The Nature of Death [ No. 050 ]

Many Protestant concepts relating to death and to life beyond the Grave are filled with error or are completely false, for they have been drawn from the mythology of the Talmudic Jew. To understand Death, it is necessary to understand the nature of life as revealed by the Scripture, beginning with the fact that man is a chemical organism animated at birth by a spirit imparted by the Creator. Sadly, few are inclined to engage in serious study to come to a proper understanding of life or death.

This study brings to light neglected teaching of the Scripture regarding the Plan of God, and exposes the error and absurdities in the common suppositions regarding death and the “Immortal Soul.” Importantly, the study explodes the myth of rebellion in the angelic realm, the Devil, and everlasting torture in a place called Hell.

The study shows from the Scripture the vital necessity of the Resurrection and the meaning of the appellation of Christ Jesus, “I am the Resurrection, even the Life.”

This study is the only comprehensive study known to the author which establishes from the Scripture the nature of life, the moment at which life begins, the nature of death, the moment at which life ends, and the dual processes of theResurrection Out From the Dead.

• Overview
• The Natural Realm
  • Death is Integral to the Design of the Natural Realm
  • The Essence of Man is Chemical
  • The Animating Spirit is Imparted at Birth
  • The Immortal Soul Heresy
• The Definition & State of Death
  • Animation is Temporary
  • The Dead are Inactive, Unconscious, & Decomposing
  • The Lord is Able to Destroy Both Body and Soul
• The Lifespan of Man
  • Threescore & Ten
  • A Thousand Years
  • The Way Which Leads to Life Everlasting
• Desire for Life
• The Impotence of Man Against the Power of Death
  • Forestalling the Ravages of the Grave
  • The Insolvable Problem of Reanimation
• The Confusion of the Protestant
  • The Principal Source of Error
  • Denial of Death
  • The Day on Which Adam Died
  • Denial of the Necessity of Resurrection
  • The Protestant Conception of Hell
• Fear of Death
  • A Confidence Which Frees Man from Bondage to Caesar
• The Confidence of the Justified: The Promise of Resurrection
  • Resurrection vs. Reanimation
  • The Sleep of Death
• Conclusion

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Genesis 2:16–17

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Genesis 3:4–5

Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.

Psalm 31:5

For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

Ecclesiastes 9:5

And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God, unto our fathers: Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope’s sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?

Acts 26:6–8

Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

John 11:23–27

But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

I Thessalonians 4:14

Overview

The Scripture abounds in teaching concerning death. But the teaching does not agree with the doctrines of the Protestant Faith.

The Protestant Denial of Death.

The Protestant Pulpit claims that the essence of man is an “Immortal Soul” which resides in the body of flesh but is capable of existence independent of the body. But this is nothing other than the lie with which the Serpent deceived the Woman, assuring her, “You are not going to die.”^[1] Moreover, the Protestant Pulpit claims that, after death, every human is destined to an everlasting existence, either in Heaven or in Hell. These and other Protestant concepts relating to death and to a shadowy existence beyond the Grave have been drawn from the mythology of the Talmudic Jew.

The Nature of Man.

The Scripture declares that Man is a mortal, chemical organism of the Natural Realm. The Scripture teaches that Man is animated by a Spirit of Life which is imparted at birth, and that impartation of the animating spirit causes Man to become a living being. The Scripture reveals that death occurs when the animating spirit departs the body; this departure marks the cessation of the existence of the individual as a living being. The Scripture states that, apart from the Resurrection Out From the Dead, Man has no existence beyond the Grave, other than a brief reanimation to hear the pronouncement of judgment. According to the Scripture, the vast majority of humans have only the present life, then cease to exist; however, a few are called to qualify for resurrection to everlasting life, as officers in the service of the Kingdom of God.

Mortal Life in Perpetuity.

The Scripture reveals that the Earth shall be populated with humans indefinitely into the future. This mortal population shall be governed with justice by the Kingdom of God. The Scripture speaks of endless generations of mortals able to enjoy the fruits of their labour, with lifespans being on the order of a thousand years.

Governance by Heaven.

The Scripture notes that, at present, the populace of the Earth, labouring under the oppression of human government, groans in longing for the manifestation of the Sons of God. The Sons, who are the officers of the Kingdom, shall be revealed by the Resurrection of the Justified. By the Resurrection, the Justified are born into the family of God and are placed as mature Sons. They shall take their place in the offices Jesus has prepared for them,^[2] and ever thereafter shall be engaged in the work of righteous and just governance.

The Natural Realm

A correct understanding of the nature of death begins with the understanding that Man is a mortal creature of the Natural Realm.

Death is Integral to the Design of the Natural Realm

Contrary to the teaching of the Protestant Pulpit, death is inherent to the Natural Realm. Death is not a consequence of the “Fall” of Adam. Death is part of the original, perfect design of the Natural Realm.^[3] In his planning and design of the Earth and the Universe in which the Earth resides, the Lord God created a system capable of enduring to the ages, hosting unlimited generations of mortals. In each generation, men and animals are born, work, reproduce, and die. The Natural Realm cannot function apart from death. The various food chains in the animal realm are based on predation. In the plant realm, the richness of soil is imparted in large measure by decaying organic matter. Though some instances of death may be the result of evil activity, death is not necessarily the result of evil.

