Posted on 05/28/2008 3:30:50 PM PDT by Truth Defender
Being a person who believes the words of God’s Anointed One, Jesus, and whose blessed hope is in the resurrection from the dead at the last day, I could be called a “resurrection oriented Christian. In my visits and study of the various denominations of Christendom over many years I have found that the resurrection is no longer the central and main message but is given lip-service in most church rituals of worship. The resurrection truths as spoken of by Jesus seems only to be expounded upon in some detail on the day called “Easter,” and hardly ever related to the destiny of man. This is one of the main reasons churches can be seen as abandoning the message of death and resurrection as proclaimed by Jesus and His Apostles in the Scriptures.
As Curtis Dickinson once wrote, “What incentive is there to cause men to hold steadfastly to the faith in spite of Satanic opposition and strong temptation? Jesus challenged man by setting forth the ultimate goal of eternal life, in contrast to losing that life. The early Christians went singing into the arena of lions because they had firm convictions concerning their destiny after the pilgrimage in this world was over. Such understanding and such convictions are desperately needed today. But today in Christendom there is a dreadful reluctance to identify the destiny of either saint or sinner. The result is that there is little enthusiasm over the hope of a Christian and very little fear of God’s wrath for the sinner.”
Early Christians who had accepted the fact that Jesus rose form the dead still had many problems accepting the teaching that they would be resurrected if they died before Jesus returned. The majority were schooled in the Greek teachings of Plato who taught that at death the “real person” was released from the body because they thought they had an “immortal soul” residing within their body. This made a resurrection unnecessary, and, to them, undesirable.
We see this in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. Paul wrote that “if Christ is proclaimed to have been resurrected from the dead, how came some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ was not resurrected” (I Cor. 15:12–13). Their question was centered about their fellow Christians who had died: would they be resurrected? Jesus was a mortal member of the human race, born of a woman and subject to death as are all humans (Heb. 2:14). Thusly, Paul used some logic and reasoned that if the dead were not raised, neither was Jesus. He wrote, “We witnessed of God that He raised up Christ; but He didn’t raise him if the dead are not resurrected” (I Cor. 15:15).
Paul then tells the Corinthians that had doubts that “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless and you are still in your sins. If so, then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (I Cor. 15:17–18). Paul’s words are easy to understood, and are powerful. He used one of the most devastating terms in the Greek language to say that they would be utterly dead — apollumi. Many today, because Plato’s teachings have been made a part of their religious training, don’t seem to understand that what Paul said contradicts the popular idea of the deceased enjoying the rewards of heaven the day they die. Paul plainly teaches us here that if there is no resurrection the dead have perished, i.e., are no more, are non-existent. As is recorded in the Book of Job, we read: “For if a man should die, shall he live again? I will wait till I exist again” (Job 14:14 LXX). There is no way to experience life after death except by being resurrected from the dead.
The resurrection hope, as I have concluded in my studies, is the only hope for us given by and through Jesus. He didn’t promise us glowing health or material wealth. He didn’t promise us to gain worldly success. He didn’t even promise to keep us safe and secure during our life on earth, but He did warn us of the enemy’s hatred and persecution if we followed in His Footsteps. What He did promise was that he would return to resurrect us to a life that is immortal, and to live in a glorious new creation wherein dwells righteousness.
On the other hand, what hope have those who don’t believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection, His promises, and His warnings to unbelievers? Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the assurance of final judgment of both the saved and unsaved. Those holding to Plato’s theory of an immortal soul residing within them strongly resisted resurrection truth; and, as we see recorded, they were indignant when the Apostle Paul declared that God “has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by the man (Jesus) whom He has ordained; whereof He has given assurance unto all men in that He has raised him (Jesus) from the dead” (Acts 17:30–31).
Jesus really died on the cross, and resurrection gives reality to His death: One who is not dead cannot be raised from the dead! Jesus’ death for us who believe pays the penalty for our sins — for the wages of sin is death! Yes, the penalty for our sins against God –sin being unbelief– is death.
Jesus’ resurrection from the dead gives proof that unbelievers will be raised, but only to be confronted with judgment: “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come out; those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned” (John 5:28–29). I can imagine the “weeping and wailing,” the “gnashing of teeth” (Luke 13:27–28), the excuses for their unbelief, as the Judge convicts them and hands down the sentence: “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Mt. 25:41, see Rev. 20:12–15).
