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appointed unto a man once to die

April 12, 2012 By admin 2 Comments

Republished from John Roller’s update #49 see also http://www.johnroller.com/

QUESTION OF THE MONTH

Q: The Bible says that it is appointed unto a man once to die and after that the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Does this mean that Lazarus (John 11:43-44), and the people that came out of the graves at the moment of Jesus’ death on the cross (Matthew 27:52-53) – and even the dry bones that lived again (Ezekiel 37:1-14) – are still alive today?

A: I don’t think so. I once read an interesting science fiction story (“The Assignment,” by Mark Andrew Olsen) based on the idea that after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he continued to live for the next 2,000 years – but the “key” word in that sentence is the word “fiction!” I wrote some comments on Matthew 27:52-53 in Roller Update #31 (about 2 years ago); if you ask, I can send you a copy of those comments. I’ve also written some “Comments on Ezekiel 37” that I’d be happy to send you if you ask me to (basically, Ezekiel 37 was a vision of the last-day resurrection, not an actual event that involved real people who had died in Ezekiel’s time). Bottom line, I don’t believe that ANYONE (except Jesus) who was born before AD 1892 (120 years ago) is still alive today, INCLUDING anybody who may have died and been revived, and including both Enoch and Elijah, whose cases I have also discussed in previous writings. If such people WERE still alive, WHERE would they be? Don’t tell me “in Heaven,” because John 3:13 makes it clear to me that NO ONE (except Jesus) has EVER gone to Heaven – even temporarily, let alone to live there for thousands of years!

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What Happens when we die: The Significance of the Empty Tomb (Part 4)

February 16, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

(This was preached at  Hamilton Church of Christ in New Zealand  24th April 2011 )

(Daniel 12:1-4 & 1 Corinthians 15:12-26, 50-58 )

Introduction

In all that we have covered over the last 3 weeks on the subject “what happens when we die” listen again to these words spoken by the angel on that first resurrection morning (Matthew 28:5-7) “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He is risen from the dead…!’”

Isaiah 26:19

That message should have dropped into its original Jewish setting with the power of an atomic bomb! In Isaiah 26:19, penned some 700 years before the angel made this announcement, we read of an anticipated resurrection hope for the nation of Israel – “But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.”

This is incredible! After all that we had established in our first session in that the Jews understood that nothing consciously survives the issue of death, God reveals through the prophet Isaiah that one day the Jews could anticipate an astonishing re-creation from the grave.

Psalm 16:9-10

Also, King David in Psalm 16:9-10, written 1000 years before the angel made this announcement, penned this phenomenal prediction that the anticipated future Messiah’s would not decay in the grave -   “Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body will also rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, not will you let your holy one see decay.”

Daniel 12:1-2

And again in Daniel 12:1-2, centuries before the angel made this announcment, a general resurrection of all people from their graves is anticipated in the future – “But at that time your people – everyone whose name is found written in the book – will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.”

See also Dan 12:13; Psalm 17:15; Ezekiel 37:12-14; Job 19:25-27.

The Diffusion of the Hope of Resurrection in the Face of Death

This is amazing! Even though the Hebrew understanding of what it is to be human, throughout the OT, did not in any way suggest that anything of the person consciously survives death there was, woven between these pages, an anticipated hope of being resurrected out of the grave at the end of time.

Therefore, when the angel announced on that first Sunday “He has risen from the dead” why didn’t the message drop with the power of an atomic bomb   into the hearts and minds of the original Jewish audience whose Scriptures anticipated this event? The reason why they were blinded to the significance of this historic event was because the pay load of dynamite, which this announcement was charged with, had already been diffused by the subtle introduction of foreign ideas about what it is to be a human being and what happens when we die. Some Jews were already entertaining ideas about a disembodied afterlife that were no longer dependent upon the OT notion of a future resurrection from the dead.

Christ is risen from the dead-so what?

Therefore, “Christ has risen from the dead – so what!” “So what” when death had been re-interpreted to assume that the “real identity” of a person never really died anyway? Why would we require a resurrection from the grave if death has been reinterpreted as nothing more than a release of the “real person” from the body? Even in Athens, the heart of the Greek culture of that time – “When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, ‘We want to hear you again on this subject’” (Acts 17:32). The pay-load of the announcement had also been diffused for many throughout the Greek speaking world into which the Apostle Paul took this message.

Tracing the Origins of the Lie

When God originally said to Adam in Gen 2:17 “the day you eat of it you will surely die” the serpent responded to Eve’s defence against the temptation with these famous words -  “You will not surely die” (Gen 3:4). How accurate are the words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ – “He was a murdered and a liar from the beginning.”

Even though God substituted the animals to cloth Adam and Eve nakedness of sin, so that they were spared the death penalty that day, their mortality was sealed and they eventually returned to the dust from which they were formed as God had said.

Perhaps Adam and Eve continued to believe the serpent’s lie that they wouldn’t die; but they must have smelt a rat when the gray hairs started coming along with all those achy joints and wrinkles. Despite the 100 % strike rate of death we still pedal the original lie that was fed to the original parents of humanity – “you will not surely die”. We hear it at funerals, we see it on TV, we tell it in our Saint Peter at the pearly gates jokes and somehow we would really like to believe it.

Perpetuating the Lie will keep the World in Ignorance of the Truth

However, as long as the world continues in the belief of some sort of natural survival of the “real person” from death, and as long as we believe we’re off to new spiritual worlds unseen when we die, then the announcement of the angel that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead will continue to be of little, if any, significance to humanity. This is a humanity who desperately needs to know that death is real and therefore Christ’s resurrection from the dead is the logical antidote to the grave.

Christ Resurrection and Ours are Inseparable

So inseparable is the NT hope of participating in a resurrection from the grave, with Christ’s resurrection from the tomb, that the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:12- 14 – “But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith!”

To put it another way; if we believe that when we die we go consciously straight to heaven or hell as a spirit our preaching is useless and so too is our faith! And worse still we may even be affirming, in ignorance, the Devil’s original lie that diffused the dynamite of the angel’s announcement on that first resurrection morning!

Paul tells us in 1 Cor 15:18 that if Jesus Christ wasn’t literally resurrected out of the grave then – “those also who have fallen asleep in Christ [died] are lost!” How could they be lost if the tradition is correct that says they are safely in the arms of Jesus in a conscious interim state. Wouldn’t such a belief render the future resurrection unnecessary?

Christ is the Firstfruits of those who sleep in Death

Christ is the ‘firstfruits’ of those who have fallen asleep Paul tells us in 1 Cor 15:20. In other words he is the model upon which the end time resurrection harvest of the dead will follow. We are told in verse 23-24 that there is an order for this – “Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.”

When does the resurrection of the dead take place; at the point of an individual’s death? No; when he [Jesus Christ] comes.

It is amazing to me that although this resurrection hope is so conspicuous throughout the NT there are many Christians for whom such a notion seems completely foreign; even after having been a Christian for many years! And so it is no surprise to hear a Christian, who has had their attention brought to this NT hope, to ask “how are the dead raised?” Indeed Paul anticipates just such a question in verse 35.

How are the Dead Raised?

Paul likens the details of the future resurrection to planting a seed in the ground. This kind of analogy for such a truly miraculous event is one which his audience might better grasp. He says in verse 36 that a seed doesn’t come out of the ground, as the plant that it will be, unless it first gets put into the ground to die. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead Paul tells us in verse 42; “The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable.”

Nowhere are we told with more specificity that death is truly a state of unconsciousness in the grave in anticipation of a future resurrection from the grave.  1 Cor 15:51-55“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will be changed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable and will be changed. For the perishable must cloth itself with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written [in Hosea 13:14] will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’”

Conclusion

Yes the announcement of the angel on that first resurrection morning was packed with dynamite for those who have ears to hear – “He has risen from the dead.” However, what one believes about death and afterlife is critical for how one understands the true significance of the empty tomb and the angel’s announcement that he has risen.

