How Do You Define Death?

[BarneyFife]

15. Back in Moses’ day, what did God command should be done to people who taught that the dead were alive?

“A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones” (Leviticus 20:27).



Answer: God insisted that mediums and others with “familiar spirits” (who claimed to be able to contact the dead) should be stoned to death. This shows how God regards the false teaching that the dead are alive.









16. Will the righteous people who are raised in the resurrection ever die again?

“Those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead … nor can they die anymore” (Luke 20:35, 36).



“God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).





Answer: No! Death, sorrow, crying, and tragedy will never enter into God’s new kingdom. “When this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory’ ” (1 Corinthians 15:54).







17. Belief in reincarnation is expanding rapidly today. Is this teaching biblical?

“The living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing. … Nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6).



Answer: Almost half the people on earth believe in reincarnation, a teaching that the soul never dies but is instead continually reborn in a different kind of body with each succeeding generation. This teaching, however, is contrary to Scripture.



The Bible Says

After death a person: returns to dust (Psalms 104:29), knows nothing (Ecclesiastes 9:5), possesses no mental powers (Psalms 146:4), has nothing to do with anything on earth (Ecclesiastes 9:6), does not live (2 Kings 20:1), waits in the grave (Job 17:13), and continues not (Job 14:1, 2).



Satan's Invention

We learned in questions 11 and 12 that Satan invented the teaching that the dead are alive. Reincarnation, channeling, communication with spirits, spirit worship, and the "undying soul" are all inventions of Satan, with one aim to convince people that when you die you are not really dead. When people believe that the dead are alive, "spirits of devils, working miracles" (Revelation 16:14) and posing as spirits of the dead will be able to deceive and lead them astray virtually 100 percent of the time (Matthew 24:24).









18. Are you thankful for the Bible, which tells us the truth on this sensitive subject of death?

Answer:

 

[BarneyFife]

Thought Questions



1. Didn’t the thief on the cross go to paradise with Christ the day He died



No. In fact, on Sunday morning Jesus said to Mary, “I have not yet ascended to My Father” (John 20:17). This shows that Christ did not go to heaven at death. It’s important to note that the punctuation we see in the Bible today is not original, but added centuries later by translators. The comma in Luke 23:43 would be better placed after the word “today” rather than before, so that the passage reads, “Assuredly, I say to you today, you will be with Me in Paradise.” Another way to put this verse that makes sense in the immediate context is: “I’m telling you today—when it seems that I can save no one, when I Myself am being crucified as a criminal—I give you the assurance today that you will be with me in Paradise.” Christ’s kingdom of glory will be set up at His second coming (Matthew 25:31), and the righteous of all ages will enter it at that time (1 Thessalonians 4:15–17) and not at death.



2. Doesn’t the Bible speak of the “undying,” “immortal” soul?



No. The undying, immortal soul is not mentioned in the Bible. The word “immortal” is found only once in the Bible, and it is in reference to God (1 Timothy 1:17).



3. At death the body returns to dust and the spirit (or breath) returns to God. But where does the soul go?



It goes nowhere. Instead, it simply ceases to exist. Two things must be combined to make a soul: body and breath. When the breath departs, the soul ceases to exist because it is a combination of two things. When you turn off a light, where does the light go? It doesn’t go anywhere. It just ceases to exist. Two things must combine to make a light: a bulb and electricity. Without the combination, a light is impossible. So with the soul; unless body and breath are combined, there can be no soul. There is no such thing as a “disembodied soul.”



4. Does the word “soul” ever mean anything other than a living being?



Yes. It may mean also (1) life itself, or (2) the mind, or intellect. No matter which meaning is intended, the soul is still a combination of two things (body and breath), and it

ceases to exist at death.



5. Can you explain John 11:26: “Whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die”?



This refers not to the first death, which all people die (Hebrews 9:27), but to the second death, which only the wicked die and from which there is no resurrection (Revelation 2:11; 21:8).



6. Matthew 10:28 says, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” Doesn’t this prove that the soul is undying?



