Welcome
@Jennifer Rogers.
Aunty Jane can be a bit abrasive. Don't take it personally.
Us Aussies can be considered “abrasive” or even “rude” at times but this is cultural rather than a deliberate attempt to be “abrasive” or “rude”....we are not really big on tip-toeing around people’s sensibilities to the extent of being seen to be “politically correct”...we just tell it like it is. No offense intended.
@Aunty Jane
I'm in the process of studying out this concept of
separate soul/spirit and have an ongoing thread about it:
Only Believers are Resurrected?
I'm curious what you make of the passage about Samuel's soul/spirit being contacted by the witch of Endor. 1 Samuel 28
I assume this is directed towards me Gen2Rev?
Concerning the witch of Endor who supposedly contacted the spirit of Samuel.....firstly, communication with the dead was forbidden in God’s law and this was the reason why Saul had difficulty finding a spirit medium. He was the King who threw them out of the land under God’s instruction. Deuteronomy 18:9-12 identifies all of the spiritistic practices that were common in the land of Canaan and all were forbidden to God’s people. Would God prevent communication with spirits if they really were who they claim to be?
Satan is a master deceiver so it was he who said “you surely will not die’…but God told Adam that he “surely” would….so who lied? Do the dead live on or do they “sleep” as the Bible writers and even Jesus himself said? (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; John 11:11-14)
If you read the account, you will see that the woman who was the spirit medium was the only one who saw and heard this “spirit”. Can the spirits who can impersonate the dead be relied upon to tell us the truth? They know everything about everyone so deception is their game.
It was not Samuel who spoke to the spirit medium….but a demonic spirit who impersonated him.
Saul was lost spiritually and was desperate to know what was happening. The living prophets would not speak to Saul so why would a dead Samuel do so? God had abandoned him.
And is the story of the rich man and Lazarus just a parable? If so, what verses confirm that?
The fact that the previous chapters contain all parables and there is nothing to indicate that this was different. So what did this parable mean? Read it and see that if taken literally, it makes no sense.
But if you can see the illustration for what Jesus was relating, it was nothing to do with death and hell.
The rich man was not said to be wicked nor was the beggar said to be righteous.
Jesus was referring to the rich and privileged class of the Pharisees and contrasting them with the ones who were spiritually impoverished because the rich man did not care about them and they were forced to subsist only on the few crumbs that fell from his table.
Their “deaths” were an exchange of places....the Pharisees lost their place in God’s arrangement (pictured by the expression “Abraham’s bosom” which was a position of favor) and the those pictured by the beggar (the “lost sheep” to whom Jesus was sent) found favor with God by accepting Jesus as their Savior.
To suggest that ‘heaven and hell’ (hades) are in speaking distance to one another is a bit ridiculous since “hades” is nothing more than the common grave of mankind. There is no continuation of life after death.....no immortal soul to exist elsewhere in some other place. Death is just a peaceful sleep.
God never contrasted “heaven and hell” as opposite destinations in his word. The Jews had no such belief that was outlined in their scriptures. Jesus was Jewish, and he used those scriptures to instruct his disciples. Though he opened up a new concept regarding the destiny of those chosen to rule with Christ in heaven, (his elect) but it never altered the hope that was held out to the rest. We can talk about the two resurrections if you wish....?
This requires careful study and an understanding of what the ancient Jews were taught. God’s first purpose was to have human beings, unsullied by sin, to inhabit and maintain paradise on earth. This life was to be everlasting because the “tree of life” was there in the garden to guarantee that mortal life would continue forever. (Genesis 3:22-24) Only disobedience would separate them from God and bar them from the tree of life. No other mention of death is made.
When God brings in the rulership of his Kingdom, the Revelation tells us that God’s first purpose will be restored and access to the trees of life will again be offered to obedient mankind.
Revelation 21:3-4....
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (ESV)