Milo

Is the soul conscious after death? This is not a new question. For centuries there have been certain religionists who have contended that the soul existed after death but that it was not conscious. Upon investigation, some of you may be surprised to know of the wide-spread belief in the teaching of the sleeping of the soul. Because of the universal interest in the whereabouts of the dead, false sects prey upon the public, claiming complete knowledge of the subject. Such groups as Jehovah’s Witnesses, spiritualists and others have spread the sophistical conclusion that at death the body returns to dust and the soul becomes unconscious.

Such statements as the following are but a few of the distortions and perversions of the Holy Scriptures that have to do with the soul after death. “At death, it is not the body but the soul which dies.” “The interim from death until the soul is resurrected is one of unconsciousness.” “Even the apostles were unconscious for centuries.” These assertions are being made by the advocates of the teachings of Russell and Rutherford, but they are the views of the men themselves, imposed upon the Holy Scriptures. These ideas were read into the Bible, but were never in the mind of the inspired writers.

Man Is Created to Endless Existence 

Every human being enters the world possessed with endless existence. It is true that at death the soul is separated from the body. It is not consistent with the teaching of the Bible to say that at death the soul lapses into a state of complete unconsciousness or even into a deep sleep. If at first glance it would seem that the Bible teaches this, then we will do well to examine those passages where death is referred to as sleep. The few texts that mendacious scholars have dislodged from their context in order to prove that physical death is the cessation of all consciousness can be easily and understandingly explained when interpreted in the light of the many other passages that deal with this subject.

In Ecclesiastes we read “The dead know not anything” (Ecclesiastes 9:5). Certainly we all agree that a dead and deteriorating body has absolutely no consciousness of anything past, present, or future. But are the advocates of “soul-sleep” justified in using the above text as evidence of the unconscious state of the soul after death? We believe that this method using a text to support a false theory that elsewhere is denied in Scripture, proves that those who stoop to such methods either are untruthful or deficient. Those who teach “soul-sleep” will find it quite difficult to harmonize their views with other statements that are made by the same writer of Ecclesiastes:

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God Who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7).

All go unto one place; for all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again (Ecclesiastes 3:20).

Now we know that this verse is speaking of the body, for in the next verse we read:

Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward? (Ecclesiastes 3:21).

Only Man’s Body Dies (or sleeps)

In Scripture we read that man sleeps, but the sleep always is identified with the body. Never once does the Bible refer to the soul sleeping. Where some fall into danger is in identifying man merely with his body and in ignoring the fact that he is a triune being. Man is a trinity; body, soul and spirit. Now the body is not the whole man. Therefore it cannot be concluded that the death of the body is the death of the whole man.

Another misconstrued verse is found in the prophecy of Daniel where we read:

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:2).

Some scholars question whether this verse has anything to do with physical resurrection. Dr. A. C. Gaebelein in his commentary on Daniel says that if physical resurrection were taught in this verse, the passage would clash with the revelation concerning resurrection in the New Testament, for there is no general resurrection for the righteous and wicked together. “We repeat the passage has nothing to do with physical resurrection. Physical resurrection is, however, used as a figure of the national revival of Israel in that day. They have been sleeping nationally in the dust of the earth, buried among the Gentiles. But at that time there will take place a national restoration, a bringing together of the house of Judah and of Israel. 

It is the same figure as used in the vision of the dry bones in Ezekiel 37. This vision is employed by men who have invented the theory of a second chance and larger hope for the wicked dead to back up their evil teaching; but anyone can see that it is not a bodily resurrection, but a national revival and restoration of that people. Their national graves, not literal burying places, will be opened and the Lord will bring them forth out of all the countries into which they have been scattered. The same distinction holds good which we have already pointed out. The great mass of Jews, who cast their belief in God and His Word to the winds, who accepted the man of sin and acknowledged the wicked King, will face everlasting contempt, but the remnant will possess all things promised to them and become the heirs of that Kingdom, which is prepared from the foundation of the world. And besides the national blessing which they receive, they will be in possession of everlasting life, for they are born again.” We have given this rather lengthy quotation for the reason that some readers may not be acquainted with this view.

However, even if the above interpretation of verse two is not correct, but a physical resurrection is intended, certainly Daniel would not be referring to anything except the resurrection of the body. We are not to conclude for his body.