What Happens When We Die Part 1

What Happens When We Die Part 2

What Happens When We Die Part 3

What Happens When We Die Part 4

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What Happens When We Die? Four Tricky NT Passages : Part 3

February 14, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment

(This was preached at  Hamilton Church of Christ in New Zealand  17th April 2011 )

( Luke 23:38-43 & 2 Corinthians 5:1-8)

Introduction

Last Sunday we considered how the Jewish writings, between the testaments, reflected some foreign ideas that were beginning to creep into what some Jews believed about what happens when we die. An appreciation for these developments helped us to form awareness that the parable that Jesus told about the Rich Man and Lazarus was in fact a part of the folklore of the Pharisees that is nowhere found in the OT. Similarly the clothing of martyrs in white robes, making up a full number of the slain, was not an original idea in the book of Revelation; it shows up in other Jewish apocalypses (see 1 Enoch 47:1-4; 2 Baruch 23:4-5; 4 Ezra 2:33-41; 4:33-37).

In concluding that the genres of Parable and Apocalyptic are unreliable sources, upon which to solidly build doctrinal beliefs, I made a reference to a top UK scholar by the name of Richard Bauckham who said this – “The NT hope for the Christian dead is concentrated on their participation in the resurrection (1 Thess 4:13-18), and there is therefore little evidence of belief about the ‘intermediate state’. Passages which indicate, or may indicate, that the Christian dead are with Christ are Lk. 23:43; Rom. 8:38f; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; cf. Heb.12:23. The difficult passage 2 Cor. 5:2-8 may mean that Paul conceives existence between death and resurrection as a bodiless existence in Christ’s presence.” Richard Bauckham. Eschatology.’ New Bible Dictionary, 2nd ed., ed. J.D.Douglas, et al. (Leicester: IVP, 1982), 346.

Having spent a couple of decades studying and understanding the development of Jewish thought on this subject Bauckham omits the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) and Souls under the Alter (Rev 6:9-11) from his list for the obvious reasons which we covered last week. Bauckham puts before us only 4 passages which might suggest a conscious intermediate state. I am aware that there are other odd verses that have been cited as support for a conscious intermediate state also and I am happy to consider those if anyone wants to talk about them. However, Bauckham does not acknowledge these “extras” as serious support for the traditional belief in a conscious disembodied intermediate state.

A 2004 Debate on Hell at the Baptist College

In 2004, when studying at the Baptist College, I remember the class having an organized debate as to the subject of hell. Half the class, with surnames A – M, had to argue for “hell” as a place of annihilation and the other half of the class, surnames N – Z were to argue for “hell” being a place of eternal unceasing conscious torment for the unsaved. Seeing I was border line with a surname beginning with N I decided to jump the chasm that divided the class to argue for “hell” as a place of annihilation. As part of my ammunition for the battle I took along my IVP Bible Dictionary from which I quoted this very reference from Bauckham to demonstrate how little support the NT offered for arguing for a conscious intermediate state that would be required to support the traditional view of eternal conscious torment. At the conclusion of reading the quote to the class our venerable lecturer, Dr. Martin Sutherland, said “even then I don’t believe you can make a convincing argument for a conscious ‘intermediate state’ from 2 Cor 5:2-8 [the difficult passage]. Christian hope is always portrayed as an embodied hope.”

So let’s have a look at these four passages that Bauckham has referred to as possible support for a conscious intermediate state.

(1.) Luke 23:43 The Thief on the Cross

In the first session in this series I made mention of two families that I knew back in Auckland who had both lost sons prematurely. One of these, a Dutch family; and I am told that the Dutch see things in a very “black and white” way, forcefully quoted this verse to me in defence of the hope and comfort that they had found in it. That is; that their deceased son was immediately present and conscious with Jesus as a disembodied “soul” or “spirit” in “paradise” at the point of death. In their understanding, as in many peoples, it is believed that Jesus was telling the thief on the cross next to him that he would be with Jesus in paradise that very day that they died.

What did the Thief request that Day?

Seldom is the context of this verse considered, in particular the thief’s request, when determining what Jesus meant in his answer to the request. In verse 42 the thief asks Jesus to remember him when he returns to establish the Kingdom of God. Some manuscripts say – “remember me when you come with your kingly power.” Obviously the thief hoped to be granted, by Jesus, a better resurrection into a future Kingdom once the present age is wound up; in other words, at the Second Coming. Jesus did not ignore, or replace, the thief’s request with a hope for an immediate intermediate state at the point in which he was to breathe his last. How do we know this?

We know this because on that very day when Jesus died his body was taken by Joseph of Arimathea and laid in state for 3 days. If, as some reason, Jesus went to “paradise” then death is nothing more than an illusion which we should all welcome as a release from the pains and ailments of this physical life. No, death is an enemy; it is the wage of Sin. Anyway, where is “paradise”?

Where is Paradise Anyway?

The word is only ever used 3 times in the NT. Although it is not used in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus  some of the extra-biblical Jewish literature understood “paradise” as part of Hades in the subterranean underworld. Is that where Jesus went? The later Apostles Creed believes so – whereas one version of the creed states “he descended to the dead, on the third day he rose again” another says “he descended into hell” prior to His resurrection. Such a belief is supposed from a misunderstanding of 1 Peter 3:18-19 where it is thought that Jesus preached to the “spirits in prison”, in Hades, within that 3 day period. Verse 19, in fact, tells us that Jesus preached to these “spirits in prison’ after he was “made alive by the Spirit”, i.e. resurrected from the dead.

In 2 Cor 12:4 we get a different impression of where “paradise” might be. Paul speaks of “paradise” as the “third heaven”. Many Jews in the 1st century had come to believe that heaven had 7 levels, as reflected in the work The Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah (7:24- 27), where disembodied souls were parted to the right and to the left of a throne, another spirit world above, where this physical world is “never spoken of”. Paul was himself unsure about such an experience because he is uncertain as to whether this was in the body or out of it.

And just to confuse things further; in Rev 2:7 “paradise” is synonymous with the New Jerusalem which was the anticipated hope at the end of the age (Cf. Rev 22:1-6.

So what did Jesus mean when speaking of “paradise”? He meant his coming again in kingly power in line with what the thief requested and understood of the future coming Kingdom. Therefore, the emphasis in this verse lies with the promise being given that day, and not the Kingdom being redefined as a spirit world. Let’s now read the verse by re-inserting the comma to create a emphasis in Jesus response; the original Greek does not supply a comma, this is the translators call. “Truly thee I tell to-day, with me thou wilt be in the paradise” (Marshalls Interlinear Greek-English). Even though the reputable scholar Leon Morris disagrees and argues for an immediate “paradise” he does, however, acknowledge that a future kingdom hope is another possible interpretation of Jesus words.

(2.) Romans 8:37-39 Not even Death can Separate us from the Love of God.

To say that nothing, not even death, can separate us from the “love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” does not define for us how God has made us as human beings. Therefore, what we understand on that foundational issue, in approaching this passage, will undoubtedly affect how we will interpret it. Defining what it is to be a human being is something that we wrestled with in the first session.

The whole of our earlier arguments were that the OT consistently portrayed being human as a psychosomatic whole. In other words everything lives and everything dies – nothing of us consciously survives. It is for this reason that the state of death can be spoken of in the NT by the use of the metaphor “sleep” (cf. John 11:11-15; 1 Cor 15:51-52).  However, we believe that God holds every human being in His memory in view of the resurrection of the dead when Jesus Christ comes again. In that sense death does not separate us from God’s love that will raise the dead because we are not forgotten. To suppose that Paul is saying that the dead are conscious in an intermediate state is an inference from the passage that is based upon the preconceived notion of “soul immortality”. There is nothing explicit in this passage to say that the dead are conscious prior to the resurrection. Therefore, on the strength of the OT view of being human, I would reason that the memory of one’s life is not lost from the love of God by death in view of the resurrection of the dead – God will not forget us in the grave!

(3.) Philippians 1:23 cf. Hebrews 12:23 Paul desires to Depart and be with Christ

On this passage I’m going to offer an interpretation that you have never heard before; it’s new. In verse 20 Paul wants Jesus Christ to be exalted in his body whether by “death or by life”. In fact Paul is writing from prison in anticipation of what might be the death sentence (1:7). In other words a martyr’s death for Paul will exalt Jesus Christ as this will in some way identify Paul more fully with Christ who was crucified. In this sense there is a strange type of posthumous “gain” for Paul to die this way (1:21). Yet to be spared from such a death, in the mean time, will allow for some more fruitful labour to be achieved in the churches (1:22). Paul is torn between the two in verse 23 where on the one hand he sees a martyr’s death as a departure to be with Christ.

