Quote (Matao @ Jun 28 2011 11:39am)
maybe you have never heard of a little thing called the 1st resurrection , where those who were beheaded for their witness to jesus , and the word of god , didnt worship the beast , etc , get to live with christ for a thousand years ( rev 20 / 4 )
maybe you never read rev 20 / 5 ( but the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished )
there are many places in the bible that attest to the fact that when u die , you dont get judged , you dont go to heaven or hell
its as if u are asleep
and u wont wake up , until everyone is woken up ( unless you are part of the 1st resurrection ) , and everyone is judged by god ( to either be thrown into the lake of fire , or accepted into the new jerusalem )
or maybe you simply didnt understand what i was responding to ( wowzers statement that he beleives we dont go to heaven when we die )
and my response that no thinking is really required about this , as the bible is clear that when u die , nothing happens , and u have to wait until the appointed time
ahh The false doctrine of soul sleep..
Here's a few scriptures to look over if you would like.
Philippians 1:21-23
For to me to live is Christ, and to
die is gain.
But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.
For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to
depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
How could death be gain over life for Paul if he was destined to go into a state of unconscious existence (the state of soul sleep) ?
The reason why death is an advantage is given in verse 23. Note that Paul is not talking about being with Christ someday in a future resurrection, but the sentence structure of the Greek maintains that AT THE VERY MOMENT that Paul departs from his body he will be with Jesus.
2 Corinthians 5:6-8
Therefore we are always confident, knowing that,
whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be
absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
What does absent with the body equate with?? Annihilation? Purgatory? Limbo? No!! It means to be present with the Lord.
Revelation 6:9-10
And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
The souls of those whose bodies have died are where? In soul sleep? No, they are in heaven, and it is obvious that they are very much alive.
John 11:26
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me
shall never die. Believest thou this?
Luke 23:42-43
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee,
Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Acts 7:59-60
And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying,
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this,
he fell asleep.Why would Stephen ask Jesus to receive something that was about to cease to exist?
The soul and spirit away from the body = sleep
The only thing that dies when we die is our body.
2 Kings 4:31
And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying,
The child is not awaked.
1 Kings 17:21-22
And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee,
let this child's soul come into him again.
And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah;
and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.
John 11:11
These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may
awake him out of sleep.
Luke 16:19-25
There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
Let me just sum it all up with this.
Matthew 8:11
And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with
Abraham, and
Isaac, and
Jacob, in the
kingdom of heaven. Matthew 22:31-32
But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,
I am the God of
Abraham, and the God of
Isaac, and the God of
Jacob?
God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.