No. It proves the opposite. The last half of the same verse proves that souls do die. It says, “Rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” The word “soul” here means life and refers to eternal life, which is a gift (Romans 6:23) that will be given to the righteous at the last day (John 6:54). No one can take away the eternal life that God bestows. (See also Luke 12:4, 5.)



7. Doesn’t 1 Peter 4:6 say the gospel was preached to dead people?



No. It says the gospel “was” preached to those who “are” dead. They are dead now, but the gospel “was” preached to them while they were yet living.

 

[WaterSong]

According to militant evangelicals, every Seventh-day Adventist website is apologetic, sheep-stealing, etc.. [-] "

1. What is Apologetics? | Bible.org
Apologetics may be simply defined as the defense of the Christian faith. The simplicity of this definition, however, masks the complexity of the problem of defining apologetics. It turns out that a diversity of approaches has been taken to defining the meaning, scope, and purpose of apologetics.

 

[WaterSong]

Not many I see speaking of the three heavens. Good to hear you bring it up. But, then again how many will read your post and care enough to pursue it further?

Give God the glory!

One never knows.

 

[BarneyFife]

1. What is Apologetics? | Bible.org
Apologetics may be simply defined as the defense of the Christian faith. The simplicity of this definition, however, masks the complexity of the problem of defining apologetics. It turns out that a diversity of approaches has been taken to defining the meaning, scope, and purpose of apologetics.

That's very informative.

 

[WaterSong]

That's very informative.

Thank you. I'm glad if it assists your studies.

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

Is this verse talking about a physical death, spiritual death, or both? Since isn't praising the Lord what we do in Heaven? Psalms 115:17

I think both.
1. God told Adam and Eve, "but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." Gen. 2:17
They did not physically die, they spiritually died. Spiritual separation from God is what happened, physically, they lived on for hundreds of years. We are born spiritually dead, separate from God.
2. Unbelievers who die, go to Hades (Sheol) which is not the grave, but the underworld, where there is darkness. They await judgment, which is the Lake of Fire (Hell).

More about this ...
"Before I go -- and I shall not return to the land of darkness and deep shadow, The land of utter gloom ..." Job 10:21
"For a fire is kindled in My anger, And burns to the lowest part of Sheol, And consumes the earth with its yield, And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains." Deut. 32:22
As we've seen volcanoes erupt, we know fire and brimstone are beneath the crust of the earth. So are caverns.
"But he does not know that the dead are there, That her guests are in the depths of Sheol. Prov. 9:18
"For Sheol cannot than You, Death cannot praise You, Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness." Isaiah 38:18
The Bottomless Pit, the Abyss, all terms used to describe a deeper and separate part of Sheol, where demons are imprisoned.
Jonah visited Sheol! He died in the belly of the fish and was brought down to Sheol, then God brought him back to life. Otherwise, why is Jesus death compared with the story of Jonah? "I called out of my distress to the LORD, And He answered me, I cried for help from the depth of Sheol; You heard my voice. ... Water encompassed me to the point of death ... I descended to the roots of the mountains, The earth with its bars was around me forever, But You have brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God." Jonah 2
"Roots of mountains", "earth with its bars", "the pit"? These aren't descriptions of the inside of a fish.
"For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell (Gehenna, Tartarus) and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; ..."2 Peter 2:4

 

[April_Rose]

This is a good explanation:
Are The Dead Really Dead? | Bible Study Guides | Amazing Facts

Well using that logic it's amazing to think that people think that animals don't have souls and can't go to Heaven since they are in fact living.

What don't you understand?

Just the way it was worded.

 

[Enoch111]

You see this is a problem I have with believing the Bible to be a hundred percent accurate when it contradicts itself. If Paradise is empty, then why did Jesus say this to the thief on the cross? Luke 23:43

Paradise is NOT empty since it is within the New Jerusalem. That is in Heaven, where God, Christ, the angels, and all the saints are now living. And that is also where that redeemed thief is living.

