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By
Jeff
Rath 5/99
It is a common belief that when someone dies they go directly
to heaven where they find Saint Peter and the pearly gates
of heaven. Then the newly deceased person gets a white
robe, a harp, a pair of wings, a halo, and maybe even a
cigar. Then he or she floats on a cloud for eternity. Basically
this is mythology that contradicts the many clear Bible
verses on this subject.
If you watch a movie or TV, you are quite likely to see
the dead portrayed as being alive. If you go to a funeral,
you are likely to hear that God killed the dead person
so that He could have another person in heaven. If you
call a psychic advisor he or she will claim to communicate
with the dead, and will bring you advice and council from
your dead relatives.
According to Time Magazine of 3-24-97, 61% of the people
asked believe that the dead go directly to heaven, and
an additional 15% believe that the dead go to purgatory.
Popular opinion, religious tradition, and mythology do
not line up with the accuracy of God's Word. But it doesn't
matter what public opinion is or what religions teach -
- what matters is what the Word of God says, and specifically
what the Word of God says about the dead.
Man's Religions (1968)
John B. Noss
"The early Christians spoke
of death as a going to sleep until the Judgment Day."
What Happens When We
Die? (1986) Anthony Buzzard
"The New
Testament offers the simple proposition that, in contrast
to popular tradition, all the dead are actually dead,
unconscious, "asleep," awaiting a resurrection to
life to occur at a specific moment of future history."
"traditional thinking and New Testament
teaching are poles apart,"
Traditional popular Christian thought and modern mythology
says that the dead are alive, and that they are now much
better off. God's Word says that the dead are dead. There
is no consciousness in death, no knowledge, and no wisdom.
Ecclesiastes 9:4-6,10
For
to him that is joined to all the living there is hope:
for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
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.
6 Also their love, and their
hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they
any more a portion for ever in any thing that
is done under the sun.
10 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.
Psalm 6:5
For in death there
is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall
give thee thanks?
Psalm 115:17
The dead praise
not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
Psalm 146:4
His breath goeth
forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his
thoughts perish.
The ancient Babylonians believed that the dead lived on
after death.
Mythology of the Babylonian
People (1915) Donald A. Mackenzie
"Darkness
was peopled by demons and ghosts of the dead."
"Ghosts and evil spirits wandered
through the streets in darkness; they haunted empty houses;
they fluttered through the evening air as bats; they
hastened, moaning dismally, across barren wastes searching
for food or lay in wait for travelers; they came as roaring
lions and howling jackals, hungering for human flesh."
That sounds like a script for a bad 1950's horror film.
But there are those who teach that when you die you are
not really dead, but instead you are either in heaven or
hell. Heaven is supposed to be eternal bliss, and hell
is supposed to be eternal torture.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
But I
would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning
them which are asleep, [dead] that ye sorrow not, even
as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that
Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep
in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you
by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain
unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [precede]
them which are asleep. [dead]
16 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:
17 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.
18 Wherefore comfort one
another with these words.
When people try to comfort others by telling them that
the dead are alive, it is a false comfort, and a false
hope. They talk about someone being in heaven, but what
about the possibility of someone being in hell? What kind
of comfort is it to tell someone that their dear departed
friend or relative is being tortured in hell, or is a restless
ghost haunting the living. It is a comfort to know that
the dead are not wandering around like ectoplasmic zombies
moaning and dragging chains, but instead they are asleep
and the next thing they will know is when Jesus Christ
wakes them up. The true hope is that
there is a day coming when Jesus Christ will return and
the dead shall be raised. Jesus Christ is the only one
who God has raised from the dead. Jesus Christ is the firstborn
from the dead, the first one up. The true Word of God gives
us the truth about the current state of the dead and their
future resurrection.
Romans 8:29
For whom he did
foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn
among many brethren.
Colossians 1:18
And he is the
head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the
firstborn from the dead; that in all things he
might have the preeminence. [that Jesus Christ might be
the preeminent one]
1 Corinthians 15:22-23
For as
in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But every man in his
own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that
are Christ's at his coming.
If the dead are dead and have no consciousness then they
are neither in heaven nor in hell. There is not vast subterranean
torture chamber full of sinners suffering for eternity.
They are all asleep; they are dead.
Catholic Encyclopedia (1991)
"hell is a place of pain and suffering
. . . and is also a place of punishment."
Our contemporary holiday, Halloween, got started as a
holy evening before All Saints Feast [or All Saints Day,
November 1 st ] and the following day All Souls Feast [or
All Souls Day, November 2 nd ]. In some countries the whole
family would go to the graveyard on October 31 st and they
would tell scary stories about the dead. It may seem harmless
to teach children about ghosts and goblins, and to have
them dress up as dead zombies and send them out trick or
treating, but it teaches them to believe in spiritualism
and false doctrine, and it teaches them to believe that
the dead are alive. Most religions teach that the dead
are alive, and, in fact, some religions even profit from
this teaching. They make a lot of money by charging money
to pray for the dead.
