International Bible Teaching Ministries
Death
Question 1: Will we know each other in heaven?
ANSWER: Yes! Many passages so indicate.
II Samuel 12:23: David said of his son who had died, “I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”
Luke 16:19-31: In verse 23, it is clear that Lazarus was recognizable!
Matthew 17:1-6: Moses and Elijah both of whom had been dead for many centuries were recognized on the mount of transfiguration!
I John 3:1-2: Clearly, we will see the Lord as He is!
Matthew 8:11: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will be recognizable!
There is every reason to belief that we shall know each other in heaven and none to believe that we won’t!
Question 2: Will all pagans go to hell?
ANSWER: Jesus said in John 8:24, "Except (if and only if) ye believe that I am He, ye shall die in your sins." In II Thessalonians 1:7-9, Paul said that ‘Christ will take vengeance, in flaming fire, on those who obey not the Gospel of Christ, and that they will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power.’
Question 3: When a person dies, does his spirit stay in the grave or does it go to heaven (Ecclesiastes 12:7)?
ANSWER: When a person dies, the spirit goes neither to the grave or heaven! It goes by God's direction to Hades (one of the words translated as "hell" in the King James Bible), which denotes the "place of disembodied spirits." This is where Lazarus and the rich man of Luke sixteen went upon their deaths. (This is also where Christ and the "thief on the cross" went when they died. Christ did not ascend to the Father and heaven until forty days after His resurrection - John 17:20 & Acts 1:3. In Acts 2:34, we learn that David is still not ascended into the heavens, because he, too, remains in Hades). Lazarus was carried by angels into that part of Hades referred to as paradise or Abraham's bosom, while the rich man awoke in that part of Hades referred to as a place of torments! Each of these will remain where they are until the general resurrection of the dead (John 5:28-29). The same is true of David and the "thief on the cross." In the resurrection, their spirits (and all the dead) will leave the Hadean world and rejoin their changed bodies (I Corinthians 15:51) to stand before Christ in judgment (II Corinthians 5:10). The righteous (those obedient to Christ) will then go to Heaven (Matthew 25:24). The unrighteous (the disobedient) shall be cast into the lake of eternal fire and brimstone (Matthew 25:41 & Revelation 20:14-15)!
Question 4: Will the madman be saved?
ANSWER: An idiot or insane person from birth never progressing beyond the mental stage of an infant or one so young as to be incapable of understanding would fall in the category of those mentioned in Matthew 18:3. These are not lost!
If one became insane after reaching the age of accountability (thus having had at one time the mental capacity to obey the gospel of Christ) and had not been obedient, he or she shall be lost. (Roman 3:23; Mark 16:16; II Thessalonians 1:7-9).
Question 5: Does God appoint a specific time for each of us to die?
ANSWER: No! There is no such implication in the Bible. A person may very well shorten his or her own life through abuse of the body, i.e., tobacco, alcohol, sexual permissiveness, etc., but to attribute such deaths to God by saying "it was his or her time to go" would certainly cast blame and doubt on His wisdom and goodness. In Psalms 90:10, we learn that our lives may be extended "by reason of strength." Paul tells us (Ephesians 6:2-3) that, by honoring our parents, we "may live long upon the earth." Surely then, since we may either shorten or lengthen our lives, God does not appoint a specific time for each to die!
Question 6: Is it possible that some people will not taste of death before Judgment Day?
ANSWER: It is a certainty! Please read carefully I Thessalonians 4:13-18. Note that Verse seventeen speaks of those "which are alive and remain."
Question 7: When a person dies, how long does it take the soul to leave the body?
ANSWER: A person does not die until the soul leaves the body! As long as the soul inhabits the body, a person is alive. When the separation of soul and body occurs, death then takes place (James 2:26).
Question 8: Can people today expect to live as long as Abraham and Sarah?