The Essence of Man is Chemical

Every process inherent to the being of Man is chemical in nature; even the thought processes within the brain are chemical. Though the life of Man proceeds from a divinely-imparted animating spirit, the impartation does not render Man a being of the Spirit Realm. Moreover, the impartation of the animating spirit is only temporary. When the animating spirit departs, animation ceases and Man dies. Without animation, the body begins to decompose, eventually returning to the chemical elements of which it is comprised.

The Animating Spirit is Imparted at Birth

The existence of the individual as a living being begins at birth, not at conception. Upon the first inhale following birth,^[4] the Lord God animates the individual by imparting to him an animating spirit. The animating spirit has a variety of appellations, including “Spirit of Life,” “Breath of Life,” “Spirit of Man,” and “Human Spirit.”^[5] Animation begins the life of the individual; not until the moment of animation does the individual become a “living soul.”^[6] A foetus which never draws breath never is alive.

The heartbeat of an unborn foetus is not an indication of animation. The animating spirit is not imparted until the foetus is expelled from the womb at birth and inhales.

The Spirit of Man is Not Integral to Man

The animating spirit becomes permanently associated with the individual which it animates. But the animating spirit remains distinct from the creature; it does not become an integral part of the individual. Impartation of the animating spirit does not make the individual a spirit being (which is to say, a being of the Spirit Realm). Animated or not, Man is a chemical organism of the Natural Realm.

Withdrawal or departure of the animating spirit does not diminish the chemical organism which it animates. Upon death, a man is a complete organism, just as he was at birth prior to impartation of the animating spirit.

The Animating Spirit Preserves the Identity of the Individual

A multiplicity of passages of Scripture speak of the fact that, upon death of the individual, the animating spirit returns to the giver, the Lord God. From comparison of three passages of Scripture:

• A declaration in the Book of Ecclesiastes.^[7]

• The account of the death of Jesus.^[8]

• The account of the death of Steven.^[9]

it is apparent that the animating spirit becomes permanently associated with the individual it animates. From this fact, it becomes apparent that, in addition to its role in animation, the animating spirit maintains a record of the identity of the individual (his personality, his character, and his memory). The record is kept for the purpose of resurrection, so that the identity of the individual is preserved. Needless to say, loss of identity would make resurrection meaningless. The last words of Jesus, (“Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit,”)^[10] and of Stephen, (“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,”)^[11] show that each views the return of the animating spirit to God as a commitment for safekeeping, and that each expects to receive back the same spirit upon resurrection. The identity of the individual is preserved when the animating spirit which animated the body of flesh is imparted to animate the body of resurrection.

The Animating Spirit is Not the Individual

From the multiple passages which declare that there is no consciousness, no perception, no thought, and no activity in the Grave, it is apparent that the animating spirit is not a sentient entity. The faculties of cognition and memory, vision, hearing, smell and taste, touch, and so forth, are functions of the body; they are not performed by the animating spirit. The animating spirit is not the individual; rather, the spirit preserves a record by which the identity of the individual may be reconstructed upon resurrection.

The Immortal Soul Heresy

The reality of the chemical essence of man, though clearly and repeatedly taught by the Scripture, is apprehended by few. Most imagine Man to be an immortal entity of the Spirit Realm which resides within the mortal body of flesh. They term this fictitious entity the “Immortal Soul.”

But the Scripture teaches otherwise, plainly declaring, “Dust thou art; to dust shalt thou return.”^[12] Apart from the Resurrection, death terminates the existence of the individual. Apart from the Resurrection, there is no life beyond the Grave.

The Definition & State of Death

According to the Scripture, death is the state of the individual subsequent to departure of the animating spirit. And from the analogous association of spirit and air, it appears that the surest way to ascertain whether the animating spirit is present is respiration.^[13]

Animation is Temporary

The impartation of life is temporary. The declaration of the Scripture, that the life of Man is “in the breath of his nostrils,”^[14] is tantamount to a declaration that Man is but a mortal creature of the Natural Realm. The life of the individual continues until the moment the Spirit of Life leaves the body; that is the moment of death.

The Dead are Inactive, Unconscious, & Decomposing

The dead are inactive, profoundly so.^[15] The dead have neither consciousness nor thought processes.^[16]

Upon departure of the animating spirit, cerebration and respiration cease immediately.^[17] At death, the animating spirit returns to the Lord God who gave it,^[18] and the chemical organism which is Man begins to decompose, disintegrating into the chemical elements (“dust”) of which Man is composed.^[19]

Within a living being, a number of systems are at work; these systems enable cerebration, muscle activity, and maintenance of the body. Processes essential to the maintenance of integrity of the body also cease upon death, though not necessarily immediately; thus, organ transplants from the dead are possible.