The Church in History (1996) B.K. Kuiper
"By the end of the
fifth century . . . unscriptural doctrines and practices
had become deeply rooted in the Church: prayers for
the dead; a belief in purgatory (place in
which souls are purified after death before they can enter
heaven);"
Babylon Mystery Religion (1981) Ralph Woodrow
"The work of the
Reformation did a good job in exposing the abuses of
giving money In behalf of souls in Purgatory."
"To play upon the love and tender
memories of bereaved people, to take money for masses
and long prayers, brings to mind those Jewish priests
at the time of Jesus who would devour widows' houses,
and for a pretence make long prayer"
Let's face it, to charge to pray for the dead to get them
into heaven is extortion, and outright fraud on a grand
scale. It is also taking money for something that can't
be done.
The Gospel According
to Rome (1995) James G. McCarthy
"Though
there is no biblical basis for purgatory, there is
a strong philosophical need for it in Roman Catholic
theology."
"According to the Church, every
sin credits temporal punishment to the sinner's account.
Acts of penance, suffering, and indulgences debt this
account."
"the [Roman Catholic] church uses
purgatory to motivate Catholics to live righteously.
If there were no purgatory, the reasoning goes, people
would go on sinning without fear."
There is no need for one to pay for one's sins in purgatory
or hell because Jesus Christ paid for our sins in full.
I John 2:2.
Harper Collins Encyclopedia
of Catholicism (1995)
"According to Catholic
doctrine, people who die in the state of sanctifying grace
may have committed unabsolved venial sins or still owe
temporal punishment for other sins already forgiven in
the past. In these cases, atonement must be made before
the soul can enjoy the Beatific Vision in heaven."
Boy, there's a load of non-Biblical junk crammed into
a couple of sentences! It's really amazing that con-artists
get people to believe this bizarre religious mythology,
and it is really sad that people fall victim to this devilish
false teaching.
Genesis 3:4
And the serpent
said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Satan the Devil is a bold liar.
He continues to promote this same lie he used in Genesis: "Ye shall not surely
die". This is the essence of spiritualism; it is one of
Satan's foundational lies that supports his vast systems
of error.
Ephesians 4:14
That we henceforth be
no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about
with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning
craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
A more accurate and more literal translation of that verse
would be:
Interlinear Greek-English
New Testament (1996) George Ricker Berry
"That
no longer we may be infants, being tossed and carried
about by every wind of the teaching in the sleight
of men, in craftiness with a view to the systematizing
of error;"
The theology of the dead being
alive originated with the lie "ye shall not surely die:" and
continued into pagan religions; [Babylonians, Egyptians,
Greeks, etc.]. It is manifested in the ESP and psychic
doctrines, and it has crept into Christian doctrine.
And it continues to spread. It is a whole system of error
- - it is very logical, it is very intellectual, it is
very well thought through; it has excellent arguments,
it appeals to your emotions, it has swayed the majority
of opinion. But the whole foundation of the doctrine
of the dead being alive is false. This lie cannot stand in the light of God's
Word.
John 8:44-45
Ye are of your father
the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He
was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the
truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh
a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the
father of it.
45 And because I tell you the
truth, ye believe me not.
Jesus Christ backed down Satan
the Devil with the Word of God; he was always saying, "it is written." If
there are people in heaven, then it would only be logical
to assume that the famous believers from the Bible would
be among the first God would have with Him in heaven.
But the Bible repeatedly says that these believers are
dead.
Hebrews 11:13
These all died
in faith, not having received the promises, but having
seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and
embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers
and pilgrims on the earth.
Acts 2:29-30
Men and brethren,
let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David,
that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is
with us unto this day.
30 Therefore being a prophet,
and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that
of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would
raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
Again, the only one God raised from the dead, never to
die again, was and still is Jesus Christ. The others saw
corruption in that they died and their bodies decayed.
Acts 2:31-34
He
seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ,
that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh
did see corruption.
32 This Jesus hath God raised
up, whereof we all are witnesses.
33 Therefore being by the
right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father
the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this,
which ye now see and hear.
34 For David is not ascended
into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto
my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
Acts 13:34-37
And as concerning
that he raised him up from the dead, now no
more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I
will give you the sure mercies of David.
35 Wherefore he
saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not
suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
36 For David, after
he had served his own generation by the will of God,
fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw
corruption:
37 But he, whom God raised
again, saw no corruption.
King David was a man after God's heart (Acts 13:22), and
yet when he died he did not go to heaven. He fell asleep
and his body corrupted in the grave. If anyone would go
to heaven after he died, surely it would be someone who
was a man after God's heart; and yet it says that he is
dead, buried, asleep, has no consciousness, has no remembrance,
no knowledge, no wisdom, and he does not any portion in
anything that is done under the sun. That is because the
dead are dead.
