I read a news report about a murderer in the United States who was given the death sentence and the family of the victim wished that the condemmned murderer will "forever burn in hell". In many of the funeral wakes I have attended, the pastors invariably comfort their parishioners that their deceased loved ones "are now in heaven enjoying a blissful life with Jesus". Are such beliefs based on biblical truth, or are they adapted by some novelists who popularised these notions on misunderstood biblical verses? We shall soon find out.
The belief that man has an immortal soul started at the Garden of Even when Satan lied to Eve with the statement, "You will not surely die" (Genesis 3:4). Make no mistake, the Bible is uneqivocal that death is the absence of life - man does not have an immortal soul and there is no life beyond the grave. The Bible uses the word "sleep" to describe all those who are dead. The dead in Christ are not in heaven, neither are the "lost" burning in hell! All true disciples of Christ who are asleep are awaiting the first resurrection at the Second Coming of Christ. The rest of humanity are awaiting for the second resurrection to happen sometime towards the close of the millennium age.
The number of biblical verses supporting the above statements are simply overwhelming, and I shall attempt to quote some of them. Soloman states in Ecclesiastes 3:19-22, 'For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breadth; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust...For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?' Only the spirit in man will return to God who gave it (Eccl 12:7b), but the spirit in man is not conscious of its existence, much like our physical DNA. Similarly, David says in Psalm 6:5, ' For in death there is no rememberance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks.' The Psalmist in 115:17 says, 'The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into silence.'
The patriarch Job asks in Job 14:14,' If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, till my change comes (First Resurrection - to become immortal born again spirit being)' Job knows that God will hide him in the grave till His wrath is past (Job 14:13) - the coming Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord before he will be resurrected to immortality. The prophet Daniel was similarly assured by the Archangel Michael recorded for us in 12:13, ' But you go your way till the end, for you shall rest (die), and will arise to your inheritance (the kingdom of God) at the end of the days.' The same assurance was written by David in Psalm 17:15, 'As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness (born again as immortal spirit sons of God in God's divine Family).'
To put to rest the doubts of those who think that the New Testament era is different from the time before Christ, John 3:13 records the words of Christ, ' No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.' The Apostle Peter preached the same after Christ resurrection, ' Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.' (Acts 2: 29) ; ' For David did not ascend into the heavens' (Acts 2:34).
But many will quote Luke 23:43, saying that Jesus told the thief on the cross that 'today you will be with Me in paradise'. In the original manuscript there is no comma in the verse but added by bible translators. The correct translation should be, 'Assuredly, I say to you today, you will be with Me in Paradise.' If Christ had promise the thief paradise on that very day, then Christ lied as He was in the grave for three full days. In fact, Christ did not ascend to heaven as yet when Mary Magdalene saw Him after His resurrection (John 20:17). What Christ was promising the thief on the cross was that since he repented, but was not baptised and did not receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, he will not be in the first but in the second resurrection towards the close of the millennium age. By then planet earth would have been restored (Acts 3:21) to become a paradise much like before the Fall.
The Apostle Paul affirmed us that Christ has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Cor 15:20). He (Christ) is the first to awake from sleep (death) and the true church, who is the firstfruits (James 1:18) will follow likewise when He returns. Till then, all the dead - whether in Christ or not - are asleep in the grave (RIP) and their body sees corruption (decay). But those in Christ will be raised to immortality where there is no more suffering and death (1 Cor 15: 50-58). Only an immortal spirit body that has been born again in the likeness of Christ (1 John 3:2) will be able to enter and inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 15:50).
Coming back to the story of those who wish that the murderer will forever burn in hell, this concept was popularised by novelists in the thirteen century and beyond. Many misunderstood the parable about the Rich Man and Lazarus recorded in Luke 16:19-31. That was not hell fire in the allegory. If it was so, can dipping the tip of a finger in water able to cool the tongue of the rich man in a fiery hell fire inferno? The allegory in Luke 16 is teaching us about humility and stewardship, and a special warning for those who are wealthy not to despise and marginalise the poor.
A passage in Revelation 6:9-11 is often used by those who to support their belief of the immortal soul. But this passage is an allegory to explain that the blood of the martyrs who died for the truth of the gospel will be avenged by God when the time for the numbers of those who are called and chosen has all come into the kingdom of God. Those martyrs who died in righteousness were told to rest a little longer (RIP) before justice is done. For all died in faith (Hebrews 11:13), including all those in the hall of faith like the patriarchs of old and have yet to receive their promise of salvation.
Alas, do watch and pray for the time is coming when our redemption (from mortality to immortality) draws near (Luke 21:28). The good news is that after salvation, the sons of God will be earth bound to help govern the whole earth. Christ clearly states that in the Sermon on the Mount, 'Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth'. Those who are overcomers will become sons of God in God's divine Family (Rev 3:21) to form the Government of God with Christ as the King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev 19:16). That in the nutshell, is the Gospel of the kingdom of God!
