Practical application of Pentecostal theology in politics, economy and social issues
Do you think we will be reunited with our families after our deaths? (Finis J. Dake)
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In Matthew 2:1-3 (NET), the author states:
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
Why would the Magi have automatically associated a star with kingship? Was the a historical/religious basis for doing so?
Varnel Watson
Chris Westerman seems what you wrote is wrong on so many levels…
What Happens to a Person After Death?
First of all, who says you are going to die? Not God. How come? Because 1 Corinthians 15:51ff and 1 Thessalonians 4:13ff tell us that not all Christians will experience physical death! That’s right, many will still be living when the Lord Jesus comes to take the Church out of this dying world. So refer to the answer to Question 17 for how to prolong your current existence, and for God’s sake, don’t ever say “when I die… ”No, it’s if…”
Hey, remember what we’ve said several times about words? That’s right—they have meanings. Ever looked up the word, “death”? In any language, it means, simply, “the end, or the absence of, life.”
Never does the Bible speak of an incorporeal part of a person—like one’s “soul” or “spirit”—that can or does live on without a body after “he” dies. Study will show that the idea of an “immortal soul” is a totally pagan notion. In fact, virtually all religions have some teaching about their adherents being somehow, somewhere immediately alive after they die.
In contrast, God chose a beautiful metaphor to euphemistically take the edge off the horror of death, and that metaphor is prevalent throughout Scripture. For example, Daniel 12:2 says, “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” Speaking of the death of his dear friend, Lazarus, Jesus said, “…Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up” (John 11:11), and when they didn’t understand his figurative language, Jesus explained, “Lazarus is dead” (11:14).
That same metaphor is most prevalent in the Church Epistles. Paul speaks of dead Christians as “sleeping in Jesus” (1 Thess. 4:14), and he makes it clear that the Lord Jesus is the “alarm clock” who will enthusiastically awaken all who have died (4:16).
There are NO VERSES saying that anyone who has died, except Jesus, is NOW ALIVE in either “heaven” or “hell” (see Q. 27). Death is the end of life, and, therefore, those who have died no longer exist (Ps. 39:13; Job 14:10).
That is why it is such a big deal that Jesus Christ willingly laid down his most precious possession—his life. If Jesus did not actually die, then he could not have been literally resurrected from the dead, and our own future victory over death is suspect. Therefore, in Luke 23:43, Jesus could not have told the criminal beside him who believed in him, “…today you will be with me in Paradise,” because Jesus did not go to Paradise (or “heaven”) that day. He was dead, and was in the grave for the next three days and three nights (Matt. 12:40). Properly rendered, Jesus told the man, “Verily I say to you today, you will be with me in Paradise.” Biblically, “Paradise” is on earth, not in heaven, and it is still future. If there is no such thing as real death, resurrection is superfluous.
For a thorough exposition of this topic, including an explanation of the verses (like Luke 23:43) that misguided people cite to “prove” that dead people are alive, see our book titled, “Is There Death After Life?” We also have many video teaching touching on this subject: “Death SUCKS, Part 1 of 3;” “Death SUCKS, Part 2 of 3;” and “Death SUCKS, Part 3 of 3.” On our website under topic: Life & Death we have many articles touching this subject, here are some of them: “Consequences of Believing Satan’s Lie;” “The Dead Are Dead;” “What State of Being Are the Dead?” “Where Are the Dead?” “The Joy of Hope;” and “A Matter of Death and Life.” We have an audio teaching which will really touch on this topic: “A Matter of Life and Death.” We highly recommend our foundational class: “One Day With The Creator,” in Segment 25.
Chris Westerman
https://www.facebook.com/sealingtime/photos/a.10156459114095353/10154107197065353/?type=3&theater
Varnel Watson
cant open – can you give us your personal take
Chris Westerman
Gerald Wrenn
October 30, 2017
Is Death the Entrance to Life?
Dearly beloved saints, all living people have “the breath of life”, but when they take their last breath they lose this life. Death is the loss of life. It is when man ceases to live, to cease to exist. Death is the opposite of living.
“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Genesis 3:19
Adam was to return to the ground, not to heaven.
“His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day, his thoughts perish”. Psalms 146:4
When a man breathes his last breath, he dies. This is the natural end of every human being. Upon death, man returns to the earth and he decomposes.
“Return, O LORD, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies’ sake. For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?” Psalms 6:4 and 5
There is no memory in the grave, nor can we give God thanks from it. There is no communion with God in the grave. The psalmist did not want to die. He asked God to deliver and save him from death. If salvation occurs at death, why would he pray for deliverance from it?
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” I Corinthians 15:50
The Word of God teaches us that corruption does not inherit incorruption. Corruption takes place when one dies. Using the figure of speech, metonymy, “corruption” is put for “death” in this verse, painting a much more vivid picture of death than the literal truth itself.