ANSWER: No! Sarah was 127 years old when she died (Genesis 23:1); Abraham was 175 (Genesis 25:7). At the first, people lived to be very old by today's standards. The oldest man, Methuselah, lived to be 969 years of age. We can only guess why the life span of man has been reduced to today's levels. The Bible does not tell us why, but it does confirm the duration of man's life span today, the certainty of death, and the judgment to follow. "The days of our years are threescore and ten (seventy); and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years (eighty), yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away" (Psalms 90:10). In Hebrews 9:27, "And as it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment." From these passages we can expect to live seventy or eighty years, generally. After this, at the resurrection (John 5:28-29), each will face the Lord in judgment (II Corinthians 5:10). For this we must be prepared! How long one lives is not really the important issue of life. How one lives while in this life is all that will matter in that great day!
Question 9: Adam died at the age of 930 years. Why does modern man die so early? Why has his life span been reduced so much?
ANSWER: To write on this matter with total certainty, I believe is beyond the knowledge of man. However, the following two possibilities are offered: 1) The long lives of the Patriarchs may have simply been in the providential will of God to populate the Earth and/or to better preserve His truths in the family heads through whom He operated; 2) The average age of the Patriarchs decreased gradually over a long period of time, which lends support to the thought that the reduction of life span came about as a direct result of sin. Man had been placed in the garden in a perfect state. When man, because of sin, was driven from the garden he no longer had access to the tree of life and perfection. He, from this time, would also be forced to accept the physical effect of the sin of the world in which he lived. The disease and death that resulted from these sins would naturally then bring about a decrease in the average life span.
The two suggestions above, as reasonable as they may appear, should not be taken as biblical or historical fact. We have not been given the answer! Though it does no harm to speculate on these matters, to spend much time in so doing would certainly not be advisable. It would, perhaps, be good to consider Deuteronomy 29:29, "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law."
Question 10: My husband and I have donated our bodies to U.K. Medical center to help others. Do you find anything in the scriptures wrong with this?
ANSWER: No! The attitude that motivated your action is very commendable and is supported by many passages of scripture, e.g., Matthew 7:12; Galatians 6:10; I Peter 2:17. Often when questions of this nature arise, there is concern over what impact such action may have on our resurrection bodies. Those who wish to be cremated sometimes express the same concern. Neither medical research on our bodies, donation of organs, cremation, nor common burials will affect our resurrection bodies. In each case the body will eventually disintegrate and return to the dust (elements) from where it came (Genesis 3:19). Upon death the spirit leaves the body (James 2:26) and enters the Hadean world (Luke 16:19-31). At the resurrection, He will reassemble those separated elements (no matter where they may be) into our new bodies (II Corinthians 4:1-4). We will hear His voice (John 5:28-29) and, being joined with our new bodies, will come forth to stand before Him in judgment (II Corinthians 5:10).
Question 11: If there is awareness after death, how can you explain (1) Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, & 10; (2) Job 17:11, 16; (3) Isaiah 38:11; and (4) Psalms 115:17?
ANSWER:
(1) Solomon, having experienced and tasted all facets of life, is here discussing “things that are done under the sun” (Verse 6, 9) and is simply saying, “Take advantage of these things while you live, because you will not be able to do these things after you die and are buried. He said, “Whatsoever” thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” In other words, when this life is over all opportunities will be gone. Therefore, with all “zeal,” take advantage of every opportunity while you live, because there is no earthly action in the grave! The passage does not deal with consciousness after death!
(2) Job is not saying that there is no awareness after death. He is saying (17:11), ‘My plans and schemes of life are now over, even the thoughts (the possessions and treasures) of my heart. In fact the Hebrew word for “thoughts” here is the word “possession.” The idea is, “the things that mean the most to me” are now gone and over!
(3) Isaiah is recording the words of King Hezekiah contemplating his death who says (verse 11), “I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of the living: I shall behold no man with the inhabitants of this world.” The King is saying that he will be blessed no more by God “in the land of the living,’ when I die. Neither shall I behold the inhabitants of this world.” Nothing to do with after death consciousness!
(4) David is saying here that we ought to praise God while we are alive and have the opportunity to do so!
None of these passages disprove the biblical fact that we will be conscious after death! II Samuel 12:23; Matthew 17:3; Luke 16:19-31, and Revelation 6:6-9 are sufficient to prove that we will be conscious after death!
Question 12: I do not believe in annihilation, but I do believe in extermination and believe that the following passages so teach. Do you agree?
