Hope of Life After Death
"If a man dies, will he live again?"
Job 14:14
"Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming in which all those in the tombs will hear his voice, and will come forth . . ." -- John 5:28,29a
A
Restoration Light
Publication
By Ronald R. Day, Sr.
Quotations from other sources often abbreviate scriptural citations. We have expanded all abbreviated citations in order to make better use of digital searches.
This study has been the result of many years work; it is still not complete. Due to the manner in which this work has been compiled, sometimes discussions related to certain topics may be scattered. We are trying to put cross-references where possible. Please bear with us in this.
(1) For thousands of years people have been trying to answer the question of life after death. Today there are many viewpoints about what happens to a person when he dies. How can we know where our loved ones have gone? How can we know what will happen to us when we die? Some have sought the answer by seeing psychics in an effort to contact their dead loved ones. But the disciple of Jesus does not need someone to come from the dead to tell him or her about death. (Isaiah 8:19,20) He has the Word of God, The Holy Bible, and that is all he needs. (2 Timothy 3:16,17) We hope to prove to you that the Bible gives a complete and satisfactory answer to our question. Before considering the scriptural answer, however, let us see what human reasoning, without the aid the God's Word, can tell us. We will find that the answer from this source is incomplete. Whatever facts we obtain from science, however, will be found to agree with the Word of God. This is what we should expect for God is the author of the laws of the universe and reason, as well as of the Bible. Those who claim that scientific facts and the Bible do not agree with each other simply do not understand the one or the other.
What Can Science Tell Us?
(2) What can we find out from science related the human body, soul and spirit? We do find that scientists will tell us that the human body consists of many elements, and that these same elements exist outside of living being all around us. Does the Bible agree with this? Yes, Genesis 2:7 informs us that the first man was "formed man of the dust of the ground." It should be apparent that the expression "dust of the ground" signifies the elements of the earth.
(3) However, many people believe that man has a "soul" that is separate from the body. Some refer to the soul as the "ego", or that part of a man that thinks. What can we learn from scientist about such a soul? The popular conception is that the soul is a being residing within and independent of our bodily organism. At death, the claim is that the soul is separated from the body and continues to exist forever. Science has never found such a being. According to the general hypotheis, it human soul is invisible, and thus it cannot be found by dissecting a human body. However, science contends that human thinking is not from something separate from the body, since thinking is physically associated with the brain. Thus, science cannot offer any proof of the existence of a soul that that exists apart from the human organism. We should also note the lower animals have the ability to reason to some extent, and that their ability to reason is associated with how complex and greater the structure of the brain. The more complex and excellent the brain is, the greater the reasoning power the animal appears to have. Scientist have dound that man possesses the most complex brain, and thus, correspondingly, man has the greatest ability to reason. Furthermore, it is noted that a child's brain is not so developed as an adult's brain, and thus the child has less reasoning power than an adult. If a person's brain is diseased or otherwise damaged, that person's ability to reason is affected. All of this shows that the soul as the thinking part of a person is not separae from that person's organism.
(4) Some people say they've experienced "out-of-body" situations. Some people assert that they have passed away, gone to heaven, and returned to share their experiences in their purported "death state." Others have reported that they were resurrected after going to a hell of flaming flames. How trustworthy are these assertions? The claims can be refuted from a scriptural perspective. It is important to remember that these encounters are typically called near-death experiences (NDEs). This would imply that the person's body is merely "near death" rather than having truly passed away. How can someone who has had such an experience know if it was a hallucination, a delusion of Satan, or something real? Such claims should not be the basis for hope for a disciple of Jesus, but we believe the Christian should base his faith on what is presented in the Bible. Nevertheless, more frequently doctors see persons brought into hospitals unconscious through an injury to the head, who recovered after an operation, and remember nothing of the time between. After awakening, almost universally doctors find that the last thing the patient remembers is what occurred immediately before the accident. Although the duration till he regained consciousness may have been days and sometimes even weeks, months, years, yet to him, it has been a perfect blank. Why is this? If the soul is an entity that remains conscious without the body, where was the person's soul during the duration of unconsciousness? If it is separate from the body, why couldn't it remember what happened during the after the accident before regaining conciousness? This at least partially supports the idea that the human soul is reliant on an organism.
(5) What about the spirit, though? Is it an internal entity? While acknowledging that the soul dies, some people maintain that humans have an immortal spirit that lives on after the body passes away. The spirit (energy, or vitality) of life is the only spirit acknowledged by science. It was once believed that a specific area of the body was home to life. According to science, the body is made up of countless cells. Each of these cells is animated by the spirit or energy of life. We also know that this life force depends on certain ongoing waste and repair processes.
