Is there an intermediary state when we die?
Death many people think is a natural part of life and take it for granted. People think death is the end of existence, which actually makes no sense, because why are we here in the first place?
There are others who perceive we are reincarnated into other beings including creatures?
Is this biological life a fluke of nature?
Are thoughts, emotions, the ability to love, and hate just by chance?
There are concepts of the afterlife in all major cultures around the world. People think about what they will do for eternity in the next life but ultimately are stumped for the meaning of life. Will we meet loved ones who have deceased and pets?
A lot of people ignore the reality of death thinking it will never happen to them anytime soon. This leads to risk-taking, smoking, drinking, eating and drinking the wrong foods. There are problems for many who do not set safeguards in place if they die. Many people who have heart issues get married, have kids, but don’t think of the after-effects if they suddenly pass away. Funerals are another area society don’t care about with quick and easy cremation taking centre stage over a proper biblical burial.
People generally fear death and the unknown, leading to anxiety and depression. Everything mentioned above is completely different to what the church teaches about this controversial subject. The Bible actually provides the answer to death and coping with it in a positive way. God did (not) originally put death into his plan for humanity. Death came into being after creation from another source so it’s not natural.
God does not hold any pleasure over suffering, babies dying, car crashes, cancer or the disease afflicted. The ungodly brought death into being due to breaking divine law. As God makes convents for life with his chosen people, death made a covenant with all living things who became common. God originally created humankind for immortality to glorify Him, in the divine image of His eternity. Mankind suffers today through Adam and Eve excepted the gift of death from Satan by breaking away from the connection and blessings of the source of life God.
Now we have the potential for immortality if we find faith, take up the cross, repent and are born-again. Humans were created with two parts a physical and a spiritual aspect. People can argue they don’t have a spiritual side, but everything we do and take for granted has some form of spirituality. Holy words are made common like (oh my God), or (Jesus Christ), if there is hate attached to this then common becomes hateful and blasphemy. Taking the Lord’s name in vain is profanity. Many folks say (I pray to God it was not me) when they do something wrong, or I swear to God. Holidays are taken for granted but are really meant to be holy-days where the word comes from. Many say that their football team is a religion, and pop stars become idol worship. Mankind has a physical body and a soul. The man was formed from the dust of the ground, and the breath of life breathed into us by God, and man became a living being.
The breath of life is the image representation of the spiritual person that becomes the soul. The body and the soul were (both) created in the image and likeness of God, not just the soul. The body without the soul is not a human being, hence there are creatures with just a body. In the same way, the soul without the body is not a human person. This rule out any inclination of reincarnation. The soul does not go from body to body which would make both parts irrelevant to each other. There is one soul with its own specific body nothing else.
In the Genesis account not long after man is created, Adam and Eve fall into sin and death through the temptation of the Devil. God gave humanity the freedom to express themselves with purity and holiness in mind. When sin was brought into the world this purity and holiness slowly began to degrade. Mankind has the potential to be like God. A test was needed to see if mankind was worthy of free will, which was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or the forbidden fruit. When Eve ate from the tree, she did something wrong and became aware of it for the first time. Adam and Eve had only experienced good, evil was a new understanding that was taking hold. Adam followed his wife and tarnished humanity in his representation of true life. Adam and Eve were told to be fruitful and multiply across the earth.
Each human being began to know and have the choice to do good or evil. Adam and Eve ignored the warning by God if they ate the fruit, they will experience death. This had a double meaning spiritually and physically. God removed the divine connection with the first humans which cut off all the sources of truth, blessings and life. Physical death was new and alien to them and the concept must have perplexed them. Death is not an arbitrary punishment from God. Death is simply a disconnection from God.
Consequences in life are now a reality of our own making. God instructs humanity on how to live, what to eat, what to do and why we were created. If we turn our back on the truth, we go it alone a reap the consequences. The reality of death is the consequence of sin or the transgression of the law:
Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is (death), but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
All death in the world is because of sin. Each generation has brought it more into being. With suffering, good people and children dying daily, this has just pushed God away further for many and turned others to hate and embracing atheism. People die from other people’s sins like murder. Killing with kindness is another method by Satan. What do we mean by this?
