Most people believe death is a bad thing. They have been taught when they die, they either go to heaven or hell. (hell to them means that ever-burning place reserved for the "unsaved")
Not to worry, God has a great plan. He tells us: "The day of death is better than the day of one’s birth." ~ Ecclesiastes 7:1
Note: There is more than one heaven. As it is written: "In the beginning God created the heavens (plural) and the earth. There are four heavens...
1) where birds fly and airplanes soar, 2) deep space where stars and other planets are, 3) paradise, 4) God's
throne. No one has ascended to God's throne except Jesus Christ. ~ John 3:13
The apostle Paul confirms the third heavens in 2 Corinthians 12:2 Jesus told the thief on the cross that he would see him in paradise, Luke 23:43 The word heaven simply means the sky or the atmosphere that surrounds the earth, not an eternal abode.
Any message about death bothers us. We try to ignore even thinking
about it and think that those who discuss it are morbid. Occasionally,
we will talk about what heaven must be like, but most of the time the
subject of death is taboo.
Nowadays, death is considered an intruder that cuts us off from the
good life to which we have become accustomed. We have so cluttered our
lives with material things that we are bogged down. We can no longer
bear the thought of leaving our beautiful homes, our lovely things, our
charming sweethearts. We seem to be thinking, “Dying now would be too
great a loss. I love the Lord, but I need time to enjoy my real estate. I
married a wife. I want to see what our children do with their lives. I
need more time."
What does the Bible say about death and the "hereafter"?
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live. ~
Deuteronomy 30:19
Let's get an understanding of the word "hell" as used in the Bible. Look it up in Strong's Concordance. Hell means the
grave or place of the dead. You cannot be alive and dead at the same
time. There is no such thing as an 'immortal soul' We only have two choices... eternal life or eternal death.
For in death there is no remembrance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks? ~
Psalm 6:5. The sorrows of Sheol (Hebrew word translated hell) surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. ~
Psalm 18:5. What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave? (same Hebrew word, Sheol) ~
Psalm 89:48
The
Bible is very clear on the definition of hell. So where did this
doctrine of an "ever-burning place of torment for all eternity" come
from?
It came from religion and folklore, certainly not from the Bible.
A good name is better than precious ointment, And the day of death than the day of one’s birth. ~
Ecclesiastes 7:1 Why is the day of death better than than the day of birth? Let's allow the Bible to teach us the truth. God is Spirit
(John 4:24) and the Father of spirits. We have had a human father who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
~
Hebrews 12:9
The Fear of Death is a Lack of Faith in God's Great Plan
What is the greatest revelation of faith, and how is it to be exercised?
You will find it in Hebrews. “These all died in faith, not having
received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of
them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims
on the earth. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly
country. Therefore Yahweh is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has
prepared a city for them" ~ Hebrews 11:13-16
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. ~
1 Corinthians 15:50.
So God's great plan is that we come into this world as a "caterpillar"
(flesh), go into a cocoon (the grave), and be resurrected with a glorious
new body (butterfly) that looks nothing like our old flesh body.
That's really good news! Paul explains it this way...
But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.
All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
Our Final Victory
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the
trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So
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.”
“O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades (grave), where is your victory?”
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore,
my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the
work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
There you have it, straight from the Bible, not religion and folklore. Christianity is not a religion, it's a way of life and a secret passage to immortality. What we call the end, God calls the beginning of eternity. "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him." ~1 John 3:1
And have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth. ~ Revelation 5:10
Earth?! And we thought we were going to heaven, live in a mansion, walk on streets of gold, play harp music all day, and throw chicken bones at the Devil. Organized religion always gets it wrong. God
loves you and there's not a
darn thing you can do about it.
God's Great Plan Works
Jonah
came out of the great fish. Daniel came of the lion's den. The three
Hebrew men came of the a fiery furnace. Lazarus was raised from the
dead. Jesus came out of the tomb. You will come out of the grave.
The only thing you need to worry about... will you come out of the
grave a profitable servant or an unprofitable servant?
