A Matter
of Death and Life
Do we really die when we pass away or does our soul live on in heavenly
bliss while our loved ones mourn us down here on earth?
_______________________________________________________________
Most of my early life I had
been bothered by a nagging question. If when we die our souls waft off to a
joyful eternity in heaven, then why so much mourning at funerals?
If the popular teaching and
belief is that man has an immortal soul, then why do ministers talk about
"death" when administering last rites?
And if our soul lives on after we die,
what’s the point of a resurrection of the "dead," which the Bible
speaks of?
We hear people say that good ol’ Uncle Ben
has died. Is Ben really dead? Or do we go to his funeral just to mourn his
lifeless body, while our uncle lives on, rolling around heaven, playing his
harp and testing the aerodynamics of his wings?
There he is, lounging serenely, propped up
by one arm as he peeks over a cloud’s edge and smiles down at those glumly carrying
his corpse in a casket. Or at least that’s what so many think. They want to
believe that the dead aren’t actually gone; we just can’t see them anymore.
Let’s face it. Most people
don’t like to talk about this subject. They’re too into the present: too busy
trying to get ahead, raising a family, getting a promotion, working for
retirement – going for the gusto of life. The seriousness of the subject weighs
heavily on the conscience, and we’d rather not be reminded of our own
mortality.
The philosophy is, why worry about it? Just
live a descent life, be an honest citizen, do your share and it will all work
out in the end. You’ll get to heaven, they believe. But is that true?
Ageless Belief in Immortality
Man has always wanted to be
immortal, to live on for eternity, ever since Lucifer planted the notion in
Eve’s head. Because of their belief that they possess immortal souls, people
want to deny that Yahweh can invoke the death penalty because of their sin.
Yahweh said to Adam and Eve, don’t eat of
the tree of you will die. But man says in effect, "No, I won’t die (the
serpent said so!). I have an immortal soul. When I die I’ll go straight to heaven."
Immortality of the soul is not unique to
Christianity. It’s an ageless belief of many cultures.
The sacred books of the Hindus speak of
personal immortality and individual responsibility after death.
The Chinese say that when a person dies he
has returned to his family. Confucius said the spirits of the good were
permitted to visit their ancient habitations on earth.
The Egyptians recognized a dwelling place
for the dead and also a future judgment by the great Osiris. Osiris sends the
wicked to regions of darkness, and the just to dwell with the god of light.
The Egyptians bound up the
idea of immortality with the preservation of the dead body as a condition of
the soul’s continued life. That’s why they took such pains to preserve bodies
through mummification.
But it was the pagan Greeks who gave the
modern doctrines its shape and substance. In Plato’s writings we find the body
gross and corruptible; while the soul is immortal, eternal, and essentially
infallible. The soul is trapped in the body until death when it is liberated.
At least, that’s man’s notion.
Soul Not Perpetual
Is man a dual being with a
physical body and an immortal soul?
Shocking as it may be, the doctrine of an
immortal soul is foreign to the Scriptures. It isn’t in the Old Testament, and
it wasn’t taught by Yahshua or His disciples.
"But," you ask, "doesn’t
the Bible speak of souls?" Yes, many times, but never are the words
"immortal" and "soul" found together in the Scriptures.
"What about Matthew
From the Savior’s own mouth we learn that
the soul can be destroyed and therefore is not immortal. "Soul" is
the Greek word psuche and means
spirit or life. "The soul that sins,
it shall die," Ezekiel 18:4, 20. The word “soul” here is the Hebrew nephesh and is comparable to the Greek psuche.
The Savior even said His own soul (psuche) could die: "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto
death," Matthew 26:38.
Every Passage Examined
Let’s apply a simple test to
see whether there is immortality residing in human beings. We’ll examine every
passage where "immortal" and "immortality" occurs.
The word "immortal" occurs only
once, 1Timothy
The word "immortality" is found
only five times in the entire Bible.
One is found in 1Timothy
Another appearance of
"immortality" is 2Timothy 1:10: "But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Yahshua the
Messiah, Who has abolished death, and has brought life and immortality to light
through the Good News." Yahshua demonstrated in Himself what is meant
by Biblical immortality.
Change in our Bodies
Why at sundown on the 14th,
after He had succumbed to the Roman’s sword, don’t we see Yahshua immediately
in glory in heaven? Because as a man He did not have immortality!
Yahshua was dead in the
grave. He was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea and had to be raised
from the dead three days later to die no more because He was resurrected as the
firstfruits of them that slept. This means others will follow – in like manner
– at the general "harvest" of the faithful. They must also die and
then be actively resurrected at the last trumpet blast (1Thess.
Only upon his resurrection did
"death no more have dominion over Him," Romans 6:9.
In Revelation
Now notice. Three days later, after His
resurrection, the women came to His tomb but did not find the Savior’s body.
Why not? Because resurrection includes a change in the BODY
to immortal substance.
The prophet Isaiah writes of the
resurrection, "Your dead men shall
live, together with my dead body shall they arise," 26:19
If you can see a body in a coffin, or the
bones, or even just the dust, rest assured – that person is still dead and has
not been resurrected. When the women came to Yahshua’s tomb after His
resurrection, the body itself was missing. Paul in 1Corinthians 15 shows us
that we will be resurrected in the same way Yahshua was.
Also notice, "Who [Messiah] shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body…" Philippians 3:21.
In fact, no person will be resurrected
from the dead until the return of Yahshua, 1 Thessalonians 4:16.