The belief that man has an immortal soul started at the Garden of Even when Satan lied to Eve with the statement, "You will not surely die" (Genesis 3:4). Make no mistake, the Bible is uneqivocal that death is the absence of life - man does not have an immortal soul and there is no life beyond the grave. The Bible uses the word "sleep" to describe all those who are dead. The dead in Christ are not in heaven, neither are the "lost" burning in hell! All true disciples of Christ who are asleep are awaiting the first resurrection at the Second Coming of Christ. The rest of humanity are awaiting for the second resurrection to happen sometime towards the close of the millennium age.
The number of biblical verses supporting the above statements are simply overwhelming, and I shall attempt to quote some of them. Soloman states in Ecclesiastes 3:19-22, 'For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breadth; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust...For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?' Only the spirit in man will return to God who gave it (Eccl 12:7b), but the spirit in man is not conscious of its existence, much like our physical DNA. Similarly, David says in Psalm 6:5, ' For in death there is no rememberance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks.' The Psalmist in 115:17 says, 'The dead do not praise the Lord, nor any who go down into silence.'
The patriarch Job asks in Job 14:14,' If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, till my change comes (First Resurrection - to become immortal born again spirit being)' Job knows that God will hide him in the grave till His wrath is past (Job 14:13) - the coming Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord before he will be resurrected to immortality. The prophet Daniel was similarly assured by the Archangel Michael recorded for us in 12:13, ' But you go your way till the end, for you shall rest (die), and will arise to your inheritance (the kingdom of God) at the end of the days.' The same assurance was written by David in Psalm 17:15, 'As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness (born again as immortal spirit sons of God in God's divine Family).'
To put to rest the doubts of those who think that the New Testament era is different from the time before Christ, John 3:13 records the words of Christ, ' No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.' The Apostle Peter preached the same after Christ resurrection, ' Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.' (Acts 2: 29) ; ' For David did not ascend into the heavens' (Acts 2:34).
But many will quote Luke 23:43, saying that Jesus told the thief on the cross that 'today you will be with Me in paradise'. In the original manuscript there is no comma in the verse but added by bible translators. The correct translation should be, 'Assuredly, I say to you today, you will be with Me in Paradise.' If Christ had promise the thief paradise on that very day, then Christ lied as He was in the grave for three full days. In fact, Christ did not ascend to heaven as yet when Mary Magdalene saw Him after His resurrection (John 20:17). What Christ was promising the thief on the cross was that since he repented, but was not baptised and did not receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, he will not be in the first but in the second resurrection towards the close of the millennium age. By then planet earth would have been restored (Acts 3:21) to become a paradise much like before the Fall.
The Apostle Paul affirmed us that Christ has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Cor 15:20). He (Christ) is the first to awake from sleep (death) and the true church, who is the firstfruits (James 1:18) will follow likewise when He returns. Till then, all the dead - whether in Christ or not - are asleep in the grave (RIP) and their body sees corruption (decay). But those in Christ will be raised to immortality where there is no more suffering and death (1 Cor 15: 50-58). Only an immortal spirit body that has been born again in the likeness of Christ (1 John 3:2) will be able to enter and inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 15:50).
Coming back to the story of those who wish that the murderer will forever burn in hell, this concept was popularised by novelists in the thirteen century and beyond. Many misunderstood the parable about the Rich Man and Lazarus recorded in Luke 16:19-31. That was not hell fire in the allegory. If it was so, can dipping the tip of a finger in water able to cool the tongue of the rich man in a fiery hell fire inferno? The allegory in Luke 16 is teaching us about humility and stewardship, and a special warning for those who are wealthy not to despise and marginalise the poor.
A passage in Revelation 6:9-11 is often used by those who to support their belief of the immortal soul. But this passage is an allegory to explain that the blood of the martyrs who died for the truth of the gospel will be avenged by God when the time for the numbers of those who are called and chosen has all come into the kingdom of God. Those martyrs who died in righteousness were told to rest a little longer (RIP) before justice is done. For all died in faith (Hebrews 11:13), including all those in the hall of faith like the patriarchs of old and have yet to receive their promise of salvation.
Alas, do watch and pray for the time is coming when our redemption (from mortality to immortality) draws near (Luke 21:28). The good news is that after salvation, the sons of God will be earth bound to help govern the whole earth. Christ clearly states that in the Sermon on the Mount, 'Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth'. Those who are overcomers will become sons of God in God's divine Family (Rev 3:21) to form the Government of God with Christ as the King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev 19:16). That in the nutshell, is the Gospel of the kingdom of God!