The Lord is Able to Destroy Both Body and Soul

Jesus exhorts his followers to fear God, rather than Man: Man can kill the body but cannot kill the soul, whereas God is able “to destroy both soul and body in Hell.”^[20]

The “Soul” is the Identity of the Individual

When Jesus speaks of the “soul” (Greek, psuche), he does not have in mind the imaginary “Immortal Soul” of Protestant invention. Rather, Jesus uses psuche in the sense of the identity of the individual, which is to say, the personality, the character, and the memory. Those entities are preserved in the record maintained by the animating spirit. The destruction of which Jesus is warning is irreversible destruction of the identity of the individual.

“Hell” is Gehenna, a Place of Annihilation

The term “Hell” appears because of the malevolence of the “Father of the English Bible,” William Tyndale.^[21] Jesus has in view the Valley of the Son of Hinnom (Greek, geenna), commonly transliterated “Gehenna.” The valley served as the municipal dump of the city of Jerusalem. Fires continuously burned in the valley, consuming waste; maggots always were present, consuming carcasses of animals. Because of inculcation by the Protestant Pulpit, Protestants generally associate Gehenna with everlasting torture by flame and maggot. But, as the audience addressed by Jesus well understood, the fate of anything cast into Gehenna was sure and utter destruction. Using figurative language, Jesus warned that the Lord God is able not only to destroy the body, but also to annihilate the identity.

Loss of Identity Would Make Resurrection Meaningless

The whole point of Resurrection is the restoration to life of a specific individual, preserving the personality, character, and memory. The record kept by the animating spirit is the sole means by which the identity of the individual is preserved upon death. Therefore, to destroy the record is to extirpate the identity, so that resurrection is impossible.

The Lifespan of Man

Man is a mortal being; from the moment of his birth he is confronted with the certainty of his death. And the Scripture teaches clearly that death terminates the very existence of the individual.

Threescore & Ten

Lifespan varies from one individual to the next. In some cases, the lifespan of an individual may be as brief as a few days, a few hours, or even just a few minutes. In previous generations, some men lived nearly a thousand years.^[22] However, as a general rule, the lifespan of Man is in the range of seventy to eighty years.^[23]

A Thousand Years

Lifespan is affected by environmental factors, particularly pollution. Pollution and environmental damage are matters which shall be addressed by the Kingdom of God, but not until the Sons of God are manifested by the Resurrection.^[24] The Resurrection brings the Justified out of the Grave, so that they may take their places as officers in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom has many offices.^[25] But until the Resurrection, the offices remain vacant.

One of many changes which shall come about once the offices of the Kingdom are staffed is that pollution shall not be tolerated.^[26] The governance of the Kingdom shall bring to an end all practices which are harmful to the environment of the Earth, including practices which are destructive to the natural mechanisms designed by the Lord to continually cleanse and replenish the environment.^[27]

The great lifespans foretold by the prophets indicate that the Natural Realm shall undergo a thorough cleansing, and the mechanisms which the Lord has designed to maintain a healthy environment shall be restored to proper function. Once the environment is restored, the Scripture indicates that the typical lifespan of mortal Man shall be on the order of a thousand years.^[28]

The Way Which Leads to Life Everlasting

The Scripture reveals a way, termed the “Way of Life,” through which a man may enjoy everlasting life beyond the Grave. The Resurrection Out From the Dead is essential to this opportunity. In the Resurrection, the corruptible mortal creature of the Natural Realm is transformed into an incorruptible immortal being of the Spirit Realm.^[29]

The purpose of the Way of Life is to bring about within the Justified a transformation of character; the Scripture terms this transformation a “renewing of the mind.”^[30] The Lord God requires this transformation of those whom he resurrects, for in resurrection the Justified are born into the family of God as mature Sons,^[31] and are given everlasting positions in the government of the Christ.^[32]

The Scripture gives complete and explicit instruction regarding entrance into the Way and the subsequent attainment of Life Everlasting.

Desire for Life

Curiously, not everyone has interest in life beyond the Grave. And even among those who show interest, there are obstacles which are overcome by few.

1. Some are content simply to die and permanently pass out of existence.

2. Some, focused upon the things of the Earth, are simply too busy with the mundane to heed a higher calling.^[33]

3. Some resent the claim which the Lord God has on the life of each of his creatures. Called to life, they refuse to answer.^[34]

4. Some answer the call and enter the Way of Life, but fail to count the cost beforehand. Eventually discovering that the price is greater than they are willing to pay, these turn back.^[35]

5. Some are unwilling to place confidence in the word of the Lord God, and seek life beyond the Grave through various schemes devised by man, such as the works of the Law.^[36]

The Impotence of Man Against the Power of Death

Death is a enemy against which man is impotent.^[37] Death is a barrier which Man of the Natural Realm is able neither to surmount nor to circumvent. Pharmaceuticals, surgery, and nutrition at best can prolong life to a small degree, but they offer no hope regarding avoidance of death. Eventually, every man dies.^[38]

Nonetheless, many refuse to acknowledge that Death is an enemy against which Man is powerless. Though unable to counter the certainty of death, many seek to circumvent the finality of death.

