BIBLE TEACHINGS MADE PLAIN part 26
What The Bible Teaches About Death
In this lesson we will turn to the question of death. Is death real or is it a change from one situation to another. The vast majority of people do believe it is the change of one existence to another real existence. They do believe that death is not real full stop living. This belief is based upon the first major lie spoken by the Devil in the Garden of Eden through its medium the serpent. “Ye shall not surely die.” Gen.3:4 Eve believed it and switched her allegiance from God to the Devil and millions of people believe the same to day in one form or another. God had told Adam and Eve if they would eat from the forbidden tree thou shalt surely die, Gen.2:17. Eve did eat from the tree under deception of the serpent’s (devil) saying ye shall not surely die, Gen.3:4. After she had done it, she confessed the serpent has beguiled me, Gen.3:13. The millions who follow in this believe are beguiled as well by this lie from the father of lies, the Devil, John 8:44
The Bible is very clear on this matter and still even believers in Christ are so entrenched by this false conception of death that their eyes are completely closed and blinded for the plain teachings of the Bible. We must be clear on this subject in order to have no fear for death. True and sincere believers in Christ accept the Bible regarding this matter and have no fear for death.
Turning to the beginning, as we have done so often, we find the truth about it. We find that all things have been created by the Word of God.
God said and it was there, Gen.1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20 and 24. Seven times “God said”. Read Psalms 33:8 and John 1:1-3
However in creating a human God did it differently. Read Gen.1:26. God again said but then followed “Let us make man in our image”. Male and female have been made by God; He did not speak them into existence. The Psalmist says “We are fearfully and wonderfully made”. Ps.139:14
Man (human) has been formed by the hand of God out of the dust of the earth. After this formation He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and so man became a living soul or being, Gen.2:7. Man did not get a soul which later at time of death returns to God. The breath of life from God has made us into a living being/soul. This breath of life is never a personified soul, as most people do believe. There is no place in the scriptures anywhere to support this idea. Nowhere in the scriptures is “soul” associated with immortality. Only God has immortality, 1Tim.6:15, 16. Man seeks immortality because he or she does not have it, Rom.2:7. What we do have we do not have to seek, but because we do not have immortality in any shape or form we have to seek it.
When the human race was destroyed, except for Noah and his family, it reads “All died in whose nostrils was the breath of life.” Gen.7:21, 22. Some times this breath of life is called spirit. Read Eccl.12:7. The NKJV also reads in Gen.7:22 in whose nostrils was the spirit of the breath of life”.
In death the body returns to dust and the breath of life or spirit of life returns to God who gave it to us, but it is not a personified substance. Only what we have received from God can return to God. This knowledge and revelation how we have been made should be sufficient
to convince us that at the time of death we do not go immediately to heaven or any paradise like place and also not to hell for burning as people do believe. What burning hell is like we will learn in our next lesson. To keep us surely away from all false conceptions about death we will explore some other scriptures passages as well. Man is made from the dust of this earth. Dust plus the breath of God creates a living soul, Gen.2:7. Dust minus breath of God is death or a dead “soul”
Job 10:21, 22 at the time of death we go to the land of darkness that is the grave in the earth.
Job 14:1012 we go down not up into heaven. Job speaks about it as a sleep. It is returning to dust, Ps.104:29. Breath goes forth, to God and he or she returns to dust, the earth, even the thoughts perish.
Eccl.9:5, 6 the dead know nothing at all, a total full stop of all their activities.
Jesus affirmed the position of sleep in death. Read Matt.9:24. The ruler’s daughter had died, but Jesus said she sleeps. People laughed about it. But later when Lazarus was dead already four days, Jesus said Lazarus sleeps,
speaking about his death, John 11:11, 14.. Remember Job in 14:10-12.
When Lazarus was resurrected by Jesus, Lazarus was not called down from heaven, but called to “come forth” from where he was in the grave tomb, behind the stone where he was laid. John 11:43. The stone was rolled away to give room for Lazarus to come out. John 11:39, 41
In Old Testament times when somebody died it was commonly stated “and he slept with his fathers”. 1Kings 2:10; 1Kings 11:43 and many more they all died and slept with their fathers.
The expression of “sleep” is used because it indicates a resurrection, an awakening from the sleep, Isa.26:19. Those who go to the dust of the earth are called to wake up. Jesus spoke about that day in John 5:28, 29
and in John 11:25 also in John 6:39, 40, 44. They will be raised in the
last day. About this resurrection we read at length and in detail in
1Cor.15 and you may take the time to read that whole chapter, but read especially verses 21-23. All will be resurrected, because all have sinned and will die, Rom.5:12.Read also Ezekiel 18:4, 20 and Rom.6:23, the soul that sins shall die. But not all will be resurrected the same day and for the same purpose, read again John 5:28, 29. The believers in Christ will be resurrected and go into eternal life and the unbelievers will be resurrected and go into eternal death, regarding this point more in our next lesson.
According to 1 Corinthians 15 death is like being sown in the earth as a seed, from where new life will sprout, verses 35-38. The dead who are saved in Christ will be resurrected with new bodies, changed bodies. Some will be found alive on that day and they also will be changed,
1Cor.15:51 and 52-54. Read also 1Thess.4:14 the living will not go up before those who are asleep but both will be grouped together and meet Jesus in the air because at that time Jesus will not touch the earth. Read further in 1Thess.4:15-17. The living changed ones and those resurrected from their sleep in Jesus will go with Jesus for 1000 years into heaven.
The 1000 years period in heaven we will discuss next in lesson 27
One more point is left and that is about the question what is left when we die, something is. Our bodies return to dust, our breath goes back to God from whom we received it, but something remains and that is our name in the book of life. Here on earth our names are taken out, but not in heaven. Read Luke 10:20; Ps.69:28, Isa.4:3 and Phil.4:3. Names of the believers in Christ are written in heaven in the book of life and only those fallen away from Christ their names will be blotted out. Moses asked for his name to be blotted out, but the Lord said, NO, read Exod.32:32 and 33. Those who die in Christ as far as God is concerned they belong to Him and are resting, sleeping till the day of resurrection. They sleep from their labour, Rev.14:13
How do we get our name in the book of life? By natural birth we get our name in the earthly civil register. By rebirth accepting Christ as our Lord and Saviour and being baptised into Christ we become part of His kingdom, citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, children of God, John 1:12; John 3:1-5; Hebr.12:22, 23 and 1John 3:1.That takes our name into the heavenly register, the book of life
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For that reason it is very important to make a decision today not tomorrow or some time in the future to accept Christ as personal Saviour and Lord of our life and be baptised into Christ.. Today is the day of salvation.
Come now says Jesus in Matt.11:28-30 and also in Rev.22:17. God loves you, Jesus loves you and the Holy Spirit calls you, they knock at the door of your heart, open it and let them take possession of your life, Rev.3:20.
If we come to the point to love God and Jesus because of what they have done for us in saving grace, in such love for God is no fear, for sure no fear for death or dying, read 1John 4:18, 19
Commitment: At this time again I confess Jesus to be my personal Saviour and Lord of my life and for that reason I commit myself to him by faith and be baptised into Christ, and when I die I will sleep till the day of resurrection when Jesus will appear in glory to wake me up.
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