growandknow: Death...What It Really Is....

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Death...What It Really Is....

Speaking of facts, a few fun facts on death:

FACTS FROM THE SCRIPTURES CONCERNING DEATH
by Joseph E Kirk and George L Rogers

I. WHAT IS DEATH?

1. Death is a return (Gen 3:17-19).
"Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

Psa. 146:2-4 Eccl 3:19,20
Job 34:14,15 Eccl 12:1-7

Death is a return of the person, of the body, and of the spirit.

2. Death is the opposite of life, or the absence of life, not life in some other form or place.
2 Ki 20:1 "thou that die and not live"
Rev 20:4-6 "the dead live not until"
Num 4:19 "that they may live, and not die"

3. Death is a sleep.
Psa 13:3 "lest I sleep the sleep of death"
1 Th 4:13-18 "them that are asleep"
Dan 12:2 "them that sleep in the dust"

Both the righteous and the unrighteous are said to be asleep when they are dead.

4. Death is an enemy.
1 Co 15:26 "the last enemy abolished is death"

II. WHERE ARE THE DEAD?

1. They are all in one place (Eccl 3:19,20).
Psa 22:15 Job 7:21
Gen 3:19 compare Gen 2:7

2. Their place is one of silence and repose.
Job 3:11-22 Psa 115:17
Psa 88:10-12 Eccl 9:10

3. They are not with Christ in heaven.
John 3:13 Acts 2:34

The statement that David ascended not into the heavens is made after the resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The only way believers get to be with the Lord is by His coming for them. See 1 Thes 4:16-17, "so shall we ever be with the Lord." Also John 14:3, "I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." Death is never said to take one to be with the Lord.

4. The dead are in their graves.
John 5:28-29 "all who are in their graves"
Dan 12:2 "them that sleep in the dust"
Isa 26:19 "ye that dwell in the dust"

In the Word of God the dead are always said to be where their bodies are.

III. WHAT IS THE STATE OF THE DEAD?

1. They sleep and rest.
1 The 4:13-18 1 Cor 15:51-57
Acts 7:60 compare Acts 8:2
John 11:11 compare John 11:14
1 Cor 15:3-20 Dan 12:2

The Scriptures never speak of the sleep of the soul, nor of the sleep of the body. They always speak of the sleep of the person with reference to death. The sleep of death obliterates the interval between this life and the next, in so far as consciousness is concerned.

2. They praise not the Lord nor exercise mental powers.
Psa 6:5 Psa 115:17 Psa 8:10-12
Eccl 9:4-6 Psa 146:4 Isa 38:18,19

3. They do not live until the resurrection.
Rev 20:4-6 1 Cor 15:12-21

IV. WHAT COMFORTING ASSURANCE DOES GOD GIVE CONCERNING THE DEAD?

1. That they will all be resurrected.
John 5:28-29 Rev 20:11-15

2. That they will all ultimately receive fulness of life through the saving work of Jesus Christ.
1 Cor 15:22-28 1 Tim 2:3-6
Rom 5:18,19 1 Tim 4:9-11

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WHAT ABOUT THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL?

The Scriptures never speak of the "immortality of the soul." On the contrary there are many places where the soul is said to die. See Isa 53:12; Ezek 18:4,20; Psa 78:50; Psa 116:1-8; Mat 26:38; etc.

The word "immortality" occurs altogether only three times in the original Scriptures:

1 Tim 6:13-16 "Christ only hath immortality"
1 Cor 15:53 "this mortal must put on immortality"
1 Cor 15:54 "this mortal shall have put on immortality"

Believers receive immortality when, not before, Jesus Christ returns. Faith in Christ as Saviour does not swallow up death in victory. Even believers are said to be dead (1 Thes 4:16, "the dead in Christ"; 1 Cor 15:51,52; John 11:25). For believers, death is swallowed up in victory when Jesus Christ returns and raises the dead and transforms the living. See 1 Cor 15:54-57.

The teaching that man is inherently immortal robs Jesus Christ of glory that belongs to Him for it is only through Him and His saving work that man receives immortality.

"Death of the body" and "resurrection of the body" are expressions not to be found in the Scriptures. Death is of the person. Resurrection is of the person. In the Scriptures the person is said to die. See Deut 10:6; Josh 1:2; Josh 24:33; 1 Sam 4:17-19; Rom 5:6; etc.)

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SOUL AND THE SPIRIT

The Scriptures distinguish clearly between the spirit and the soul. The spirit and the breath are closely related as may be seen in the expression "the breath of the spirit of life" (Gen 7:22, R.S.V. or marginal reading; 2 Sam 22:16; Psa 18:15; Isa 42:5). The spirit is that invisible life force from God which when united with the body produces the consciousness, the sensation, the ego. The soul is the consciousness, the sensation, the ego (Isa 29:8; Gen 42:21; Deut 12:15-23; Job 10:1; Job 21:25; Psa 43:5; Psa 107:18; etc.). The soul of the flesh is said to be in the blood (Lev 17:11; Gen 9:4; etc.). The word translated life in these passages is the Hebrew word for soul, nephesh[1].