ANSWER: In reading your document in regards to hell, you say that you do not believe in “annihilation,” as do some others. Yet you say you do believe in “extermination.” I’m not sure what you are really saying since the words are synonymous and are defined as being the same. Webster says of “annihilation,” that it means, “to destroy entirely; demolish, make wholly ineffective.” Of “extermination,” he says, that it means, “to destroy entirely; wipe out, annihilate.”
Nonetheless, you then list certain passages of scripture, as follows, that you allege support the idea of “extermination,” as opposed to eternal punishment. Clearly, both ideas cannot be true. If this were the case we would then have a contradiction and if we have a contradiction we cannot have truth!
(1) Matthew 3:12, followed by your comment: “Note that the chaff is burned up, not burned forever.”
Response: The chaff represents those professors of religion who have no solid religious principles or character based on truth. Of these He says, (a) they shall “burn up” and (b) with “unquenchable fire.” The passage is in reality teaching the opposite of what you claim. The ‘burning up’ is in reference to the utter destruction of all that constitutes one’s true life, while the idea of “unquenchable fire” refers to the consciousness of existence in that fire. Clearly, the idea of “unquenchable fire” denotes the eternality of that fire! It is a fire that cannot be extinguished!
(2) Matthew 13:40-42, followed by your comment: “Note that the tares are burned up, not burned forever.”
Response: The passage says that ‘the tares shall be burned in the fire; that they shall be cast into a furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. With the above also consider that within the furnace of fire there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” This is not indicative of extermination in the sense that you propose, but rather portrays the pain and suffering that will exist and be experienced therein!
(3) Matthew 10:28, followed by your comment: “Again the wicked are to be got rid of, just as bad fish are to be thrown away to decay and disappear, as Jesus taught in Matthew 13:47-50.”
Response: First of all, you carry the parable beyond the intent of the passage. Christ here is talking of a separation of the good from the bad, with the future of the bad not being compared to rotting fish, but rather to the experience of wailing and gnashing of teeth within the furnace of fire, which also expresses the despair of a hopeless situation; a situation that cannot be changed!
The word “destroy” is not given to mean only one thing. It, in the Greek, is from the word “apollumi” that according to Thayer’s Greek-English lexicon (p.64) means: to devote or give over to eternal misery,” as used in Matthew 10:28. A form of the same word is used in Matthew 10:26 when Jesus told the twelve to go to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” The word here is translated “lost.” The destruction that the lost will experience is eternal destruction, being cut off, from the presence of the Lord!
II Peter 2:12 & II Thessalonians 1:9, followed by no comment.
Response: Destroy and destruction are used in the sense noted above.
Jude 7, followed by your comment: “Please note that Sodom and Gomorrah are not burning today, though their destruction is spoken of as an example of eternal fire."
Response: The fire of this passage is a type of the fire that will be inflicted in the next world. The indication is not that it will be exact in every detail. When one considers the “types” of the Old Testament which foreshadowed things in the New Testament (For example the baptism of the children of Israel – I Corinthians 10:1-2 versus New Testament baptism – Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 8:38) it is obvious that detailed consideration is not the criterion expected of God. Clearly the fires which consumed Sodom and Gomorrah were not eternal. The idea is that the punishment that befell their inhabitants was so utterly complete and permanent that the nearest thing to it will be seen in the destruction of those who will suffer eternal fire!
That the Bible teaches that punishment is to be eternal in an eternal hell is without doubt. Consider the following:
(1) Hell is just as eternal as heaven. The duration of both is described by the same Greek word (aionios) in Matthew 25:46: everlasting (aionios) punishment and life eternal (aionios). Both are without end!
(2) Those in hell will be experiencing the weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:28, 50; Luke 13:28).
(3) They shall be weeping in outer darkness (Matthew 8:12).
(4) They shall be in agony with the hypocrites (Matthew 24:51).
(5) They shall be delivered to their tormentors (Matthew 18:34).
(6) Their worm shall not die, neither the fire quenched (Mark 9:43-48).
(7) They will experience punishment worse then being put to put to death (Hebrews 10:28-29).
(8) They shall experience the same as the rich man (Luke 16:24).
(9) Their torment shall be with fire and brimstone (Revelation 14:10).
(10) The smoke of their torment will ascend up forever (Revelation 14:11).
(11) They will have no rest day nor night (Revelation 14:11).