Forestalling the Ravages of the Grave

Historically, men have expended great effort in the attempt to prevent decay of the body after death. But until modern times, while the best efforts of men could forestall decomposition, they could not preclude it. However, now it has become possible to store bodies at ultra-low temperatures for an indefinite period of time, and the technique appears to be successful in thwarting decomposition. Still, even in the case of a perfectly-preserved corpse, there is an obstacle to which it seems that few have given serious thought.

The Insolvable Problem of Reanimation

Preserving a corpse from decay is one matter. But the matter of reanimation is of infinitely greater importance.^[39] Those who understand the nature of life and the nature of death perceive that any quest for reanimation is a futile undertaking. But the unregenerate do not understand this, for to them spiritual phenomena are indecipherable foolishness.^[40]

Nor shall means of reanimation ever be discovered, for the efforts of Man lie entirely within the Natural Realm, and the ability to animate a chemical organism does not lie within the Natural Realm.

Man has no power over the divinely-imparted animating spirit. No man can retain his own spirit to prolong his own life.^[41] Much less is a man able to summon an animating spirit to animate another being. Only the Creator, in whom life resides, is able to impart life.^[42]

The Confusion of the Protestant

The teaching of the Protestant Pulpit concerning death is a confused mixture of concepts drawn from a variety of sources. Some of the concepts originate in Scripture which has been taken out of context and misinterpreted. Other concepts of the Protestant are rooted in the myth of the Talmudic Jew. And though contradiction is rife within the teaching, the incoherence generally passes without notice in the stream of nonsense and prate which proceeds from the Protestant Pulpit.

The Principal Source of Error

As might be expected, most of the error of the Protestant Faith has been devised and propagated by the archenemy of the Christian Faith, the Talmudic Jew.

The Leaven of the Jew

Jesus repeatedly warned his followers to be ware of the leaven of the Jew. By “leaven,” Jesus means the doctrine of the Talmudic Jew.^[43] Leaven is not necessarily evil.^[44] Leaven is an agent of transformation. The change wrought by leaven typically occurs gradually, but the transformation permeates the entire body, whether the body is a lump of dough or a doctrine of the Faith. As evidenced by the label “Judeo-Christian” which Protestants foolishly apply to themselves,^[45] the leaven of the Jew has corrupted the entire body of Protestant doctrine, with disastrous effect.

Jewish Myth

The Apostle Paul repeatedly warns against the embrace of Jewish myth.^[46] Protestant teaching regarding many subjects is based on the myth of the Talmudic Jew and is contrary to declarations and teaching of the Scripture. These subjects include rebellion in the Angelic Realm, fallen angels, daemon-possession, conscious existence in an “Afterlife,” and the purported torture of creatures by the Lord God.

Denial of Death

The first lie recorded in the Scripture is an assertion by a creature called the “Serpent,”^[47] made to the Woman in the Garden. The assertion contradicts the warning of the Creator that eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil would result in death.

In subsequent generations, men have held to a derivative of that lie, by denying the reality of death. The denials have taken various forms. One of the most prevalent and most obvious denials of the reality of death is the belief that the inner essence of Man is an “Immortal Soul.”

The “Immortal Soul”

The concept of the Immortal Soul is one of many inventions of the Protestant.^[48] The Protestant claims that the inner essence of Man is an immortal spiritual entity termed the “Soul,” or, more commonly, the “Immortal Soul.”

According to the Protestant.

The Protestant claims that the Soul is created by God, who subsequently imparts it to the body of the individual. Protestant Pulpits are divided as to the point at which the Soul supposedly is united with the body. Some claim that the union occurs at conception, others argue for the point of viability, still others say the union does not take place until birth. A relatively recent teaching rejects the involvement of God, and assigns to the gametes of the man and woman the ability to create a new “Immortal Soul.”

It is not uncommon to hear from the Protestant Pulpit the blasphemous assertion that, the Soul being “immortal,” even the Lord himself, the Creator, is unable to destroy a Soul.^[49]

According to the Scripture.

But the concept of the “Immortal Soul” has no Scriptural basis. The Scripture declares that Christ Jesus alone has immortality.^[50]

When the English word “soul” appears in Scripture, it translates the Greek word psuche, which means “creature” or “being.” Moreover, psuche is used of animals as well as of Man. Thus, a soul is simply a being of the Natural Realm. Man does not have a soul; rather, Man is a soul.