1 Corinthians 15:26
The last
enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Death is an enemy, and it shall be destroyed. There is
a time coming when all of the dead will be raised up; then
and only then will the dead be alive. In addition, those
believers who are alive when Christ returns will be changed
from physical bodies into spiritual bodies.
1 Corinthians 15:51-54
Behold,
I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we
shall all be changed,
52 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.
53 For this corruptible
must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put
on immortality.
54 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.
This is the final victory.
Revelation 20:6
Blessed and
holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection:
on such the second death hath no power, but they shall
be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him
a thousand years.
After the Christian church is gathered together with Jesus
Christ in the air, there will be a resurrection of the
just [the better resurrection], and then there will be
a resurrection of the unjust. [This is where everyone else
gets up from the dead]
Revelation 20:12-15
And I saw
the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books
were opened: and another book was opened, which is the
book of life: and the dead were judged out of
those things which were written in the books, according
to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the
dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up
the dead which were in them: and they were judged every
man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were
cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was
cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:5
But the rest
of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were
finished. This is the first resurrection.
Revelation 21:8
But the fearful,
and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and
whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars,
shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire
and brimstone: which is the second death.
Basically the second death is eternal death; there is
no consciousness, no hope, no nothing - - just death. The
idea of people being painfully and miserably tortured for
eternity in hell by vicious and sadistic devils with red
horns and pitchforks is a mythological religious fabrication,
and an outright lie. The fire symbolizes cleansing and
destruction. The things of God will not be consumed with
fire, but the things of the adversary will be burned and
destroyed. For centuries religion has used the fear of
this mythological hell where poor souls are tormented as
a way to fear-motivate and extort their followers.
The Christian doctrines of life after death and hell as
a place of torture are imported from Greek philosophy and
pagan religion.
What Happens When We
Die? (1986) Anthony Buzzard
"The evangelical
scholar G. E. Ladd refers to the commonly held tenet
that ‘when we die we go to heaven.' ‘Such thinking,'
he states. ‘popular as it is, is more an expression of
Greek thought than of Biblical theology'"
"Yet traditional theology has so
often been hampered by the all-pervasive influence of
Augustinian Platonism."
The Bible never mentions a soul living without a body;
again, this is a Greek philosophical concept.
Catholic Encyclopedia (1991)
"Plato established the basic Western
tradition on this topic by defining the soul as the spiritual
part of the human person which survived death. . . .
He claimed that the separated soul possessed the characteristics
previously possessed in its preexistence."
Are The Dead Alive
Now? (1971) Victor Paul Wierwille
"if
a person immediately after expiring is taken to eternal
bliss, why is the return of Christ and/or the resurrection
necessary? If after death the Christian is already
alive and with Him, why should Christ return to gather
His Church?"
If you believe what the Bible says, then you don't have
to come up with Platonic philosophical explanations to
these questions.
Galations 1:8-9
But though we,
or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you
than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
9 As
we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach
any other gospel unto you than that ye have received,
let him be accursed.
Anyone who teaches that the dead are alive is teaching
another gospel that is different from the gospel that Jesus
Christ and the Apostles taught. God's Word says, let him
be accursed.
Deuteronomy 18:10-12
There shall
not be found among you any one that maketh his
son or his daughter to pass through the fire, [walk on
hot coals] or that useth divination, [fortune
teller] or an observer of times, [astrologer]
or an enchanter, [magician] or a witch, [sorceress]
11 Or a
charmer, [hypnotist] or a consulter with familiar spirits,
[psychic or medium with a spirit guide] or a wizard, [clairvoyant]
or a necromancer. [medium who consults the dead]
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.
Here God says that these things are an abomination and
that the people who do them are an abomination unto the
Lord. All of these practices are based on the lie that
the dead are alive. The Devil and his evil spirit realm
are familiar with peoples pasts When a psychic with a familiar
spirit tells someone this information, it appears that
he or she getting it from dead people.
God wants His people to know that the dead are dead so
they won't get fooled again and again by lying people,
lying spirits, lying priests, lying churches, lying ministers,
lying psychics, and all the rest of the liars. It is time
to go back to God's Word and believe the simple truth:
that the dead are currently dead, and that they will be
made alive by God sometime in the future.
So what happens to the dead? There are three categories:
- Christians
who sleep in Christ [are dead] will be gathered together
in the air. I Thessalonians 4:13-18.
- Old
Testament believers will be in the first resurrection
or better resurrection and they will reign with Jesus
Christ for 1000 years. Revelation 20:6
- Everyone
else will take part in the second resurrection and
they will be judged according to how they lived. Those
that fail will die the second death, which is eternal
death. Revelation 20:13-15 21:5,8.
Revelation 21:4
And God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be
no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall
there be any more pain: for the former things are passed
away.
There is a day coming when there is no death, no sorrow,
no crying, and no pain, and those of us who are Christians
will not be tortured in hell or purgatory.
1 John 3:2
Beloved, now are
we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we
shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall
be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
This is our hope for the future.
Copyright 1999 Jeff Rath
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