Because of Plato’s “immortal soul” theory, many generally do not seem to recognize what the resurrection of Jesus can teach us. This failure has resulted in all kinds of doctrines about the final judgment and the sentence of death a second time for unbelievers. Various church denominations have adopted Plato’s idea that everyone has an immortal soul within them that can never perish. From this comes all sorts of explanations of what happens after one dies. For Roman Catholics, death releases the soul to go to a purgatory where the “stains of sin” are purged from the soul, making them purified for entrance into heaven: if they happen to die “pure,” they go directly to heaven, however, if they die with a “mortal” sin on their soul, they then go directly to hell to suffer terribly forever. Some Baptist denominations teach that one goes directly to heaven if “saved,” while those “unsaved” go directly to hell to suffer eternal agony in the fires of hell — no “purgatory” is considered for small “venial” sins as in Catholicism. Some Lutheran denominations follow Luther’s teaching that at death one’s soul is in a state of sleep until Jesus’ return to reunite it with a new body at the resurrection. I could go on, but enough is said to show the various explanations different churches teach.
Starting in the mid-second century certain writers, such as Athanagoras, Origen, Tertullian and ending up with Augustine in the end of the fourth century, grasped the idea of unsaved souls being tormented forever, so that instead of the punishment being death, it became a life in a state of fiery pain — a “state of living-death.” (The ridiculousness of how one can be living while dead is never explained.) This actually denies the reality of Jesus’ resurrection. If judgment is to consign man to “spiritual” suffering, why have a resurrection? Didn’t Jesus teach, in plain language, that the unsaved are to be raised in order to be judged, and that the judgment is “eternal destruction” — the loss of life forever? Pay attention to the contrast in John 3:16 — “whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” It is odd that anyone could say that “perish” equals a “living-death” versus “eternal life.” Perish means “utterly destroyed.”
Paul wrote that even death would one day be abolished (I Cor. 15:26), which denies Plato’s teaching that eternal death means some sort of “spiritual life” separated from God. The Apostle John, in the Book of Revelation, tells us that death is to be cast into the Lake of Fire, along with “hell”/hades (20:14). That symbolizes that the final end of the unsaved and all that is not fit for the presence of God in the new creation will be no longer.
While what I write concerning the destiny of man, of both the redeemed and unredeemed, is considered unorthodox by most, but not all, churches. But this thought has been in the minds of many Christian scholars world-wide for centuries, although, I have to admit, they generally were forced to suppress it in their writings. However, in the last few centuries, and especially in our days, many have been willing to set aside the decrees of counsels, churches, and creeds of men to examine the traditional theories of the immortal soul in light of what Jesus and His apostles taught in the Scriptures.
Edward Fudge wrote a thick book on the topic of “hell” and the final destiny of the unsaved. It is an internationally acclaimed best-seller, and quoted from in the writings of many denominational scholars all over the world. The title is “The Fire That Consumes,” 1982, and is now being reprinted. He teaches the same things I do on this issue. Kenneth Fortier also wrote a book, “Church Doctrines: Right or Wrong? (You Decide),” examining this topic among other church teachings that gets at the heart of Plato’s theory and what it leads to in the teachings of the churches. Over 100 years ago a man by the name of Moses E. Lard, whose “Quarterly” is still quoted from, published a small 50 page booklet called “Do the Holy Scriptures Teach the Endlessness of Future Punishment?” In that booklet he concludes that there is no biblical basis for teaching that God will make the lost indestructible and then torment them in a fiery pain forever. Back in 1868 a man named Henry Constable wrote a book titled “The Duration and Nature of Future Punishment.” Yes, people have spoken out against the teaching of Plato being introduced and accepted as dogma in Christian churches.
So, one can see that I am not alone in saying that man does not have an immortal soul, but is himself a “living soul,” and at Judgment Day those who did not believe or obey Jesus would again face death in the Lake of Fire. In talking to many individuals, Catholics, Lutherans, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Evangelicals, etc., after showing them what the Bible has to say, agree with me that man is himself a “soul,” and that it cannot possibly have immortality if it is not given to them at the resurrection. This more and more people are seeing and agreeing with. God’s word is powerful! If God had intended for us to understand something other than total death for the unsaved, He could have certainly found the means to express it in the Greek language. Instead, He used the strongest Greek term available to indicate the total destruction of the unsaved. Let me list them here:
1. analisko — to consume, destroy (II Thess. 2:8).
2. apoleia — death, especially by violence, loss of things, waste (Phil. 3:19, I Tim. 6:9).
3. apollumi —to destroy utterly (23 times), come to an end, ruin, to lose utterly, to be utterly and finally ruined and destroyed, cause to perish: this is a stronger form of ollumi, to end life, put to death, cause to perish (33 times), bring to nothing (Mt. 10:28, 21:41, 22:7, Luke 17:27, 29, John 3:16, Rom. 2:12, II Cor. 4:3). In all the NT here is no word that is more distinctly fixed that that of apollumi.
4. apothnesko — to die out, expire, cease (John 11:16, 26, Rom. 8:13, 34, Rev. 9:6, 16:3).
5. diaphtheiro — to spoil throughout, corrupt utterly (Rev. 11:18).