Well, we can feed our loved one’s food that is not ordained by God. Most so-called foods are just edible that the body digests under duress that has the potential to cause cancers and disease. The God-ordained diet is vegetarianism. Pharmaceutical companies are basically just killing us slowly. The word Pharmaceutical comes from the Greek word pharmakeia. The ancient Greek word for “pharmacy” means witch or witchcraft, its root meaning can also mean (poison). We make poor health choices and this can hasten our death. Oral sex is one of the top searched topics even by so-called Christians. Yet mankind seems oblivious to the infectious diseases that can be fatal thinking it’s ok to justify sin through pleasure. Human knowledge is also killing us through false science and evolutionary indoctrination. This takes us away from the Bible and hastens spiritual death as well as physical death. Why did God allow Adam and Eve to be tempted if he knew the catastrophic consequences for humankind was about to take place?
God gave us the gift of freedom so not to be like robots. Freedom in Gods image is to be able to make one choice or the other. We have a leeway to do things Gods way or our own way. This creates the potential for a real relationship with God. Real Agape love requires freedom and sacrifice, not the Cupid love that we see today. God giving humanity the opportunity to know Him and to repent was worth the downside. When we talk about death most people think about physical death only, but this is far from the truth. Each individual could die twice, what do we mean by that?
There is physical death and for some a spiritual death. When Adam ate from the forbidden fruit, he lived for nine hundred years:
Genesis 2:17
“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
In Genesis 2:17 God is referring to spiritual death, not physical death. Physical death is almost an afterthought as death is a spiritual reality. Life is a lot more complex than just heartbeats and brainwaves. The majority of folk who don’t know the Lord are simply walking around in a living death, certain they will die, but oblivious to where they will end up after judgment day.
Spiritual emptiness leads to a lack of meaning, lack of judgment, and is easily influenced by modern ideas and concepts. You can look at some people and physically see that they appear evil, and their eyes are lifeless. Spiritual life is what makes vitality worth living and is noticed in many born-again Christians who emanate light in their features and their eyes portray vivacity. Divine content far out-ways the modern portrayal of human existence. What is spiritual death?
Separation of the human soul from God. Spiritual death leads to society being judgmental, unrighteous, unholy, unharmonious, sexual immorality etc. Just turn on the news and it’s right there in our faces. Separation leads to anxiety, depression, loneliness, suicide, and making rash decisions like abortion and divorce.
The death of the mind can lead scientists to go along with modern theories like evolution, gravity, and the Big Bang theory that have never been proven. This can then influence teachers in schools to brainwash children into lies we take as fact, atheistic ideas and concepts, which is passed onto each generation. We do not have intellectual progress like so many people think. Science is mostly deceiving humanity led by the governments of Satan. There can be moral death where the conscience is so far gone the spirit of God does not nag you anymore to stop what you are doing, or to flood you with guilt.
Lots of foods, drinks and medicines inhibit our conscience to do what is right from wrong. A Holy Spirit-driven mind distinguishes between right from wrong. All of us are experiencing a physical decay, a slow process of corruption and death from birth. When God designed the world there was originally order, morality, harmony, being, and holiness. Now we are lawless, immoral, orderless, unholy, unrighteous, and for many unworthy of salvation. Holy-Days have become just holidays for leisure and embracing pagan festivals like Christmas, Halloween, valentine’s Day, New Year and Easter. Physical death is the failure of the biological bodies’ life.
As a result, there is a separation of the soul from the body. Without the soul, the body decomposes and returns to the dust. The soul is completely different from the breath of life. God alone is immortal but preserves the soul in a state of rest or waiting until Christ comes again. This state is called an intermediary state until it’s reunited with the body in the general resurrection. The intermediary state stands between our state of being while alive on earth and our final state of being that will include a resurrected body.
The soul separated from the body is not liberation this is an unnatural state. The human body is a soul and a human form united; death was not meant to un-join what God put together. The body and the soul are made in the image of God, so it makes little sense that the image is portrayed as a rotting cadaver once placed in the ground. God allows death because He knew he could direct it to a good purpose in the end. God does not cause the bad things to happen but he allows them. Suffering can be good if that person finds God through the process.
Physical death prevents us from continuing to sin. God wants us to be with Him in eternity as sinless, not sinners. If sinners had the opportunity to continually blaspheme the Holy Spirit, murder, rape, and be sexually immoral this would take the image of God further into the abyss of spiritual negativity. So, with this in mind, our time is short on earth to come to repentance and harmony with God. Please note suicide is not an option to portray death as a good thing. This is the murder of the body and forces the soul to detach sooner than later.
You are not God, and your time should be spent finding the truth and taking up the cross. Assisted suicide is also not an option. All forms of suicide are a grave sin. As a sinner and you have not repented, if you commit suicide just because you want an easy way out, where will you go in the next life heaven or hell?
