| FLOYD HAYES |
| RELIGION |
| WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DIE? Page 3 Isaiah 55:3 -- "Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." (Do all souls live, or only under certain conditions?) Ecclesiastes 9:5,6 -- "For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun." (Does a conscious soul exist after the body dies? Does this text teach that the soul can never live again, or does "under the sun" refer to this world only?) Ecclesiastes 9:10 -- "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest." (Does a conscious soul exist after the body dies?) Ecclesiastes 12:7 -- "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." (Does this text teach that the spirit can live without the body? If it teaches that the living spirit goes directly to heaven, would this imply that everybody's spiritwhether good or evil will go to heaven, in contrast with texts such as Daniel 12:2 and Revelation 20:5?). Ezekiel 18:4 -- "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die." (Does a conscious soul continue living after the body dies?) Ezekiel 18:20 -- "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him." (Does a conscious soul continue living after the body dies?) Daniel 12:2 -- "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." (If the Bible describes death as "sleep," does a conscious soul exist after the body dies? Does "everlasting life" begin before or after death?) Zechariah 12:1 -- "The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him." (Can the spirit exist apart from the body?) Matthew 3:13 -- "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven." (Does the spirit go to heaven immediately after the body dies? Have all dead saints gone to heaven, or only a few? The Bible teaches that a few men have indeed ascended up to heaven. We know that Moses died and was buried in Moab [Deuteronomy 34:6], but apparently was resurrected, for Jude 9 states "Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee." Elijah also went to heaven, for 2 Kings 3:11 states "And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." We also know that Enoch apparently went to heaven, for Genesis 5:24 states "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." Furthermore, according to Matthew 17:1-3, Peter, James and John met Moses and Elijah at the transfiguration of Jesus.) Matthew 10:28 -- "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Can the soul can live apart from the body? Can the soul be killed by man, God or Satan?) Matthew 17:3 -- "And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him [Jesus]." (Can the soul can live apart from the body, and can the soul talk? Have all dead saints gone to heaven, or only a few? See comments under Matthew 3:13 above.) Matthew 24:24, 25 -- "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." (What kinds of "signs and wonders" will be shown? Could this text be referring to evil spirits personifying dead prophets or relatives?) Matthew 26:41 -- "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Does the spirit have a "will" of its own?) Matthew 27:51-53 -- "And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many." (If the Bible describes death as "sleep," does a conscious soul exist after the body dies? If the "saints" had been enjoying the blisses of heaven before being resurrected, why don't they tell us?) Luke 8:55 -- "And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat." (Can the soul live apart from the body? If so, why doesn't she tell us about her experiences?) Luke 16:22-24 -- "And it came to pass, that the beggar [Lazarus] died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he [the rich man] 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." (Does this text teach that we go directly to heaven or hell after death, and can communicate with each other after death? If so, does only the spirit go or is there a body also with "eyes," a "finger" and a "tongue"? Is this text a parable or a true story? Bear in mind that parables were used to illustrate truth, but were not necessarily factual events. For example, Judges 9:7-15 relates a parable of talking trees, but do trees really talk? If this was a parable, was its purpose to illustrate that we will be judged by what we do during our lifetime, and that once we die there will be no second chance?) Luke 20:35-38 -- "But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him." (Are the righteous saints dead or alive? The context of the previous verses should be considered. Jesus was asked a question by the Saducees, who did not believe in a resurrection. Could His answer be referring to the time of the resurrection, when Jesus comes?) |
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