Guide to God, part 29/41: One Life
- From: "Beelzebull" <beelzebull@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 5 Nov 2005 06:33:36 -0500
Guide to God, part 29/41: One Life
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One Life
One Time In The Flesh: "...it is appointed for men to die
once, but after this the judgement,..." [Hebrews 9:27]
"For He remembered that they were but flesh, a breath that
passes away and does not come again." [Psalm 78:39] "For
dust you are, and to dust you shall return." [Genesis 3:19]
The word of God makes it plain that man comes from the dust
and returns to the dust -- that is his beginning and his
end. When a man dies, his flesh returns to the dust and
his spirit is kept by God for the appointed time of his
resurrection from the death state. There are two
resurrections: The resurrection of the Saints; and the
resurrection unto judgement (see Revelation 20 for details).
Death And Resurrection: There are two deaths -- the First
Death and the Second Death. The First Death is the death
of the flesh; the Second Death is the death of the spirit.
The First Death is temporary; the Second Death is permanent.
There are two resurrections -- the First Resurrection and
the Second Resurrection. The First Resurrection is of the
Saints for the purpose of ruling the earth during The
Millennium; the Second Resurrection is of those who are
subject to the Day of Judgement. It should be noted that
the spirit of man is non-physical; no one -- except God --
has power over the spirit; and only God alone can clothe the
spirit with a new body, which is often referred to as being
resurrected from death.
Reincarnation: Reincarnation is the rebirth of a soul in
a new body. To understand reincarnation, one must know
what a "soul" is; unfortunately, the word "soul" is very
ambiguous. I know nothing about reincarnation, but I have
a few innocent questions regarding it:
Q1: Is a soul physical or non-physical?
Q2: Is a soul mortal or immortal?
Q3: Is the universe mortal or immortal?
Q4: Can souls exist outside of the universe?
Q5: If the universe is not immortal, but souls are, where
were the souls before the universe came into being?
Q6: Is there a fixed number of souls, or can new souls be
born? If new souls can be born, what is the process
by which this happens?
Q7: According to the law of multiplication, there has
never been as much life on the earth as there is now:
Where did all these extra souls come from?
Q8: During World War II, when the atomic bomb was used
on Japan, what happened to the thousands of souls
which were instantly atomized?
Q9: Is the process of reincarnation governed by a system
of laws? If so, how did those laws arise? And why
did they arise? In other words, what caused them to
arise?
Q10: If reincarnation is a reality, why are people
reluctant to believe such claims?
Q11: If reincarnation is a reality, why are the law
courts not filled with people claiming belongings
from their former life?
Q12: If reincarnation is a reality, then there is no
death; if there is no death, why, according to the
word of God, is there a resurrection of the dead?
Q13: If reincarnation is a reality, why do people fear
death?
It seems to me that reincarnation is upheld by those who
fear the finality of death. Or perhaps it is natural for
men to feel immortal, God having put eternity into their
hearts: "He has made everything beautiful in its time.
Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no
one can find out the work that God does from beginning to
end." [Ecclesiastes 3:11]
Reincarnation And God: If you believe in both reincarnation
and God, please consider the following Scripture: "For the
living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing,
and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is
forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy
have now perished; nevermore will they have a share in
anything done under the sun." [Ecclesiastes 9:5-6] Note
the passage "nevermore will they have a share in anything
done under the sun"; "under the sun" means "on the earth".
Thus, once we suffer death, we do not return to the flesh.
Here is what happens at the point of death: "Then the dust
(body) will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit
will return to God who gave it." [Ecclesiastes 12:7]
Remember that it was God who made man of dust and gave him
the spirit/breath of life: "And the LORD God formed man of
the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life; and man became a living being."
[Genesis 2:7]
Immortal Soul: Does man possess an immortal soul? "For
this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal
must put on immortality." [1 Corinthians 15:53] If man
already has an immortal soul, why would he need to "put on
immortality"? "And do not fear those who kill the body but
cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to
destroy both soul and body in hell." [Matthew 10:28] If
man already has an immortal soul, how can God kill it in
hell?
Second Chance: There are those who believe that, after
death, they will be granted a second opportunity at life:
This, however, is false. "And as it is appointed for men to
die once, but after this the judgement,..." [Hebrews 9:27]
As you can see, death is followed by the Judgement; and the
Judgement determines if you receive life eternal or death
eternal -- based on your works in the flesh: "The sea gave
up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up
the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one
according to his works. And anyone not found written in the
Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire (hell, which is
death eternal). This is the second death."
[Revelation 20:13,15] To receive life, all you have to
do is ask God for it; to receive death, you need not do
anything -- death is by default. Note, however, when you
ask God for life, He expects you to begin your journey upon
the straight and narrow path which leads to life eternal:
The Ten Commandments. Reasonable questions: If there were
a second chance at life, what then is the purpose of this
existence? If we failed to achieve life the first time,
how will we achieve life the second time, considering the
same spirit remains in us?
Elevation Through Conquest: We are here on the earth to
conquer the world, the flesh, and the devil. Flesh is the
basest form of life; the divine is the highest form of life.
Man (temporarily) resides in the flesh; God (eternally)
possesses the divine nature. God desires man to rise to
His level of existence; however, before raising him, he
must prove himself worthy of such honour. He who conquers
the world, the flesh, and the devil will inherit the divine
nature, and will know God as He is: "Do not love the world
or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the
world -- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life -- is not of the Father but is of the
world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it;
but he who does the will of God abides forever."
[1 John 2:15-17] If you fail to conquer the world, the
flesh, and the devil, you will progress no further than the
(temporal) flesh. If you conquer the world, the flesh, and
the devil, you will become equal with God, possessing all
knowledge and all power: "To him who overcomes I will grant
to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down
with My Father on His throne." [Revelation 3:21] To sit on
God's throne is to be equal with God. Consider the words of
David, the man after God's own heart: "As for me, I will
see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I
awake (from death) in Your likeness." [Psalm 17:15]
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The above is an excerpt from a currently-available book
which can be purchased at:
www.amazon.com
www.amazon.co.uk
www.amazon.ca
Search "Books" for:
TITLE: "The Teenager's Guide to the Awesome God"
AUTHOR: "Arrant Knave"
ISBN: "1413755003"
-----
Excerpt from "The Teenager's Guide To The Awesome God"
Copyright 2000 Arrant Knave. All rights reserved.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are
taken from the New King James Version (R). Copyright (C)
1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.
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