I recently attended the funeral Mass of a dear Catholic lady. It was a sad occasion. In the last weeks of her life, I had tried to share the good news of Jesus Christ with her. I told her of God’s free offer of eternal life and encouraged her to read the Gospel of John, supplying her with a Bible. She said she believed in Christ, but I had my doubts. When she was asked about salvation, her reply was always a confused mixture of Christ and self, faith and works, grace and merit. The Bible I had given her was never opened. Nevertheless, when a person is dying, one hopes for the best, knowing God to be gracious and merciful.

What little confidence I had that she might personally know Christ evaporated at her funeral. Father Harry, her parish priest, told the congregation of his last visit to see her. He was struck by how she had boldly faced death. As he entered her room, she looked him straight in the eye, saying, “I know I am dying. I have only a short time to live.” She then made her last request, saying, “Give me the works, Father.”

Father Harry knew exactly what she meant: confession, communion, and the anointing of the sick. The trilogy of sacraments known as the Last Rites. “The works,” as she put it.

Sadly, in Father Harry’s report of their conversation, there was no mention of the Worker, the Lord Jesus who gave His life for us on the cross. There was no reference to His finished work or of God’s free offer of salvation. No, the priest gave her what she requested, “the works,” and she died peacefully a few days later, thinking she was right with God. As with so many Catholics, the sacraments of the Church had lulled her into a false confidence, and she quietly slipped into the next life and the judgment that awaits.

Her funeral clearly presented Rome’s false gospel, as does every Catholic funeral Mass.
Even the Scripture readings used in the rite can be misleading.

I remember my mother’s funeral. My family asked if I would be willing to read the Scriptures. It was a kind, well-intentioned gesture, my family being fully aware of my rejection of the Roman Catholic faith. I wanted to honour my mother and please my family, but not willing to participate in a Catholic Mass, I had to decline.

Some were angered, but I held my ground. I could not take part in a Catholic Mass even by reading the Scriptures. The unbiblical worship of bread and wine and the alleged sacrifice of Christ for the sins of the living and the dead that take place at every Mass precluded my participation.

My mother’s funeral confirmed that I had made the right decision. There I learned that the “Scriptures” I had been asked to read weren’t Scriptures at all. They were the Catholic Apocrypha, having been selected from the Book of Wisdom. The passage heralded Rome’s false gospel that good people go to heaven:

But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure was taken from misery: And their going away from us, for utter destruction: but they are in peace. And though in the sight of men they suffer torments, their hope is full of immortality. Afflicted in a few things, in many they shall be well rewarded: because God hath tried them, and found them worthy of himself. (Wisdom 3:1-5)

The inspired Scriptures speak to the contrary: No one is personally worthy of God (Romans 3:10-12). It is only in Christ that one can stand blameless before a holy God and be accepted (Ephesians 1:3-8; Jude 24).

I thank God that despite the false gospel proclaimed at my mother’s Catholic funeral, she died with a true knowledge of both her own sinfulness and God’s perfect solution. In the weeks preceding her death, she had put her faith in Christ who died for her, taking her punishment (Mark 10:45). Shortly before my mother died, she carefully wrote out a sinner’s prayer. Her hope was that her family would clearly know where the hope of salvation lay. It read:

Lord Jesus! I need you. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive you as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins. Take control of my life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

That this is not the Roman Catholic gospel can be clearly seen in the Church’s funeral liturgy. There eternal salvation is presented as a merited reward to be received by worthy people. Consider, for example, the selection of prayers provided by the Catholic Church to tailor the funeral rite to the particular circumstances of the deceased. If the person (we will call him John) had been a Catholic priest, the liturgy instructs the minister conducting the funeral to pray:

Lord God, you chose our brother John to serve your people as a priest and to share the joys and burdens of their lives. Look with mercy on him and give him the reward of his labours, the fullness of life promised to those who preach your holy Gospel. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

This prayer asks God to give the deceased priest what he deserves, “the reward of his labours,
the fullness of life.”