(6) Your finger, for example, is composed of many cells in each of which is the spirit or energy of life. This life is dependent on processes of waste and repair. If these processes become hindered there is disease. If they stop completely there is death. If your finger is dead, in the course of time it shrivels up and drops off. Should your finger die, what becomes of the spirit or energy of life? We understand that the death of a finger and also of the whole body simply means the cessation of the life processes of waste and repair. It is the same in the case of the lower animals and of plants. They also are composed of innumerable cells in each of which is the spirit or energy of life. This energy of life is dependent on similar processes of waste and repair. We do not understand that their spirit [force] of life is a being that continues to have an independent existence after death. After life is completely gone, man is unable to give it back. That, briefly, is what Science can tell us regarding our question. Science knows nothing of a future state. And so we read in Ecclesiastes 12:7: "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit [Hebrew transliterated, ruach, Strong's No. 7307, wind, breath, power] shall return to God who gave it." God alone can restore the spirit or power of life. See our study: The Spirit that Returns to God.
The Answer of Philosophy
(7) This is where "philosophy" steps in. We human beings have considerable reasoning power, and also a conscience, that is, a feeling of right and wrong. Philosophy tells us that if we follow the right course we are good and virtuous and should expect a corresponding reward, and that if we follow the wrong course we are bad or vicious and should expect a corresponding punishment. Yet we find in reality that these reasonable consequences frequently do not follow in our present existence. In fact, the very reverse is generally the rule. Malachi 3:15 says: "Now we call the proud happy. Yes, they that work wickedness are exalted. Yes, they that tempt God are even delivered." How true this is! Pride is promoted almost everywhere we look, often even in schools, churches, political leaders, etc. On the other hand as the apostle Paul declares: "Yes, all that will live godly in Jesus Christ must suffer persecution." (2 Timothy 3:12) Is it true that all the great ones of the earth, the kings, nobles, and leaders are the most righteous, and that the lower of the scale of position and honor the more vicious we find men to be? No! Is it not chiefly from among the poor of this world, rich in faith, that God is choosing the heirs of the Kingdom, which he has promised to them that love him? -- 1 Corinthians 1:26-28; John 7:48; Luke 10:21.
(8) Philosophy, therefore, reasons that there must be a future state where the virtuous will be rewarded, and the vicious punished. But philosophy cannot reach a solid conclusion as to what or where this future state will be, nor whether it is attained at the moment of death or after an interval. Thus any thoughts regarding the afterlife that the philosophers put forth are mere speculations at best.
Revelation By Spirits Unworthy of Credence
(9) There are thus many questions left unanswered by unaided human reasoning. If we cannot get the complete answer from Science or from Philosophy, where should we expect to obtain it? As we cannot get it from ourselves, evidently we must expect a revelation from without. Some profess to receive this revelation through spiritism. Space does not permit a full discussion of this subject, but we are convinced that spiritism, where it is not fraud or trickery, as much of it is, is a manifestation of evil spirits, the fallen angels. Jehovah God warns us very strongly against consulting those who have familiar spirits and declares that all who do these things are an abomination to him. -- Deuteronomy 18:9-12; Leviticus 19:31; Isaiah 8:19,20.
The Answer From the Word of God
(10) Where, then, must we look for this revelation? Our conclusion is that we should look to God himself, and expect to get our answers not through visions or peculiar manifestations, but through the Bible, the Word of God, "the faith once for delivered to the saints." -- Jude 1:3, A.S.V.; see our study: The Credibility of the Bible.
What is the Soul?
(11) To get a proper understanding of our subject we must begin with the question: "What is the soul?" A good place to start is to examine the scriptural description of the creation of the first human soul, Adam, which we find in Genesis 2:7: "Jehovah God formed the man, dust from the ground, and blew into his nostrils the breath (Hebrew, neshâmâh, Strong's No. 5397, wind, vital breath) of life, and man became a living soul." Let us reason on what is stated. We should not read the Bible without thinking over what God has to tell us. "Jehovah God formed the man of dust from the ground." From this, we can reaason that Adam's body was formed of the elements of the earth. He had eyes, ears, and a mouth, but so far no ability to see, hear or speak. But then we read that God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Notice, the Bible does not say that God breathed into his nostrils a soul, as many claim. What the Word says is that God "breathed into his nostrils the breath (Hebrew, neshâmâh, Strong's No. 5397, wind, vital breath) of life," the spirit or power of life. And what was the result? Do we find the insinuation that Adam had now a soul in him? No, we find that the result of the breath of life having been breathed into Adam was that he "became a living soul (nephesh [Strong's #5315] ḥayyāh [Strong's #2416])" In other words, the soul is not the body, nor is it the spirit of life, but in order for there to be a living soul, it must possess both a body and the spirit of life. The scriptural forumla is: body of dust + neshamah = living soul. This is in agreement with what we have seen to be the conclusion of many scientists, namely, that the "Ego," the real person, the thinking part of man, is not independent of his organism. See also our study on Neshamah.