6. exolothreuo — to destroy utterly, slay wholly, dissolve. In the Septuagint it is some 80 times rendered karath, “cut off” (Acts 3:23, compare Gen. 17:14, Ex. 30:33, 31:14).
7. katakaio — to burn up, or burn down (Mt. 3:12, Luke 3:17).
8. katnalisko — to consume wholly or thoroughly (intensive of analisko, II Thess. 2:8) (Heb. 12:39).
9. katargeo — to render inactive, idle, bring to nothing, make void, abolish (II Thess. 2:8). When the unquenchable fire burns out, and the undying worm ceases, death itself is destroyed (katargeo) (I Cor. 15:26).
10. kolasis — punishment, cut off. A result, not a process (compare Mt. 3:10, Luke 3:17). 11. olethros (olothreutes) — death, ruin, that which causes death (II Thess. 1:9).
12. phtheiro (kataphtheiro) — to deprave, mar, spoil, corrupt (I Cor. 3:17).
13. phthora (diaphthora) — corruption, spoiling, destruction (Acts 2:27, 31, Gal. 6:8).
14. thanatos — extinction of life, death by judgment of court, or judgment of God against sin (the second death, Rev. 20:6, 14, 21:8) (Rom. 6:21, 23).
These are words used frequently by Christ, Paul and John. Yet, not one term in the entire list above implies the idea of eternal torment. They all mean to end life, or cause it to cease to be. It is easy to conclude, which I did, that the wags of sin to be realized in the day of judgment is death, not life. “He that has the son has life, he that has not the son has not the life” (I John 3:12).
Let me conclude this post by quoting Curtis Dickinson’s words: “Spiritual death? The reality of total death is often evaded by presenting the wages of sin as 'spiritual death' and that this death is 'separation from God.' Besides the fact that these expression are interpolations rather than biblical explanations, there is the fact that Jesus had to do far more than suffer a 'spiritual death' and be separated from God in order to pay sin’s penalty. It was necessary that He partake of flesh and blood in order to die a human death, according to Hebrews 2:14–15. Jesus repeatedly claimed the He would give His life and His flesh for sins. He bore 'our sins in his body,' not merely in His spirit (I Peter 2:24). The essential feature of every Paschal lamb killed for some 1500 years was the death of that animal. Not until the lamb was dead was sin atoned for. The phrase 'shedding of blood' did not mean mere suffering or spiritual death, but always meant nothing less that the total death of the whole being. Being 'dead in sin' means to be under the sentence of death, as explained by Paul in Rom. 7:5, 8:2, 6. The ultimate result of sin is not only spiritual but physical as well, the death of the person."
Life with the spirit of Christ within is a life of freedom, freedom from the bondage to the fear of death (Heb. 2:15). It is a life free of the religious systems of men and a dogmatic system of rules. Jesus was correct, the truth will make one free! I am free and safe in the care of my Lord and Savior, and patiently awaiting His return. I would hope all who are called “Christians” have this freedom within themselves.
Defender, I’d rather stick with “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole mind, thy whole body, and thy whole heart; and thou shalt love thy neighbor as theyself.”
On these two commandments, Jesus said,rest all the laws and all the Prophets.
Wouldn’t you agree this is far more important than others’ views of the resurrection ?
You are kidding, right? You'll find some of the deepest religious debate here versus other sites I've seen. At that, I just got off a thread where we spent dozens of posts analyzing what word the original Greek used and its meaning based on two different sources we were referencing... (now back to take some time to read the original post..)
Ping
This one may be good for some fun language study.
Ping!
Funny you should say that....
The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 20:
Of Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience
[John 3:16] For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The choices are....and always have been....eternal life or eternal death.
Interested?
Source? Expanding on perhaps E.W. Kenyon > Kenneth Hagan > Kenneth Copeland "Jesus died spiritually"?
What ever else you add to your thesis, you are still insisting that "Jesus died spiritually."
I can only think of one word that describes that thesis... heretical.
...well, reading through, I have a tough time finding something to argue with. In theory, I have trouble seeing a lot of difference in what you say and my personal beliefs. I’ll have to chew on this more later.. bump for later..
I think, respectfully, that you overstate the case about the immortal, Platonic soul. Although I am sensitive to the corruption that happened when certain aspects of Greek and Roman thought were integrated into “Christian” dogma, I still read of Paul often talking about the human spirit, in contradistinction to the current, “corrupt” flesh. I also am compelled by the words of 2 Cor 5:1-10:
1For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven,
3inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked.
4For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.
5Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.
6Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—
7for we walk by faith, not by sight—
8we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
9Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.
10For we must all appear before (the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
I do not think the idea of a human spirit that exists on another plane, which is ultimately transferred to a glorified physical body is wholly without merit.
Logically I am also inclined toward the eternal separation explanation of death. Christ died, but was not utterly eradicated and put back together. Was he not active when dead physically?