Spiritual Death

The concept of “Spiritual Death” is another denial of the reality of death; this also is an invention of the Protestant. According to the Protestant, man is composed of three components: Body, Soul, and Spirit. The Body is mortal; the Soul is immortal; the Spirit is dead, because of the Fall of Adam.^[51] It is vital to understand that the Spirit which the Protestant envisions as a component of the Soul is not the animating spirit.^[52]

The concepts of Spirit and spiritual death being mere fabrications which are foreign to the Scripture, the function attributed to the Spirit varies from one Protestant Pulpit to the next. Some Protestants claim the Spirit is the basis of fellowship with God. Though purportedly dead upon birth of the individual, the Spirit supposedly comes alive at the point of regeneration in those who are Saved.

The Day on Which Adam Died

The primary argument employed by the Protestant in defense of the doctrine of Spiritual Death is that Adam did not physically die on the day in which he partook of the forbidden fruit.^[53] Indeed, the day on which Adam died physically occurred many years later.^[54]

The reconciliation proposed by the Protestant is to assume that the penalty was death of a sort other than physical death. Accordingly, the Protestant Pulpit teaches that Adam died spiritually on the day in which he ate the fruit of the Tree of Life.

The Fiction of “Perfect Environment”

Protestants speak of an imaginary concept which they term “Perfect Environment.” The concept is imaginary because Perfect Environment does not exist, nor has it ever existed. Detached from reality, the Protestant argues that the Natural Realm, in its pristine state before the Fall of Adam, was a Perfect Environment, and thus was environmentally benign. They argue that, before the rebellion of Adam, even thorns did not exist.^[55] But such an assertion is absurd.

The truth of the matter is that the Natural Realm is a dangerous place to live, fraught with hazards. The Earth was not designed as a playpen. The Lord God built the Earth as a place in which men could work and be productive. Even the protected environment of the Garden in which the Lord placed Adam was not “childproof.” That is why, in the center of the Garden, the Lord placed the Tree of Life.

The Role of the Tree of Life

The seeming enigma regarding the day on which Adam died is easily resolved without need to invent a special category of death. The key is the realization that the fruit of the Tree of Life was essential to the diet of Adam and the Woman.^[56]

Despite the absurd and unsupported claims of some in the Protestant Pulpit, it is clear that Adam and the Woman were created mortal; they were subject to death.^[57] In the course of daily life in the Garden, Adam and the Woman suffered damage to the body. But, it is apparent that the fruit of the Tree of Life had properties of healing and rejuvenation.^[58] Therefore, so long as Adam and the Woman had access to the Tree of Life and could partake of its fruit, they could prolong their lives indefinitely, despite their mortality.^[59]

Execution of the Sentence of Death

On the day of the transgression, Adam and the Woman were driven out of the Garden, and an angelic guard was placed to prevent access to the Tree of Life.^[60] Denial of access to the Tree of Life was a death sentence, albeit the process of death took many years. The sentence was pronounced and executed on the day of the transgression; in that sense, Adam and the Woman did die on the very day they partook of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.^[61]

Denial of the Necessity of Resurrection

The Resurrection Out From the Dead is the great confidence of the Justified; it has been so since the time of Adam and the Woman in the Garden.^[62] Amazingly, the Protestant Faith denies the necessity of resurrection, doing so in at least two ways. The most obvious denial by the contemporary Protestant is substitution of the Rapture for the Resurrection. A less-obvious denial is embrace of the Talmudic concept of “Afterlife.”

The Rapture Deception

With clever selection of passages of the Scripture, and following the Dispensational scheme of Scofield, the contemporary Protestant Pulpit ignores the Resurrection, and focuses on a Protestant invention termed the “Rapture.” Only within the past several generations has the Rapture been taught by the Protestant Pulpit, so the details of the doctrine still vary from Pulpit to Pulpit. Following the teaching of Scofield, the contemporary Protestant Pulpit takes passages of Scripture which the Pulpit of past generations understood as pertaining to the Resurrection, and claims that the passages are descriptive of the Rapture.^[63]

Second-Class Saints.

According to the Protestant, the Rapture embraces only “Christians,” which is to say, only those who have been “saved” since the Day of Pentecost immediately following the Resurrection of Christ Jesus.^[64] Thus, while the Church supposedly is “caught up” in the Rapture, the so-called “Old Testament Saints” remain in the grave, awaiting resurrection. Having no Scriptural basis, Protestant teaching concerning the resurrection of “Old Testament Saints” is largely a matter of speculation, varying from Pulpit to Pulpit.

No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service.

The Rapture supposedly takes the “Soul” of the Christian directly into the presence of the Lord God, bypassing the transformation of the body from mortal corruptible flesh to immortal incorruptible spirit, which transformation is accomplished by the Resurrection.^[65] But, as Christ Jesus declared to Nicodemus, a creature of the Natural Realm neither cannot see the Kingdom of God, nor can he nor enter into the Kingdom.^[66] Of course, the spiritual birth, whereby a mortal man is transformed into a being of the Spirit Realm, does not occur until the Resurrection.^[67] Among even the greatest of the Justified—men such as Moses, David, Elijah, John the Baptizer, and Paul—none has yet ascended into Heaven.^[68] All of the Justified who have died lie asleep in the Grave, awaiting the Resurrection.^[69]

Enhancement of the Rapture.