A Premature Departing Death just like Christ

What Paul might be suggesting here is not a conscious presence with Christ at the point of death but rather identification with Christ in the way he might die, as a martyr, in the hope of a more glorious resurrection. In the Greek we read – ejpiqumivan e[cwn eijV to; ajnalu:sai kai; ou;n Cristw:/ ei\nai – “the desire having for the to depart and with Christ to be”. This might be like saying “I want to depart and be like (with) Martin Luther King” who was assassinated in 1968 as a hero in many people’s eyes. In other words, I want to follow in his footsteps. Indeed to identify with him will be a gain to Paul in a way which natural death, as an old man, does not afford. Such a special privilege of dying as a faithful martyr is characteristic of the message of the book of Revelation and seen as becoming like “Christ who was slain” (Cf. Rev 13:8).

Can we back this Interpretation up?

How can I possibly come to such a conclusion you may ask? Well in Phil 3:10-11 Paul clearly tells us that he wants to know the fellowship of sharing in Christ’s sufferings so as to become like Christ in His death – martyrdom; this is a “gain” by way of identity. This is not to attain an immediate conscious presence with Christ; rather, it will lead on to somehow attain to the resurrection from the dead. So, Paul’s “gain” in a premature “departure” to be with Christ may be in the sense of identifying with Christ in death so as to attain a better resurrection. Philippians 1:23 should not be sought to be interpreted independently from weighing up the meaning alongside Phil 3:10-11 with an appreciation of Paul’s anticipated death sentence.

In regards to Bauckham offering Hebrews 12:23, as a comparison with Philippians 1:23, the Hebrews quote is clearly in the context of the End time “heavenly Jerusalem” when the things of this world will be “shaken”. Perhaps Bauckham is suggesting that the “departure to be with Christ” might be understood as Paul giving no thought for an intermediate state but rather having his thoughts completely focused on the resurrection hope; many Conditionalists would explain Phil 1:23 in this way.

(4.) 2 Corinthians 5:1-8  Paul wants to be Clothed with the Eternal House from Heaven

In verse 1 Paul talks of an “eternal house in heaven”. This is not an individualistic hope; he says we have this eternal house; not I have an eternal house. This sounds like the New Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven at the end of the book of Revelation. When Paul says he groans with longing for this “eternal house” he is in effect saying he desperately wants to see the end of the age arrive along with God’s new house/Kingdom (v.2). Paul speaks of that day of cosmic transformation by the use of the metaphor “clothed” in verse 3. Notice very carefully that if he does not experience that clothing of the “eternal house” coming down from heaven within his life-time he will be found “naked”!

What does being “Found Naked” & “Unclothed” Mean?

What might being “found naked” mean as a metaphor? It means the state of death. In other words he doesn’t want to face an interim in the grave waiting for the “eternal house from heaven”; which is the collective hope of all the saints! Paul groans in this life/body because he doesn’t want to be “unclothed”, in verse 4, before the city from on high arrives. When that city arrives then the mortal will be swallowed up in life; as in 1 Cor 15:54, at the resurrection of the dead. When Paul says in verse 6 – “as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord” he means Jesus Christ hasn’t returned yet. In verse 6 he is not considering the intermediate state. So in verse 8 he is saying I would prefer Jesus Christ to return with the corporate hope of the “eternal house in heaven” i.e. “at home with the Lord”. Rather than striving on in this life and age. He would much rather that this hope comes quickly than be “found naked” (v. 3) or “unclothed” (v.4), which means in the grave.

In all honesty, the passage which Bauckham says is the “difficult one” I find the easiest one to explain because an intermediate state is clearly distinguished form the resurrection hope of the “eternal house in heaven”.

Conclusion

So far in our series, in dealing with these few seemingly problematic passages in the NT, it might be thought, by some, that I am resorting to special pleading to get around them. I sincerely don’t believe this to be the case. These hand-full of passages would make up no more than 1 % of the data used to favour the traditional popular view which is mistakenly thought to be more robust than what it actually is!

If I were to list every passage in the NT that speaks of the return of Jesus Christ, the Second Coming and the resurrection of the dead it would soon become apparent that this is where the genuine emphasis on Christian hope lies.

It is to this hope of resurrection that we will turn next Sunday as we consider afresh the significance of the empty tomb as the only genuine key available for answering the question that every human being will grapple with in their life time – “what happens when we die?”


—–

What Happens When We Die Part 1

What Happens When We Die Part 2

What Happens When We Die Part 3

What Happens When We Die Part 4

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Calvin on Psalm 31:5

December 11, 2011 By admin 2 Comments

“Into your Hands I commit my spirit.”

David’s statement of trust in the midst of trial was so spiritually significant that the Lord Jesus himself quoted it on the cross. Later, Stephen quoted the same text at the moment of his own death by martyrdom.  What does it mean to commit one’s spirit into God’s hands.  Does this affirm the immortality of the soul?

John Calvin thought so.  He was convinced that “man consists of a body and a soul; meaning by soul an immortal though created essence, which is the nobler part.”1  He concluded that “Christ, in commending his spirit to the Father, and Stephen his to Christ, simply mean that when the soul is freed from the prison-house of the body, God becomes its perpetual keeper.”2

Calvin did not come to that conclusion by reading Psalm 31.  He rightly commented on David’s statement by saying “Whoever commits himself into God’s hand and to his guardianship, not only constitutes him the arbiter of life and death to him, but also calmly depends on him for protection amidst all his dangers.”3  David was asserting his trust in God to deliver him, not his confidence in possessing an indestructible spirit.

Yet Calvin could not resist taking David’s words out of their context, and teaching that Christ and Stephen asserted something not about theology but about anthropology.  His belief in Plato’s doctrine of the immortality of the soul was so strong that it led Calvin to forget his rules of exegesis.

Christ quoted from Psalm 31:5 while dying on the cross.  He said “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!”4 In doing so, he was expressing the exact same sentiment that David had expressed when he had used those words.  He was not saying that his body was going to die, but that the real him was going to fly to heaven to be safe in his Father’s hands.  He was saying that he trusted his Father to rescue him.

His Father did rescue him.  He was raised from the dead three days later.  His spirit had not gone to heaven to be with his Father at death.  He told Mary “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.”5 Christ went to the grave. He had committed his spirit – that is, his life – into the hands of the one person who could redeem it.

Stephen’s quote of Psalm 31:5 was also true to its context.  Stephen knew that he was going to die.  The prison-house was not his alive body, but death itself. But he also had confidence that his death would not be the end. God would rescue him from the prison-house of death in the same way that he had rescued Jesus – by a resurrection.  Luke records, “as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”” 6 I heard a preacher at a funeral of a friend of mine say that Stephen did not sleep in the grave because God received his spirit.  The preacher had quoted this verse.  Later, I had to remind my students (who also heard this sermon) that the preacher forgot about the next verse! Luke continued “And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”7

Stephen’s committing his spirit to Christ was not a rejection of the reality of death. It was an expression of confidence that death would not be permanent.

Calvin’s commentary on Psalm 31 also quoted Paul’s reflection on death. He says “What David here declares concerning his temporal life, Paul transfers to eternal salvation.”8 He was referring to where Paul says “I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.”9 What Calvin did not point out is that Paul’s words in 2 Timothy are not words of someone who denies death.  Paul’s words imply that his death would come, but he has entrusted himself to God who can rescue him from that death.  Paul’s trust was not in his possessing an immortal soul, but in his possessing a resurrecting God.

That is the sentiment expressed in Psalm 31:5 by David, and reflected in the words of Jesus on the cross, and those of Stephen at his death.  It is not that God has made a part of our being that will never die.  It is that God has promised to restore his own by a complete resurrection.  It is not about something inherent within us. It is about the faithfulness of God.

