The Reality of Death

I'm going to now get on the controversial side of things. The religion of Christianity has done much harm to the teachings of God. It's just like any other religion, unfortunately. Hate to have to say the obvious to some people, but our Lord Yeshua did not come to earth to establish a new religion. His Father tore the veil in the temple in two, signifying that both He and His Son were done with religion, too. Mankind was the one that tried to stitch it back up. Therefore, I believe it is time for me to smash some "Christian" idols - beginning with what happens at death.

 

Have you ever heard the question, usually by a pastor, “If you were to die today, would you go to Heaven or Hell?” This question, other than being annoying, is misleading, as when someone dies, they don't automatically go and live somewhere else forever. The Bible in the OT and NT compares death to sleep. Probably the most famous verse in the entire Bible is John 3:16, which says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal (aionian) life” (NASB). Someone once told me that perish meant eternal separation. I’m sorry, I’m not reading that anywhere in this verse. In fact, anytime that the word “perish” is used, it means death, not life somewhere else! How have we become so stupid as to believe the lie that “death” means anything but the opposite of “life.” Yet, here we are.

The wisest man to have ever lived, Solomon, had this to say about death.

Ecc 9:5,6,10 - “For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know
anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten.
6 Indeed their love, their hate and their zeal have already perished, and they
will no longer have a share in all that is done under the sun...Whatever your
hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or plann-
ing or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going” (NASB, underline mine).
 

Now, compare what Solomon said to what the majority of the world now believes. I’ve said it before that the devil is a crafty one, and he’s repeating the same lie that he told to the first humans. In the Garden of Eden, the serpent asked Eve, “Did God say you shall surely die?” He is doing the same thing today, trying to convince people to question what the Bible says about death. The devil is asking you, “Did God say you shall surely die?” Who are you going to believe? Are you going to believe the wisest man that ever lived or the father of lies?

“But, Hebrews 9:27 which says “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…”

It doesn’t exactly say that once a man dies, immediately there comes judgment, now does it? This is where the “gap theory” comes into play. The gap theory goes something like this, “Two things are mentioned in Scripture side by side, but, in reality, many years may pass between them.” An example is found right at the very beginning of the Bible, “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. But the earth was in disarray, and empty; and spiritual darkness was upon the face of the demonic realm" (Gen 1:1-3). What if it read more like, “The earth became a void..?”

The Gap Theory
I previously assumed that when God created the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1)
he simply created a ball of unformed and empty mass, and then proceeded to give
it form and order in Days 1-6 (Genesis 1:3-31). It is true the Earth we know today
was formed in the "creation week", but is this the entire history of the origin
of our world?
The "Gap Theory", suggests the angels were created "in the beginning"(Genesis 1:1),
rather than during or after the creation week, and that Satan and his angelic
(demonic) followers fell prior to Genesis 1:2. 
 
(Source: https://www.plaintruth.com/the_plain_truth/the-earth-became-formless-
and-void.html)

Verse 27 reads, “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (NASB). The next verse reads, “so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.” This is more of a comparison than anything else. And, what happens after the judgment? The text doesn’t say. And you cannot assume, because where the Bible stays quiet, so do we.

“But, Paul said that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”

Did he really say that?? Read again: 2Cor 5:8 says, “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (KJV, underline mine). What a coincidence, Paul! I would also rather be with the Lord, myself! It does not say “to be absent from the body…” That is a total butchery of Scripture! It’s like saying, “To be absent from work is to be in my house.” Not exactly the case, right? I could be out fishing, at a bar, at a restaurant, on a date with my wife, at Disneyland, etc. I’m not necessarily going to be home just because I’m not at work. Likewise, just because we are absent from the body, does not mean we automatically “shoot up” into the clouds to be with God (or down to hell for unbelievers) the moment our heart stops. Death is NOT life somewhere else! It’s probably the most common misconception we have! Even in Saturday morning cartoons, it shows this. The truth is, we literally sleep when we die.

“But, God took Elijah to Heaven in a chariot of fire!”

No, he didn’t! He transplanted him somewhere else on earth. How else could he have sent a letter of warning to a king in 2Ch 21:12-15? Was this letter written in Heaven? No. Also, no, not Enoch, nor anyone else was “raptured.” Hebrews states in the chapter on faith that all these men, including Enoch, died before they had received the promises. Then, who is in Heaven right now? The Father, Jesus Christ and the holy angels.That’s it. Who is in “Hell” right now? Heh. No one. It doesn’t exist yet (and won’t exist in the traditional sense).

“But, we have an immortal soul!”

No, we don’t! In fact, “souls” aren’t even something we have. We are living souls! When God breathed into Adam’s nostrils, he became a living soul. Humans aren’t the only ones that are soul-ish, by the way. The Hebrew word for soul is nephesh, and was in the Bible before man was created. Basically, all animals from the least to the greatest, are living souls, as well. And, they can die – as it is with us. Ezekiel 18:20 says, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (KJV, italics mine).

But, what about all of those people that died and saw Heaven or Hell?

Those are NDEs (near death experiences). Do they count? No. Some people claim to see Jesus, others see Buddha. Some see Heaven, others see Hell. They are not reliable. If someone were to die and claim that they saw Jesus, with Krishna and Muhammad together, would you automatically believe them? I doubt you would. Actually, at least two have come forward and said that they made the whole thing up. One of them was Alex Malarkey, and you can read about his confession here: https://relevantmagazine.com/culture/books/read-the-aftermath-of-what-happened-after-the-boy-who-came-back-from-heaven-said-he-made-it-all-up/. Needless to say, NDEs are not proof of anything – either good or bad!