection:
Let's look at the term resurrection and learn what
it means. The definition is "To raise from the dead." As the rising
of Christ from the dead, or the rising again to life of all the human dead before
the final great white throne judgment at the end of Christ's thousand-year rule.
When people teach that the one being buried is in heaven have not really considered
the term "Death" and just what it means. Before we continue about
the resurrection let's take a close look at the definition of life and death
so we can be informed and then be able to see why the bible teaches what it
does about life and death.
LIFE: is the quality that distinguishes a vital and "functional" being from a dead body. The sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual. To be alive is to be thinking, moving, feeling, and interacting with others who are also alive.
DEATH: is the "cessation" of all vital functions such
as thinking, moving, feeling, and interacting with the living. So the state
of being dead is the cessation of life.
So we find that to be dead is to be without ALL our senses such as site, hearing,
feeling, taste, and smelling.
This also goes along with the statement as to what happens to the wicked in 2 Pet 2:17. Let's read it..."These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever." The term blackness of darkness is used for those that are dead in other words no longer have their five senses, and the term in this scripture as well as Jude 1:13. "Blackness of darkness forever" meaning that they are dead forever.
Now let's go to the Christian bible again to see what the bible teaches us about death. Eccl 9:4-5. "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." Let's also look at what is recorded in Rev 20:5-6. "But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 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." The wording here shows that there will be a FUTURE resurrection of the dead, and "The rest of the dead did not live again". Remember this very important point; this is before the great white throne Judgment. We also find here that there are more than one resurrection by the statement, "this is the first resurrection" in the above scripture. We have found that the first resurrection is for those that will be in the Kingdom of God during the thousand-year reign of the Christ, and the second resurrection is for those that come up for the final Judgment. Rev. 20: 11-15. (See our related study titled Resurrections and Judgments at the end of this study.)
What did the apostles say concerning King David's death recorded in Acts 2:29? "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." What did David himself record in, Ps 115:17. "The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD'S; but the earth He has given to the children of men. The dead do not praise the LORD, nor any who go down into silence. But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD!" He stated that the dead can not even praise God, so if what is taught in Churches that the dead are in heaven alive then why can't they praise God?
Two types of Bodies:
The answer from the bible is that there are two types of bodies that humans
can have. The physical body and the spiritual body. The physical body dies and
as the bible states will go back to where it came from; the dust of the ground
as we read in Gen 3:19. "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." The bible also reveals that the spirit IN
man then returns to God who gave it and will become born again at the future
first resurrection when Jesus returns. (Eccl 12:7 7.) According to scripture
we will put off this physical body and put on a spiritual body at that time
so let's look at the scriptures written by the apostle Paul when teaching about
the two types of bodies he called a natural body, and a spiritual body. Notice
that he starts the subject by stating "So also is the resurrection of
the dead." Let's read about this in 1 Cor 15:42-44." So also is
the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in
incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness,
it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." Notice what he
said about the order of existence from the natural body to the spiritual body.
Now let's look at the time that we will become spirit. Paul continues to explain
on into verses 47-54 that there will be a resurrection when the last trumpet
sounds; that is, when the seventh angel sounds the trumpet, and Christ returns.
We can find the sounding of this
seventh trumpet in Rev. 11-15.
What does it mean to be born again?
Did Jesus teach the same concept as we just found Paul teaching? Believe it
or not, Paul got his information from Jesus as we will see here. Remember I
stated above that we must compare ALL scripture to find the truth. Many times
we miss the points of scripture because someone has placed a misconception on
the subject and have not studied the scriptures as they are intended. If we
go to John 3:1-12 we see Jesus explaining to Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews
that he had to be born again. Nicodemus understood that Jesus was talking about
a birth in the sense of being born of our mothers. Notice Jesus told him he
could not enter the Kingdom of heaven until he was born again. Notice the very
important points in verse six, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh,
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." So Jesus is teaching that
there are differences between flesh and spirit just as Paul taught. When you
were born, were you born flesh, or spirit? It's amazing how people put different
meanings on life, death, flesh, spirit, and being born when reading the Bible.
When the Bible relates to living, it means to be alive, and when it relates
to dying, it means to cease to live. When it relates to being born, it means
coming into existence; either the existence of a life in the flesh, or the existence
of a life in the spirit, which are two different types of existence, and two
different types of bodies.
