You know the facts of life...do you know the facts of death?

[SIZE=12pt]I suspect we’re pretty much all adults here. And I know we’re all familiar with the ‘Facts of Life’, right?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]But what do we know about the “Facts of Death”?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Well then, let’s see what the Bible can tell about these things. And first among all those things, the Number one, topmost thing with respect to both the facts of life, AND, the facts of death… is that,[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“…the living know that they shall die” Ecc. 9:5. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]That requires no further explanation. But I will say this, in debates with infidels and atheists, I point out to them that in at least this respect, the Bible has never failed to get it right; the living die; and when they can, with their un-god manage NOT to die, I will consider giving heed to their atheistic theology. Until then though, God clearly has the upper hand. And I’m sticking with Him…until I die![/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]So, in order to fully understand the facts of death, we need to see just what it is we are, what we’re made of, and from where and whence we came to be. Remember, David asked of God, “What is man?” Psalm 8:4.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]WHAT IS MAN?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]NOTE: Everything we have to say, for the next several paragraphs, is common to all of mankind. In these things, there is no distinction between lost and saved, sinner or saint.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]So what do we have here? We have God forming man, man’s body, his flesh, out of the dust of the ground (for you evolutionists here, note that until the creation of man, God did every act of creation by the simple expedient of speaking it, “And God said…” did all the work. That is, the Word of God was, and is that powerful…however, in the making of man God got His hands dirty. For notice above that it is said that God ‘FORMED MAN’ of the dust of the ground. God actively worked in the forming of mankind…not so the rest of the creation).[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]At that point, man was just a clay figure, a 200 pound doll…and really not very useful to God at all. So God BREATHED into man’s nostrils, the BREATH OF LIFE, and man became A LIVING SOUL.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Two disparate elements, dust formed into a doll, and God’s breath, when mixed together, gave us man, you and me…and the definition changed from dust mixed with breath, to ‘living soul’.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]WHAT IS THE BREATH OF GOD insofar as man is concerned?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Well, whatever it is, it is life giving. When breathed into his nostrils, this substance made man come alive. So we know first of all, that the breath of God is life giving.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Paul though puts it this way, “…the spirit gives life” 2 Cor 3:6. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Jesus agrees, for He says, “It is the spirit that quickeneth (gives life); the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Let’s see how that works out in practical life…You will recall that Jesus was called to the house of Jairus, whose little daughter lay at the point of death. In point of fact though, by the time they reached the house, she was dead, dead as a door nail. Let’s let Luke carry through with the narrative here, with,[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole. And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.” Luke 8:49-55.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Without parsing out the entire passage, let’s just take note of what exactly happened to bring the little girl to back to life, when Jesus said “Maid, arise”…[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“And her SPIRIT came again, and she arose straightway”. Verse 55. So in this instance at least, we’ve proven that the spirit is the life. The little girl was dead until her spirit returned. Then she lived.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]But not only so, look at the death of the first Christian martyr, Stephen. During the all too common Jewish religious service commonly called the ‘Stoning’, it is said that,[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Acts 7:59. What did Stephen call upon God to receive? His body? His soul? No, Stephen called upon God to ‘receive my SPIRIT’.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]And Jesus as well, had this to shout as His last words upon the cross of shame and triumph,[/SIZE]

[SIZE=medium]“And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost[/SIZE].” Luke 23:46. What did Jesus commend to God? His body? His soul? No, Jesus said unto the Father, ‘I commend my SPIRIT’.