Should the deceased be even more deserving, a bishop, for example, the liturgy instructs
the minister to pray: 

Almighty and merciful God, eternal Shepherd of your people, listen to our prayers and grant that your servant, John, our bishop, to whom you entrusted the care of this Church, may enter the joy of his eternal Master, there to receive the rich reward of his labours. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

This is another give-him-what-he-deserves prayer, asking God to allow the bishop to “. . . enter the joy of his eternal Master, there to receive the rich reward of his labours.”
The same kind of prayer is found in the funeral rite of a pope:

O God, from whom the just receive an unfailing reward, grant that your servant John, our Pope, whom you made vicar of Peter and shepherd of your Church, may rejoice forever in the vision of your glory, for he was a faithful steward here on earth of the mysteries of your forgiveness and grace. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

This prayer asks God to grant the deceased pope the reward of rejoicing forever “in the vision of your glory.” The pope should receive this privilege not because he trusted the blood of Christ to save him, but because the deceased pope “was a faithful steward.”

One might wonder what the writers of the liturgy would do if called upon to compose a prayer for the funeral of a genuine, poor lost sinner with no merits of his own. Ironically, the funeral liturgy provides one such prayer. It is for a person who has ended his life by his own hand.
Suicide is generally considered to be a mortal sin. The prayer reads:

God, lover of souls, you hold dear what you have made and spare all things, for they are yours. Look gently on your servant John, and by the blood of the cross forgive his sins and failings.

This prayer drops all pretence of the sinner deserving heaven. It pleads the biblical basis for forgiveness: the blood of Christ (Revelation 1:5). Tragically, however, the message is too late for the deceased. After death comes judgment (Hebrew 9:27). And even “the works” won’t get a Catholic into heaven who hasn’t trusted Christ in this life, renouncing dependence for salvation upon the Catholic Church, the sacraments, good works, and personal righteousness.

This chapter is an endeavour to write a statement of the most solemn doctrine in all the Bible. When I first attempted to preach on this subject some years ago, invariably I found myself asking God for tenderness in presenting it. Today I must confess that there still lingers an averseness on my part to declare that there is no hope that any measure of divine grace or mercy ever will be extended to one person after death, but that there is rather a fearful anticipation of retribution in the lake of fire. This averseness to assert the divine claims about Hell is not the result of waning convictions or of doubts concerning the reality and literalness of the everlasting misery of the unsaved. Contrariwise, the growing convictions and God-given confirmations of the endless agony of the wicked dead cause me to tremble at the horrible thought of damned souls in flames of torment forever.

Hell–An Unpopular Subject

I am aware of the fact that this subject is an unpopular one. Since those memorable days when Jonathan Edwards preached that potent and moving sermon on “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” the doctrine of the eternal retribution of the lost has gradually gone into obscurity. A daily newspaper printed the following on May 29, 1944. “A Navy chaplain said today some naval officers forbade chaplains to tell their men they were in danger of Hell. The chaplain, Frederick Volbeda, of Washington, a veteran of Pearl Harbour, said his own commanding officer once heard him preach repentance and actual punishment and swore he would ‘have no hell-fire preaching on this ship.’” Chaplain Volbeda made his report at the 84th annual General Assembly of the Southern Presbyterian Church.

When Irvin S. Cobb, the internationally famous humourist and writer, died in March 1944, he referred to Heaven as “a powerfully dull place, populated to a considerable and uncomfortable degree by prigs, time servers and unpleasantly aggressive individuals,” and then he added that “Hell may have a worse climate but undoubtedly the company is sprightlier.” Of course, Cobb did not believe in Hell, for he insisted that those in charge of his burial “avoid reading the so-called Christian burial service, which, in view of the language employed in it, I regard as one of the most cruel and paganish things inherited by our forebears from our remote pagan ancestry. Instead, let the 23rd Psalm be read. This has no threat of eternal hell-fire.”

Irvin Cobb was doubtless a success as a humourist, but no amount of jocose treatment of Hell can deliver him from the anguish and agony of his soul today. The best this wit and humourist could say about our Lord Jesus Christ was that He was “the greatest gentleman that ever lived.” To all such flattery and humanism our Lord only answers: “Ye must be born again.” On this vital and eternal issue Cobb declared himself. If he died denying every fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith, how solemn will be his day of accounting for casting such aspersions. God brands all who reject and ridicule His Word as “raging waves of the sea foaming out their own shame, . . . to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever” (Jude 13). Someday the tables will be turned, and “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh” (Psalm 2:4).

