Very Far Better Philippians : 23
During his two-year Roman imprisonment , Paul wondered how his appeal to Caesar might go . He wasnt sure . Yet of one thing he was certain.
If he were executed, his non-earthly state would be very far better for he would be with Christ . The preposition with is not simply spatial proximity to Christ but active communion with Christ . Gordon Fee argues that the language implies a period in which one is with the Lord in body-less existence .
How To Inherit The Promises Of God
Paul says in 1 Cor. 15:50,
Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Flesh and blood represent body and soul. Both are fleshly, and neither can inherit the Kingdom. They were sentenced to death when Adam sinned, and this sentence cannot be reversed.
So how can anyone be saved? Can the flesh be perfected by self-discipline? Can the soul become immortal by education or by training? No, there is instead another way.
The only one that can inherit the promises of God is the new man that has been begotten by God. The soul is neither immortal nor is it an inheritor of the Kingdom. It must die. We may reform it and train it to stop sinning, but unfortunately, it has already sinned. It has therefore been disqualified already.
The way to be saved is to accept the word of God by faith, for this is the seed that begets the children of God who inherit the Kingdom. The new man that is created is the inheritor. You are that new man when you reckon yourself to be so. A simple model prayer is this:
Heavenly Father, I believe that Jesus is the Christ and that His blood has paid the penalty for my sin. Create in my spirit a new man, and I now declare that I am no longer the old man that my earthly father begat. I declare that I am now the new man, a new creature in Christ. Teach me now how to live my life as this new creature.
Relation To Greek Psyche
The only Hebrew word traditionally translated “soul” in English-language Bibles refers to a living, breathing conscious body, rather than to an immortal soul. In the New Testament, the Greek word traditionally translated “soul” “psyche”, has substantially the same meaning as the Hebrew, without reference to an immortal soul. In the Greek Septuagent psyche is used to translate each instance of nephesh.
| Number of times Nephesh and Pschê are translated into certain English words. | |
|---|---|
| Translated as | |
| Number of miscellaneous words & phrasesappearing > 10 to 1 times | 301 |
| Number of times Hebrew and Greek words are translated into certain English words. | |
|---|---|
| Translated as: | |
| Number of miscellaneous words & phrasesappearing > 4 to 1 times | 69 |
Also Check: Does It Say Anything In The Bible About Cremation
What Happens When Soul Leaves Body
The Soul does not take birth nor does it die. The Soul is a permanent entity. This phenomenon of taking birth and dying is of the ego. It is the ego that is born and it is the ego that dies. In reality, the Soul does not die at all. Birth and death do occur there is no question about it. We all witness its occurrence. Death takes place when all the accounts of karma of a persons life are finished. Whatever account he had bound for the current life, comes to an end and therefore death occurs.
The Consciousness Of The Soul After Death
Is the soul conscious after death? This is not a new question. For centuries there have been certain religionists who have contended that the soul existed after death but that it was not conscious. Upon investigation, some of you may be surprised to know of the wide-spread belief in the teaching of the sleeping of the soul. Because of the universal interest in the whereabouts of the dead, false sects prey upon the public, claiming complete knowledge of the subject. Such groups as Jehovahs Witnesses, spiritualists and others have spread the sophistical conclusion that at death the body returns to dust and the soul becomes unconscious.
Such statements as the following are but a few of the distortions and perversions of the Holy Scriptures that have to do with the soul after death. At death, it is not the body but the soul which dies.The interim from death until the soul is resurrected is one of unconsciousness.Even the apostles were unconscious for centuries. These assertions are being made by the advocates of the teachings of Russell and Rutherford, but they are the views of the men themselves, imposed upon the Holy Scriptures. These ideas were read into the Bible, but were never in the mind of the inspired writers.
Read Also: Where Does The Bible Talk About The Devil
What Happens To A Person At Death
When the human body dies, it goes back to the dust of corruption where it remains until the last day of earths history . At that point it will be raised in a new form, an immortal body . Humans are not recycled successively into a series of fleshly bodies, as advocated in those religions that subscribe to the reincarnation dogma.
