BS-9 ‘DEATH; What then?’ Rev.-3
I was thinking about a few friends who have gone on to eternity; some were fearful about the thought of death but a few were ready; thinking that there was something better. What do you think?
- When I looked up DEATH there was a little more about the word than I expected.
Physical DEATH.
Spiritual DEATH.
Eternal DEATH.
Even how you die; where you die; or even when you die are questions…? kinda like; where and when will Jesus return?
- There is probably more here than can be covered in an hour’s Bible Study, so some basics.
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What do I think? What do other denominations of religious believers think?
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Physical DEATH is probably the easiest to define.
When you take your last breath or your heart beats for the last time you die.
Man, woman, dog, or a monkey; it is the same for all of us.
What happens After Death? That is a different can of worms to tackle. After doing a little research there are opinion(s) on this subject by a lot of folks.
- Does scripture have anything to say about where the Spirit and Soul go?
First you ask yourself; has the person who just died Trusted in Christ as Savior & Lord; are they a Christian believer? It is a yes or no CHOICE for everyone to make.
NO – Hades is their place, the realm of the dead where they wait for Judgement.
YES – Paradise is their place; it is where the thief on the cross went to be with the Lord. Called the ‘abode of the Righteous’ or referred to as Abrahams bosom in scripture.
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A parable taught by Jesus.
Luke 16:19-29 NASB
19 “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. 20 And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, 21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. 22 Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; [Abrahams bosom is a name for Paradise] and the rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom [In Paradise]. 24 And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’ [Once death occurs there is no crossing between Paradise and Hades] 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ [In today’s world we have the scriptures to look at; if people don’t BELIEVE the Word; it is a choice they make but once dead; eternity is sealed.] Also, there is no sin in being rich but we are to love others.
- Where do people in Hades go?
Revelation 20:11-15 NASB
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened [judgement books of unrighteous]; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
[The child of God, the Christian, does not go to Hades; Paradise awaits them. At the last heart-beat destiny is sealed.]
Matthew 11:23, NASB
23 And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. 24 Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.” [Are there degree(s) of punishment?]
- Is Paradise another word for what people believe as the 3rd Heaven?
2 Corinthians 12:2-4, NASB
2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows— 4 was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. [The Apostle Paul describing an experience he had; he was not allowed to describe what it looked like but he used the word Paradise to describe it. A mystery to us who are alive today.]
- What will people look like in heaven?
1 Corinthians 15:42-49 NASB
46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.47 The first man is [Adam] from the earth, earthy; the second man [Jesus] is from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy [natural]; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly [spiritual]. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. [We who are man and woman are created in the image of God. Will we look like we do today?….that is a mystery]
- Will your wife on earth be your wife in heaven?
Mark 12:18-26, NASB
18 Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and leaves no child, his brother should marry the wife and raise up children to his brother [Deut. 25:5]. 20 There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children. 21 The second one married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise; 22 and so all seven left no children. Last of all the woman died also. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, which one’s wife will she be? For all seven had married her.” 24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.” [Jesus teaches that in heaven there are no marriages; it was established for the human race to inhabit the earth. In heaven we will have perfect spiritual minds-no lust or sin to encounter]
Revelation 19:7-10
There is one marriage in heaven. It is when the Bridegroom, Jesus, takes the Church, the Saints who have been redeemed through the plan of God, to become His bride. [Jesus spoke a parable about a wedding feast in Matthew 22:1-14; it’s the story of the marriage; scripture is written at the bottom of this study.]
- What do other religions believe?
This took me on a rabbit trail, because as the information was being gathered, I ran into some IF / THEN conclusions on the different groupings.
Atheist PRS – First off, they tell the world they have a disbelief in the existence of God therefore they have no right standing belief with anyone of a supreme nature.
Atheist AD – The thought is that they cease to exist. Their conscious life ends but friends do have the memory of them.
Heathen or Ungodly PRS – This group of people could be intelligent and good people as the world views good. It is likely they just don’t view God as anyone to have a right standing with or spend time thinking about; just spending their entire secular life doing things as they please.
Heathen or Ungodly AD – I found no written information on the subject of a nonreligious person. Obviously, they have no affiliation to a religion themselves but may have had a slight memory [head knowledge] along the way but never took the time in their life’s journey, to make a point of actually looking or seeking to find God as a source for redemption.
Devil Worshiper FALLEN – The first known church of Satan was established in San Francisco in 1966. Most people of this group believe that Satan is a real entity who they revere. There are some who do not espouse a belief that Satan literally exist. Satanist are born, not made, was a quote mentioned.
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Based on the research of Religions it appears that what happens after the Physical DEATH is determined by the Person’s Right Standing with their Lord. Some examples are listed.
ISLAM PRS – Boiled down they believe that IF the good outweighs the bad then the balance will get them into paradise. They believe IF Allah wishes to tip the balance it is ok, because he is supreme.
ISLAM AD – Believes there is a resurrection of the body. They do believe in a HELL where there is torment, and also PARADISE. To the extreme they believe in maidens available for the righteous men.
Old JEWS PRS – They believe that obeying the LAW [the Old Testament], prayer, and repentance lead to Salvation, which also has a lot to do with involvement in the overall improvement of society, in general.
Old JEWS AD – Belief in a resurrection. The obedient will live with God forever but the unrighteous will suffer. Some of the old Jews do not believe in a conscious life after death.
Hinduism PRS – Their basic belief is that it takes cycles [many lifetimes] of reincarnation until absorbed into a union with Brahman.
Hinduism AD – IF a person has behaved well, their reincarnation will be into a better status; IF bad they will pay for their sins by suffering in the next reborn status.