Our hearts go out in sympathy and pity for Cobb and the millions like him who died unbelievers and passed consciously into an endless eternity and the hell-fire they scoffed and denied.

Mr. Cobb requested that at his funeral the Twenty-Third Psalm be read because it contains “no threat of eternal hell-fire.” We do not propose a debate on the theological content of this best loved Psalm of David, but we can say without fear of contradiction that Cobb’s knowledge of the Bible was the result of a prejudiced investigation, to say the least. The Author of the Shepherd-Psalm is also the Author of all that the world knows about the future life, and eschatology of the Holy Scriptures is not silent on the doctrine of the eternal retribution of the unbelieving and wicked dead in a place of torment.

False Theories

Many conflicting theories have been formed regarding this subject. Of course, those mentioned under the above heading are human theories that have not the support of the Word of God. Here we can do little more than make a passing reference to these man-made ideas These are Conditional Immortality, Universalism and The Restoration Theory.

1. Conditional Immortality.This theory is built on the error that all who do not receive everlasting life will die as the animals and be annihilated or wiped out of existence. It contends that immortality is conditional upon receiving the gift of everlasting life. If anyone dies not having the gift of everlasting life he shall not be punished with everlasting torment. He shall be annihilated.
2. Universalism.The universalistic theory holds the idea of universal redemption. For example, a certain number of Scripture references are used to prove that Christ died for all men alike. Therefore, all men alike shall be saved in the end. Universalism uses such texts as Paul’s when he said: “We preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (Colossians 1:28). Certainly, the Apostle could not have meant that he expected every man that ever came into the world to be made perfect in Christ. The words “every man” could refer only to those to whom Paul addressed his Epistle; namely, “To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ” (1:2). This theory does not deny that all men are lost by sin, but it contends that all men will finally be saved and enter into everlasting life. Universalism falls when it overlooks the Biblical fact that salvation and everlasting life are applied to no one apart from his personal acceptance of it as a divinely bestowed gift to “whosoever will.”
3. The Restoration Theory.This view, called by some Restitutionism, appeals to the universalist in that it does not deny that all men are lost, but that sometime, somewhere, all creation (including Satan and the fallen angels) will be restored or reconciled to God. Being contrary to reason and common sense, the average person labels this view as preposterous. But let us look at two texts that are used to form the basis of the false view of Restitutionism. The words of our Lord are quoted: “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me” (John 12:32). We must exercise care that these words of Christ do not lead us to believe the heretical teaching of Restitutionism. Our Saviour never meant that all men finally shall be saved by His crucifixion. Dr. A. C. Gaebelein in his commentary on “The Gospel of John” says: “The analogy of other texts shows plainly that the only reasonable sense is that Christ’s crucifixion would have a ‘drawing’ influence on men of all nations, Gentiles as well as Jews.” But it is quite possible also that this verse has a future application. In the preceding verse (31) which was given in connection with verse thirty-two, Jesus spoke of the future when “the prince of this world shall be cast out.” Of a truth, in that day “all men” will be drawn unto Him. 

Another favourite text used by the Restitutionists is one of Peter’s statements given in his second sermon after Pentecost. The Apostle said:

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began (Acts 3:19-21).

Again, the teachers of this false doctrine have seized upon a phrase and have deliberately torn it from its context to make it fit their scheme of thought. The phrase “restitution of all things” cannot be interpreted correctly if applied to any other than the house of Israel. Remember, it is to Israel that Peter is addressing his message. His introductory statement was: “Ye men of Israel” (vs. 12). It is the restitution of all things for Israel when Christ comes to restore the nation to which the apostle is referring. Furthermore, it is to be the “restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets.” Immediately we are limited in defining Peter’s statement, for we must confine it to the restitution (or restoration) of which the prophets spoke. Frequently the prophets wrote of the restoration of Israel to the land of Palestine, but nowhere in the prophetic writings have we ever come across so much as an inference that the wicked dead ever will be saved. 