Death interrupts sin but God will destroy your soul also, so the evil of suicide is not manifest eternal. Suicide is the sin of murder, it actually kills everybody who is associated with you i.e. family, friends and loved ones. This selfless act cuts humanity off completely in a rational act. It’s also the ultimate step of despair when you turn your back on God for help to try to fix your problems. It’s selfish faithlessness because we become our own God, taking life and death into our own hands, not God. How do you repent if you have just killed yourself?
Most people today don’t kill themselves in a rational act. It’s a product of depression, alcohol abuse and drugs. So, with this in mind can we be held accountable for this if it’s not really our choice?
Well, this does not really reflect the character of the soul, but we do have a choice to get help sooner rather than later before depression really takes hold. We have free will to take drugs and alcohol. Knowledge is key to understanding this and many topics. Humans must wake up to the fact that what we do impacts ourselves and others. The so-called food and drink we consume can heighten depression. There are tons of books available that teach about healthy eating biblically.
With this in mind TV, media, and music also can influence the mind to irrational thoughts and actions. There are no excuses for suicide. It’s a process of choices that lead to the severing of God completely. Cultural suicides like in Japan, assisted suicides are all wrong. In all the ways that we think God punishes people for sin, it’s actually for our benefit. The harsh consequences we experience for bad choices can ultimately help us if we repent and seek the Lord for help. Death in a sense is a hard blessing.
Suffering can be a reminder that we should think about why our world is not perfect. An eternal life worth living first needs an exit from this living death. Mankind has the temptation to become his own God, fixing problems with prideful solutions and repairing other people’s problems. The awareness of mortality undermines this pride. Before the creation of humanity was the creation of the angelic world. Some of the angels including Lucifer rebelled against God experiencing spiritual death, but only spiritual death because they were spiritual beings. We must remember as humans that God is the landlord, the body is the house, and the soul is the tenant. What mankind has done is trash his bodily house, become bad tenants.
Through death God, the landlord evicts the tenant, so it can be brought up to standard to be moved back in at the general resurrection. Christ through his sinless death on the cross destroyed the power of death. Only as a man could Christ enter into the experience of death. God is immortal by nature so He is separated from death. The son of God becoming a man is able to see the effect and suffer the event of death. God is the source of life; through Christ the Vine we have the potential to be grafted into the root of life.
Christ’s soul departed from His body when He died and entered Hades. Death received him with open arms but did not swallow Him up like other men as He was also God. The generator of life through His sinless human life, had fashioned a soul that death had no claim on. The whole sin and death system fell apart and Satan knew he had been defeated at the Cross. Christ rose again on the third day. His soul reunited with the physical body free from the trappings of decay, giving us the perfect picture of our resurrection when Christ comes again. Why does what Christ did for all of humanity affect us today?
Jesus the Son of God is the representative of the divine realm. He was formed without a physical father from his virgin mother. He came to reveal Gods plan to man, and fulfil on Adams behalf the trust we were granted at creation, as the second Adam. The embodiment was taken and reworked so the model form had a higher understanding deep inside. Christ’s death on the cross is a blessing to all humanity whether believers or atheists alike, as no one has the potential to remain dead. Faith is a process, it’s not an instant fixed solution to your problems. Many people require instant solutions to their problems, but God has other ideas.
If we grow in faith the relationship flourishes, so we heal emotionally morally, intellectually, and most importantly spiritually. The cure for spiritual death is not forced on any person as choices and attitudes are important to God. The process of death and what actually happens has been written about in-depth and many movies made. No one really knows what happens until they experience it themselves. There are certain principles in the scripture that God has revealed to mankind. What happens from the moment of death till Christ comes again?
Physical death is the separation of the soul from the body. When the soul departs the biological body can no longer live and function as intended. The body is buried into the earth and begins to decay. The separation is an unnatural state of being and not what God intended. Souls (do not) go on to become other beings or even angels that some teach. Angels were created bodiless, when they have visited mankind in the Bible, they came in the likeness always as men to appear the same. In this unnatural state, God preserves the soul as He foresees the coming resurrection and returning the human person to completeness. The separation in the scriptures is described as a state of sleep. What does this actually mean?
When we sleep the body is dormant, but the soul carries on in dreams and processing the data you took in on that day. Dreams can have some resemblance to reality but most of the time we don’t remember them. When the body dies the fleshy part is dormant, yet the soul is in a sleep-like state disconnected from the body. The church and the saints believe this to be like a dreamlike capacity or intermediate state. This is not purgatory as the Roman Catholic Church teaches. It’s in between the person’s death and the resurrection, not a place or state of suffering inhabited by the souls of sinners who are expiating their sins before going to heaven. This state is important as the final judgment has not happened yet. There is one judgment that happens after the resurrection when Christ comes again.