But what about the person inside? What happens to his or her soul? Where does it go?
From Dishonour To Glory
It is sown in dishonour it is raised in glory .
The body that is put in the grave is sown in dishonour. The average Christian sadly neglects his body, failing to realize that it is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Proper care of the body is far more the exception than it is the rule. The bodies of some Christians have been broken and diseased by sin before the persons ever came to a knowledge of truth. The drinking of intoxicating liquors, the use of tobacco, and other sins of the body have brought to the body dishonour. Some do not get enough rest, while others injure the body through laziness and inactivity. Some persons overeat regularly while others mistreat the body by not eating the right kind of food. It is the opinion of the writer that the majority of people are guilty of not giving the body its required care. It is sown in dishonour. But our resurrection bodies will be raised in glory. We shall be like Jesus, in the brightness of His glory. O glorious hope!
Don’t Miss: Bible Verses About Verbal Abuse
Engaging Views And Analysis From Outside Contributors On The Issues Affecting Society And Faith Today
CP VOICES do not necessarily reflect the views of The Christian Post. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author.
Why do people all around the world have a sense that their soul is immortal? This universal experience is due to a simple fact: God has set eternity in the hearts of men . Conscious awareness of eternity is part of what it means to be human.
C.S. Lewis said, If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.
Jesus Christ said, In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world .
You may not yet be aware of what happens when you die, but you probably sense that your life on earth is just the tip of the iceberg. As Pastor Rick Warren said: At most, you will live a hundred years on earth, but you will spend forever in eternity.”
Would you like to know how it is going to play out on the day your soul leaves your body? Would you like to take a peek behind the curtain? If so, you will need to accept the revelation our Creator has provided in the Bible.
For example, here is a promise given to every follower of Christ:
Our citizenship is in Heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body .
Jesus Christ Is The Redeemer According To The Covenant Of Grace
When the Gospel is proclaimed and received by faith, the terms of the Covenant are imputed to you . You pass from death and judgment to forgiveness and eternal life. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life .Not so the unrepentant. The soul remains in a fallen state, responsible for the terms of the Covenant of Works . It is for this reason that the Psalmist, speaking in the voice of the Messiah to come, declares that God will not leave his soul to perish. This truth is also picked up by Peter in his first sermon at Pentecost. The soul without God will undergo unimaginable loss that is described by Jesus with the most severe imagery .
My dear reader: your soul and mine must be redeemed from the auction block of sin and the devil lest we that is, our souls face certain loss and punishment. And the only Redeemer of Gods elect is the Lord Jesus Christ. Repent. Trust in the resurrected and living Christ while you are still reading this article. Stop what you are doing and turn to Jesus Christ by faith.
Our study leads us, then, to the place of the soul between death and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
You May Like: What Is The Chronological Order Of The Bible
Hens Prayer Acts : 59
As Stephen was being stoned, he looked into heaven and saw Jesus standing on the right hand of God. Calling on Christ, he petitioned: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit . Surely he anticipated that his prayer would be answered, just as Jesus did on the brink of his death and that his soul would be with the Lord.
Rabbinic Understanding Of Genesis : 7 As Found In The Targum
| This section relies too much on references to primary sources. Please improve this section by adding secondary or tertiary sources. |
And the Lord God created man in two formations and took dust from the place of the house of the sanctuary, and from the four winds of the world, and mixed from all the waters of the world, and created him red, black, and white and breathed into his nostrils the inspiration of life, and there was in the body of Adam the inspiration of a speaking spirit, unto the illumination of the eyes and the hearing of the ears.Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
And the Lord God created Adam from dust of the ground, and breathed upon his face the breath of lives, and it became in Adam a Discoursing Spirit.Targum Onkelos
Read Also: What Does Bible Say About Cremation Vs Burial
At Death The Body Returns To The Elements: Dust To Dust But The Soul Resurrects With A New Heavenly Body
At the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, the General Resurrection commences. The redeemed bodies are renewed with the eternal soul and rise to meet Jesus Christ, joining Him in the air, taking their place with the glorious company of angels, archangels, prophets, apostles, martyrs and the whole company of heaven. The Great White Throne Judgement has been the subject of classical Christian teaching throughout Church history: And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away and there was found no place for them .