An electric light serves as a good illustration of the difference between the body, the soul, and the spirit. Let the bulb and its filament, which is made from the elements out of the earth, represent the body. Let the electricity, an invisible force, represent the spirit. Let the light and heat produced by the union of the electricity with the bulb, represent the soul. When the connection is broken the light goes out. Out where? To the unseen or unperceived.

When God created man, He formed him out of the dust of the ground. He then breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and as a result man became a living soul (Gen 2:7).

Death is a reversal of what happened in the creation. At death, the spirit (not the consciousness, but the force from God which when united with the body produces it) returns to God from whence it came. The soul (the sensation, the consciousness, the ego) dies. The body returns to the dust and the person is dead until resurrection.

The spirit, the soul, and the person go to different places at death. The spirit returns to God (Eccl 12:7). The soul goes to Hades (Acts 2:27). The person is said to be in the grave (John 5:28). When our Lord Jesus Christ died His spirit went to God (Luke 23:46); His soul went to Hades[2] (Acts 2:22-32); He, Himself, is said to have been in the tomb during the days He was dead (1 Cor 15:3,4; Mat 12:40).

Failure to grasp the truth concerning death strikes at the very heart of the gospel. Whatever the wages of sin is, Jesus Christ endured it to the full, in order to become man's Saviour. If the wages of sin is eternal punishment, Jesus Christ could not be the Saviour of anyone, for He did not endure that. If the wages of sin is annihilation, He could not be the Saviour of anyone, for He did not endure that. "The wages of sin is death" (Rom 6:23). "Christ died for our sins, was buried and was raised the third day" (1 Cor 15:1-5).

Failure to recognize the facts concerning death makes resurrection unimportant. If the dead are alive enjoying the bliss of a better life without a body, what real need is there for a resurrection? When the facts that the dead are really dead is understood, resurrection becomes all-important. "If there is no resurrection, let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die" (1 Cor 15:32). The only scriptural hope for the dead is resurrection, apart from which there is no further life for them. "The dead live not until (resurrection)". See Rev 20:4-12 and compare John 5:28,29. Two resurrections separated by a thousand years are referred to in these passages.

Wrong views concerning death result in wrong views concerning the future punishment of the wicked. The combined result of this is a teaching that slanders God and dishonors the Lord Jesus Christ.

There will be wrath and punishment for the wicked but it will fit the crimes and will accomplish a good purpose (John 5:22,23). God is going to be All in all in due time (1 Cor 15:28). This is brought about by and through the saving work of Jesus Christ, Who is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25). There is no life during death, but through Him all will ultimately receive fullness of life, or immortality. In this manner death, all death, the first and the second, will be abolished from God's universe (1 Cor 15:22-28). When all have been Justified (Rom 5:18,19), Reconciled to God (Col 1:20), and Subjected to the Son (1 Cor 15:27,28; Phil 2:9-11; Eph 1:9,10), then the Son will deliver up a perfected universe to the Father and God will be All in all. Nothing short of being the Saviour of all men will satisfy Him (1 Tim 4:9-11; 1 Tim 2:3-6)

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[1] The Hebrew word for soul, nephesh, is translated in more than 30 different ways in the Authorized Version. Some examples are as follows: any, appetite, beast, creature, dead body, desire, fish, ghost, heart, life, lust, man, mind, mortally, pleasure, will, thing, self, etc. A booklet entitled "What is the Soul?, which contains all the references to these translations may be had from Concordant Publishing Concern, 15570 Knochaven Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91350.

[2] Hades and Sheol are different words for the same place.Hades is the Greek word used in the New Testament and Sheol is the Hebrew word used in the Old Testament. Compare Psalm 16:10, R.S.V., with Acts 2:27, R.S.V. There is a close connection between the grave and Sheol or Hades. Hades means the unseen or the unperceived. The spirit is never associated with hades in the Scriptures. It is the soul that goes to Hades.