Until recently, the Protestant Pulpit has been reticent regarding disposition of the body in the Rapture. However, as embrace of the concept of the Rapture grows, the Protestant Pulpit increasingly is claiming that the Rapture accomplishes the transformation of the body which formerly was attributed to the Resurrection. Accordingly, the claim is that those who are “Raptured” have no need of the Resurrection.

But only a generation or two ago, the Protestant Pulpit generally taught that the Rapture resulted in souls which were without a body in Heaven in the interval between the Rapture and the Resurrection. Accordingly, teachers often speculated that the Lord provides an “interim” body to circumvent the discomfort of “nakedness” while a soul is awaiting the Resurrection.

A Can of Worms.

The truth of the matter is that the Rapture, like other inventions of the Protestant, is a deception comprised of a tangle of incoherent lies. It is difficult to explain, analyze, and critique the concept of the Rapture, not only because the concept is full of internal contradiction, but also because the concept has several variants and still is evolving.

The “Afterlife”

Adding to the confusion of the Protestant concerning death is the fact that many Protestants envision an “Afterlife.” The Protestant concept of Afterlife is based upon misinterpretation of the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.^[70]

It Does Not Fit In.

In teaching the Parable, the Protestant Pulpit fails to relate the Afterlife to the Rapture or the Resurrection. The failure is understandable, simply because, even in the convoluted realm of Protestant Theology, there is no place for the concept of Afterlife. Not surprisingly, the Parable typically is taught in isolation, with no reference to other passages.

Supposedly, the Afterlife is a conscious state of existence into which the individual enters immediately upon death, as portrayed in the Parable. The good are transported to a place of torment, while the Wicked are transported to a place of bliss. Among the numerous and obvious defects of the concept of Afterlife is the absence of judgment. One contemporary Protestant Preacher, delivering the eulogy of a colleague, absurdly claimed that the man was escorted to Heaven by a cortege of angels.

Taken Out of Context.

The Protestant misconstrues the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus because the Protestant does not understand nature of the audience Jesus is addressing. Jesus is speaking to Talmudic Jews—wicked men who are hostile not only toward him, but also toward the Scripture. Jesus has no desire to correct the theological error of such men. In the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Jesus communicates a warning to the Talmudic Jew. The parable reflects Talmudic beliefs, not reality. Jesus employs Talmudic concepts with which the Jew is familiar in order to rebuke the Jew and reveal to him his impending doom. The images of the Parable are dripping with sarcasm.

The Talmudic Jew envisioned that at death he would be ushered into an everlasting and intimate relationship with Abraham. By means of the Parable, Jesus notifies the Talmudic Jew that the future is not going to be the future which he envisions. The fact that Jesus employs the erroneous Talmudic concepts of Afterlife and torture to communicate with the Talmudic Jew is not a validation of those concepts.

A Fantastic Misunderstanding.

Amazingly, the Protestant Pulpit claims that the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus provides the most comprehensive description of death and the Afterlife to be found in the Scripture. But that claim is based on ignorance. To make the claim, the Protestant Pulpit must cast aside many passages of Scripture which clearly and accurately explain the state of the dead. The Scripture leaves no doubt; the concept of “Afterlife” is nothing more than Talmudic myth.

The Protestant Conception of Hell

The term “hell” is an Old English word meaning a hole in the ground, or a grave; it properly translates the Greek word ades, which has the same meaning and often is transliterated “Hades.” The word ades also is used in the figurative sense to refer to the imaginary realm or abode of the dead, the so-called “Underworld.”

The Protestant conception of Hell involves also another Greek word, geenna, which is the name of the Valley of the Sons of Hinnon and commonly is transliterated “Gehenna.” The valley served as the municipal dump of the city of Jerusalem. Combustible refuse cast into Gehenna was consumed by the flames of fires which never were extinguished. Carcasses of animals and bodies of criminals cast into the valley were consumed by maggots, which ever were present. The combination of maggot and flame gave no quarter; the fate of anything cast into Gehenna was certain and utter destruction.

• The Prophecy of Jeremiah speaks of Gehenna in foretelling the utter contempt with which Judah would view Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, upon his death. Jehoiakim would receive “the burial of an ass, being drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.” Without ceremony, the carcass of Jehoiakim would be dragged out of the city and cast into Gehenna.^[71]

• The Prophecy of Isaiah portrays the Wicked as carcasses being devoured by maggots and flames.^[72]

• Christ Jesus likewise uses the devouring activity of the maggots and flames of Gehenna to portray the coming utter annihilation of the Wicked.^[73]

Another Blunder of Tyndale

In his English Bible, William Tyndale indiscriminately uses the English word “hell” to translate both geenna (Gehenna, the name of the valley of the Sons of Hinnon) and ades (the Grave). Thus does Tyndale, apparently with malice, confound and conflate the pair of terms. Whereas ades portrays death as a temporary state of sleep, geenna has in view the permanent, irreversible destruction of the Wicked and the Unsaved. No small amount of heresy and confusion has resulted from the confounding of the two entities. Regrettably, several generations of English Bibles have followed the precedent set by Tyndale.