Jesus taught that which is spirit is spirit, and that which is flesh is flesh,
so what did Paul also teach about the type of body we must have before we can
enter the Kingdom of God which is yet to come? Let's read more on the subject
in 1 Cor 15:46-50. "However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural,
and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the
second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those
who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are
heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also
bear the image of the heavenly Man. Now this I say, brethren, that
flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption
inherit incorruption." Notice two things. One “we shall” denotes
the future, and second that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom;
we MUST become spirit in order to enter God’s Kingdom.
Born again now?
Some teach that when a person receives Christ as their savior - they are
born again, but what does the Holy Bible teach? Has the bible ever taught that
you are born again at baptism? Through our research we see throughout the entire
book of Acts that there is absolutely no mention of being born again. I use
the book of Acts because this is where the beginning of the ministry is recorded.
It teaches in many places that we are to repent and be baptized into Jesus,
receiving the Holy Spirit, and we are baptized into His death so we should walk
in newness of life here and now. There is one scripture in 1Pet. 1:23 that is
used by ministers to teach we are now born again, but the words "born again"
here in the Greek is anagennao "ana" (again) and, gennao, (to beget)
We have found that the Greek word "anagennesis" which means "new
birth" never occurs in the New Testament in relation to a spiritual
birth here and now! To beget again, (anagennao) means to regenerate, restoration,
or to become something new; to change from our former ways and become like Jesus
our elder brother, who set the example for us to imitate. Eph 4:22-24.
What about the SOUL?
If people who die are dead until Christ returns, what happens
to our soul? I'm sure that you have heard the term Immortal Soul. Is the soul
immortal? First we must understand the true meaning of soul as taught in your
bible before we can find the truth. The best place to start is to ask was Adam
created as a soul? Let's read Gen 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 being." The word "Being" here in the Hebrew
is "Nephesh" (neh'-fesh); meaning a breathing creature, i.e.
"animal” or human soul; so by this we understand that mankind IS
a soul, not HAVING a soul and the soul is the flesh not as taught by
some men to be spirit.
We found that the Hebrew word "Nephesh" (neh'-fesh); is used to describe humans but is this word "Nephesh" (neh'-fesh); ever used when the Bible refers to the creatures of this earth, denoting they are of the same flesh as mankind that turns to dust after death? Are cows and other animals a soul? Let's read it for ourselves in Gen 1:20. "Then God said, "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens." The word "creature" here in Hebrew is also "Nephesh" (neh'-fesh); so we see that God created all living flesh, including humans with the same flesh or the same nephesh. The word nephesh is also used concerning a dead body. Num 5:2. "Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse." The Hebrew word "corpse" is also "Nephesh" (neh'-fesh);
Now that we have found that the flesh is called "Nephesh" (neh'-fesh); we need to research
and answer the question, "Does the bible teach that the soul is immortal?"
Let’s let the bible answer. Ezek 18:20. "The
soul "Nephesh" (neh'-fesh); who sins shall
die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear
the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself,
and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself." And in the book
of Ps 33:18-19 states. "Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear
Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul "Nephesh" (neh'-fesh); from death, and
to keep them alive in famine." These scriptures do not say the soul that
sins shall live, or live forever in torment, but the soul that sins shall die.
Remember, to die is the "cessation" of all vital functions such as
thinking, moving, feeling, and interacting with the living.
Who has immortality at this time?
We know that the bible teaches the concept of immortality so let's study about
who has immortality now? 1 Tim 6:13-16. "I urge you in the sight of God
who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good
confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot,
blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing, which 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,
dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see,
to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen." (Emphasis mine) God the
Father and Jesus the Messiah are the only God beings that have eternal life
inherent at this time, and are the only beings that have the power to give
everlasting life. Notice that I used the word "inherent" to describe
God the Father and Jesus His Son because the angels and demons do have eternal
life also, but they are created beings not
"God beings with life inherent", and do not have power apart
from God the father or Jesus the Messiah.
Some teach that Jesus was a created being, but is this true? The truth is that we find many examples that Jesus has always existed as the "Word of God" just as the apostle John recorded in John 1:1-4. "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. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." And in verse 13, and 14 we read, "who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
A spirit in mankind?
Remember we stated above that the flesh is to return to the dust of the ground
from where it came but the spirit will return to God who gave it? Let's understand
that there is a spirit IN mankind that God gives at birth, but it's not something
that thinks and reasons of and by itself. It is IN the person, but it is not
THE person. There's a heart in a person, but the heart is not the person. The
heart has a function, just as the spirit IN mankind has a function. The Hebrew
word spirit that we find in Ecc.12:7 is "ruwach" which means breath
of life, "only of a living being" (including its expression and functions):
The spirit in man is what sets him apart from the animals. It is what gives
us the ability to think, reason, and design what we build and without it we
would be just like a monkey. Let's also look at what is recorded in Job 32:7-8.