  1. John Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, Vol. 1. {Forgotten Books}, 190. [↩]
  2. John Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, Vol. 1. {Forgotten Books}, 190. [↩]
  3. John Calvin, Calvin’s Bible Commentaries: Psalms, Part I. {Forgotten Books}, 429. [↩]
  4. Luke 23:46 ESV. [↩]
  5. John 20:17 ESV {emphasis mine} [↩]
  6. Acts 7:59 ESV. [↩]
  7. Acts 7:60 ESV {emphasis mine}. [↩]
  8. John Calvin, Calvin’s Bible Commentaries: Psalms, Part I. (Forgotten Books), 431. [↩]
  9. 2 Timothy 1:12 NIV. [↩]
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Waking a friend

October 19, 2011 By admin 1 Comment

One of the simplest descriptions of death given in all of Scripture comes from Jesus as he explains his plans to go to Bethany to raise Lazarus.  He tells his disciples “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him” (John 11:11).

Sleep is the most widely used metaphor for death in the Bible.

Some Christians talk about death using language that the Bible never uses, and Jesus never endorsed. Here are some examples.

the travel metaphor

Some talk about death as if the dead person (or his soul or spirit) has travelled to a far-away place. It is very comforting to think that a loved one has “gone to a better place.”  But is it Christian?  The Bible says that the better place is coming to us.  When Jesus returns, he will set up his eternal kingdom on this earth, redeemed, restored, and glorified.  The Christian hope is not going some place. The Christ hope is a coming someone: Jesus himself.

joined the angels

Usually, the person has traveled to heaven, and has joined the angels.  The Bible says that when Jesus returns, his angels will accompany him to earth, where they will assist in gathering the righteous dead for the resurrection harvest. Paul calls this time “when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels” (2 Thessalonians 1:7).  He does not mention humans making that return trip.

Some people actually talk about the deceased as if they have actually become angels.  This is absurd.  Angels are actually sent by God to minister to us (Hebrews 1:14). God has greater things in store for us than simply becoming angels.

joined the heavenly choir/ playing a harp

Some people think that dying makes a person become musical.  That would be nice. I cannot carry a tune in a bucket, and I can hardly play the radio.  It would really be nice to think that I was going to join some great worship jam session in heaven when I died.

Alas, the Bible shoots down that proposition as well. David said “For no one mentions your name in the realm of death, In Sheol who gives you thanks?”  (Psalm 6:5 NET).  He was asking a rhetorical question that called for a negative answer. No one gives God thanks in the realm of death (Hebrew Sheol).  David’s plea was for God to keep him alive so that he could continue to send up songs of praise.  The psalm would make no sense if David anticipated going to join a heavenly orchestra when he died.

Peter said of David “Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day” (Acts 2:29 KJV). He knew where David was, and there was no music there.

The music will come when the Bridegroom returns for his wedding feast. But we do not have to wait to start sharing the music that is in our hearts. Believers are to be “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart,  giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:19-20). Death does not make us musical. Life does.

escape

Some view death as a release from the prison of the body to enjoy freedom forever.  Nothing captures this hope better than the famous epitaph of Solomon Pease:

“Under the sod and under the trees

Here Lies the body of Solomon Pease

The Pease are not here

There’s only the pod

The Pease shelled out and went to God.”1

Who would not want to believe that death brings release from the pain and sufferings of this life?  Yet, once again, the Bible places the terminus of rescue and escape not at death, but at the coming of Christ.  As tempting as it is to believe that death will bring rescue, the most that we can say biblically is that at death the suffering will end.  The rescue comes when the rescuer comes.  No one shells out of his body at death.

Even Jesus – when he died on the cross – went to the grave and stayed there until his resurrection.  He told Mary “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father” (John 20:17).  Death did not bring escape for him.  It was his resurrection which enabled him to escape from death.  His resurrection guarantees ours.  His return will be our means of escape. Jesus promised that when he comes the dead will be in their tombs and will hear his voice and be raised to life again (John 5:28-29).

gone to their reward

Some people think that death is the gateway to the reward that Jesus promised those who are faithful to him.

Martha would disagree.  She stood next to the tomb of her brother, and refused to believe that he had been rewarded. She did not believe that he was anywhere but in that tomb.  Her theology was biblical. She told Jesus that she knew that her brother would rise again, and that it would happen on the last day (John 11:24).

Martha’s eschatology (doctrine of the last things) was spot-on.  Her Christology needed a little help.  She had said to Jesus “even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you” (John 11:22).

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,  and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26).   Jesus was talking about that resurrection day that Martha had mentioned.  He said that on that day if any of his followers will have died, like Lazarus had, he will raise them back to life again.  Then (he said) on that day any of his followers who are still living will never die at all.  That is a great reward.  It is so much better than shelling out and leaving the pod!

Jesus does speak of believers being repaid for their acts of righteousness toward the poor.  He says that those who do acts of kindness toward those who cannot repay them will  be “repaid at the resurrection of the just”  (Luke 14:14).  That does not happen at death. It will happen when Jesus comes back to raise people from the dead.

Jesus came to the tomb of his friend that day to give us all a visual demonstration of the resurrection at the last day.  His friend had fallen asleep and he purposely waited until that happened.

Jesus shouted his friend’s name. “Lazarus, come out.”  He didn’t say “come down” because his friend had not gone anywhere.  He had simply fallen asleep.  The shout from Jesus is all it took to wake him.

Someday, you and I will fall asleep. Do not fear. All it will take is a shout from our friend, Jesus, to wake us up again.

  1. Sandra L. Bertman, Facing Death (London: Taylor & Francis, 1991), 29. [↩]
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What Happens when we die: Between the Testaments (Part 2)

July 18, 2011 By admin 2 Comments

(This was preached at  Hamilton Church of Christ in New Zealand on the 10th April 2011 )

(Luke 16:19 – 31 & Rev 6:9 – 11)

Introduction

Last Sunday we talked about what God might have meant when he said to Adam and Eve “you will surely die” in Genesis 2:17. We considered all that we could on this subject by doing searches on the relevant words such as, death, die, spirit, soul, heaven and hell to conclude that nowhere in the OT do we find support for the notion that a human being’s personality leaves their body to continue on consciously, somewhere, after death. This point is more widely accepted by biblical scholars today than what we might realize. McNamara writes – “The general consensus [that of contemporary biblical scholars] is that the OT rejected any natural or innate immortality.”

Martin McNamara, Miltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy, Dublin, Ireland (1997).

However, there are two places, that I am aware of, that have been used from the OT to challenge this assertion which I should just quickly make comment on before moving into considering what the Jews believed in the 400 year period that separates the Old and New Testaments.

In the first of these two places, Isaiah 14:9, we are told that sheol, or the grave, is all a-stir by the rousing of the spirits of the departed to greet the king of Babylon who will be brought down there.  The chapter is not to be taken literally but is not untypical of Isaiah and the prophets in personifying lifeless items or places. Trees clap their hands and deserts feel the emotion of gladness etc. Just as the King of Babylon is said to have been dwelling in the heights of heaven during his reign (v. 12) he is now said to be laid down on a bed of maggots in sheol (v.11). This is non-literal, poetic, prophetic language.

The second place in the OT which might challenge the view that the dead are dead is found in 1 Samuel 28 where we read of King Saul consulting a medium to bring up the spirit of the deceased Samuel. We must remember that in Deuteronomy 18:11 Israel was warned to never attempt to use a medium to try and contact the dead.  Why would that be?

In the chapter Saul has a conversation with this “spirit” which we are told throughout the chapter is Samuel back from the dead. It is noteworthy that the medium never calls him Samuel only Saul does. In verse 19 “Samuel” tells Saul that the next day he will die at the hands of the Philistines in battle and join him in sheol. Clearly God had already abandoned Saul and would not reveal his will to him in any way no matter how hard Saul sought it. Therefore, in attempting to solicit the dead do we think that this really was Samuel rather than an impersonating spirit? According to the account in Chronicles when Saul was wounded the next day he in fact committed suicide by falling on his own sword.

Apart from these two questionable references the dead are dead in the OT until the resurrection of the dead. [Read more...]

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Could you shed some light on 1 Peter 3:18-20?

May 27, 2011 By admin 1 Comment

republished with permission from ROLLER UPDATE #42 – May 25, 2011

QUESTION OF THE MONTH

Q: Could you shed some light on 1 Peter 3:18-20?

A: I’ll try. Bible scholars are nearly unanimous in saying that this is THE most “difficult” and “obscure” passage in all of Scripture!