The soul and the body are like partners in this life. Everything you have done is a joint act whether good or bad, so it would be unfair for God to judge the soul apart from the body. Since the soul is separated from the body there is no way it can receive its reward or its condemnation, so in limbo, it waits in paradise or Hades. In these states of being the souls experience not their full reward or punishment but a foretaste by anticipation. The full reward or punishment comes after the resurrection of the dead. There will be souls sleeping that won’t want to wake up as they will experience a foretaste of torment, while the righteous will look forward to the paradise to come. Paradise is an experience of Christ’s presence, peace, joy, Gods care and the hope of immortality. Torment is the experience of isolation, and suffering to come without Gods presence. Do the souls have a form of conciseness?
They have a form of awareness but it’s not the same as being in the body. They are aware they are not alive and the state of intermediary they reside in, either paradise or torment. What exactly is Hades?
Job refers to Hades as the realm of gloom and chaos. Hades makes the conscience suffer for sin or transgressing the law. They are tormented by their own bad character built up over life. For example, if you commit suicide, this is a grave sin. Your conscience will be tormented as such and the character that led you to take your own life. Fear of the coming punishment is manifest as they are not connected to God. Revelation 6 is interesting, the (souls) or dead saints crying “avenge our blood” is a mirror to Abel’s blood (his life (note Lev.17:14) crying to God from the earth (Gen.4:10). Since blood does not speak and neither do the dead (Psa. 115:17; Ecc. 9:5,10), we understand the meaning to be symbolic, not literal. Therefore, the souls under the altar represent those awaiting the future martyrdom of the saints:
Revelation 6:9-10
“And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?”
Death is an immediate transition and there are no ghosts. Ghosts are a product of Satan as aliens are demons, they are there to add confusion and alternate beliefs void of scripture. The souls of the righteous and sinners do not remain on the earth but go to their intermediary state either in paradise or torment. The souls are aware of family members and loved ones in paradise but Hades is different. The souls there are more occupied with their own fear and torment than to think of anything else. Is the Roman Catholic teaching of purgatory biblical?
Purgatory is false teaching and not biblical. Purgatory is the place of temporary punishment for lesser sins, not mortal sins that they haven’t been repented in this life. It was invented to accommodate Catholicism’s denial of justification by faith alone. And it offers false hope to millions who anticipate ample time beyond the grave to achieve their own justification.
In Roman Catholic teachings if someone is unbaptised, they go straight to hell. Purgatory is where Roman Catholics believe most people go after death to be finally purged of their remaining guilt and gain whatever merit they may be lacking to enter heaven. Catholicism teaches that this process involves intense torment and suffering. Where in the Bible does it say you have to confess your sins to a priest?
Where does it say that the Pope is infallible?
Where does it say that Mary was conceived without original sin?
The soul cannot be punished apart from the body. No amount of temporary punishment can earn a person’s way into heaven. How can God turn His back on sin just because you are suffering for it?
God does (not) demand satisfaction for sin. Repentance and faith are sound biblical doctrines, not purgatory. There is also a toll-house theory that many believe in. This is when a Christian person dies their soul has to travel on a journey to reach paradise. There are tolls at each point identified with a different category of sin. Demons are present to accuse the souls of the sins in that category. The soul has to make a defence to proceed to the next toll.
If there is not adequate defence made then the soul is dragged into Hades. This theory was popular in Russia and is a sort of Russian purgatory. This is also unbiblical as there is no evidence in the Bible for toll-houses. It violates the principle of the soul being judged without the body. Even worse demons are the judge of Christians which straight out blasphemy. God would never put the trust of the elect in demons. The Father judges no one:
John 5:22
“Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son.”
Jesus Christ, not demons are the only judge of humanity. The toll-house theory sounds like the ancient Egyptians book of the dead and is pagan in origin. There is no repentance after death. The soul cannot make changes affecting the human person by itself once separated from the body. Once this happens you are fixed and unchanging. What’s going to happen when Christ comes again?
There will be a general resurrection. All the dead from all time will be resurrected. The souls will be reunited with the body refashioned by God. We must remember that the soul cannot be judged without the body. The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. The time now (is) when the dead are hearing His voice. This is the spiritual renewal that the Word brings.