[SIZE=12pt]And one last one, just to seal this deal properly. And for that, go to James chapter 2, verse 26. Here James is putting the final touches upon his lesson about how faith is necessarily activated and empowered by works. And in doing so, he tossed in for free, a lasting lesson about the spirit and body, with, [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” James 2:26.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]WHAT THEN, IS DEATH?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Let us hie on back to Ecclesiastes, and see death defined. And naturally, given what we’ve seen above, it will most likely have to do with separating the spirit from the body. And it turns out that is exactly the case, for,[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Ecc 12:7.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]At death, the spirit returns to God, and the body returns to dust, to the ground of the earth, from whence it came.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]And did you know, that this reality, put upon every man, woman, boy and girl, is part and parcel of the curse placed upon Adam and Eve for their sin of disobedience in the Garden of Eden? For in speaking the curse, God said to Adam,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Genesis 3:19.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]At death, the body returns to the ground, while the spirit returns to God…WHO GAVE IT. The spirit being of course, the life of man. And without the spirit, man is dead, dead, dead.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]And by the way, just for fun, let’s look at how one can, or cannot, control the spirit in the day of death, with,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]“There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.” Ecc 8:8.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]In science fiction, man can reach a place to where he can control death. Can manufacture in the lab, immortality…In reality, it’ll never happen. For no man has power to hold on to his spirit. Nor will man ever be given that power. After all, none are ever discharged from service in that war, that war of true life and death. We’d best deal with what we have at hand today, and let tomorrow take care of itself.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]SO, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Can we communicate with one another? Can we talk to Jesus, or to Mary? Will we be conscious, aware and knowing, remembering and thinking?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Well, here again, let us allow the Bible to speak for us. Remember that first verse we opened this discussion with? The one that said, “The living know that they shall die”?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]How about our quoting that entire verse this time? And maybe just a tad more…And let me warn you, it will be a shocker![/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.” Ecc 9:5-6.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Talk about being unemployed! [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]You see, the spirit of life, the life within us, contains every single component of what constitutes life in a human being. The spirit is consciousness, conscience, memory, emotion, intelligence, everything that characterizes all that a man is beyond his fleshly body, is spirit. That’s why, when the spirit returns to God, the body is dead.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]And so, no, you won’t be conscious, you won’t have memory, nor emotion…and bless your catholic heart, you won’t be able to talk to Mary, or the various and sundry saints scattered throughout purgatory, or whatever they’re calling it today.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]For where you are, is the exact same place every single human being who ever lived will fetch up, and who shall have ever lived, and died, and who shall ever die. Recall what happens at death? The body returns to the earth, but…the SPIRIT returns to God, (who gave it).[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]So where will we be? Well, if our spirits return to God, then we’ll be wherever God is. But unconscious, unknowing…there to remain in that state until the resurrection, where once more, we will have our spirits joined with our risen bodies, to become once again, living (but immortal) souls. And that dear friend applies to all, to both saint and sinner, to the ancient dead, and to the newly dead.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Let’s get a bit more evidence on all that…[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“For in death there is no remembrance of thee…” Psalm 6:5. No memory, good, bad or indifferent.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]And don’t worry about praying, or praising the Lord…it isn’t going to happen there, for,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]“The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.” Psalm 115:17.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]After all, your spirit is at rest, in the presence of God, but unknowing, unfeeling…and there it will remain until the resurrection…[/SIZE]


[SIZE=12pt]With your kind permission, I’ll take a break now, and at a later time, we’ll deal with the resurrection…and with the differences between the Christian and others. In doing that, we’ll be doing a little investigation into just what one particular phrase, found only twice throughout the entire Bible…actually means. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]That phrase is, ‘born of the spirit’, found in John chapter three, two times, and only there. Since it is an integral part of being born again…can you tell me exactly what it means? What is the process by which one is ‘born of the spirit’? What happens to the man, when the man is ‘born of the spirit”? Is it an intellectual exercise? Are you aware of it when it happens? [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]I realize there are many here who can answer these questions…but let the younger folks have at it before you tell them…[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be BORN of water and OF THE SPIRIT, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is BORN OF THE SPIRIT is spirit.” John 3:5-6.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]I’ll check in later…I hope to see others’ thoughts and scriptures on this fairly important matter (after all, we all do die, and it wouldn’t hurt a’tall to know more about it).[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Until then, God Bless you,[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]I am and remain sincerely yours in Jesus Christ,[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Julabee Jones[/SIZE]

Thank you!

It is always dangerous to base a doctrine on a single verse or parable. That's the reason I give so many verses backing my words. Let me ask you some questions...

1) Where else, throughout the entirety of the bible, is Abraham's Bosum mentioned?

For if the several scriptures I quoted are true, then Abraham's spirit is itself, with God who gave it...and is "...knowing not anything", much less talking and having conversations with sinful visitors.

2) If "...It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" Heb 9:27, and if as we've heard Jesus to say many times, things along the lines of,

"Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city..." Matt 10:15...

That is, if while Sodom and Gomorrha have already been judged, and destroyed thereby...how is it that yet one other judgment remains to them?

So where then, are the spirits of Sodom and Gomorrha? If they are in torment and pain today, what need will there be for judgment at that day Jesus above calls THE DAY OF JUDGMENT?

And furthermore, the singular time I can see sinners before God...is at that final judgment, and on that final judgment day. And that happens AFTER the resurrection...

Later!

I am and remain sincerely yours,

Julabee Jones



And note also that Paul speaks of visiting Paradise...but in a vision. John's experience in Revelation is by himself stated to be a 'vision', seen as he was 'in the spirit' on the Lord's day.

I don't think we can categorically state that John was actually IN heaven during that time. After all, that entire experience is given that we might learn thereby, not in order to plan out a vacation getaway there...

And finally, while the bible doesn't clearly state that the rich man and Lazarus is a parable, I think, given the weight of the other scriptures, it would be in our best interest to allow that possibility.