First, let me state a general principle: You never let your interpretation of a “difficult” or “obscure” passage overturn your correct interpretation of a clear and obvious teaching that goes all through the Bible!

So, before we even start, I’m going to state that this passage will NOT teach us that dead people are actually alive, or that Jesus did any traveling during the days that He was lying in Joseph’s tomb, or that it is possible for people’s “spirits” to respond to “messages” that are preached to them after the people themselves are dead. Such teachings would contradict hundreds of clear and obvious texts all over the Bible; therefore, they CANNOT be the correct interpretations of this passage.

1 Peter 3:18 starts by stating that Christ “once suffered for sins” — a clear reference to His death on the Cross of Calvary. It goes on to say that He was “put to death in the flesh.” I think that the phrase “IN the flesh” might better be paraphrased as “BY human beings.” Jesus was put to death (on the Cross) by Roman soldiers. However (“but”), He was (three days later) “quickened” (made alive) “BY the Spirit” (the Holy Spirit — the Spirit of God). 1 Peter 3:18 clearly agrees with the basic confession of Christian faith as given by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Romans 10:9 and many other verses.

1 Peter 3:19 continues (and expands) this thought by stating, “By” (that is, “by means of” – I think that this might better be paraphrased as “acting through”) “which” (the Spirit of God) ALSO (at another time, and in another place, IN ADDITION TO the time and place referred to in verse 18), “he” (God — the last person mentioned before the word “he”) “went and preached unto the spirits in prison.” WHEN did this “preaching trip” take place, and WHO was preached to? I think that the answers to these questions are presented in verse 20. The “spirits” are NOW “in prison,” but they weren’t “in prison” when the “preaching trip” took place.

1 Peter 3:20 explains, “Which” (the “spirits”) “sometime” (a long time ago) “were disobedient” (to God). When were any “spirits” ever “disobedient to God”? I think that the answer to that question is found in 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6, in both of which verses there is a reference to “angels” who “sinned” (2 Peter 2:4) – or who “kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation” (Jude 6), and I think that both of these verses are referring to the account in Genesis 6:1-4. The Spirit of God “preached unto” (actually, proclaimed a message of judgment against) these “angels” THROUGH the message that was literally preached by Noah (who, according to 2 Peter 2:5, was “a preacher of righteousness”) acting under the Spirit’s guidance. Literally, Noah would have been preaching TO the people (human beings) of his time, but he was preaching ABOUT the wickedness of the fallen angels and proclaiming a message of judgment against them. 2 Peter 2:4 explains the “prison” by mentioning that those angels were “cast down to hell” (literally, “Tartarus”) and “delivered into chains of darkness” (Jude 6 also mentions that they are “reserved in everlasting chains” in “darkness”).

1 Peter 3:20 makes it quite clear (in my opinion) that all of this took place during the 120 years just before the Flood, NOT during the 3 days that Jesus was lying in Joseph’s tomb. Look at the phrases “when once the longsuffering of God waited,” “in the days of Noah,” and “while the ark was a-preparing.” I don’t see how any other conclusion (to that question) is possible.

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What Happens when we die: Surveying the Old Testament (Part 1)

May 14, 2011 By admin 6 Comments

(Genesis 2:4-17)

(This message was preached at Hamilton, New Zealand, Church of Christ on the  3rd April 2011)



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“Away from the body” 2 Corinthians 5:8 by Jefferson Vann FDTL Iss 48

March 29, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

2 Corinthians 5:1-10 ESV

1 For we know that if the tent, which is our earthly home, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened–not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

This is one of those passages that has been so hijacked by traditionalist thought that the wording appears to reject much of what the same author (Paul) says elsewhere. Before addressing 5:8 itself, it is helpful to review the theology of 5:1-10, to see that it is consistent.

What Paul believed about the Resurrection

This passage looks forward to the resurrection body. If the earthly body is a tent, that resurrection body is a building fashioned by God himself (v1). This earthly body can be destroyed. The resurrection body is permanent (aionios). It is a house not made with hands. But the glorious eternal body is not a present possession. It is an inheritance. This future immortal life is guaranteed (v5), and the Holy Spirit is the guarantee.

Paul is not saying that he has mortality (the tent) and immortality (the eternal house) at the same time. The reason he groans (v2) is that he only has this present mortal body, which suffers persecution and hardship, shipwrecks, floggings, etc. He is longing to put on that heavenly dwelling. Here Paul mixes the building metaphor with that of putting on clothing. Paul had used that metaphor in his previous letter to Corinthians, where he was addressing the same subject: the resurrection.

For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:53-54 ESV).

The translators have added the word “body” to the text, but it would be just as appropriate to supply the word “me” instead. It would then read “For this perishable me must put on the imperishable, and this mortal me must put on immortality. When the perishable me puts on the imperishable, and the mortal me puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” Paul is talking about the future when Christ comes to give him the immortality he promised. He is longing for that time, not the intermediate state. He is looking forward to life, not death. In this present life he expects to continue to groan, being burdened (v4).

With this promise of the resurrection in mind, he considers his present state in the (mortal) body. He does not feel at home. He feels away from the Lord. He would rather be away from his mortal body, and at home with the Lord (8), but that is not his choice. As long as Christ tarries, he makes it his aim to please the Lord (v9). He knows what is done in this life matters because Christ is going to judge and reward when he comes (v10).

In summary, in 1 Cor. 5:1-10 Paul argues that the resurrection is essential because believers do not yet have the eternal, immortal existence that God promised them.

What Paul believed about the Second Coming.

The second coming of Christ is the event Paul has in view. The building from God is in the heavens. The only way Paul is going to experience it is for Christ to come down to earth and bring it with him. When Jesus ascended, angelic messengers told the disciples that Jesus would come back in the same way that they saw him ascend: literally, physically (Acts 1:10-11). They did not promise that the disciples would see Jesus before that event. Paul, likewise, expected the second coming to be the next time he would see Jesus. Paul said “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:16-17). That was his hope.

It was at the second coming that Paul expected to get his new house, his heavenly dwelling (v2). He talked about “what is mortal” being “swallowed up by life” (v4). He had previously told the Corinthians that this transformation would happen “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” (1 Cor. 15:52). The heavenly dwelling that Paul expected was not a disembodied existence, but a resurrected life. This could not happen at death. It required the second coming of Christ.

Paul is walking by faith, not by sight (7). He is not relying on what some Greek philosopher has told him about human nature. He is trusting in Jesus, that he will keep his promise. By faith, he lets the Holy Spirit inside him operate. That Holy Spirit is the guarantee of what is to come (v5), not what Paul already possesses. If Paul got what he wanted, he would be “at home with the Lord” (v8). But if Christ does not come in his lifetime, he is willing to remain “at home in the body” until he does.

What Paul believed about the intermediate state.

Paul repeats one idea in this passage in order to stress it. He is adamant about this one thing, so he does not want the Corinthians to misunderstand him. For that reason he says he does not want to be “found naked” in vs. 3, and repeats that he does not want to be “unclothed” in vs. 4. Both statements mean the same thing. Being clothed means getting his resurrection body. Thus, there is only one thing that being unclothed could mean: the intermediate state. Paul is not looking forward to the state between death and the resurrection. That is not his hope. That is not the event that he refers to when he wants to encourage other believers (1 Thess. 4:18). That is not what he is longing for (2). That is not the time when what is mortal is going to be swallowed up by life (4). That is not what the Holy Spirit guarantees (5). A disembodied existence is not what Paul means by “being home with the Lord” (7). For Paul, home is the building from God (1). Being “with the Lord” is not going to happen until the second coming (1 Thess. 4:17).

Paul does affirm a judgment after death, but it is the “judgment seat of Christ” (v10). Christ does not judge anyone during the intermediate state. He will raise the

dead and then judge them. He will judge the living and the dead at the same time (Acts 10:42). This will happen only after Christ returns (Rev. 20:12-13).  Humanity is right to expect a judgment of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God (Heb. 10:27). But that judgment will not occur during the intermediate state. Paul taught that the judgment is an event yet to come (Acts 24:25). It is not going on now.