Jehovah Wit. PRS – They believe a person must be baptized as a J.W. They also believe a person must go door-to-door witnessing [good works]. They used to believe only 144,000 anointed ones would be SAVED but now that their fellowship is over that figure the J.W. have changed their mission statement.
Jehovah Wit. AD – The J.W. will live as spirits in Heaven. The rest of the righteous will live on earth for 1000 years. If they obey God perfectly, that’s good, but if they fail they will be annihilated for their sin.
Mormon PRS – First, they believe only Mormons will inherit eternal life. They believe Mormons can be elevated to godhood by good works including secret temple rituals etc…
Mormon AD – Eventually nearly every Mormon goes to one of three separate heavenly kingdoms with some of them achieving godhood. Apostates and murders go to ‘outer darkness’.
Christian Science PRS – Their basic belief is that all humans are eternally SAVED. Terms like sin, evil, sickness, and death are not real.
Christian Science AD – Since death is not real, Heaven and Hell are just states of mind. A person must attain harmony, an oneness with God, to reach heaven.
Scientology PRS – There is no sin or a need to repent. There is a need to work on hang-ups to progress up the bridge to total freedom.
Scientology AD – Nothing…. There is no judgement or Hell awaiting the human race.
New Age PRS – There is a need to offset bad karma with good karma through mediation or self-awareness; they use the term reborn through this new self-awareness.
New Age AD – There is no resurrected person and no literal Heaven or Hell. They believe human reincarnations occur until a person reaches oneness with God.
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Christian / Messianic Jew PRS – Basic belief is that it’s the GRACE of God, not good works that leads to Salvation. A person must have FAITH that the Gospel is the written Word and that it comes from God. Aren’t people supposed to Repent [Mark 1:15] and Believe. Only the blood or atonement provided by the Lord is sufficient. God, the Son, provided the blood. Every human on earth today is a sinner [Romans 3:23] and needs a Savior; otherwise where would the reconciliation, redemption, and forgiveness come from? Who is/was their substitute for sin [Romans 6:23]? Why are Christians, now justified with God? Have Christian followers been adopted as saints into God’s eternal family?
Couple other things; like confession and acceptance need to be on the list. What does [Matthew 10:32] mention about confession that needs to be done. If salvation is a free gift that can be obtained from the Lord; what do people have to do to receive that gift? Don’t they have to ACCEPT the gift before it is theirs?
Christian / Messianic Jew AD – This is the only group [in this study] believing in the resurrection of Christ. Also the only group believing that Jesus is God, the Son. Jesus believers, when they meet death on earth [when the physical heart stops] the spirit leaves the body and goes to be with the Lord [1 Cor. 6:19]. The Christ follower’s body, as a mortal, is the temple of the Holy Spirit, that is, once conversion actually takes place [John 3:5-6]. Just as Christ was resurrected the Christian will have a resurrection one day. Christians believe it will be a new immortal body and that eternity goes on forever with the Lord.
Christians believe that for those who have had the chance to repent [Acts 3:18], to confess [Romans 10:9-10], to accept the GIFT [Ephesians 2:8-9], and to conscientiously believe [Colossians 1:13-20] [not just a head knowledge that someone named Jesus existed but totally TRUST him as Lord] what the Christian scripture teaches, and then they reject it or ignore it, they will die as LOST, not SAVED people.
IF they are SAVED, they are not judged as the LOST will be. The Lord rules as the JUDGE at the great white throne judgement [Revelation 20:11-15] at the end of the Age. It sounds harsh but Hell is not a place people want to go. It is a place of eternal torment. There are no balances of Good or Bad listed in scripture, because all mortals are sinners, per the Word of God. The Christian has to depend on the Lord, who took sin upon himself and shed his own blood [Atonement] as Gods forever sacrifice. HE did the ultimate when HE suffered ONCE for ALL. HE provides a CLEAN SLATE for us.
Note – Hell represents Eternal DEATH although it is actually Eternal Torment or Torture. Who, in their right mind, would like to suffer for eternity?
- There are several more religions who have various beliefs but this is all I chose to share in this study.
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ARE YOU READY for DEATH? ARE YOU READY for JUDGEMENT? Eternity, are you ready for it? When the LAST BREATH is taken, everyone’s eternal destiny will have already been determined!
Have you made the choices based on the scriptures?
Mark 1:14-15, Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” [Have you?]
Romans 3:23, for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God [There are sinners & there are saved sinners; which are you?]
Romans 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Matthew 10:32-33, “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven,” said Jesus.
1 Cor. 6:19-20, Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
John 3:5-6, Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Acts 3:18-19, But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord
Ephesians 2:8-9, For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
[Have you ever accepted the gift that God offers?]
Colossians 1:15-20, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
[Jesus is God the Son with total authority in heaven & earth]
Revelation 20:11-15, Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. [The Book of Life and the Books of Judgement; they are different books.]
The Wedding
Matthew 22:1-14, Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king, [God], who gave a wedding feast for his son, [Jesus]. 3 And he sent out his slaves [Disciples] to call those [the Jews] who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. 4 Again he sent out other slaves [Apostles] saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But they [the Jews] paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, 6 and the rest [Chief Priest] seized his slaves [Followers] and mistreated them and killed them. 7 But the king [God] was enraged, and he sent his armies [Angels] and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. 8 Then he said to his slaves, [Disciples] ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main highways, and as many [the true church] as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ 10 Those slaves [Disciples] went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil [sinners] and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. 11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man [unsaved person] there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes [purity of Christ transferred to me]?’ And the man was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants [angels], ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness [Hades]; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called [the Gospel preached], but few are chosen [those who repent and trust].
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Why do I write and POST this information you might ask; it is to get ‘ALL’ to think about what needs to take place in our lives before we die. So, what do you believe? What is your choice?
DG