And now, on our long, slow journey to the RESURRECTION, let us visit,

SOUL SLEEP

When my bible knowledge grew to the point that I was forced to leave the church, the denomination, in which I was raised, I spent some time in fellowship with members of other denominations. And it was there that I heard people say something along the lines of,

“I don’t believe in soul sleep. I don’t care if the bible supports it or not (can you imagine a greater arrogance of ignorance that saying something like that?). I do not believe in soul sleep”…
Ever notice how the most strongly emphatic, even in the face of clear scripture saying otherwise, are also the most hypocritical?

Take ‘soul sleep’ as a fine example. We’re told in Genesis 2:7 (quoted earlier), that God made man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils, the breath of life…and that the result was a ‘living soul’.
Paul tells us something very similar, with, “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” 1 Cor 15:4.

Let’s be clear here. It is not that we HAVE or POSSESS a soul. It is that we ARE a soul, a living soul. Yes, the bible talks about body, soul and spirit...but just as ‘having eternal life’ and ‘being saved’ can be, oftentimes are, but sometimes are not, the same; even so the word ‘soul’ has multiple uses. We’re using it here solely (!) by way of the body, soul and spirit ‘living soul’ juxtaposition.

And we are living souls because of a very specific process, the making of our bodies out of the dust the earth, and joining them to the breath of God (the spirit of life)…which produces us, living souls.
At death, our spirits, our lives, are returned to God (from whom and whence they came)…So tell me, what remains then? We know too, that at death, the bodies return to the ground, to the dust from whence they came.

What then, has happened to the soul? Has it too gone or otherwise returned to God? Or has the soul maintained a connection to the body, to be returned to the dust of the ground? Tell me please, where are our souls ten minutes after our deaths?

With your kind permission, a parable. A ‘dirty’ parable... “A ten year old boy finds a big mud puddle. Being of an enterprising and inquiring mind, the little boy takes out of the puddle, a good sized dollop of mud. And also being of an artistic bent, within a few minutes, the young man has fashioned a mud figure, a human figure, correct even to the ears, fingers and toes.

So, being justly proud of his workmanship and industry, the little boy sets his mud man upon a nearby stump, so all the world can see and admire his craftsmanship.

But alas! Within a short time, the forces of nature, namely heat and evaporation, conspire to remove the water from the mud man. So what do you think happens then?


You see, mud is simply a joining of two disparate elements, ‘dirt’ (our bodies) and ‘water’ (our spirits). The result is mud, mud that can be shaped and formed and worshipped if need be…but mud.

When nature (or an oven) removes the water from the mud, making it, that is the water, return to the atmosphere (heaven if you like) from which it came (as in our spirits returning to God) what remains? What was mud a short while ago, is now, just a dried out clod of dirt. A dirt clod fit for nothing more than throwing at little sisters who should mind their own business anyway.

So we find ourselves back where we started. Dirt/soil united with water, to become a new substance, a third thing, mud. Removing the water, negates, does away with, the mud.

Given a few more days, the dried mud man becomes corrupted, the edges wearing away, the shape reverting back into a regular old dirt clod.

Oh glory! though. It rains a lavish. And the one time mud man, having been corrupted by the weather, is now once more, courtesy of the weather, a wonderful dollop of mud…which can be remade into another mud man…or whatever shape the lad chooses.”

Do you get it? The spirit, breathed by God into bodies taken from the dust of the ground, produces living souls. What happens then, when at death, the soul returns to God who gave it? Where then, is the soul?

The soul is nowhere…for if joining the body and spirit together produces the soul…separating the spirit from the body, makes the soul no more. The soul is set aside, put on hiatus, or as I said earlier ‘unemployed’.

RESURRECTION, whereby Jesus returns from heaven with the spirits of the dead, occurs when the spirits are reunited with now risen and recreated spiritual bodies of the once dead. And the result is ETERNALLY LIVING, LIVING SOULS…whether in God’s presence (in either the New Jerusalem or ‘heaven’), or in the lake of fire with you know who.

So we’ve established that the body, at death, returns to dust, and the spirit returns to God from whom it came…Let’s just append that verse once more for review,

“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Ecc 12:7.
So what is happening to the spirits that have indeed, returned to God? Well, we noted earlier that they know nothing,

“For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten” Ecc 9:5,

We know too, that they are no longer receiving social security, disability or a paycheck, and that even their memories are gone.

We know also that, once again, no memory, and no recognition of and from anyone else who might would have, if it were possible, said to you, “Thank you!”

“For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?” Ps 6:5,
And no praising either (which by this time, would avail nothing anyway), for,

“The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.” Ps 115:17.

Wherever our spirits are, after having returned to God upon our deaths, there is no sound, no praising, praying, no complaining…all is silent.

So back to SOUL SLEEP.

I do believe in it. And I find those who do not believe in it, to be hypocritical to the utmost. For I am a soul, a living soul, a SOUL, and I sleep, near as I can tell, just about every night. Isn’t that soul sleep?

