NU169273@vm1.nodak.edu (05/05/91)
AFTER DEATH, WHAT?
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Read On, And Know For Sure.
How many time have you looked at the face of a dead
person, lying in their casket and heard the following
statements? 'He or she has suffered and is better off now.'
'He or she is at peace, never to suffer anymore.'
Dear friend, these are correct statements if, that dead
person had accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior and been
born again. Paul said of a Christian in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8
"Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we
are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For
we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say,
and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be
present with the Lord." If that person died in a lost
spiritual condition, their troubles have just begun. The
second that soul leaves the body of a lost person, it goes
directly to hell to burn forever and ever. "Where their
worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." (Mark 9:44)
"The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all nations that
forget God." (Psalms 9:17) Hear the voice of the rich man
crying out from hell, "And it came to pass, that the beggar
died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom:
the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he
lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham
afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 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 16:22-24)
Possibly someone looked at the face of this rich man, as
he prepared for burial and said how he was at peace, never
to suffer anymore. How wrong their statement was. As they
were saying beautiful words over his body, his soul was
screaming from the pits of hell. Suffering does not end at
death for a lost person. Ten million years into eternity
and they are still burning. If you are spiritually lost and
die in that condition, then you too will be doomed to
burning in hell.
You might ask, what must I do to escape this torment in
hell? The answer is the same one Jesus gave to Nicodemus.
"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say
unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God." (John 3:3) As you were born physically,
you must be born spiritually to reach the portals of Heaven.
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the
life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
(John 14:6)
You are not promised another day on this earth. Tomorrow
might be too late. Now is the time to do something about
your lost condition. "(For he saith, I have heard thee in a
time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured
thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the
day of salvation.)" (2 Corinthians 6:2)
While there is life in your body, won't you right now
repent of your sins and call upon Jesus Christ to come into
your heart and save your soul? "For whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13)
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his
name:" John 1:12.
The decision is yours. Where will your soul be while they
are preaching your funeral?
Your life might end before another hour passes and your
soul will be somewhere for eternity. Will you receive Jesus
Christ as your Lord and Savior and be confident of
everlasting life in Heaven?
K. Paulson
222 Stockbridge Hall
N. D. S. U.
Fargo, ND 58105davidbu@loowit.wr.tek.com (David E. Buxton) (05/10/91)
In article <May.4.22.13.21.1991.21801@athos.rutgers.edu>, NU169273@vm1.nodak.edu writes: > > AFTER DEATH, WHAT? > ------------------ > > Read On, And Know For Sure. > > How many time have you looked at the face of a dead > person, lying in their casket and heard the following > statements? 'He or she has suffered and is better off now.' > 'He or she is at peace, never to suffer anymore.' > > Dear friend, these are correct statements if, that dead > person had accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior and been > born again. Paul said of a Christian in 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 > . . . . . . It has become clear to me that the popular views of body, soul, spirit come from Plato who believed in re-incarnation. The pre humanity state of the soul has been dropped. To say that a soul in heaven returns later to a body has been dropped. But otherwise the popular views are really pagan Greek and not really Biblical - Ancient New Age, if you please. If you start with some research into the Hebrew and Greek and define Biblically sound definitions of soul and spirit, then the writings of Paul make very good sense and support the theology of the wholeness of man and that neither body, soul, nor spirit are immortal. That immortality is given at the 2nd Coming of Christ, and is promisary until then. Paul clearly states that we are mortal until then. If Paul was preaching from a perspective of Platonic views then there are several places where this would have come clear - he would have spoken of immortal souls, for example. But no, he speaks of man being very much mortal. Paul was eager to skip the state of death and welcome Jesus back before he (Paul) died. Read about Paul's confrontations with the Greeks and other philosophers with philosophies similar to Plato and it is clear that Paul was adamant against such thinking. Dave (David E. Buxton)
mls@sfsup.att.com (Mike Siemon) (05/13/91)
In article <May.10.03.05.29.1991.6501@athos.rutgers.edu>, davidbu@loowit.wr.tek.com (David E. Buxton) writes: > It has become clear to me that the popular views of body, soul, spirit come > from Plato who believed in re-incarnation. How can this become clear when Plato did not say anyting supportive of reincarnation, nor are his ideas about the soul (cf. _Phaidon_) much like any modern "popular" notions? Have you ever read any Plato, David? or are you just using his name as some old, influential non-Christian on whom to cast blame? Plato seems to have believed (at least, this is the simplest way of reading what he wrote, but Plato is always dangerous to take too simple-mindedly) that souls are eternal and pre-existed bodies. If you are looking for a philosopher who makes a tripartite division, it would be better to read Aristotle -- and *his* division is not body/soul/ spirit (no such division exists in any Greek I am familiar with) but that of vegetative/animal/rational SOULS. -- Michael L. Siemon "O stand, stand at the window, m.siemon@ATT.COM As the tears scald and start; ...!att!attunix!mls You shall love your crooked neighbor standard disclaimer With your crooked heart." [Or some of the Gnostics. I think people are confusing some of the outgrowths of neo-Platonic philosophy with Plato himself. Sort of like confusing Karl Barth with John Calvin... --clh]