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The Appearing In Heaven

.........The timing of the realization of our BLESSED HOPE......After Israel were put to one side at the end of the book of Acts, Paul was inspired to write Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians 1@Timothy, Titus and Philemon. In Ephesians we read of the wonderful new hope set before us believers today; Eph 2:1 And He has made you alive, who were once dead in trespasses and sins, Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us Eph 2:5 (even when we were dead in sins) has made us alive together with Christ (by grace you are saved), Eph 2:6 and has raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, Eph 2:7 so that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. God has declared that we have been quickened (made alive) in Christ, we have been raised together, and seated together in the heavenlies in Christ, exactly the same place where Christ has been raised and seated at the Father’s right hand, see Ephesians 1:19-21. There, where Christ is seated above all of the heavenly rulers and authorities, is our glorious inheritance in front of God’s face. There our blessings are located and there we are the heirs of God. Is it any wonder Paul brings this wonderful section to a close with these verses; Eph 2:8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, Eph 2:9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. Many Christians love these verses thinking they only refer to Christ dying for our sin and sins, but the salvation provided by grace through faith in Ephesians 2 goes way past these foundational truths to include our glorious inheritance in the heavenlies and the unique blessings we have there. We have been raised and seated together in the heavenlies that is the context of “FOR by grace you are saved through faith”. Praise the Lord, what a wonderful salvation by grace! This salvation is not an earthly one. We, the Church which is His Body, are not destined for the earth. We are not to be blessed with faithful Abraham; nor is the Jerusalem above the mother of us all today. These things were put aside with Israel at Acts 28. Galatians, 1@2Corinthians, 1@2 Thessalonians, Hebrews and Romans which were written before Acts 28, speak of Christ dying for our sins, but they know nothing of the wonderful hope we have today by grace through faith as found in Ephesians and Colossians written after Acts 28. After Israel was put aside then the Lord gave to Paul this wonderful salvation concerning heavenly places. This hope is an element of the Mystery, the present dispensation of the grace of God which was hidden away from ages and generations and it was also hidden away from Paul during the Acts period. We now begin to address a very important question. Since God’s Word says we, in Christ, have been raised and seated in the heavenlies where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, exactly when will we literally be seated there in the heavenlies or heavenly places? In other words, when will our hope become sight? When will our faith be realized? When will God’s Word regarding us come to pass? When will we be seated there in our wonderful new bodies “fashioned like His glorious body”? What is the timing of our hope? The answer to this is found in Colossians 3:1-4 which flows wonderfully onwards from Ephesians 2; Col 3:1 If then (or since, if does not always mean doubt) you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Col 3:2 Be mindful of things above, not on things on the earth. Col 3:3 For you died, and your life has been hidden with Christ in God. Col 3:4 When Christ our Life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. Here we are clearly told that “WHEN” our Lord, The Head is revealed, “THEN” we, the Church which is His Body, will also be revealed “WITH HIM”. That is the timing of our hope; the revealing of our Lord. Here are one or two other versions: Col 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Col 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Col 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Col 3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. (KJV) And Col 3:1 If then ye were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. Col 3:2 Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth. Col 3:3 For ye died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Col 3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory. (RV) These three versions use “revealed”, “appear” and “manifested” to translate the Greek word “phaneroo”. Here are some helpful definitions of “phaneroo”: Strong’s. phaneroo; from G5318; to render apparent (literally or figuratively): - appear, manifestly declare, (make) manifest (forth), shew (self). Word Study (E-Sword). phaneroo; manifest, visible, conspicuous. To make apparent, manifest, known, show openly. Dr Strong says that the word “phaneroo” comes from another word, G5318 which is “phaneros”. Phaneros means “shining” and itself comes from a word which means “light, to give light”. When our Lord appears it is a moment of revelation involving great light, a shining forth. Where is this shining forth; this appearing of our Lord? The location is very clearly identified; it is “where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God”. Our Lord will be seated at God’s right hand when He is manifested. We shall look more closely at this in a later lesson but for now we recognize this is not in the air of 1 Thess.4, where the clouds are located. We can see a contrast in this Colossians passage. Notice, our life is “hidden with Christ in God” and while these things are hidden now, there is a time coming when they will be manifested or revealed. This moment will be a very bright one, a blazing forth as some have described it. It will be a glorious moment when our Lord and Head is manifested, but you and me and the rest of the Church which is His Body will be manifested there, in the heavenly places with Him. What will this appearing be like? Imagine you are sitting on a chair on top of a hill which, if there was light, would be clearly visible to the city below. The hill and the city are in darkness but there comes a time when the top of the hill is illuminated with a bright light. Then you, sitting on top of the hill, will be clearly visible to all those in the city below. You on your chair have been “manifested”, you have been “revealed”, you have “appeared” to all. In a similar but far more extensive way the Lord will appear to all in a blazing forth of light. He will be seen by those in the heavenly places, and by those on the earth beneath. Please consider the following verses as an anticipation of future lessons; Mat 24:27 For as the lightning comes out of the east and shines even to the west, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man. Mat 24:29 And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. Mat 24:30 And then the sign of the Son of Man shall appear (phaino-the same family of words giving phaneroo of Colossians 3) in the heavens. Act 2:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before that great and glorious (epiphanes- the same family of words giving phaneroo of Colossians 3) Day of the Lord. And Mat 26:64 Jesus said to him, You said it. I tell you more. From this time you shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of the heavens. Act 7:56 And he (Stephen) said, Behold, I see Heaven opened and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. And this passage; Rev 6:12 And when He had opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake. And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. Rev 6:13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, even as a fig tree casts her untimely figs when she is shaken by a mighty wind. Rev 6:14 And the heaven departed like a scroll when it is rolled together. And every mountain and island were moved out of their places. Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. Rev 6:16 And they said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him sitting on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; When the Lord is manifested in the heavenly places, the world will be morally, spiritually and physically dark and in that darkened day a light will blaze forth, our Lord shall be visible and “every eye shall see Him”. The heavens will be peeled back and they will see Him sitting on the right hand of God. This “appearing” of our Lord and Head is far above the clouds, and the air of 1 Thess.4. This is before He begins His descent to the earth. In the day; in the moment our Lord is manifested on the right hand of God, we shall be there in our seats manifested with Him. What an honor, what a moment of unimaginable joy. Let each one of us set our affection “where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God”, for there, in front of God’s face, we have been raised and seated to “appear with Him”. That moment of His appearing is when our hope will be realized. .....

