Where do we go when we die? The Afterlife by Dr Michael Heiser (Jehovah's Witnesses, hell)
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I like the way that Michael Heiser answers that question in the 5 minute video below. I personally think of heaven as being interdimensional rather than spacially distant from our physical realm. That is, heaven could be occupying the same space as we are but on a different plane of existence. If God were to raise the curtain so to speak we could see that spiritual realm.
Where do we go when we die? The Afterlife by Dr Michael Heiser
The Bible teaches what happens when we die. It is as was written long ago...
" For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing at all...."-Ecclesiastes 9:5
"After he said these things, he added: “Lazʹa·rus our friend has fallen asleep, but I am traveling there to awaken him.”-Jesus (John 11:11)
"Then Jesus said to them plainly: “Lazʹa·rus has died"-John 11:14
Not soul sleep or afterlife but simply dead much like what happens to the flame of a candle when it goes out...it's gone.
That's why the majority of the dead and our hope for dead friends and family...lies in the resurrection.
If you want to know what Bible scholars from liberal to conservative really think about the whole heaven and death concept this article will be informative:
The Bible teaches what happens when we die. It is as was written long ago...
" For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing at all...."-Ecclesiastes 9:5
"After he said these things, he added: “Lazʹa·rus our friend has fallen asleep, but I am traveling there to awaken him.”-Jesus (John 11:11)
"Then Jesus said to them plainly: “Lazʹa·rus has died"-John 11:14
Not soul sleep or afterlife but simply dead much like what happens to the flame of a candle when it goes out...it's gone.
That's why the majority of the dead and our hope for dead friends and family...lies in the resurrection.
If you want to know what Bible scholars from liberal to conservative really think about the whole heaven and death concept this article will be informative:
The Bible says other things showing that believers go to be with the Lord when they die. But the Jehovah's Witnesses ignore those passages. The Bible does not teach that the soul ceases to exist when you die. Far from it. In Matthew 10:28 Jesus said that man can kill the body, but not the soul, meaning that the soul survives physical death. The last part of the verse about destroying both soul and body in hell does not mean that either the soul or body ceases to exist. The word which is translated as 'destroy' is the Greek word ἀπόλλυμι-apollumi, and can refer to something that is lost, or to something that is in a ruined condition, but is very much in existence. You're talking Jehovah's Witnesses teaching, not what the Bible teaches.
If the Bible taught that the dead are non-existent then the Mosaic law wouldn't have had a prohibition against trying to contact the dead, and the ancient Hebrews wouldn't have had a 'cult of the dead' in which the relatives of those who died placed personal items of the deceased in their tombs for use in the after life.
The Bible says other things showing that believers go to be with the Lord when they die. But the Jehovah's Witnesses ignore those passages. The Bible does not teach that the soul ceases to exist when you die. Far from it. In Matthew 10:28 Jesus said that man can kill the body, but not the soul, meaning that the soul survives physical death. The last part of the verse about destroying both soul and body in hell does not mean that either the soul or body ceases to exist. The word which is translated as 'destroy' is the Greek word ἀπόλλυμι-apollumi, and can refer to something that is lost, or to something that is in a ruined condition, but is very much in existence. You're talking Jehovah's Witnesses teaching, not what the Bible teaches.
If the Bible taught that the dead are non-existent then the Mosaic law wouldn't have had a prohibition against trying to contact the dead, and the ancient Hebrews wouldn't have had a 'cult of the dead' in which the relatives of those who died placed personal items of the deceased in their tombs for use in the after life.
Biblically speaking, Michael, you could not be more wrong. For a start you don't understand that 'the soul' equates to 'the living being' according to the creation story. That IS assuming we take the creation story to have been an actual historical event. 'The body' is merely the receptacle for that 'living being'. And, what is required to activate that soul into becoming a living being is 'the spirit' or 'breath'. So yes, man can kill the receptacle, the body, but the prior living being (the soul) can again be activated 'by God' once the breath is returned. What you are allowing to happen - as do most Christians - is taking one verse from here and one verse from there until you contradict what the Bible has consistently established elsewhere. How you and others can BLATANTLY ignore the many scriptures that refer to death as 'sleep' really does beggar belief. You have to toss out those scriptures for the one or two others that you prefer in order to arrive at what you believe.
Scenario: A glass jar contains curry powder, an active ingredient for cooking. The glass jar is smashed. It is no more. Carefully dispose of the remains. The curry powder, however, remains an intact and active ingredient and can be scooped up and placed into another receptacle to be used later for cooking. For the sake of demonstration, no splinters of glass remain in the powder.
Moreover, NOWHERE does the Bible state that believers go immediately to be with the Lord when they die. In fact, as said, it clearly states the opposite.
Jesus said ... ``Very truly, very truly I say to you, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God ... I say to you Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God ... That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit .... You must be born again ..... The wind blows where it lists, and you hear the sound there, but cannot tell where it comes, and whither it goes, so is every one that is born of the Spirit `` -John 3:3-8................ So when a person passes from this world who was born again the Spirit of God reports that ``Jesus has them now, and there is no one left in the body remains `` the Spirit of God proclaims
I like the way that Michael Heiser answers that question in the 5 minute video below. I personally think of heaven as being interdimensional rather than spacially distant from our physical realm. That is, heaven could be occupying the same space as we are but on a different plane of existence. If God were to raise the curtain so to speak we could see that spiritual realm.
Where do we go when we die? The Afterlife by Dr Michael Heiser
Biblically speaking, Michael, you could not be more wrong. For a start you don't understand that 'the soul' equates to 'the living being' according to the creation story. That IS assuming we take the creation story to have been an actual historical event. 'The body' is merely the receptacle for that 'living being'. And, what is required to activate that soul into becoming a living being is 'the spirit' or 'breath'. So yes, man can kill the receptacle, the body, but the prior living being (the soul) can again be activated 'by God' once the breath is returned. What you are allowing to happen - as do most Christians - is taking one verse from here and one verse from there until you contradict what the Bible has consistently established elsewhere. How you and others can BLATANTLY ignore the many scriptures that refer to death as 'sleep' really does beggar belief. You have to toss out those scriptures for the one or two others that you prefer in order to arrive at what you believe.
Scenario: A glass jar contains curry powder, an active ingredient for cooking. The glass jar is smashed. It is no more. Carefully dispose of the remains. The curry powder, however, remains an intact and active ingredient and can be scooped up and placed into another receptacle to be used later for cooking. For the sake of demonstration, no splinters of glass remain in the powder.
Moreover, NOWHERE does the Bible state that believers go immediately to be with the Lord when they die. In fact, as said, it clearly states the opposite.
Don't tell me what I do and don't understand Romulus. You don't understand that the word 'soul' has more than one meaning. It can be used with regard to the whole person, but it is also used for the immaterial part of man that is separate from the physical body.
Your understanding of what the Bible says is not nearly as good as you seem to think that it is. The term 'sleep' in the Bible is simply a metaphor for the body in death. It has no bearing on the state of the soul which is fully conscious, and in the case of the believer, in the presence of the Lord. Paul described physical death as being absent from the body and at home with the Lord.
Before the cross everyone went to Sheol when they died, and no, Sheol is not just the grave, but refers to the underworld. After the cross, the believer goes to be with the Lord when he dies.
The Bible teaches that we all go to the grave. What is our hope? It also teaches there will be a resurrection. Time will tell if it is correct Mike.
The body goes into the grave or is otherwise disposed of. The soul of the believer goes into the presence of the Lord as Paul stated and as shown in the book of Revelation chapters six and seven.
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