There are two different experiences of resurrection, the life of the righteous and judgment that the wicked experience. It’s not metaphorical it’s a physical resurrection to come like Christ’s body was physically raised. The Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives, including the Silwan necropolis, is the most ancient and important Jewish cemetery in Jerusalem. Burial on the Mount of Olives started some 3,000 years ago in the days of the First Temple and continues to this day. The cemetery contains anywhere between 70,000 and 150,000 whitewashed tombs from various periods, including the tombs of famous figures in Jewish history. The dead are waiting to be resurrected.
The resurrection is not the return to the previous condition of life. It’s the transformation of the body into an incorruptible, imperishable purified form. Sickness, depression, sexual immorality, death, suffering, aches and pains will be no more. The soul and the body will become what God intended at creation. What will we do for eternity will it be boring?
When we answer this question it’s always with a mind to our humanity, not our inherited immortality. We were created in the image of God to worship Him in all His glory. We will venerate God in prayers, singing, music, communion, fellowship and have social experiences with loved ones. There will be no TV, Internet, phones, gaming, sex, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, and football so if this is boring to your limited understanding of real-life then that’s up to you?
What we think about worship now will be revealed and magnified in all its glory after the general resurrection. No one can argue that everybody worships something in life whether it’s football teams, a spouse, children, or music stars. When the true revelation of invocation is revealed and our souls are connected properly to the majesty of God this question becomes irrelevant. What about people who haven’t died when Christ comes again?
Well not all shall sleep (death) not all shall die, but every one shall be changed:
1 Corinthians 15:51-53
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 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. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
1 Thessalonians 4:14-17
“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep (those who have died) in Jesus will God bring with him. 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 them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven (second coming) with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise (first): 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.”
The body and soul apart are not a human person, so as we mentioned before it’s a dual nature, and would be unfair and unjust to reward or punish only one part of the body. The body is not the cause of sin on its own there is a collaboration of soul and body for good and bad deeds. The human desires and weaknesses will be driven out and eliminated. There is no sex in heaven.
The resurrection transformation removes all changeability, this is the difference between Adam and Eve in the garden and us in the life to come. There will be no free will after the resurrection, because the changeability is gone, and Gods being will be revealed to everyone in truth. With the truth, there will be no more choices to be made. Questions and answers, mysteries and purpose will all be revealed. The wicked will be separated from the righteous including the Devil and the fallen angels or Demons.
The whole earth will be resurrected so scientific figures of the current population are wrong. We have been lied to for too long by mainstream science. Lots of crazy-sounding ideas now will be proved correct. Some industries will be proven false, as a means to fund Satan and his minions. Our incorruptible bodies will seem the same but will be different they will be fixed and a renewed united organism. Is the rapture biblical?
Everything that Scripture says about a time of tribulation and suffering is accepted, but the faithful will be present for all of it. We will not be spared the sufferings or tribulation. Christ himself tells us that all will suffer and that no one knows when He will return for Judgment Day:
Mathew 24:9
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.”
The theory of the pre-tribulation rapture is also based on the misguided interpretation of the scriptures. Of all of the teaching of the Christian Church that has adapted over the 2,000 years history of the Church, this (theory) was not spoken of until a 15-year-old Scottish girl had the idea. Modern arguments for the tribulation can walk into serious questions through an evenhanded examination of the passages commonly used when arguing in favour of it. Even among Protestant denominations who believe in a totally literal reading of the Bible the pre-tribulation rapture is not biblical and not universally accepted.
It was adapted and promoted by Jesuit priests to bring futurism into the Bible. The Taken films and book franchise then jumped on board and the theory became part of the doctrine falsely believed today. When we take this article so far you can see why the rapture falls apart. Would Jesus come, take a few people here and there, maybe some dead saints as well, then disappear again to come back later after the last trumpet to give the rest of humanity incorruptible bodies?
What will the raptured few do in that time while they wait?
With a deeper understanding of scripture, the rapture is just a false hope to many people that think they are saved, when really, they are not. The transformation of the human body is just one part that God will affect at this time. The whole physical plane we live on will be brought back to what it was at creation. There will be no decay, corruption, thorns and thistles anymore, animals will not fear humanity ever again, and all creatures will return to the original diet that is vegetarian.
The creation itself will be set free from bondage obtaining also the glorious liberty of God. The world suffers because of our sin. That’s why there are wildfires, earthquakes, and floods it’s not so-called global warming. The physical world is groaning in birth pangs, corrupting and degenerating just like humankind. In its current form, the earth will die and be restored at the resurrection. The earth will be consumed by fire, not water.