Fact?
Add whatever else you want, it is still the same root, i.e., "Jesus died spiritualy." It is a heresy founded in Kenyon's background in metaphysical cults.
And Hebrews 12:23.
For that matter there is the story Jesus told about the rich man and the beggar. Both of these were conscious after death of who they were and where they were.
Paradise is a Greek word, borrowed from the Persians, and means an orchard or fruit garden. The Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) renders Genesis 2:8 thusly: “God planted a paradise in Eden.” There are only three places in the New Testament where Paradise is found: Luke 23:43, II Cor. 12:4; and Rev. 2:7. In each case the word suggests the restoration of the original Paradise (orchard) of Eden.
Does this answer your question sufficiently?
Paul speaks of “visions and revelations” (II Cor. 12:1–4) and mentions one “who was caught up even to the third heaven…how he was caught up into Paradise…” While Bible commentators are not agreed as to what constitutes the “third heaven,” Peter explains that the first heaven and earth were destroyed at the time of the flood, and the present heavens and earth are also to be destroyed (II Peter 3:5–7). But there is yet to be a “new heavens and a new earth” (II Peter 3:13). To understand that Paul’s “visions and revelations” were of the new heaven and new earth is much more fitting than to apply them to some connection to Hades.
The blessed promise made to the thief is made again in Rev. 2:7 for all the faithful saints. “To him that overcomes to him will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” This “tree of life” which was fond in the original Garden of Eden is not to be found again until the creation of the new heavens and earth, as described in Revelation 21 and 22. “And on this side of the river and on the other was the tree of life…” (Rev. 22:2).
After Adam’s sin he was driven from the garden, the original Paradise, “lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” (Gen. 3:22). The Creator would not have man living forever in a state of sin. But the new creation will be inhabited only by those who have been cleansed form sin by the death of Christ so they can live forever in His presence. Whatever this “tree of life” is, it conveys the truth that it is not now available to man and will be restored only after judgment and the creation of the new earth. Did the thief go to heaven with Christ on the day He died? Apparently not, for even on the first day of the week after His resurrection, Jesus had not yet ascended to the Father (John 20:17) and, in fact, did not ascend to heaven until some forty-three days after the crucifixion. Surely we are not to understand that Christ was offering the thief a place in heaven before He Himself ascended, and in advance of all the faithful, including David, who according to Acts 2:31 had “not yet ascended into heaven.”
Then, if Paradise is yet future, how do we understand Christ’s promise to the thief? The problem is resolve when we look at the statement in the original language and compare other scriptures, which is always proper in understanding the Bible.
Punctuation, as we have it today, was entirely absent from the New Testament Greek manuscripts. In the earliest manuscripts the text continues without any divisions between letters or words except an occasional dot, or point, on a level with the top of the letters, and sometimes a space. The punctuations of all modern editions of the Greek texts rests entirely on human authority.
George R. Berry, editor of the Interlinear Literal Translation, wrote: “There is no authority anywhere in the Greek text for punctuation.” The Greek adverb here rendered “today” appears in the Septuagint and the New Testament 221 times. In 170 of these places the adverb follows the verb it modifies. For example: “I declare to you this day, that you shall surely perish” (Deut. 30:18). Therefore, it would be natural to punctuate Luke 23:43 as follows: “Truly I say to you today, you will be with me in Paradise.” Paul uses a similar turn of phrase in Acts 20:26 — “I testify to you this day, that I am innocent of the blood of all men.”
It may be asked why translators of most modern versions do not place the comma after the “today” so that the verse will harmonize with other scriptural teaching on death and resurrection. We might as well ask why they do not translate the Greek baptizo as immerse or diakonos as servant instead of merely spelling them with English letters. To do so would put the translation at odds with most denominational doctrine and almost insure its failure to be accepted. When the translators put Luke 23:43 into English, they punctuated it arbitrarily according to preconceived notions. An honest translator, when faced with more than one choice of translation, will choose the one that is in harmony with the rest of God’s word.
The promise to the thief is consistent with Christ’s promise to all His people. “This is the will of Him who sent me, that everyone who sees the son and believes on him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:40). The purpose of God—to have a race that is eternal, in His image, in a perfect Paradise—is not to be realized until after Christ’s return, the resurrection, the day of judgment and the destruction of all that is ungodly. The new creation will be one “wherein dwells righteousness” (II Peter 3:13). “And there shall be no curse anymore; and the throne of God and the Lamb shall be therein; and his servants shall serve him” (Rev. 22:3).
“Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they may have the right to come to the tree of life, and ay enter in by the gates into the city” (Re. 22:14).
While it is important, isn't all that Jesus said important? I don't believe we should pick and choose what is "more" important, instead, everything that Jesus taught is to be held dear to our hearts.
I've read the debate you had over a term or two in contention. I even put in my 2 cents worth :-)
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