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TRUST JESUS CHRIST AND HIS (FINISHED WORK) PLUS NOTHING

I started this blog for the Lord in January 2008.
The first post was about the confusion of when the Rapture
will occur. Pre, Mid, Post, and other ideas. The Holy Spirit
has been teaching me all these things because The Lord has
given me a love of his TRUTH. I was saved before I started the blog because I already trusted in Jesus' FINISHED WORK
on the cross and believed in the Scriptural resurrection of
our Savior. The FIRST STEP for any person to understand
your Bible, is to TRUST ONLY IN JESUS CHRIST for his
completed saving work on the cross and believe he was resurrected to Glory as Scripture tells us......PLUS NOTHING
else ! Not works of any kind, denominational dogmas and
traditions of men that try to add works and sacraments,
good deeds, tithing, creeds, laws of men or God, baptism in
water by men in any name, and anything else men try to tell
you need to do in their particular denomination of men to add
to the FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST on the cross. ONCE YOU TOTALLY TRUST CHRIST JESUS FOR YOUR SALVATION AND PLUS NOTHING ELSE, The Holy Spirit
will at that very moment...baptize you into the Body of Christ
and from then, on the Holy Spirit will teach you all things a little at a time, line upon line from the Living Word of Truth
in Scriptures. Don't trust anyone or denomination, but
search in HIS WORD to see if these things are so.

The second thing barring sincere seekers of truth from
Truth, is that most all denominations, including the first
denomination the RCC, believe in some way, they as "the church", have received Israel's blessings and have become
the new, "Spiritual Israel" This teaching found in Replacement
Theology, Amillennialism, Covenant Theology are totally
FALSE. To understand properly God's Word, one must
do what is found in II Tim 2:15. 15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

All Scripture is for your knowledge and understanding, but
God has worked with men differently in times past, now,
and in the future. All Scripture is not written to you to follow
as it was to Israel in the past. Israel was under the LAW program and the Body of Christ today is under the GRACE
program. You must(rightly divide)between the two of these
churches to understand what was meant for Times past and what is meant for the Body of Christ today.

I will be talking about and posting from now on about what
the Holy Spirit has been teaching me in particular in my walk
in faith and in spirit in Christ, as part of his Body.

May God bless you richly in the wonders and DEEP RICHES
spiritually of his Grace.

Amen
Sincerely in Christ Jesus,
Your Brother Mark

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GLEAN and GROW in FAITH and KNOWLEDEGE

It is a common, but very serious MISTAKE.....
to think that just because you disagree on some points....
another brother in Christ Jesus, in the Body of Christ, has about the Rapture....that you cannot "GLEAN " MANY OTHER IMPORTANT NUGGETS OF TRUTH.......
that will aid us in growing in grace and knowledge of the
BIG PICTURE overall in what is happening and will happen
in PROPHECY...on the stage of history.

Come Brothers....let us share and learn about issues of
importants.... WITHOUT getting upset. There are many wonderful pieces of the puzzle we can glean from other brothers.
Hold fast to your truth...but don't be so dogmatic, so closed minded, so upset....not to dialog between brothers and sisters of the same
Body of Christ...even though we might disagree on some points.

God will act His way regardless of our.....
at this present time....SEEING THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY

Remember....When we are all changed we will understand
ALL.....and see Him as He Is.......Amen

God Bless,
BrotherMark

The Price To Free You Has Been Paid...Just Accept It

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Death...What It Really Is....

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