Continued from
yesterday.
Death IS a sleep.
Death is not a trip to heaven, or a trip to hell. Read on…
*******
'Thoughts for the
Candid' By Elder J. N. Andrews
Cont…
THOUGHTS ON MATT.
10:28 AND LUKE 12:4
"And fear not
them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear
Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matt. 10:28.
"And I say unto
you My friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have
no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear Him,
which after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you,
Fear Him." Luke 12:4, 5.
1. These texts are
the record, by different writers, of the same language of the Saviour. The
first one is often quoted by those who teach the immortality of the soul and
its conscious existence in death. In Matthew's version of the Saviour's words,
the soul is indeed made very prominent; but in that of Luke, it is not
mentioned. Yet the language of the one version is the same substance as that of
the other.
2. Thus, while
Matthew represents the Saviour as saying, "Fear not them which kill
the body, but are not able to kill the
soul," Luke expresses the idea thus: "Be not afraid of them that kill
the body, and after that have no more they can do." And Matthew adds,
"Fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Luke
gives the same warning, thus: "Fear Him, which after He hath killed hath
power to cast into hell."
3. Thus it is seen
that our Lord recognizes the fact plainly expressed elsewhere, that there are
two deaths. The first death, which is the common lot of mankind, is thus spoken
of by Paul: "It is appointed unto men once to die." Heb. 9:27. The second
death is the portion only of the wicked. "He that overcometh shall not be
hurt of the second death." Rev. 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8. The Saviour bids us
not to fear those who can inflict only
the first of these
deaths; but He warns
us to fear Him who alone is able to kill with the second death.
4. The place in
which the terrible punishment here set forth is inflicted, is called hell. This
word is found in the English Testament twenty-three times. But in the Greek
Testament there are three different words, hades, gehenna and tartarus,
signifying different places, all rendered by the one English word,
"hell." Thus, hades is used eleven times in the original, and is
rendered "hell" ten times and "grave" once. The following
are the places of its
occurrence, the
italicized word in each case being the translation of hades:
Matt. 11:23. Shalt
be brought down to hell.
Matt. 16:18. The
gates of hell shall not prevail.
Luke 10:15. Shalt be
thrust down to hell.
Luke 16:23. In hell
he lift up his eyes.
Acts 2:27. Wilt not
leave my soul in hell.
Acts 2:31. His soul
was not left in hell.
1 Cor. 15:55. O
grave, where is thy victory?
Rev. 1:18. Have the
keys of hell and of death.
Rev. 6:8. Was death,
and hell followed.
Rev. 20:13. Death
and hell delivered up the dead.
Rev. 20:14. Death
and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
Gehenna is found in
the following places:
Matt. 5:22. Shall be
in danger of hell fire.
Matt. 5:29. Whole
body should be cast into hell.
Matt. 5:30. Whole
body should be cast into hell.
Matt. 10:28. Destroy
both soul and body in hell.
Matt. 18:9. Having
two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
Matt. 23:15. More
the child of hell than yourselves.
Matt. 23:33. How can
ye escape the damnation of hell
Mark 9:43. Having
two hands to go into hell.
Mark 9:45. Having
two feet to be cast into hell.
Mark 9:47. Having
two eyes to be cast into hell.
Luke 12:5. Hath
power to cast into hell;
James 3:6. It is set
on fire of hell.
Tartarus is used
only in the following text: "God spared not the angels that sinned, but
cast them down to hell." 2 Peter 2:4.
Thus hades is seen
to be the place of the dead, whether righteous or wicked; the place into which
they are introduced by death, and from which they are delivered by the
resurrection. Those who are in hades are said to be dead. Rev. 20:13. Once, in
the English Testament, hades is rendered "grave." 1 Cor. 15:55.
Gehenna, on the
contrary, is the place where the wicked are to be cast alive with all their
members, and to be destroyed soul and body. It is the lake of fire in which the
wicked dead are to be punished after their resurrection. Rev. 20:13-15.
Tartarus is the place into which the evil angels were cast after their
rebellion. These three places, therefore, though rendered by the one English
word "hell," are not to be confounded with one another.
5. It is claimed
that the Saviour, in giving the warning recorded in Matt. 10:28 and Luke 12:4,
5, taught the continued existence of the soul in death. But it is worthy of
notice that in each of these texts He utters no warning concerning the
punishment of the soul in hades, the place or state of the dead. His warning
relates to that which shall be inflicted upon "soul and body"
together in gehenna.