The unregenerate bodies are also resurrected. United with soul, each appears before the Great Final Judgment. Without the Advocate, our Lord Jesus Christ, these suffer the righteous sentence of God for unbelief. The redeemed also appear before the Lord. But Jesus Christ is their Advocate. His perfect life is accounted to theirs to meet the Divine requirement of perfect obedience . The Lord Jesus atoning death on Calvarys Cross provides the blood sacrifice of the only Son of God applied to their lives. The punishment of their sins has been placed upon the Second Person of the One true and holy God.
The redeemed are fully acquitted, by God in Christ, their Savior. The unredeemed are cast into eternal hell with the devil and his angels . Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel summarized it in their article Eschatology with brilliant concision and brevity:
Where Does Our Soul And Spirit Go After Death
- 2 minute read
This answer is also available in:
Many people believe that after death our soul goes back to God ,thus having a continuous personal existence. Millions believe that the soul possesses a natural immortality but not even one time in the Bible is the soul referred to as being immortal or undying. According to Gods Word, man is mortal . Only God is immortal . The dead will sleep in their graves until the great day of the Lord at the end of the world. In death, humans are totally unconscious with no activity or knowledge of any kind.
Read Also: What Is An Omer In The Bible
Is There Life After Death
Though we may die, Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live . We will receive immortality when Jesus comes again . The Bible says that all those who have diedboth righteous and wickedwill be raised to life in one of two resurrections. The righteous will be raised to life at Jesus second coming. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first . According to this verse, the righteous do not go to heaven when they die. They remain asleep in the grave until Jesus returns and raises them to immortal life .
The wicked are raised to life in a separate resurrectionthe resurrection of condemnation. Jesus said, Do not marvel at this for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forththose who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation .
When He returns, our loved ones asleep in Christ will awake from their tombs. No matter how long the time has passed, be it long or short, will seem but a moment to them. By the voice of Jesus, they are called forth from their deep slumber they will begin to think just where they ceased, awakening to a glorious immortality.
Death is swallowed up in victory .
O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? .
Don Stewart : : Can The Spirit Or Soul Be Destroyed
Death Of The Spirit?Testimony Of ScriptureAdam
Made For Eternity
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of humans yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end .
Implies Continual Life
and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it .
Existence Of A Place Of The Dead
The grave below is all astir to meet you at your coming it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you – all those who were leaders in the world it makes them rise from their thrones – all those who were kings over the nations .
Enoch And Elijah
Enoch walked with God then he was no more, because God took him away .
As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them, and Elijah ascended in a whirlwind into heaven .
New Testament
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in Me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” .
Abraham, Isaac, And Jacob
But about the resurrection of the dead – have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living .
amwasJudgmentSoul Cannot Die
Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell .
Souls Under AltarSecond DeathTransfiguration
Read Also: What Does The Bible Say About Helping The Homeless
Ancient Israelite Concepts Of Soul
The Bible gives few clues to the ancient Israelite idea of the soul or spirit. Three words which over time developed the meaning of soul are present in Tanach: Neshamah, Nefesh, and Ruach. Tracing the evolution of these terms gives us some idea of the ancient Israelites beliefs regarding the soul.
In the Creation story, we read of God blowing a breath of life into the man of earth and dust . The word used here, neshamah, is a form of the Hebrew root indicating breath. Although this word ater becomes associated with the soul, here it only describes the element that animates a body. This animating element is not, in early biblical tradition, separate from the body in life, nor does it possess any personality.
Similarly, ruah is the animating force from God. Most often used as wind, ruah may also be used to mean breath.God said, My breath will not govern man forever, since he is flesh’ . Here, we see the added element of transience: The ruah ends its association with the mortal body at death.
The word nefesh is often used to mean person or living being. In the Torah, however, animals may also possess this life forcea nefesh behemah. The term nefesh is particularly associated with blood, as in the life of the flesh is in the blood .