"I said, 'Age should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.'
But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding."
The animals do not have this spirit in them, and as we learned in this study
created animals are made of the same flesh "Nephesh" (neh'-fesh); as we are and this
spirit in man that we read of here in Job 32:7-8 is the function of the spirit IN mankind, which is what
makes us like God in that we can reason right and wrong, and, as stated above,
we can create what we desire, and even reason the complexities of law. Studies
have proven we are the only flesh beings that seeks family relationships in
the way of a marriage pledge and structure of the family. Notice in Job
32:8 above that the breath of God gives this understanding, "it's God breathed."
However, when a person receives the Holy Spirit of God (Another Spirit) they
begin to understand the things of God. If a person has not received the Spirit
of God they cannot understand spiritual things, like the animals without the
spirit "in man" can't understand the things of man. This is not my
teachings, but the teachings of Jesus as we find in John 16:12-14. "I still
have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However,
when the Spirit of truth, has come, It will guide you into all truth;
for it will not speak on it's own authority, but whatever it hears it will speak;
and it will tell you things to come. It will glorify Me, for it will take of
what is Mine and declare it to you." And in John 14:26. "But the Helper,
the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, it will teach you all
things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." Also
we find that the apostles understood this as recorded in 1 Cor 2:10-11. "But
God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all
things, yes, the deep things of God. "For what man knows the
things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no
one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God." We see here that
Jesus told His disciples they "could not understand the spiritual things"
until they received the Holy Spirit. So we see here that the Holy Spirit is
the power of God, and it has a function also. The Spirits are not persons, but
things (Or the power of God) that perform functions. There are many scriptures
that verify the Holy Spirit is the power of God. (See
our related study titled "The Gospel" then under sub-title
What is the Holy Spirit?)
Just what is heaven ?
We hear the word heaven in many contexts but just what is heaven and where is
it? Our research has revealed that there are three heavens recorded in the bible.
1) The place right above us where the birds fly. Rev 19:17 2) Where the stars
are, (universe) Neh 9:23, and 3) and the third heaven is where God and Jesus
live with the holy angels 2Cor 12:2 & 4. Another question concerning heaven
is what is the Kingdom of God and do we ever go to heaven to be in the Kingdom?
A kingdom has a ruler, laws, cities, and land. Let's take a look at what is
described in Rev. 21:1-5. "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."
Notice the wording "coming down out of heaven." What does it mean that the Kingdom of God will come "down from" heaven? Remember what we covered in the beginning of this study about the dead not going to heaven because flesh and blood cannot enter the Kingdom? Notice in the above scripture of Rev 21:1-3 that the Kingdom is coming to this earth, and God will dwell with mankind, not mankind going to heaven to dwell with God. What a big difference from what many misguided teachers have taught for so many years, and people have accepted as true doctrine because their minister stated it was so. Many never check for the truth in the christian bible to see what it states about it, but nowhere does the Bible teach that mankind will go to heaven or a place of eternal torment at death; just the contrary. Remember in Matt: 5:5, Jesus stated that the meek shall inherit the earth? It is important to note that He did not teach that the meek will inherit heaven.
Is the Kingdom of God already here as some teach?
Let's read in Rev. 11:14-15. "The second woe is past. Behold, the third
woe is coming quickly. 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!" We
see here that the Kingdom does not come until the seventh angel sounds the trumpet,
which is the same trumpet mentioned in 1 Cor. 15:52, so this event is still
future, and again, we see here that the Kingdom is coming to this earth.
Is the Kingdom within us now?
What about the teaching that the Kingdom of God is within
us now? (Or inside us) What does the bible really teach about
this? The scripture used is Luke 17:21 so let's look at this scripture and ask
some important questions. "Nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!'