Restitutionism depends largely upon that mighty statement uttered by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:10, 11, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” This passage means that all creation, whether animate or inanimate, in heaven, on earth, or under the earth, will confess (or publicly declare) and thereby agree to the testimony that God the Father has given of His Son. There is not the slightest indication that all men who acknowledge the authority of Christ must be saved or that they will be saved. While our Lord was here on earth the demons frequently acknowledge His authority (see Mark 1:24, 34; 3:11, 12), and we know that everlasting fire is prepared for the Devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41).

Arguing Against Hell from the Love of God

We hear it said often that God is too tender, kind, and forgiving to allow men to suffer in Hell. Pleading the love and pity of God, men insist that He would not allow His creatures to perish. There are many beautiful and sentimental sayings about the love of God that are quoted to support the view that He would not allow one soul to suffer torment in eternity. But we dare never lose sight of the fact that one’s escape from Hell is not dependent upon the love of God but upon the repentance and faith of each individual person. God is love, to be certain, but man also has a free will. Men are not doomed and damned to Hell by God, but they go there because they have wilfully rejected God’s only way of escape from sin’s penalty, saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. God was love in the Old Testament times, and yet the children of Israel were punished for their sins. God is love now, but He does not open the doors of penal institutions to deliver those who are being punished for their crimes. It is but the fair treatment of society to protect it against the persistent wrong doings of the criminal, and certainly Heaven would not be safe nor desirable if there were no protection against sin and crime. It would seem to the writer that God owes it to the faithful believers that the wicked be separated from them in Heaven. It would be an insult to the justice and honour of God were He to allow the unrighteous and unholy rejectors of Jesus Christ to share eternally the abode and “the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

The natural and inevitable consequence of sin is punishment. Proper punishment of a child does not derogate from the love of the parent. Sin condemns just as sure as fire burns, and God is justified in putting into effect the immortal law that “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:8).

Hell – A Literal Place of Future Punishment

Some people engage themselves in much wishful thinking about Hell. It has been said that the fires of Hell mean the torments of conscience. Others say that Hell is simply the grave. We do not question that the torments of conscience will be included in the eternal punishment of the lost, though Hell will not be the torments of conscience only. But we cannot agree at all with those who teach that Hell is simply the grave. One must be either a deceiver or an illiterate to say that Hell is the grave. When the unsaved rich man died, he went to Hell, and cried: “I am tormented in this flame” (Luke 16:24). Certainly, he was not merely in the grave. He had five brothers whom he desired to be saved lest they also should come to that place of torment. Now if his five brothers would have repented and become saved, their conversion could not have kept them from the grave, for “it is appointed unto men once to die” (Hebrews 9:27). Repentance and conversion will keep one from Hell but never from the grave. The bodies of all men, excepting those believers who are alive when Christ comes, will return to the dust. Hell is not the grave. The body of the rich man was dead, but that man knew that his soul was in a literal place and not merely in a spiritual state.

Notice the use of the word “fire,” which denotes that the fire of Hell is as literal as the place itself. Repeatedly our Lord and the apostles spoke of the fire of Hell.

But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire (Matthew 5:22).

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire (Matthew 7:19).

The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:41, 42).

Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire (Matthew 18:8, 9).

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41).

            Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:44).

And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame (Luke 16:24).

In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:8).

And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire (Jude 6, 7).

The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb (Revelation 14:10).

Therefore, shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her (Revelation 18:8).

And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone (Revelation 19:20).

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever (Revelation 20:10).

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14, 15).

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death (Revelation 21:8).

You may study these statements and believe them, or else you may pass them by. You may believe that the Bible is for today, or else you may laugh at it as a bit of obsolete dogma. But today you are face to face with eternal statements in the Word of God which will survive the heavens and the earth. Your unbelief cannot disprove nor alter them. When the resurrected physical bodies of the unbelievers of every age leave the Judgment of the Great White Throne, they will go into a literal Hell of fire.

And be sure that the body will share with the soul in its suffering. Jesus said: “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:28, 29). May we ask what part of man is in the grave? We all agree that it is his body. Therefore, we can depend on Christ’s statement that that part of man that is buried in the grave will come forth to be damned eternally.

Will Future Punishment be Endless?