God told us he would never flood the whole earth ever again and put a rainbow into the sky as a covenant to Mark this promise. The fire is a cleansing refining fire mimicking Bible passages of our bodies being cleansed and refined by the refiner’s fire. After the resurrection there will be no procreation and marriage:
Matthew 22:30
“For in the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.”
The resurrection is not in worldly terms but there are relationships. We will know loved ones and have attachments and bonds. The sanctity of marriage that has been corrupted and perverted will also be changed. Humanity in sexual immorality is so dirty and impure that things we take for granted now like oral sex, masturbation, fornication, homosexuality, paedophilia will all stop for eternity. Temptation and sexual desire will be no more.
The incorruptible state is a blessing to the righteous but a curse to the unrepentant sinner. The experience of bliss will be fixed with the righteous who will action a new way of thinking free from worldly trappings. The unrighteous sinners are fixed in their own curse of worldly sin. With an unrighteous character separated from God, they will be stuck for eternity with the notion of their wrongdoings and wish they had repented.
So, what happens to the unrighteous bodies will be saved but not their souls. The soul-tie to God is severed for eternity and spiritual death remains within them, which leads to their suffering. People who have died an unjust death in life, for example, ISIS beheading Christians, or the martyrs will receive blessings and good things in the next life. What is the last judgment?
Immediately after the general resurrection will come the last judgment which will happen at once. It’s not like a single file line of people waiting in trepidation for a pass or fail. All people throughout time will be gathered before Christ and judged. What about tribes that have never known Christ or modern technology?
They will be judged according to what they know, and have done. The evidence for God is all around. His invisible attributes are clearly seen:
Romans 1:20
“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.”
Christ is God and man, divinity and humanity. He is the Son of Man. As God, He has the knowledge, power and wisdom to judge. As a man, there is no way we can question His judgment as He was unjustly accused and hung on the cross. God will judge humanity on how we have lived our lives:
Mathew 7:21
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
Some people will commit themselves to Christ thinking they are saved by grace and do nothing else:
Matthew 16:27
“For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he shall reward every man according to his (works).”
Romans 2:6-10
“He will render to each one according to his (works) to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honour and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.”
Revelation 20:12
“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).”
Revelation 22:12
“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his (works) shall be.”
It’s pretty clear that judgment is based on what we have done in life. This includes believing in Christ, and have put that faith into practice by repentance and obeying Gods commandments. It’s an active faith in Christ, not just turning up each week at church then nothing for six days. If you truly believe in Christ you act and do how He requires you to live. Of cause, no one will be sinless on judgment day. But by confessing our sins and repenting of them in this life we avoid being judged for them in the last judgment. What about atheists?
Even in this life believers and unbelievers’ question what they have done before. At the end of time unbelief is one of the biggest sins. There is no excuse for being an atheist when I was one myself. I became remorseful over time but this is different from repentance. People can regret what they have done in life but never repent which is wholeheartedly saying sorry and never doing it again. They can regret the wrong reasons. You could regret the fact that you were caught in a robbery. Repentance is a change of mind which leads to a change of life. Church fellowship, prayer, study and reading the Bible unlocks the truth, hence the transformation by the Holy Spirit takes root. Repentance is a total transformation of the human character. The universe had a start so what caused it?
The universe operates by uniform laws of nature. Why does it?
The DNA code informs and programs a cell’s behaviour coincidence?
Unlike any other revelation of God, Jesus is the clearest, most specific picture of God revealing himself to us, which is documented, journaled and eyewitness accounts. Going to Israel backs up any doubts, I have been there the evidence is still there some purposely hidden, others available for all to see. Is the personality the same thing as the soul?
The soul is the core of who we are, our character, and our personality. It has to do with will and the choices we make. Emotions are on the border between the soul and the body. Some animals have personality but this is more character it’s what defines you as a person and your moral standing. When we are judged it will be a moment of truth. When Christ comes back there will no issues of faith or unbelief anymore, as the truth of humanity will be revealed. Everything we have ever done said and thought will become known to everyone. Our memories will be open for all to see:
Luke 12:2-3
“There is nothing (concealed) that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known. What you have (said) in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have (whispered) in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.”
1 Corinthians 4:5
“Therefore, judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is (hidden) in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.”
This is eye-opening to comprehend that everything you have done good or bad will be revealed to all. Your utmost inner thoughts and desires will be known to everyone. If you stole from your parents, had secret desires for a married woman, sexual sins while you confess to be a Christian will all be revealed in full. Sins repented will be a source of joy to all and the angels. To the wicked, they will be envious because they have collected all those sins they haven’t been repented of. This will be a burden that they will suffer for eternity.