Everlasting Torture

Oblivious to the conflation of geenna and ades, the Protestant has created an imaginary realm called “Hell,” in which he supposes that multiple billions of human beings shall be subjected to the most fiendish forms of torture for all of eternity. The basic assertions are two:

• Inasmuch as man has an Immortal Soul, death is not the cessation of existence. Rather, death is separation from God. All of the “Unsaved” shall live forever, albeit in Hell.^[74]

• Since the Immortal Soul cannot be destroyed, the penalty for sin is everlasting torture.

The reasoning of the Protestant is simplistic and without logic; it construes Gehenna, the portrayal of complete and irreversible destruction, as a mystical scene of everlasting torture.

Fundamental to the Protestant Faith.

It is no exaggeration to say that the doctrine of Everlasting Torture in Hell is foundational to the Protestant Faith; indeed, the doctrine is the primary motivator for Protestant Evangelism. One prominent Protestant Bible Teacher remarked on his daily radio broadcast that it is more important for a man to believe in Hell than for him to believe in God.

Perpetual Flames & Immortal Maggots.

The Protestant Pulpit portrays Hell as a place in which the Unsaved experience unceasing torture day and night for ever. In Hell, the agents of torture are two: flame and maggot. The flames of Hell burn perpetually and cannot be extinguished. The heat of the flames of Hell causes pain, but unlike the flames of the valley of Gehenna, the flames of Hell do not consume and reduce their victim to ash. The maggots of Hell are immortal, and have teeth with which to gnaw and tear skin. However, unlike the maggots of the valley of Gehenna, the maggots of Hell do not devour the victim.

Inept & Unethical.

It is obvious that the Protestant portrayal of Hell is the product of shoddy theology concocted by men wanting both in scholarship and in Scriptural ethics. A man rooted in the teaching of the Scripture knows from the declarations and examples of the Scripture that the practice of torture is incompatible with the character of the Lord God. And a man having even a modest scholastic bent is capable, by the simple process of comparison against Scripture, of culling from his English Bible the spurious documents which have led the Protestant to countenance the practice of torture.^[75] A competent and faithful Shepherd does not expose the Sheep to deceptive teaching.

Fear of Death

Most people fear death. Confronted with an adversary making demands and threatening lethal force, most people submit. Rulers well understand this fact.^[76] But when the Adversary is human government, the Justified need not submit, for the Lord Christ has set them free from the fear of death, and thus, free from enslavement by Caesar.

A Confidence Which Frees Man from Bondage to Caesar

A passage in the Epistle to the Hebrews^[77] explains how the Justified are set free from slavery to human government. But a deceitful rendering on the part of William Tyndale obscures the identity of the tyrant, and thus hinders many in escape from bondage.^[78]

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

The Slanderer is Not a “Fallen” Angel

In his English Bible, Tyndale transliterated the Greek word diabolos as “Devil,” instead of correctly translating it, “Slanderer.” In the Scripture, the word diabolos typically refers to a human entity,^[79] and often to the governments of men. It never refers to the mythical “fallen” angelic being which is an invention of the Protestant Pulpit.^[80]

Jesus Did Not “Destroy” the Slanderer

The death of Christ Jesus did not, as the King James Version reads, “destroy” the Slanderer. Rather, the death of Jesus “brought to naught” the Slanderer; the Greek verb is katargeo, meaning to neutralize, to bring to naught, to abrogate by revoking authority. The Slanderer in view here is Caesar, which is to say, human government. And until even the present day, Caesar still is alive and functioning.

A principal motive of Christ Jesus in enduring the agony of the torture stake (Greek, stauros^[81]) was to set free those who all their lifetime were held (Greek, enochos, meaning held in, bound by, liable to) in the condition of slavery. Jesus set free the Justified by the combination of the promise of resurrection and by taking away the authority of Caesar to inflict physical death. Caesar may kill the Justified, but not legitimately; and those whom Caesar kills die with the confidence of resurrection.

Only the Justified Receive Deliverance

Nor did the death of Jesus set free the entire populace of the Earth. The slaves liberated from fear of Caesar are the Justified of every historical age. Only the Justified have been taken out of the dominion of Caesar and made citizens of the Kingdom of Christ.^[82] The whole Earth is under the rule of the Kingdom of Heaven, but citizenship in the Kingdom is limited to the Justified.

Because only the Justified have the promise of Resurrection to Life Everlasting, only the Justified are liberated from the fear of Caesar. Caesar is the slave master who wields the “power of death.” While he is able to kill the body, Caesar is not able to destroy the identity of the individual.^[83] However, when Caesar kills anyone who is not numbered among the Justified (and therefore does not have the promise of resurrection), Caesar effectively ends the existence of the individual.