For indeed, the kingdom of God is "within" you." Many teachers
use this verse to teach their doctrine of the Kingdom is within us now, but
let’s take a close look at this scripture letting the Spirit of God lead us
into truth. Let's look at the intent of the author by using the facts we find
in the wording. Our research found that the word "within" is wrongly
used in the above scripture and is not the word Luke wrote. The word "within"
in the Greek is "entos;" "inside" which is an adverb or
noun. The Greek word used here by Luke in the Greek was "en;" a primary
preposition denoting (fixed) position in place, time or state; it means in
close proximity. Jesus was saying I am standing by you, and I am the
Kingdom of God, and if you reject Me, and My words, that are from the Holy
Father then you are rejecting the Kingdom of God and salvation. Remember, the
bible is our teacher, and it teaches that the Kingdom of God will not come until
the last trumpet sounds after the great tribulations. I believe what the bible
states and then work on the question of the scripture being used that teach
contrary to known biblical truth. Again, let's think this through. Here is a
very good point to ask. If Jesus was telling the Pharisees they had the Kingdom
"within" them, and the Kingdom is for those who accept Jesus as the
Christ; how could the Pharisees have it in them when they rejected Jesus as
the Messiah? Remember they hated and rejected Jesus.
Another question is; who is it
that will not inherit the kingdom of God? 1 Cor 6:9-10. "Do you not know
that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived.
Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,
nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revelers, nor extortioners will
inherit the kingdom of God."
Let's answer the question about the rich man and Lazarus:
A very popular story preachers refer to while teaching we go to heaven at death
is the story of the rich man and Lazarus as recorded in Luke 16:19-20. Many times we don't want to believe what the bible teaches
because we have heard the same error preached over so many times through the
years that it sounds true. A man once stated, "if I tell the same
lie long enough, to enough people, then it will eventually be accepted as truth." Politicians
are well aware of this and they use it often. The question is, do you want to
continue believing it because everyone else does? Do you want to follow
the true Jesus that brought this good news from our Holy Father who is in heaven?
We should not want to take any belief from any minister as truth just because
he said it's truth. We should want to know what the christian bible teaches,
and base our beliefs on that. If we truly want the truth that written in the
christian bible then we must put aside OUR beliefs, and "honestly"
look at what it teaches as we have already learned. What we have already learned
from the bible, in this study concerning what happens after death is that no
one goes to heaven except the one who came down from heaven which was Jesus,
and the Kingdom will come down to us, not us going up to it in heaven. We have
learned what the Kingdom of God is, and have shown that it is not within us,
but is a real Kingdom with a real ruler (Jesus) that is coming in the future.
We have learned from scripture that the soul is not immortal, but the God family
alone has immortality, and the truth is that the soul can die. We have learned
that to be dead is to not know anything and those who have died are still dead
to this day; and that there will be a resurrection of the dead at Christ's return
and not anytime before. If the Kingdom of heaven will not come until Jesus returns,
then how could Lazarus be there? If there is to be a resurrection of the dead
at Christ's return, how can Lazarus be alive? With all these examples from the
Old and New Testaments we can now understand that the story of the rich man
and Lazarus was just a story Jesus told to illustrate why it would be hard for
a rich man to enter into the kingdom "from" heaven. And how the rich
should treat the poor in the fear of God knowing that Jesus can require their
soul at anytime; therefore the riches are a gift of God, and does not make anyone
better then their fellow man, and the riches should be treated as a gift and
even shared.
What about hell?
What is hell, and will people be tormented forever in a hell fire? What is the
truth about these subjects of hell and eternal torment? Let's start again with
some research. The definition for torment is, "the infliction of torture
or extreme pain or anguish of body or mind; extreme agony." There is in
truth a hell as well as a place that will become an eternal hell. The big question
we must ask ourselves is, does God who is love want "revenge" on people
who have sinned?" John 3:16-17. "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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn
the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
Brethren, never forget that God loves all His creation, and especially His children, so much
that He is making "every effort" to bring us into His family. Although
there are those that will commit the unpardonable sin and there are those that
will love Satan and hate God, we still know that God does not wish that any
would parish. As I have stated in other studies, "Salvation is being offered
to everyone at this time, but everyone will not accept it." Does God desire
to see people in torment? No! What does God say about His desire for all mankind?
2 Pet 3:9. "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count
slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish
but that all should come to repentance." What we must do is repent. (Turn
from sin). Is it asking to much of us to change and become like Him? Is it really
asking to much for us to love, and help one another? I fully understand that this
is a process that takes time and much help from the Spirit of God, but the key
is that we need to be working on it daily. We need to come to understand what
sin is, and that sin will harm those we love and destroy us all in the long
run. If you don't think so than go check out a drug house where they shoot up!
Or a hospital ward where they are dying of AIDS.