Immortality and Humans
In Romans 2:7 is another
occurrence of "immortality." In this passage we investigate
immortality as it relates to man.
Verse 6 tells us that Yahweh renders to
every man according to his deeds. We read in verse 7, "To them who by patient continuance in well
doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life." Why
seek for immortality and eternal life if we already possess it?
Here is absolute justice based on our own
attitude toward the truth and our willingness to follow it no matter what.
Those who submit to Yahweh’s will and His laws will be rewarded with
immortality.
When do the righteous receive their
reward of immortality? Verses 10-16 show that it will be at the judgment of
Yahshua – when He returns.
Again, please note this
truth: immortality is something we must "seek"; it is not something
we already have. And the Scriptures say that not all mankind will be given
immortality. Some who have "sinned without law shall also perish without law." There is no universal salvation.
Yahshua said, "Not every one that says unto Me, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi,’ shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
but he that does the will of My Father Which is in heaven," Matthew
The final two places where we find
"immortality" are in 1Corinthians 15, the resurrection chapter.
"Behold,
I show 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. 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," verses 51-54.
Here the focus is on the resurrection of
the body. Paul writes in verse 44 that there is a natural body and a spiritual
body.
Immortality is a putting on, not a
putting off. The natural and spiritual don’t coexist. The spiritual must be put
on, which takes a dynamic act from outside of us to accomplish such a
supernatural change. We humans do not possess the power to do it in and of
ourselves. "What man can live and
not see death, or save himself from the power of the grave?" Psalm
89:48.
Everlasting life is not a natural,
built-in attribute that automatically takes over following death. Only the
power of Yahweh can bring it about.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit
those who died faithful to the Covenant will be resurrected to life. Hebrews
5:9 reads, "He became the Author of
eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.”
That
Holy Spirit, which His people possessed at the time of death because of their
disobedience (Acts
Death Like a Deep Sleep
Unlike pagan beliefs, you
can’t find anywhere in Scripture where death is an automatic gate to another
life.
The following passages reveal that all
consciousness ceases at death:
"For in death there is no remembrance of You:
In the grave who shall give You thanks?" Psalm 6:5.
"His breath goes forth, he returns to this earth; in that very day his
thoughts perish," Psalm 146:4.
"For the living know that they shall die, but the dead know not anything,"
Ecclesiastes 9:5.
Death is likened to sleep:
"Now shall I sleep in the dust; and you shall seek me in the morning, but
I shall not be," Job
"And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some
to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt,"
Daniel 12:2.
"And he [Stephen] kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, ‘Master, lay
not this sin to their charge.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep,"
Acts 7:60.
"For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of
Elohim, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption,"
Acts 13:36.
Paul called the risen Messiah
“the firstfruits of them that slept”
– and afterward those who are the Messiah’s
at His coming,” 1Corinthians
Enoch, Eliyah, and Lazarus –Alive in Heaven?
What about Enoch? Didn’t he
go to heaven? Doesn’t Hebrews 11:5 say that Enoch was
"translated" that he should not see death?
The word "translated" is from
the Greek metatithemi, and means carried. Yahweh simply carried him to a
different location because Hebrews 11:13 tells us that Enoch died, along with
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and a host of others – none of whom have yet to receive
the promises of everlasting life, verse 13.
The tense is future conditional, that is,
he "would not die" (meaning the second death of judgment).
What about Eliyah in 2 Kings 2:9-11
wasn’t he taken to heaven by a chariot of fire?
If he was, then evidently the
Postal Service has an office in heaven, because here in 2Chronicles
Actually, he is back on earth after his
flight, writing to King Jehoram and telling him that because of his misbehavior
he was going to be punished.
Finally, turn to Luke 16 – the parable of
Lazarus and the rich man. This is THE most quoted text used in an attempt to
show the living state of the dead.
What most don’t realize is that this is a
parable, used to illustrate a point. Yahshua is talking to the Pharisees, the
nation of
Converted Gentiles are represented by the
beggar Lazarus, who lives by the scrap of truth given him and is thus rewarded
in the end.
As to the imaginary, we find Lazarus dead
and buried. "Abraham’s bosom" is an idiomatic expression meaning he
joined Abraham and the other dead forefathers in the grave. Abraham was not in
heaven because as we have shown, Hebrews
Verses 22-23 in Luke 16 read, "…the rich man also died, and was buried; and
in hell he lifted up his eyes…" The Vulgate and Syriac versions
exclude part of this and simply read, "and was buried with Hades." Hades is the grave.
Realize that this is a parable. Yahshua
animates these dead men to prove a point – that
The rich man’s tongue is dry because of
his anxiety and he wants a drop of water. (If he is in
hellfire, then why not a FLOOD of water?!)
The gist of the parable is that there is
no repentance after death. Once we die, it is too late. Psalm 88:10 asks,
"Will you show wonders to the dead?
Shall the dead arise and praise you?’
Not Many Want to Obey
Most people don’t want a
Heavenly Father. They want a heavenly grandfather, a kind; doddering Being whose plan for man is simply to say in the final
analysis, "A good time was had by all."
How often in matters of obedience do
people choose to focus on Yahweh’s grace and forget His many other attributes,
such as His swift justice, His intolerance to sin, and His soon-coming
eradication of evil and evildoers from this planet?
May you be found worthy to reign with the
Messiah Yahshua when He returns to establish His Kingdom on earth, and men
everywhere will at long last find true happiness and peace through obeying
their Creator.
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