Before the resurrection of Christ both the righteous and the unrighteous went to Sheol/Hades. After Christ's resurrection (when He took all the OT saints with Him to Heaven) only the unrighteous are in Hades. Jesus used the term "paradise" to denoted Heaven.

 

[Enoch111]

Well using that logic it's amazing to think that people think that animals don't have souls and can't go to Heaven since they are in fact living.

There is a huge difference between the children of God and animals. No, animals do not go to Heaven.

 

[BarneyFife]

Well using that logic it's amazing to think that people think that animals don't have souls and can't go to Heaven since they are in fact living.

Animals don't have souls. They are souls, just like people. The Bible doesn't suggest any resurrection for them, though. Which makes it uncertain, not impossible.

 

[mjrhealth]

What is death, can only put it as Pia found out. It is complete and utter separation from God. Not a pleasant experience as She found out.;

 

[BarneyFife]

You see this is a problem I have with believing the Bible to be a hundred percent accurate when it contradicts itself. If Paradise is empty, then why did Jesus say this to the thief on the cross? Luke 23:43

The Bible doesn't contradict itself. It does contain paradoxes and it is also written so as to confound the wise. When Mary came near to Christ after His resurrection, He said "Touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to my Father." So He could not have received the thief on the cross in Paradise on the day of his crucifixion. Remove the comma from Luke 23:43 (since the Greek has none) and it reads "Truly I say to you today (that) you will be with me in Paradise."

 

[quietthinker]

First of all I'll address the second half of this first. I believe in ghosts because I had an experience with some and I'm on the fence as to what I think about aliens. As for where people went before Christ's death and resurrection didn't they have a holding area to go to or something? I asked that question on another forum and @Sabertooth posted this song that addresses it that I now LOVE.

The dead are dead....they do not exist. That applies both to the righteous and the wicked. Both await a resurrection. One for life eternal, the other to have sentence passed. Ghosts are none other than Satan or his minions masquerading as the departed dead.

 

[CharismaticLady]

1. Didn’t the thief on the cross go to paradise with Christ the day He died

Yes, because at the time of Jesus' death, "Paradise" was not in heaven yet, but still a resting place in Abraham's Bosom. After all, the wicked dead could see those in Paradise, and no wicked are that close to heaven. When we are in heaven we won't be able to see those in hell. Paradise is either empty, or has itself been translated to heaven. When Jesus was resurrected, THEN those in Paradise were also resurrected and I believe Jesus took the Old Testament saints to heaven when He ascended, including the thief on the cross. Remember they were seen walking around Jerusalem.

 

[BarneyFife]

Yes, because at the time of Jesus' death, "Paradise" was not in heaven yet, but still a resting place in Abraham's Bosom.

Parables don't dictate doctrine. They're object lessons.

 

[quietthinker]

Parables don't dictate doctrine. They're object lessons.

critical! otherwise we start forming doctrines about sheep pens and sizes of seed.....and before you know it we build Cathedrals with huge phallus's unwittingly giving God the finger...or is that deliberate?

 

[BarneyFife]

Abraham's bosom is the grave.

 

[FollowHim]

Is this verse talking about a physical death, spiritual death, or both? Since isn't praising the Lord what we do in Heaven? Psalms 115:17

The dead are those that do not sing to Jesus and the principles of the Kingdom. David talks about evil people, their lostness and blindness. There is no life in them just selfishness.

Another picture is wheat kernals and the chaff. Wheat is life, the heart and soul of who we are, and chaff the lost world trying to make sense but clinging only to the form of life while being dead while physically alive.

It is how some who love their wife commit adultery, loses their wife and fall apart, because they destroyed who they were. I know this stress, because I see the lust and desire ruling crazy unhappy folk who will give sex but destroy the other party, with no limits. Like possessed zombbies they stagger about, appearing whole, but totally flawed. In Jesus we have life, upon the rock we stand strong through the storm. Amen, Praise God.

God bless you

 

[FollowHim]

Is this verse talking about a physical death, spiritual death, or both? Since isn't praising the Lord what we do in Heaven? Psalms 115:17

Life is Jesus who will never fail.
Death is this world which is passing