Paul treats the intermediate state as both existentially and theologically insignificant. He skips over it, concentrating instead on the more important issue of the resurrection. The Bible teaches that the  intermediate state is one of darkness (Job. 7:9; 10:20; 17:13; 18:18; Psalm 13:3; 49:19; 88:12; 143:3; Prov. 20:20; Eccl. 6:3-5; Lam. 3:6), and silence (Eccl. 9:5,6,10; Job 21:13; Psalm 6:5; 30:9; 31:17; 94:17; Isaiah 38:18-19). It is no surprise, then, that Paul would not look forward to it.

What Paul does look forward to is the second coming, when Paul will be both away from his (present suffering, mortal) body and at home with the (returned, triumphant, sovereign) Lord. That is the hope he describes in 1 Cor. 5:8. That is our hope.

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Depart and be with Christ | 2 Cor 5:8

January 3, 2011 By admin 1 Comment

(this is republished from a comment by Brando Bobier  left on this article http://www.afterlife.co.nz/is-death-better-by-far/. Some of you may not read the comments and it is good good I wanted to draw it to your attention- ed)


This verse says that “to die is gain”, from which it is taught that the “gain” is going to heaven to be with the Lord. But whose gain? Christ’s or Paul’s? Most expositors seem to think it is Paul’s, but this would contradict the very spirit of this context. It would introduce a self-motive which was completely lacking in the Apostle’s mind here. Even if chapter three is remembered with its stress on the “prize of the high calling” (Phil.3:14), we must not assume that this is the only theme that is brought forward in this epistle. Paul has certainly avoided the spirit of Peter when he said “Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed Thee, what shall we have therefore?” (Mat.19:27)

The Companion Bible note on Phil.1:21 is, “if his bonds had furthered the Gospel, what might not his death do?” and this is the point. It should be in the context which is critical to understanding it. The “furtherance”, or gain, of the Gospel is the theme of the first chapter of Philippians (see verses 17, 27). In verses 12-14 Paul said:

But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather UNTO THE FURTHERANCE OF THE GOSPEL; So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the place, and in all other places; And many of the brethren in the lord waxing confideny by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear(Philippians 1:12-14).

Paul saw that his imprisonment, certainly not a personal gain, had to serve to further the gospel of Christ. Likewise, Paul was considering that his death, even less a personal gain, might also result in the furtherance of the gospel and in Christ being magnified.

What then? Notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
According to my earnest expectation ( apokaradokia) and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. (Philippians 1:18-20)

In verse 20, both life and death relate to Christ being magnified, and verse 21 reiterates the point “For me to live is Christ (His gain, and to die is (Christ’s) gain. Paul’s hope was that, whether he lived or died, the result would be gain for Christ. Apokaradoka, “earnest expectation”, is a picturesque word used only by Paul in two contexts: Romans 8: 19, “the earnest expectation of the creation”, and here. It was possibly coined by him and describes a keen anticipation of the future, literally a “craning of the neck” to see and what lies ahead. This future certain hope bore a relationship to his imprisonment and testing, making them “a light affliction”, while he looked at this future glorious scene (2Cor.4:17-18), and so enabling him more resolutely to magnify the Lord in his body, whether in its present sufferings or in final martyrdom.

But if to live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour; yet what shall I choose I wot not.
(Philippians 1:21)

Much emphasis has been laid upon that Paul says he DID NOT KNOW what to choose, and yet he did have a very pronounced desire for something far better. Now if the Apostle did say this, then it seems reasonable to conclude that he was pressed out of two by a third, namely, the return of the Lord, which is admittedly so much better than either living or dying.

“I do not make known” according to Revised Version. Gnorizo 24 times in the New Testament, but never in the sense of “not knowing”. It is generally rendered “make known, or declare”, 105 and what Paul is saying here, is not that he did not know what to choose, BUT HE DID NOT “MAKE IT KNOWN”. Whatever his personal desires were, he put them on one side for the will of the lord to be accomplished and His glory furthered.

Two alternatives presented themselves to him:

(1) departing and being with Christ, (2) staying in this life with the object of serving Him and His people.

These are two opposites which put him under constraint. He was “hemmed in on both sides” (J.B. Lightfoot). Something “very far better” for him is contrasted with something “more necessary for others”. “Departing” is balanced by “remaining in the flesh”. His desire to depart is outweighed by the remaining “for you”. The choice which he did not tell is fairly manifest (Phil.1:24-25). At least, if we dispute the point as to whether he really did choose the harder path, he certainly does tell us that he would remain, and seems to be joyful at the prospect of thus “spending and being spent”.

Hoekema would object to this on the grounds that the twofold prospect “to depart and be with Christ” (to analusai kai sun Christo einai) is governed by a single article. “The single article” he says, “ties the two infinitives together, so that the actions depicted by these infinitives are to be considered two aspects of the same thing, like two sides of the same coin. What Paul is saying here is that, the moment he departs or dies, that very same moment he will be with Christ”[Anthony Hoekema, The Bible and the Future, 1979, p.104 as cited by Charles Ozanne, The Life & Soul of Mortal Man (The Open Bible Trust, Grace Pub., 1995) p.30]

Atkinson, however, draws precisely the opposite conclusion from the same grammatical point. He writes,

The words ‘to depart and be with Christ’ are represented in Greek by two infinitives prefixed by a single definite article, the effect being to bring together in a startling way two things which are different and apart. Thus, in the believer’s experience the moment after closing his eyes in death he is in his glorified body in the eternal state [Basil F. C.Atkinson, Life and Immortality, p.66].

There is a refreshingly relevant discussion of this passage in G.B. Caird’s commentary in the ‘New Clarendon Bible. Caird notes that, “In his earlier letters Paul has taught a single consistent doctrine of life after death. Christians who die remain in a state of sleep until the Advent of Christ, who will then raise them to eternal life, transforming their mortal nature and clothing it with immortality (1Thes. 4:13; 5:10; 1Cor.15:35-55; 2Cor.5:1-10; Rom.8:8-25).

“His conclusion, “There is however one further possibility, that Paul believed in a real analogy between sleep and death. Sleep is the experience which negates the passages of time. When a man falls asleep, the next thing he is conscious of is waking. Similarly, when a Christian falls asleep in death, the next thing he is conscious of is the great awaking of the Day of Christ”(as cited by Charles Ozanne, The Life & Soul of Mortal Man, p.31). This is exactly what we believe. It would be difficult to find it stated more clearly.

Finally, the word “depart”. The original word is analuo, which is thus defined in Dr. Bullinger’s Critical Lexicon and Concordance:

Analuo, To loosen again, set free; then to loosen, dissolve, or resolve, as matter into its elements (hence, Eng. Analysis); then, to unfasten as the fastening of a ship, and thus prepare for departure (and with the force of ana, back) to return.

Schrevelius’s Lexicon thus defines the word:

Analuo, to unloose, free, release, relax, untie, undo; dissolve, destroy, abolish; solve, explain, analyze; weigh anchor, depart, die; return from a feast.

It would add considerable weight to our argument if we were to show the close parallel that exists between Philippians and 2Timothy. As previously stated, Paul knew that the only time he could depart and be with Christ was when Christ appears from heaven to get him. Putting on our new bodies and meeting the Lord in the air is far better than either living or dying. 2Timothy shows Paul’s understanding of this:

For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, and I have kept the faith. Hence forth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the lord, the righteous judge, shall give me AT THAT DAY: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing(2Timothy 4:6.-8).

It can be said with certainty that, for the believer in the New Testament there is no way out of the grave except by resurrection, whether it is as the consummation of his certain hope, or an out-resurrection, a special one in connection with his prize. Those who do not believe his conveniently stress Philippians 1:23 and forget Philippians 3:11 “if by any means I may attain to the out-resurrection, out from among the dead” (literally). This was the Apostle’s great desire in chapter three (verse11), and it does not express an opposite sentiment to Philippians 1:23. The two must and do blend together. To consider departing and being with Christ, apart from his longing for this unique resurrection, shows biased mind.