6. That He should
speak nothing of the punishment of the soul in its disembodied state in hades,
if such punishment really takes place, is very remarkable; for here, more than
anywhere else in the
Bible, is there evidence of the continued existence of the soul while the body
is under the power of death. Yet while expressly stating the terrible fate of
the lost, and that, too, in such connection as would especially call out the
fact, if it were a fact, that the souls of the wicked exist in a place of
dreadful suffering, between death and the resurrection, the Saviour says not
one word concerning the sufferings of the soul in its disembodied state, but
confines His warning to that which shall be inflicted upon "both soul and
body in hell," that is, in gehenna, thus showing that the retribution
against which He warns us comes AFTER the resurrection, and not before.
7. Our Lord means to
point out precisely the danger to which the ungodly are exposed. When,
therefore, He says "Fear Him, which after He hath killed hath power to
cast into gehenna," He means to teach that God will cast the wicked into
gehenna. And when Matthew, expressing the same warning in different words,
makes the Saviour say, "Fear
Him which is able to
destroy both soul and body in gehenna," the fact set forth is that such
will be the fate of the lost.
8. "Fear Him,
which after He hath killed hath power to cast into gehenna." As the wicked
are to be cast into gehenna alive, and in possession of all their bodily
members (see the list of passages in this tract where gehenna is used), it
follows that He who can thus cast them
there, after they
have once been killed, is God alone; for to do this, He must raise them from
the dead. The resurrection to damnation must precede the damnation of gehenna.
Compare John 5:28, 29 with Matt. 23:33.
Joh 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming,
in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29 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.
Mat 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can
ye escape the damnation of hell?
A REMARKABLE
CORNER-STONE.
The doctrine of the
immortality of the soul is something indispensable to almost every prominent
erroneous religious system. It is the corner-stone of heathenism. All or nearly
all the gods of
heathenism are believed to be dead men who were turned into gods by dying.
Catholicism is
indebted to this doctrine for all its saints who are believed to be mediators
with God. It is a fundamental idea in the system of purgatory. In fact,
Romanism is as much dependent on this doctrine as is heathenism. Spiritualism
is simply the embodiment of this doctrine of natural immortality. It is
incapable of existing without it.
Is it not strange
that this corner-stone of heathenism, Roman Catholicism, and Spiritualism,
should be also the corner-stone of modern orthodoxy? Yet such is the case. It
is in these days esteemed the marrow and fatness of Christianity. And so
prevalent is the doctrine, that the advent of Christ, the resurrection of the
dead, and the Judgment are rendered almost obsolete by it. How much better is
life only in Jesus our Lord!'
*******
TRUTH! Nothing but
the truth! Yet we insist on keeping the lie nurtured in our hearts that our
loved ones are living pain free- released from all the pains of life here on
earth. A lie, an illusion, a pretend comfort. We are selfish in our belief, not
ever wanting to imagine that our loved ones are in a place of torment. But in
all honesty if you absolutely believe, refusing to belief otherwise, that your
dead loved ones are alive in spirit form in heaven you HAVE to believe they
could be alive in hell, that possibility exists and YOU do not decide, only
God. If you don't even want to entertain that possibility then your whole
premise of believing in a direct ascent to heaven upon death is built on a lie.
The TRUTH is much easier to believe.
DEATH IS A SLEEP.
The death we
experience right now- the death our loved ones endure is the entrance into the
long sleep, NOT a new awakening into some other realm. It is a TRUE rest, a
TRUE ceasing of all pain and heartache and the welcomed peace of a deep, deep
sleep. Only God is able to raise us from this sleep and He will do that just as
the Bible tells us.
Joh 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming,
in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29 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.
ALL that are in the
graves.
Where are they? IN
THE GRAVE. And what will they do? They shall HEAR HIS VOICE. And then what? THEY SHALL COME FORTH!
How would they ever
come forth if they weren't there? Are you DOUBTING GOD'S WORD? Are you DOUBTING
JESUS' WORD? Jesus said these words!
When Jesus returns
that is when the DEAD in HIM will rise to meet Him in the air, they ARE NOT
WITH HIM NOW!
Why is it so
important we realize this now? Because if we don't we are being DECEIVED and
none of Satan's deceptions are harmless, not a single one.
Please, Father in
heave, please BLESS us with Your truth! Help us, Lord, help us to only believe
YOUR TRUTH no matter how hard it is for us to give up our cherished lies.
All in YOUR GRACE,
YOUR LOVE! BY YOUR MERCY!
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