At death the eternal state of each person is immutably fixed. The words “eternal,” “everlasting,” “for ever” and “for ever and ever” express endless duration. The New Testament use of these expressions denotes eternity. It is unreasonable to assume that there is an eternal Heaven but not an eternal Hell. Eternal punishment is as much a truth of God’s Word as is the eternal rewards for the righteous. Jesus said: “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 25:46). The life of the righteous is everlasting, but so is the punishment of the wicked everlasting. The Bible says that salvation is eternal (Hebrews 5:9), life is eternal (John6:54), redemption is eternal (Hebrews 9:12), and the inheritance of the saints is eternal (Hebrews 9:15). But it says also that the fire of Hell is eternal and everlasting (Matthew 18:8; Jude 7); the chains of Hell are everlasting (Jude 6); the blackness of darkness is for ever (Jude 13), and the torment is for ever and ever (Revelation 20:10). The punishment of the wicked and the life of the righteous are for equal duration, “for ever and ever.”

Where is Hell?

Here we cannot be dogmatic. This question cannot be answered fully. Geographically Hell cannot be located. The old theory that is held by many is that Hell is in the heart of the earth. A brief article appeared in “Moody Monthly” (July 1940) in which the author sought to locate Hell. The following is a brief summary of that article.

It is clear that Hell is not in this earth. The Apostle Peter speaks of the day when the earth is to be dissolved by fire:

The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved…. Nevertheless we, according to His promise look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness (2 Peter 3:10-13).

We are not persisting in this view of the geographical location of Hell, for the Bible gives us no positive declarative statement of its situation. Where this outer darkness is, where the endless fire is, where Hell is we do not know, nor must we know. It is sufficient to say that Hell is a prepared place, and experientially it is at the end of every unsaved sinner’s life.

Come sinners, seek His grace 
Whose wrath ye cannot bear; 
Flee to the shelter of His cross, 
And find salvation there.

Death is like a rude visitor. It sometimes arrives unannounced. Other times, we see it coming. It does not care about our feelings. It takes no concern for the inconvenience it brings. It wants only to be served and to be answered. It takes who it wants and all we can do is sit helplessly by as it stomps through our lives making a mess of our emotions, wreaking havoc with those who are left to pick up the pieces. Death brings discomfort and inconvenience. It injures our hearts, robs us of joy, and takes from us our loved ones.

Death comes for whom it will and we cannot escape its touch. It will come for us all one day and with its grip we will be dragged from this life into the next. We will pass through the veil when death’s sleep awakens and we too awaken — on the other side. For those of us who are in Christ, when death comes we will dwell in the very presence of God and live in eternal grace. But for those who do not know Christ, their death will bring agonizing, eternal fire. These are the realities that death introduces to those who are captured by it.

Our mortality becomes all the more evident when a loved one dies. We are reminded of the failings of our own bodies when we look at the frail and empty shell of the one we have loved. We are reminded of where we are headed. We see the horizon as it approaches. Sometimes we look away. Other times we stare out into the distance wondering when and how it will come. We wait. We know it will come because we sense its work on our bodies as they slowly succumb to its touch. We ache, slow down, get sick, and endure the frame that imprisons us.

Yet, as rude as death can be, for some it is a welcome release from sickness and pain. For those who have been captured by suffering and have been forced to endure its torture, death can be a welcomed deliverance. But, of course, death is only welcome when we know that the ones we love know Christ as Savior. Even great suffering in this world is nothing compared to the eternal judgment that will fall like a hammer upon all who are not in Christ in the next world. 
Death will visit us all. Where will it take you? Are you secure in Christ? Have you confessed Him as Savior and trusted in Him alone for the forgiveness of your sins? Have you gone to Him and found rest and peace in Him so that when death visits you, it will bring you to Him? Now is the time of salvation. Death comes later.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,”  Rom. 6:23

The resurrection of Jesus is a fundamental and essential doctrine of Christianity. The resurrection of Jesus is so important that without it Christianity is false. Paul said in 1 Cor. 15:14, “and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.” Three verses later, in verse 17, he again says, “and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.” Though there are many subjects with which Christians may disagree and still be considered Christian, this is not one of them. To deny the resurrection of Jesus is to deny the heart of Christianity itself.

However, the problem in the resurrection isn’t so much in agreeing that Jesus rose, but in how He rose. Unfortunately, cults attack the resurrection of Christ and reinterpret it in different ways, thereby denying His physical resurrection. We must ask if Jesus rose from the dead in the very same body He died in or did His rise in a spirit body that was not flesh and bones? The answer to this question is vital. It separates true Christians from false systems. Therefore, here is the correct doctrine of Christ’s resurrection. I consider it so important, that it must be set off by itself as a statement of truth.