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THE TRANSFIGURATION. Matt. 17:1-3. By Geo. A. Brown

December 18, 2010 By admin 1 Comment

Republished from pages 169-170 of the Bible Standard April 1879

This circumstance is frequently quoted to prove the Immortality of the Soul, or the conscious existence of man after death. We fail, however, to see why our opponents should use this event for such a purpose, for the following reasons :-

1. There is not a single word said about the immortal or disembodied spirits or souls of Moses, Christ, or Elias.

2. The Transfiguration did not take place to prove this doctrine.

3. Jesus Christ called it a Vision. For it is written that “Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man is risen from the dead.”-Matt. 17:9.

4. Jesus having so plainly told us that it was a Vision, we dare not treat it in any other way.

5. The Facts in the case all go to show that it was a Vision, for Jesus had not died, nor risen from the dead, neither had He been glorified, yet the vision presented Him as such.

6. Moses had been dead for some hundreds of years : therefore, he could not have been there unless he had been raised from the dead.

7. The Transfiguration presents to us a sublime photoqraph of the future, when Christ and His Church shall be glorified together. Elias being a type of the translated portion of the Church, and Moses a type of the resurrected ones, anti-Christ, the centre gem of the cluster, stands forth in His glory in this Transfiguration scene in which He will manifest Himself with His saints to the world, when He comes to take
His position as earth’s Ruler and Restorer. (2 Peter 1:16, refer.) [Read more...]

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UNQUENCHABLE FIRE by W. Laing. Republished from The Bible Standard May 1878 pg 59-60

October 18, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

( Also of interest might be Fire and Flood by Glenn Andrew Peoples)

Man as a descendant of Adam is uniformly spoken of in the Bible as a mortal being, and as a sinner doomed to perish, for the wages of sin is death. (Rom. vi. 23.) On the other hand immortality or deathlessness is always spoken of as belonging to God, or to such as on certain specified conditions He has declared His purpose to confer it. It is by overlooking this truth and assuming that the Bible teaches, that all men converted or unconverted are born into the world immortal beings, that such statements as the following are used to support the belief of the eternal existence of the wicked in misery! “He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matt. iii. 12. “If thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into Gehenna, into the fire that never shall be quenched.” Mark ix. 43.
The words “fire that never shall be quenched” in Mark ix. 43, are the same in the Greek as the unquenchable fire in Matt. iii. 12, and should have been similiarly rendered. Probably the reason for introducing the terms “never shall be quenched,” in translating Mark’s narrative was to render them more expressive of the idea of eternal torment, which the translators believed to be the final doom of impenitent sinners. Suppose however we use the rendering “unquenchable fire,” instead of “the fire that never shall be quenched,” it will still be thought by many expressive enough of the idea, that the unsaved shall be doomed to endure the most excruciating agonies throughout unending duration. If it could be demonstrated from the usage of the language, that the casting of a person into “unquenchable fire” necessarily implies the everlasting existence of that person, or that the words “unquenchable fire,” are in no other instance applied in Scripture to objects which we know do perish, then I confess we would be shut up to accept the doctrine of immortal misery, with all its weight of melancholy sadness unless it were elsewhere positively denied. If however on the other hand we find the same language applied to objects which we know have ceased to exist, then, surely we are bound to maintain in the absence of direct testimony to the immortality of impenitent men, that such language by no means expresses or implies the idea of unending being.
The phraseology which our Lord here employs was familiar to His auditors. From their childhood, we may presume they had frequented the synagogue on the Sabbath, where the Scriptures of the prophets were read in their hearing; and they must often have listened to these words of the Lord by the prophet Jeremiah, “If ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. Jer. xvii. 27. No sane man will assert that these palaces and gates of Jerusalem are indestructible, because the fire that destroyed them is termed “unquenchable”, so far from that being the case, the figure is justly understood to represent their complete destruction. Jehovah kindled the flames and none could extinguish them, they would continue- to burn till their purpose was completely effected. Destruction, not preservation, is the idea meant to be conveyed, and why not also the same idea when the doom of the wicked is represented by the same language? Why affirm that they are indestructible because Jesus said, they shall be “burnt up like chaff in unquenchable fire”? The meaning of the words “unquenchable fire” may be further illustrated by the use which Eusebius the ecclesiastical historian, makes of them in recording the death of those who suffered at the stake, for their adherence to the Christ. In his History, Book VI Ch.41., he gives an account of those who suffered at Alexandria, “the first of these was Julian, a man afflicted with the gout and neither able to walk nor stand, who with two others that came with him, were arraigned. Of these the one immediately denied, but the other named Chronium,
suruamed Eunius and the aged Julian himself, having confessed the Lord were carried on camels throughout the city -a very large one as you know-and in this elevation were scourged, and finally consumed in an immense fire,” (puri asbesto,) the same term rendered “unquenchable fire” Matt, iii, 12 After these Epimuchius and Alexander, who continued for ‘” long time in prison from the scourges and scrapers were also destroyed in an immense fire (puri asbestos). These faithful witnesses by being cast into “unquenchable fire” were reduced to ashes, not tormented for ever and ever, and when Jesus uses the same terms to describe the fate of the incorrigible sinner, how can these terms be fairly understood to mean anything else? The language of Jesus no more expresses the indestructibility of sinners than does that of Eusebius express the deathlessness of those who for the truth’s sake were consumed at the stake. “Unquenchable fire” then, means fire that irresistibly destroys that which is committed to its action. Had the Saviour’s words been properly attended to, they would never have been used as an argument for the doctrine we are combating. Would any one who had not previously believed such a doctrine, even imagine that when Jesus alluding to the end of the wicked, said “He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” He taught His hearers that the wicked were unconsumable? Certainly not! It is the wicked who are like the chaff, and though the fire might never be quenched, in the most absolute literal sense the chaff would be consumed. Jesus positively asserts that it shall. The chaff He will burn up. What emblem more expressive of the complete destruction of the wicked? Dream not then, 0 impenitent sinner! that thou art an immortal. Unless thou yield thee to the love of God,and heartily believe the gospel of His Son, the Messiah, who loved thee and gave Himself for thee, perish thou must like chaff before quenchless flame. Ponder, I beseech thee, the love warning of Jesus. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him might not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Not less expressive of entire destruction is the Saviour’s language recorded by Mark, which has been already quoted. “It is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to be cast into Hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched, where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched.” The word here translated “hell” is in the Greek “Gehenna” or valley of Hinnom, a small valley at the southeast of Jerusalem. In this valley the idolatrous Israelites caused their children to pass through the fire to Moloch. After the captivity the place became an object of the greatest abhorrence on account of these abominations, and following the example of Josiah, 2 Kings xxiii. 10, they made it a receptacle for the filth of the city, the carcasses of animals and malefactors, and to prevent the deterious effects of the consequent putrefaction great fires were constantly kept burning; hence the valley was called Hennom’s valley of fire, or Gehenna of fire.” It was thus a noise some and hidious spot. Its lurid fires constantly burning and the loathsome worms feeding on the corpses, was indeed a fit and expressive picture of the most abhorrent and complete destruction. This view of the subject is confirmed by the closing sentences of Isaiah’s prophecy. Speaking of the future glory of the nation of Israel, and its capital Jerusalem, and the terrible overthrow of the opposing Gentiles, the prophet says, “Behold the Lord will come with fire, and with His chariots like a whirlwind to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire; for by fire and by His sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many.” chap. lxvi. 15.-16. “And it shall come to pass from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord. And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against Me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they.shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. v. 23 -24. Doubtless the scene here depicted is one of real carnage, yet the language, “their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched,” is applied to the carcasses of dead men. Here we have a key to the language in Mark, which indeed is but a quotation from Isaiah, that would be familiar to the disciples of Jesus. So thinks Albert Barnes, though a believer in the immortality of the wicked. In his notes on
Mark ix. 44-46, he writes: ” This figure is clearly taken from Isaiah lxvi. 24. In describing the great prosperity of the kingdom of the Messiah, Isaiah says, that the people of God shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men who have transgressed against God. Their enemies shall be overcome. They shall be slain. The people of God shall triumph. The figure is taken from the heaps of the dead, slain in battle, and the prophet says that the number of them shall be so great that their worm-the worm feeding on the dead-shall not die, shall live as long as there are carcasses to be devoured; and that the fire which was used to burn the bodies of the dead, shall continue long to burn, and shall not be extinguished till they are consumed.” “The word “their” in the phrase “their worm,” is used merely to keep up the image or figure. Dead bodies putrifying in the valley would be overrun with worms, while the fire would not be confined to them but spread to other objects, kindled by combustibles through all the valley.”
It is rather remarkable that this writer after such a correct exposition of the language, should affirm that the picture represents, dreadful and eternal sufferinqs. Putrid decaying carcasses, the image , of dreadful and eternal suffering! The worm luxuriating on a painless corpse, an image of the most painful anguish! The consumption of dead bodies in the devouring flame a symbol of deathless spirits, tormented by fire which pains but cannot kill them! Oh, the blinding effects of heathen philosophy on the minds of those who submit to its teaching!
The words of God in defiance of all the laws of rhetoric and common sense, must be made to sustain the baseless theories of human imagination, and thus poor mortals condemned to everlasting destruction inflate themselves with the vain conceit of their immortality, echoing with true filial earnestness and joy, the words of the old serpent, the Devil -” Ye shall not surely die.” – W. Laing.