Confession and repentance change what our sins mean. Who we are and what we deserve based on Christ’s life and His teachings will be evident for all to see. Those that have chosen to love and draw near to Christ in this life will get what they desire. If you have rejected God in this life, denying Christ existed, or He wasn’t crucified, that’s who you will be forever in torment. What is hell?
Hell is eternal death but not physical death. Everyone will live physically eternally in an incorruptible body. Hell is the place of eternal spiritual death which is unchangeable. If he’ll exist can we call God love?
God did not intend humanity to go to hell. Heaven is prepared for humanity, and hell was prepared for the Devil and the fallen angels. God confirms the choices we make in life. He does not force the individual to believe in Him or Christ. If God ignored our freedom and choices this is not a loving act. Many people want to be with Satan in the kingdom of death. Love gives freedom and respects the individual unbeliever or atheist separation from God, that they have chosen on their own accord. Separation from God is spiritual death, darkness, and the loss of blessings that He has in store. God does everything in love not to violate our freedom:
1 Timothy 2:4 New
“Who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”
The only thing God allows you that limit his action is human freedom. God loves humanity and respects our free will. If people end up in hell it’s their simple unwillingness to choose God. What are the punishments of hell?
Gods disfavour and the separation from His life-giving presence. People will be in terror for eternity without Christ. The curse of separation feeds bitterness and horror. God’s presence will still be felt in Hell as He is everywhere and will be felt by the warped souls that dwell there. The fact that God is still loving them is torture by the presence and the power of the Lord. Even in Hell divine love will embrace all men. While this devotion is joy and life for those that love God, it is torment for those who hate Him.
They will have the full understanding of the exalted righteous that they have misunderstood, scorned and ridiculed, and others have tortured and killed for their beliefs. Deep darkness and the gnashing of teeth will be the Bible symbol of people in utter despair. Spiritual pain is described metaphorically as an undying worm or parasite. The eternal fire symbology is all this it’s not a literal fire that burns them. Are there different degrees of punishment?
Yes, there will especially for Satan and the fallen angels. What is eternal life?
Gods intention for humanity has been for everyone to come to the understanding of Christ, faith, obedience, and to participate in eternal life. The greatest blessing will be full communion with God, the joy of meeting Jesus and all the blessed people of the Bible. The dim understanding, we have of God will be fully revealed in the face to face fellowship. Each one will feel and be embraced with His love. Christ will crown all the heads of the saints.
There are different degrees of joy in paradise for the people who have completely tried to dedicate their lives to God. There will be no complaints or people envious of others, it will be total focus on what we are given and enjoying that to its intensity becoming like God. When we are no longer what we are now, a mess of impulses and emotions distracted by material things, we will have room for God and God alone. Communion with God will lead to unceasing praise and complete fellowship with each other:
Isaiah 35:10
“And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion (symbol of Gods kingdom) with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
Will there be sleep in the afterlife?
No, sleep is the imitation of death and there is no material eating and drinking. Banquets in the house of the Lord is only a metaphor. There will be no money, wars, or procreation. The projects that Adam and Eve had in their incorruptible state, to begin with, included eating, drinking and tending the garden, but that was for the material world which was liable to fall into corruption. There will be nothing for us to take care off apart from the total spiritual worship and growth in God. As the Almighty is infinite there is no end to the knowledge we can learn. How should we grieve as born-again Christians?
The hope of resurrection and eternal life should make the grieving process easier. Yes, it’s sad to lose someone in this life, but we have the hope to be with them in the next. Lots of people can have intense grieving leading to mental depression, while others hardly grieve at all. Many blame others and God becoming bitter to everyone around them.
As born-again Christians, we must enshrine how Christ has destroyed death, and see it as a hard blessing. It is ok to be sad in a measured way but not to despair as it’s a relative sadness. Born-again Christians don’t grieve like the rest of the world because they have hope in the resurrection to come. Death is a dishonour to God but has been defeated at the cross. Learning from death helps each individual prepare properly for his or her own death, so how do we do this?
Everyday life is a battle physically and spiritually. If we are attacked physically, then we can’t function spiritually. What do we mean by this?