As our study titled "Sin;
An Abomination." brings out, sin is forbidden because it is harmful. Would
you want to live forever in a Kingdom with the type of crime ridden Satan perverted
society we have today? I doubt that you would. To seek only our own good is
what destroys those around us, and those who are caught up into Satan's traps
are truly living lives of misery and suffering. We must come to understand that
lust destroys love just as sure as poison destroys the body. The way of sin
is full of sorrow, destruction, and it's full of every thing that leads to death.
However, the way of God is full of love, life, joy, and peace for all. When
God is in control then all things blossom in a way that is fantastic. I'm reminded
of the cartoon "Fern-gully" where all was peaceful until man, controlled
by greed, came to exploit the land.
Why would a loving God allow this evil we see on Earth to continue in His Kingdom
forever? We were created to have the perfect world, the perfect body, and perfect
relationships. Science has found that our bodies were even created
to last for hundreds of years in good health if sin was not in the flesh. Our
Loving Father wants us to live in peace and joy, with great prosperity for all.
The laws of God are for that purpose. They are laws of love, first our love
for God and then our love for mankind. Even the destruction of the incorrigible
wicked (those who refuse to change) will be an act of love by God. Isa 26:14.
"They are dead, they will not live; they are deceased, they will not rise.
Therefore You have punished and destroyed them, and made all their memory to
perish." Notice the prophet was inspired to write, "they will not
rise." And also "Made all their memory to perish." So we understand
that even their memory will perish so those who are in the Kingdom of God will
not live in anguish over those they love who were destroyed. Never forget that
everything God does is motivated from love.
Hell Fire?
Many people have been taught that the wicked will be punished forever in a hell
fire. What is the truth? What does the bible state? We have to understand the
entent of the author at the time of the statement in order to understand. First
let's understand what hell is. The Greek word for "hell" is geena
(gheh'-en-nah); and is of Hebrew origin meaning valley of (the son of) Hinnom;
as we find in Jer. 19:6. "Therefore behold, the days are coming,"
says the LORD, "that this place shall no more be called Tophet or the Valley
of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. (ge-henna or Ge-Hinnom).
The truth is that hell is the grave as we find in many scriptures. We find that
the hebrew word for grave is she'owl (sheh-ole'); or sheol (sheh-ole'); and
Hades or the world of the dead. It tranlates to grave, hell, or pit. The word
grave is not used in the KJV 1611 New Testament because it was understood what
hell meant. The word that was related as the grave in the KJV 1611 New Testament
is geena (gheh'-en-nah) which is of the same Hebrew origin and refers back to
what we covered above as the valley of (the son of) Hinnom; ge-henna (or Ge-Hinnom).
Many have never been taught that in the time of Jesus life the Valley of Hinnom was used as the garbage dump of Jerusalem. They cast all the filth and garbage of the city into it; including the dead bodies of animals and executed criminals. The fires burned day and night as to completely burn all the garbage to ashes. Jesus used this scene as a symbol of hell. What Jesus truly stated when teaching about hell fire was "Do you want to know what hell is like? "Look at the valley of Gehenna." (Or the valley of hell fire.) Jesus knew that they would understand that hell (meaning the grave) and fire meant total destruction much like our cremation today.. Let's look at more examples and scriptures to understand this as there are many scriptures that reveal not only the dead are dead, but that the wicked will be completely destroyed.
Let's look at what is recorded in Mal 4:3. "You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this," says the LORD of hosts." Notice the wicked will become ashes an this prophecy is about the end of all evil. Sodom and Gomorrah was burned with fire and the fire is referred to as eternal fire in Jude 1:7. Notice the words "the vengeance of eternal fire." Are Sodom and Gomorrah still burning in eternal fire today? No, - but their destruction is eternal. The word used in Jude 1:7 is "aionios" meaning everlasting, and "aion" means perpetuity, or without end. In the same way the wicked will be burned up and become ashes. Can ashes be tormented forever? The term ashes denotes a complete destruction. We know that ashes cannot suffer forever but the "consequences" of their sins will remain "forever." What does this mean in Rev 14:11. "And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name." It sounds like torment will be forever when misguided teachers use this scripture to say eternal torment is what the wicked will receive. The reason they misunderstand this is because they fail to read the words; "And the "smoke" of their torment" as these words show it is the "smoke" that ascends up forever meaning the "consequences" of their sin is forever; not that they are tormented forever. This verse with many others like Mal 4:3, reveal the wicked will never exist again, but will become ashes as Jesus denoted concerning the Valley of Hinnom.