Jesus rose from the dead in the very same physical body that He died in. This resurrected body was a glorified, spiritual body.

The above statement is the correct doctrine of scripture. As such, it stands against the Jehovah’s Witness and the Shepherd’s Chapel groups that state that Jesus did not rise bodily, but spiritually. Neither group seeks to deny the obvious biblical declaration of Christ’s resurrection, but they change the meaning of the resurrection so that it really didn’t happen. Did Jesus rise from the dead in the same physical body He died in? Yes!

After the resurrection Jesus was able to eat (Luke 24:4243). He showed people His hands and feet with the nail prints in them (Luke 24:51; John 20:27), and people even grabbed His feet and worshipped Him (Matt. 28:9). After the reports of Jesus’ resurrection were spreading, Thomas, who was doubting the resurrection of Christ, said, “Unless I shall see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe,” (John 20:25). Later, Jesus appeared to Thomas and said to him, “Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing,” (John 20:27).

If Jesus’ body had not risen, then He would not have feet and hands with the same holes of the nails of the crucifixion. Consider the following verses as further proof that His very body was raised:

“When therefore it was evening, on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and *said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples therefore rejoiced when they saw the Lord,” (John 20:19-20).

“And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39″See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” (Luke 24:38-39).

It is obvious that Jesus was raised in the same body He died in, with the same holes in His hands and feet. We see that Jesus proclaimed He had flesh and bones? Does a “spirit body” consist of flesh and bones? Not at all.
I have heard it said that Jesus physical body died but His spiritual body was raised. If this is so, then does the spiritual body consist of flesh and bones as well as the physical one? It makes no sense. Also, if Jesus did not rise physically, then what happened to His body? Was it dissolved? Was it moved somewhere? There is no biblical account of what happened to Jesus’ body other than that it was raised from the dead. Therefore, His body was raised from the dead.

John 2:19-21

“Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews therefore said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body,” (John 2:19-21).

The phrase “I will raise” is translated from the single Greek word “egeiro.” “Egeiro” is the future, active, indicative, 1st person singular. The active voice in Greek designates who is performing the action. In this case, since it is first person, singular (“I”), Jesus is saying that He Himself would perform the action of the resurrection. This is precisely what the Greek says.

However, some still deny that Jesus rose from the dead physically — even when examining John 2:19-21. We can clearly see that Jesus prophesied that He would raise up the temple of His body as is clarified in verse 21 by John the apostle who states that Jesus was speaking of “the temple of his body.” Therefore, this should be conclusive proof that Jesus rose from the dead in the same body He died in. Clearly, John 2:19-21 shows us that Jesus predicted He would raise His very body — and He did so. Is this enough to put this issue to rest? You’d think so, but resistance persists.

1 Cor. 15:35, 39, 42-44

35But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?. . .39All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. . .42So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; 43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

Verse 44 above is used in an attempt to establish the idea that Jesus did not rise physically, but spiritually. Of course, I’ve already established above that Jesus was raised in the same body He died in, with the same holes in His hands and feet. We also saw that Jesus proclaimed He had flesh and bones (Luke 24:39). Again, does a “spirit body” consist of flesh and bones? The scripture no where declares such a thing.
Paul is not stating that there are two separate bodies to each person, the physical and the spiritual and that after the physical one dies, the second and different spirit body takes over. Rather, when referencing the same body he states, “it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body,” (v. 44). The “it” is referring to the same body in both clauses, not separate and different ones. This same body becomes a resurrected body — which is the spiritual body He is referring to. In other words, the spiritual body is the very same body he previously had, though it had been changed into a spiritual one.

“For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory,” (1 Cor. 15:53-54).

Our perishable and mortal bodies put on the imperishable and immortal aspects of the spiritual body which is the physically resurrected and changed body of the believer. Jesus was simply the first fruits of this resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20). Therefore, we can see that our future resurrected bodies will be spiritual bodies. But, those spiritual bodies are in fact physical, the same bodies we have now, only glorified. Otherwise, there is no resurrection.