The world has an agenda to destroy each person’s mind so as not to be able to action spiritually to our full potential. This happens as soon as we are born into this fallen world. The human brain soaks up all information whether good or bad like a supercomputer that will be downloaded at judgment day. The food and drink we consume have a detrimental effect on the human body. Biblical Knowledge is key to understanding disease, illness, and sickness, and research into food, drink and cosmetics are crucial. Vegetarian and vegan diets are crucial in maintaining the physique made in the image and likeness of God. Fluoride is banned in 19 countries but not in others, naturally, alarm bells should start ringing why in some not in others?
There are some deodorants with cancer genetic aluminium in and others not, these allow the body to sweat whilst neutralising odour. Cow’s milk is species-specific it was never designed for human consumption. There is a cure for cancer they tell us there’s not. These are things like seeds, nigella seeds, apple seeds, apricot kernels. Alcohol is a poison and should never be consumed. Jesus made unfermented wine for His first miracle not fermented. Humans need to wake up to the truth and not be fed by lies and deception.
With a healthier body, we can serve God better, pray effectively and combat spiritual warfare better. Whatever happens before death will help us better prepare for death afterwards. Worldly people who say they want to die in their sleep fear death. Born-again Christians pray for all the calamities of death and not for a sudden demise so as to be properly prepared. Mortal illnesses are seen as a test possibly bringing greater spiritual blessings in the next life. Death at most is a journey for a season sleeping longer than usual, so should we fear sleep?
Born-again Christians look forward to death as a reunion with our saviour. For to live is Christ and to die is gain. That said this is no justification for suicide as we previously covered. By living we do good works, by spreading the gospel, discerning the truth from the lies, praying, obeying Gods law, reading the Bible, attending regular fellowship, helping the poor, our families, fasting, repentance, and preparing for death. God uses suffering to transform the human character. As times of suffering lead to character formation, so character formation leads to knowledge of secure hope and experience of God’s love. Hope and love are the greatest stabilising forces. Whether we belong in the body or out the body we belong to the Lord. What is martyrdom?
Martyrdom is to accept death for Christ if it comes. This life is a gift from God, although full of hardships we are to live it spiritually to full becoming closer to God. Life is to be used for His purposes. Death, judgment and the world to come is a finish line in which Christians are running the race. Remembrance of death is essential for a life of repentance. Satan does not want people to be prepared for death. The devil’s hold on us is the (fear of death). This is what he exploits to keep us in bondage. What should material working really be like with death in mind?
Everyone has to work, the Bible commands at just like Christ came to be a servant to man. The only difference for a born-again Christian is that hours, and money don’t matter. Worldly people work too much, and crave money for pleasure, whereas born-again Christians use the daily grind as a means to pay the bills and spread the gospel.
Holiday and rest days are spent constructively in fellowship, Bible Reading, prayer, fasting, sermons and preparing for Christ’s return. Off cause, this can differ if it’s a Christian family with children, then the focus can be a little more on finance, but not taking away too much quality time with your spouse and kids. Worldly views on death falsely mislead unbelievers and atheists alike into making false opinions. A change of values to death as a Christian challenge us to live a new way:
2 Peter 3:10-13
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything was done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live (holy) and (godly) lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. “
There will be a refined version of the earth, heavens and mankind so we should dwell holy and Godly lives. The state of our soul endures forever and the love of God. Every choice we make should be, how will this choice I make affect my eternity?
Recently Kobe Bryant and his daughter were killed in a tragic helicopter accident. Atheist site on Reddit lapped up the hate for God. But when you look at the situation the pilot made a choice and paid the ultimate price. Fog so thick that it nearly blinded drivers on the freeway enveloped the hillsides near their destination. Visibility was so poor that the Los Angeles Police Department had grounded its fleet of helicopters. The pilot had a decision to make, one that proved fatal.
If the pilot had turned around, they may have lived, so a bad decision may have affected all their eternities. In life, we can make good or poor choices, but the poor choices are not an action so God steps in and waves his magic wand and all is well. Bryant was a legend of the NBA and its highest-earning player. He had an estimated net worth of $770 million, according to Forbes. Kobe was a Christian and even Christians die horrible deaths. How prepared was he and his daughter spiritually for the afterlife?
Did he use his fortune wisely?
Did he recompense with others?
If you don’t forgive others God will not forgive you. Doctors often try to extend human life as long as possible who are in medically induced comas. When we look at the priority of doctors, it’s to save lives or to control pain till the final breath. Unfortunately, that life is generally so far out of it due to drugs and the side effects, or through machine operated tubes. When a person is not aware of the reality they can’t continue to prepare for the afterlife. Life can be prolonged too much without dignity in death. Loss of dignity can be from losing control of your bowel movements to not being able to feed yourself or communicate properly.