(Their judgment is final)
The people at Mount Carmel near Waco Texas was gassed, and then destroyed by
fire by the Government. The smoke of their torment still ascends up to this
day, although the place is not still burning nor are they still suffering. What
about the wording "and they have no rest day or night,"? This too
can be misinterpreted as people being tormented forever. To find the truth we
must look at the word "rest" in the Greek. The word rest is anapausis;
meaning "intermission," so "no rest" means "without
intermission," which means the same thing as, "their destruction is
final." Their destruction is without intermission in the same way as "the
smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever." The false teaching of
eternal torment has those we love who are dead, and supposed worst sinners than
the rest of us are now being tormented with fire. Most of us have been burned
with fire to some degree or another and can in some small way imagine what it
must be like to have our bodies engulfed in fire forever.
What a way to treat people who may have never known of or even heard of Jesus' sacrifice. What a cruel thing to do to people who never had a chance to understand the true plan of salvation and never loved evil but was decent and respectable people although they have not accepted Jesus. What about those who were deeply hurt by some preacher or Christian and as a result turned from the Church? What about the people who did the best they could, but was born in a family of drug addicts and the addiction was stronger than they were, and died in their sins, never truly understanding how to overcome? Can you see a loving and forgiving God say "Oh well cast them into the lake of fire to be tormented forever!" This teaching of eternal torment was brought into the Church by preachers, and the like, trying to scare people into going to Church. This LIE is also from Satan who is trying to make our loving Father appear evil. Satan is the one who would torment people, not our loving God who gave His son for us! You can not find the teaching of eternal torment or the dead being in heaven any place in scripture!!
The truth is much more rewarding:
The fantastic truth of God is far greater than what is taught today. The
truth is a Kingdom is coming, and because of Jesus' sacrifice we can be part
of it if we are willing to repent and accept Jesus as our savior and be willing
to do the best we can to work on changing our character. The truth is we can
become priests, ruling with Jesus with a fantastic love we never dreamed possible.
The truth is a wonderful world is coming with all the good fruits and beautiful
valleys and with all the creation living in complete harmony. A world where
God will make all that is wrong right and we will finally receive what God created
us to have. Let’s read the bible's account of this wonderful time.
Isa 11:6-9 "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. The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like
the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, and the weaned child
shall put his hand in the viper's den. 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."
This is the true gospel Jesus our savior preached. This is the good news that was preached by the apostles. What God will do out of love is forever put to sleep those who love Satan and don't want to change so all who do will be able to live throughout eternity in peace. Please understand that God does not want us coming to Him because we fear burning in torment forever, but because we "want to love" Him and be a part of His wonderful Kingdom continuing to learn, grow, and build in this Kingdom as spirit born children of God having a fantastic love relationship with our heavenly Father and our elder brother Jesus the Messiah. God does not want anyone to be in His Kingdom that truly does not understand the point of it, or who does not want to be there. That is the whole point of our Christian walk which is to learn and develop holy righteousness character. To chose now to do what is right even when our human nature pulls us towards selfishness. We as begotten children of God must work now with the Holy Spirit to become mature Christians and that is why we must study to prove the truth of God and not follow some man, or organization of men, who teach contrary to the bible. Don't ever let a misguided minister convince you that God has the same evil nature as Satan the devil. No! God loves us all with an everlasting love that is far greater then we can fully understand.
What did John record in I Jn 4:9? "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him." We see here that God first loved us. He did not have to send Jesus to die for our sins, and Jesus did not have to come and suffer by the hands of evil men. When mankind neglects to believe and obey God's command he causes the curse of death to come upon himself. God does not do this to us, but He gives us a way out through Jesus our Christ in a pure heart of deep love for us all. Remember, God the Father, and Jesus our elder brother wants us to come to them because we have realized that their ways are full of life, joy, health, and prosperity. They want us to repent because we understand how harmful sin is, and how magnificent it will be to live in the Kingdom they are preparing for us now. They want us to love them because of who they are, not for what we think we can get from them. They want our love for them to be just as Their love is for us, which is unconditional. This kind of love is free love, and when this kind of love is within a family, Church, or Nation, no one wants to do anything to harm any of the others, but actively looks for ways to help, and serve. This is what God desires to give us all after death, or the resurrection; question is...do we believe it, and are we willing to receive it?
For related subjects See...
The Gospel of Jesus the Messiah
Hellenistic influence on Christianity