The figure of speech, metonymy, is founded on relation. The figure makes a change for the noun “death” and instead uses a word that concerns the effect of death, which is “corruption”.
“Incorruption” is stated by the same figure of speech. Instead of saying resurrection life, the figure features the effect of that life – “incorruption”.
Corruption or death does not automatically inherit incorruption or resurrection life. Death is not the entrance into glory, but to corruption and decay. The state of death brings man into a worse state.
The Word of God teaches the exact opposite of tradition. God said, “Ye shall surely die” in Genesis 2:17, as the condemnation for sin. The serpent said, “Ye shall not surely die” in Genesis 3:4. Whose word proved to be true?
There is no such thing as the immortality of the soul, such as when one dies and then passes on to life in another realm. Plato made this belief popular in western civilization. Poets, philosophers, theologians, and the serpent speak of it, but God does not.
Jesus Christ taught that one must be born-again, born of God’s spirit, if he is to enter the Kingdom of God. No one that is only a natural man of flesh and blood can inherit God’s Kingdom, nor does death automatically inherit resurrection life upon death. This is not a matter of opinion– this is God’s revelation on the subject.
Scripture never teaches that we have the hope of gaining life at death. People do not go to heaven upon death; far from it, they corrupt in the grave.
No one can teach us more about death than God reveals to us in His Word. Life and death are issues under God’s hand, and His revelation is the only source we can trust for answers concerning them.
According to the Scriptures, death is a continuing state. The only hope of being released from the state of death resides in Christ and in his power over it.
The day that he will return is drawing nigh. Christ Jesus the Lord will come and raise the dead in Christ to eternal life and transform their bodies to be like his glorious body. At the same time, he will transform the mortal to be immortal. We will be caught up to meet him in the air. This is when we will be saved and inherit eternal life. Those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ have no hope of seeing life again; they will corrupt in the grave.
Do you want the victory over death? The Lord Jesus made the victory available to all who call upon him. “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
Chris Westerman
https://www.revisedenglishversion.com/Appendix/4/bb
Varnel Watson
Franklin Graham is right and even more GOD IS RIGHT INSTEAD OF PROMOTING SEXUAL PERVERSIONS AND DEVIANCE AND PLAYING INTO THE DEVIL’S WAY WE NEED TO GRASP THE FACT THAT THE PORNOGRAPHY INDUSTRY AIDED BY THE ACLU IT’S FINANCIAL COHORT AND RECIPIENT HAS FOUND THE CLINTONS AND OBAMA’S JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTEES WILL GLADLY ABUSE THE CONSTITUTION AND THE GODLY PRINCIPLES THAT THE GOVERNMENT WAS FOUNDED UPON. WE IN THIS NATION HAVE BEEN FACED WITH THE SLICK DEEP STATE OF THESE TWO LIBERAL SOCIALISM DRIVEN POWER DEMONS AND THEIR UNDERLINGS. THANK GOD FOR THE INTELLIGENCE, THE FORTITUDE, AND THE BELIEF IN GODLY PRINCIPLES THAT THE PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE AND TEAM MEMBERS AND THEIR FAMILIES HAVE SHOWN TO STAND SOLID WITH OUR FOUNDERS. ANYONE WHO DOES NOT UNDERSTAND HOMOSEXUALITY AND ALL OF IT’S COMPLEXITIES HAS TO BE TAUGHT AND ENLIGHTENED AS TO THE PREDITORIAL NATURE OF THIS ILLNESS. THE SAD THING ABOUT THIS DEVIANCE IS THE FACT THAT IT IS FOLLOWING IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF MANY OTHER SEXUAL PERVERSIONS WHICH ARE ALSO UNGODLY ACCORDING TO THE LAWS SET BY GOD. ONE PERSON’S SIN IS ANOTHER PERSON’S PLEASURE IN THE WORLD OF SEX AND PROCREATION . HOWEVER WHEN WE BREAKDOWN THE LAWS OF GOD AND MAN’S LAWS THE SOCIETY’S VERY EXISTENCE BECOMES DYSFUNCTIONAL AND DEVIANCE BECOMES THE NORM WHICH LEADS TO SELF DESTRUCTION AND DETERIORATION OF SOCIAL NORMS IN A DIVIDED SOCIETY. WE ALL MUST REMEMBER THE PRINCIPLES OF GOD AND HIS DESIGN. WE MUST LOVE THE SINNERS (INCLUDING OURSELVES) BUT NOT THE SIN. REMEMBER IT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT’S JOB TO CONVICT AND GOD’S JOB TO JUDGE AND MY (OUR) JOB TO LOVE. YES, I LOVE MAYOR PETE BUT NO I WOULD NOT VOTE FOR HIM OR HIS PARTNER. HOWEVER THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO RUN. LOVE TO ALL.