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The Rich Man and Lazarus by Geo. A. Brown

October 7, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

From Bible Standard April 1878 pages 51-56

THE imagery of the parable is borrowed from the opinions of the heathen concerning Hades, or the invisible world, the state of the dead-which the Jews, in the time of the Saviour’s ministry had in part imbibed. There is sufficient evidence, both internal and external, to prove that the passage is a parable.

Dr. Whitby argues conclusively that the passage is a parable, and states that it was not original with Jesus, but was quoted by him from some Jewish writings.

“That this is only a parable, and not a real history of what was actually done, is evident, 1st, because we find this very parable in the Gemara Babylonicum, whence it is cited by Mr. Sheringham, in the preface to his Joma; 2nd, from the circumstances of it, viz., the rich man’s lifting up his eyes in Hades, and seeing Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom his discourse with Abraham, his complaint of being tormented with flames, and his desire that Lazarus might be sent to cool his tongue ; and if all this be confessedly a parable why should the rest, which is the very parable in the Gemara, be accounted history?” (Whitby, Note on Luke xvi. 29.) [Read more...]

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Bible Standard March 1878

September 15, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

Bible Standard March 1878 is now available online.

The article Doctrine of a Future Life by C F Hudson from pages 45-46 of this volume has been republished.

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Doctrine of a Future Life by C F Hudson

September 15, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

From  Bible Standard March 1878 pages 45-46

an extract from C. F. Hudson, ” Doctrine of a Future Life.”  The entire books is available http://tiny.cc/2loaj

DEPARTURE OF THE SOUL.

To prove the disembodied state of men after death, or the existence of spirit-men independent of the body, we are often referred to the following statements: “As her soul was in departing” (Gen. xxxv. 18), and” Let this child’s soul come into him again” (1 Kings xvii. 21)_ We fully believe that the life, sometimes called soul, leaves man at death, but that is not a personality. The original term nephesh, rendered soul in these texts, is also translated’ life and lives by the same translators no less than one hundred and twenty times in the Old Testament scriptures; and the same term is as really applied to beasts as to men, as in the following texts: “In whose hand is) he soul (nephesh-life) of every living thing,” -Job xii. 10. ” A righteous man regardeth the life (nephesh-soul) of his beast.”-Prov. xii. 10.

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From the web this week – Conditional Immortality, Annihilation and Soul Sleep

September 15, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

http://forums.swordsearcher.com/showthread.php?t=1429 A debate on soul sleep

http://3-ringbinder.blogspot.com/2010/09/explanation-of-my-controversial-though.html Explains why he believes in conditional immortality

I don’t just believe this because it is convenient or makes me feel better. I believe that the Bible does actually teach that the damned will be destroyed, and that the traditional view of eternal torment, as well as universalism (which likewise affirms universal human immortality), are incorrect.

http://preterism.ning.com/forum/topics/eternal-conscious-punishment A discussion about eternal conscious punishment

http://www.wondercafe.ca/discussion/religion-and-faith/immortality-soul Immortality of the soul?

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Conditional Immortality: “To be Gathered” By Jefferson Vann

September 12, 2010 By admin Leave a Comment

What does it mean for someone who has died to be “gathered to his people”? In Genesis 25:8, Moses tells us that “Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people”(ESV). This is a particularly common expression in the Old Testament. It also describes the death of Isaac,1 Ishmael,2 Jacob,3 Aaron,4 and Moses.5 It was applied to good King Josiah,6 and to the entire generation of Israelites who grumbled against Moses during the exodus:

And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of 110 years. And they buried him within the boundaries of his inheritance in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. (Judges 2:8-10 ESV).

[Read more...]

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In the Day Genesis 2:17 – Conditional Immortality- The penalty for Adam’s Sin was literal death

September 7, 2010 By admin 4 Comments

From Bible Standard February 1878 pg 36-37

Genesis 2:17  but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

Our opponents frequently refer to this passage to substantiate their claim that the penalty pronounced upon Adam was a moral or spiritual death, and that he at once paid the penalty by being severed from God, thus causing a loss of holiness, &c.

It is somewhat difficult to understand what is meant exactly by the term spiritual death, for if physical death is a total extinction of all life from the body, then spiritual death would, of course, result in a total extinction of all life from the spirit; hence, according to this reasoning, the spirit died before the body, therefore the sinner must carry about with him a dead spirit. But we are told that the spirit cannot die. Then what are we to understand by the term that Adam died a ” spiritual death”? We are told in reply that it means a separation from God, a separation from holiness and happiness. But we should like to ask our friends where they obtained this ingenious definition of Goers penalty upon Adam, for we have no record that God ever said anything of the kind, and if he did not, then from whence do they derive their authority? They tell us it must mean this, for Adam did not die literally in the day that he eat of the forbidden fruit. We fail to see a ” needs be” in this matter. On the other hand, adopting the popular view of the penalty, it involves us in difficulties out of which we can not see our way. [Read more...]

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The Mount of Transfiguration Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-9, Luke 9:28-36 by Warren Prestidge

August 30, 2010 By admin 2 Comments

The Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-9, Luke 9:28-36) was a “vision” experience (Matt 17:9).  This doesn’t necessarily mean it wasn’t objectively real at all.  But it does mean that it was the work and gift of God, impossible without God.  And in a vision, therefore, anything is possible.

The transfiguration of Jesus was “an anticipatory vision of the glory of Jesus at his resurrection or his parousia (second coming)” (I. H. Marshall).  This is clear from the context, where Jesus has just predicted his resurrection, and has just promised that some would see the fulfilment of God’s Kingdom, and where afterwards he forbids the disciples to report the whole thing until he has risen from the dead.  Also the description in Matt 17:2 is resurrection/kingdom language (Daniel 12:3, Matthew 13:43).  The white clothes, cloud and glory all recall Daniel 7:9-13, where the Son of Man receives the kingdom (see also Revelation 1:16).  It is following his resurrection that Jesus entered into his glory, of course (e.g. Luke 24:26, 46, etc. etc.).

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Conditional Immortality and the Tree of Life By Jefferson Vann

August 18, 2010 By admin 2 Comments

The tree of life appears first in scripture in the creation account. In addition to all other kinds of trees that are nice to look at, and nourishing, God makes two other trees: the tree of knowing good and evil (which God prohibits man from eating), and the tree of life (which God does not prohibit).1 After Adam and Eve transgressed and ate of the tree of knowledge, God was true to his threat and made them mortal,2 and also banished them from the Garden so that they would not have the opportunity to eat of the tree of life, and thus gain immortality in their unredeemed sinful state.3

The record in Genesis leaves some unanswered questions. Were Adam and Eve created immortal, only losing their immortality after they sinned? No, God’s warning was that if they ate of the tree they would “surely die.” This seems to indicate that they had the potential to become either mortal or immortal, depending upon their obedience or disobedience to God’s expressed prohibition. They also had the potential to become immortal in their innocent state of creation had they merely chosen to eat of the tree of life instead of the prohibited tree. They were immortable: capable of becoming immortal. This means that human beings had actually two opportunities for immortality: escape becoming mortal by obeying God’s prohibition, or simply taking of the tree of life itself. This was not superfluous. It was merely our gracious God in action, giving his creatures more grace than they deserve.

[Read more...]

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