The Confidence of the Justified: The Promise of Resurrection

From Adam and the Woman in the Garden to the Christian of the present day, the Justified have placed confidence in the promise of resurrection to Life Everlasting. Paul refers to the Resurrection as the “confidence in the promise made of God unto our fathers, unto which our twelve tribes, earnestly serving night and day, hope to attain.”^[84] Confidence in the promise of resurrection imparted to the Justified of past generations the courage to perform the feats catalogued in the Eleventh Chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews.

Resurrection vs. Reanimation

Many Protestants do not have a clear understanding of the difference between resurrection and reanimation. The Scripture has accounts of many instances of reanimation. But, to the present day, there has been only one instance of resurrection.

Reanimation

The Scripture reports the reanimation of a number of mortals who have died. But they all remained mortal, and subsequently died again. In reanimating an individual, the Lord God causes the animating spirit to return to the mortal body of flesh.

Resurrection

The metamorphosis accomplished by the Resurrection is rather complex. On the one hand, the Resurrection is a mechanism of transformation; on the other hand, the Resurrection is a process of birth.

As a mechanism of transformation, the Resurrection transforms a chemical organism of the Natural Realm into a being of the Spirit Realm. Moreover, the Resurrection transforms a mortal creature to an immortal being. Finally, the Resurrection transforms a corruptible body, susceptible to impairment from injury, sickness, and age, into an incorruptible body. As a birth, the Resurrection is the means by which the Justified is born into the family of God as a mature Son.^[85]

Christ Jesus, the Firstborn from the Dead

The Resurrection is not something to be taken lightly; it is one of the greatest works of the Lord God. To date, only one individual has experienced the Resurrection Out From the Dead; that individual is Christ Jesus.^[86] Describing the resurrection of Christ Jesus by God the Father, the Scripture speaks of “the working of the strength of his might.”^[87]

The Sleep of Death

Over and over again, the Scripture states that death is the utter and permanent cessation of activity, and that the dead have neither consciousness nor thought processes. The Scripture says this for the Justified as well as for the Unjustified. However, the Justified die holding the promise of resurrection. For this reason, the Scripture portrays death as sleep; for the metaphor of sleep implies a future awakening. For the Justified, the awakening from the repose of sleep comes at the moment of resurrection.

The Unjustified also fall sleep and are awakened in a resurrection.^[88] But the resurrection of the Unjustified is not a transformation from mortal creature of the Natural Realm to immortal Son of God. Rather, it is a resurrection for the purpose of annihilation, much like the waking of a condemned prisoner who immediately is taken out of his cell and hanged.

Asleep in Jesus

The phrase “Asleep in Jesus” is a fitting epitaph for the Justified; this declaration should be on the grave marker of every Christian. With just three words, the phrase proclaims the truth, “I am a Christian. Having entered the Way of Life, and having persisted in the Way unto the end, I died in the confidence of being awakened in the Resurrection, when Christ Jesus returns to receive to himself his own.” The epitaph prompts the visitor to the grave site to investigate how he, too, upon death, may confidently sleep in Jesus, in assurance of the Resurrection.

Imperception of the Elapse of Time

The declaration of Paul, “absent from the body, face-to-face with the Lord,”^[89] generally has been construed as teaching that there is no loss of consciousness upon death,^[90] and that, immediately upon death, the Justified are transported to Heaven. But such teaching constitutes denial of the Resurrection.

The reality is that, at the moment the animating spirit departs the body, consciousness ceases, along with the very existence of the individual. But, upon awakening in the Resurrection, the Christian is not aware that time has elapsed. When Paul, who died roughly two thousand years ago, awakens in the Resurrection, it will seem to him as if he had died only a moment before. The point Paul is making is that death—the state he describes as “absent from the body”—is not to be dreaded. Indeed, for Paul, death was welcome, for it would bring to an end the great physical pain Paul was experiencing from the injuries he suffered in the numerous attempts of the Talmudic Jew to murder him.

“Soul Sleep”: A Straw Man

In its teaching regarding death, the Protestant Pulpit loves to berate and belittle the Christian who, citing the Scripture, points out that the dead are inactive and are devoid of consciousness and thought processes. This state of the dead, which is the state of non-existence awaiting the Resurrection, the Protestant Pulpit vigorously denies, terming it “Soul Sleep.”

But the label “Soul Sleep” is disingenuous and of the category straw man. It is designed to make the gainsayer appear to be a fool, and to dissuade investigation of the matter with open Bible and readiness to accept truth.^[91] The Christian is not arguing that the “Immortal Soul” enters repose upon death of the individual, for he recognizes that the concept of the “Immortal Soul” is but a fiction of the Protestant, having no reality.

Conclusion

The Christian who understands the nature of death does not fear death. He understands that death is but a sleep from which he shall be awakened by the Lord, Christ Jesus, when Jesus personally comes to resurrect the Justified.^[92] The Christian dies in the confidence that the Lord shall be faithful to his word:

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

John 14:1–3