But, what shall I do when my body returns to the earth and corruption…and my spirit returns to God? Will I be sleeping, or waking? We’ve dealt with the soul, and know that now, it is in abeyance, unemployed, awaiting my resurrection and the reconfigured eternal living soul that I shall then become…

But again, what of my spirit? We know my spirit will be inactive, alive, but unknowing, remembering nought, unable to communicate even with the blessed Mary.

Well, let’s go back to the Word of God, and having seen what the spirit is not doing, let’s see what we can ascertain about what the spirit is doing, while in that state of non-animation…

We noted earlier how when Jesus prayed for the little 12 year old daughter of the synagogue ruler named Jairus…her spirit returned to her dead body. “And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway…” Luke 8:54-55.

But recall what Jesus said about the little girl, just before returning her spirit, and her life, to her dead body?

“And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but SLEEPETH. And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was DEAD.” Luke 8:51-53.

And so, coming into the house, where the dead girl no longer ‘lived’, Jesus said something very telling. He said, “…she is not dead, but SLEEPETH”.

And do you know what they did? They laughed at Jesus, even to the point of scorning Him. For they knew well and good, the girl was dead. What they didn’t know, WHO they didn’t know, was the Son of God who could cause her spirit to return to her dead body, bringing her back to life.

So either Jesus was mistaken, or else, in His eyes, the little girl’s death was tantamount to, and could be equated with “Sleeping”…

For some more clarification, let’s check in on Jesus and His posse over in John chapter 11, where speaking of the dead, dead, dead Lazarus, who Jesus loved, He said,

“Our friend Lazarus SLEEPETH; but I go, that I may awake him out of SLEEP. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he SLEEP, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his DEATH: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in SLEEP.” John 11:11-13.

And so, what do we see? We see that the spirit returning to God makes one dead. One whose spirit is gone, gone back to God, is dead. And the soul is on hiatus. When the spirit returned at Jesus’ command, the dead little girl miraculously became the living little girl, once again a ‘living soul’.

And the first martyr Stephen, in Acts chapter 8? And who had said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit”? Acts 8:59.
What happened when Stephen’s spirit did indeed, return to God? Luke tells us,

“…he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, HE FELL ASLEEP.” Acts 7:60
.
What kind of ‘sleep’ do you think the little girl, and Stephen, and any and all who are asleep in Jesus, experience? Is it an unconscious sleep of total rest, with no dreams or nightmares?

Have you ever been ‘put to sleep’ during surgery? Do you recall how it felt? Well, it feel like anything did it? You were utterly unaware of anything, no thought, no awareness of the passing of time, just total ‘nothingness’. In fact, as a thinking person you were probably amazed at how that period of time, however long it might have been, just simply and totally didn’t exist for you.

That’s the kind of sleep the little girl was sleeping. That’s the kind of sleep Stephen lay down to sleep. That is the kind of sleep we will sleep when our spirits return to God, after our bodies are laid down to rest in the heart of the earth.

The psalmist puts it this way, and I do believe it is referring to our sleep in our resting place with God,
“It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.” Ps 127:2

Whatever your life may bring, whether sorrow and sadness, or ease and luxury…if you are His, in your long sleep to come, it will be the beloved sleep, of His beloved. I don’t know about the lost…we aren’t told, and I’m not of a mind to try it out…I’m all in for the sleep that is beloved.

So having established where the spirits of the dead are (and to this point, we’ve never been able to find, nor to draw, any distinction between the saved, and the lost, the saint, and the sinner, but it is coming…)
What about RESURRECTION?

There is little in the Old Testament regarding resurrection. In fact, the word “resurrection” isn’t found in the Old Testament. And furthermore, it was a bone of contention between the two leading political/religious parties during the times of Jesus and Paul. The Pharisees believed in angels and spirits, and in the resurrection. The Sadducees believed in neither of those,

“For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.” Acts 23:8.

But in the book of Daniel, we find what I believe to be (especially in that Jesus comes very close to quoting it in John chapter 5), an unmistakable reference to the resurrection,

“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.” Dan 12:2.

Here is how Jesus put it,

“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” John 5:28-29.

Note the change between Daniel’s “…MANY of them that sleep”, to Jesus’, “…ALL that are in the graves…” Note too, Daniel’s ‘SLEEP’ reference to the dead…

We will revisit Jesus’ statement in this regard, when we allow the New Testament to refute the whole pop culture icon and boondoogle called the “RAPTURE”.

So, we’ll meet again soon and finish up the whole deal about THE FACTS ABOUT DEATH…by turning once again, to THE FACTS OF LIFE, ETERNAL LIFE, in Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

Until then, I am and remain sincerely yours in Jesus Christ,
Julabee Jones