(12) Once Adam became a living soul, he gained the ability to see, hear, and speak. He could also think, walk, and work. He had become a living, sentient being capable of sensing and responding to his environment. Based on this, we conclude that the most accurate scriptural definition of a living soul would be a being that can perceive its own existence and surroundings. Some may argue that this definition would also include lower animals. However, such often do not realize that the Scriptures do mention lower animals in this manner, although it may not be obvious in the King James Version and many other translations, since the word for "soul" rendered by other words than "soul". When the Hebrew words "nephesh hhayyah" (living soul) are used to refer to lower animals, the KJV typically translates it as "life" or "living creature" instead of "soul," except for one exception in Numbers 31:28. However, the same expression is also applied to humans in the Hebrew text of the Bible. In these instances, the KJV usually (but not always) translates it as "soul" or "living soul." An example of this can be found in Genesis 1:21, where the KJV states: "And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth." If you consult a Strong's Concordance, you will see that the phrase "living creature" corresponds to Strong's words 2416 and 5315, which represent the Hebrew expression "nephesh hhayyah." In the KJV, this same expression is also translated as "living creature" in Genesis 1:24 when referring to animals other than humans. In the same chapter, in the 30th verse, we find the following passage from the King James Version: "To every beast of the earth and to every fowl of the air and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth wherein there is life." This clearly indicates that the Bible and Science are in agreement when it comes to recognizing that lower animals possess a living soul.
Is the Human Soul Immortal?
(13) Now, let us move on to a crucial aspect of our discussion: the immortality of the human soul. The answer to this question holds great significance, as it has implications for our understanding of salvation. If the soul is indeed immortal, then those who are not deemed worthy of being in the presence of God would have to endure an eternity somewhere. This would lead one to the conclusion that either everyone will eventually attain eternal bliss with God, or some will be condemned to everlasting suffering in some form. However, if our compassionate heavenly Father has the power to destroy the soul, then he is not bound by these limited options. He would not be forced to disregard the freedom of human will, as the doctrine of "universalism" would suggest, nor would he be compelled to condemn the intentionally wicked to eternal misery.
(14) It takes some sincere reflection on God's Word and acceptance of its teachings, regardless of one's own upbringing or conventional beliefs, to comprehend the Bible's actual teaching on this topic. When they look for a scripture that affirms that the soul never dies, many people are taken aback. How is this demonstrable? It can be demonstrated with ease. All you need to do is obtain a comprehensive Concordance (like Strong's Exhaustive Concordance), look up the word "soul" and all its synonyms, then look up the word "immortal" and all its synonyms, and you will discover that not a single verse in Genesis through Revelation speaks of the soul as being immortal. Even better, look up Strong's Hebrew No. #5315 nephesh (the Hebrew word from which the word "soul" is translated) and Strong's Greek No. 5590 psukee (the Greek word from which the word "soul" is translated) in a Hebrew concordance (like The Englishman's Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance of the Old Testament) and a Greek concordance (like The Englishman's Greek Concordance of the New Testament). You'll see that the Bible mentions dead souls (Leviticus 23:30; Matthew 10:28) and that the soul dies (Numbers 6:6; 9:13; Mark 14:34; etc.); that the soul can be severed (Exodus 31:14; Leviticus 7:21; 19:8; 22:3; Acts 3:23; etc.); and that the soul can be destroyed; however, it never states that the soul is immortal or that it lives on after death.
(15) The author of the book, A Life's Thought on Christ, Dr. Thomas Clark, offered a thousand pounds to anyone who could locate the words "immortal," "never-dying," or "ever-living soul" in the English, Greek, or Hebrew Bibles. It was safe for Dr. Thomas Clark to make that offer. The money was never earned. "The natural immortality of the soul is a doctrine wholly unknown to the Holy Scriptures, and standing on no higher plane than that of an ingeniously sustained, but gravely and formidably contested philosophical opinion.... It crept into the church by a back door as it were," wrote the late W. E. Gladstone in response to this question (Studies Subsidiary to the Works of Bishop Butler, pp. 197-198). Consider this! The popular church adopted the idea of the soul's natural immortality through the back door of Greek philosophy, even though it is not taught in the Scriptures!
(16) People who believe in the immortality of the soul typically believe that God created it in such a way that He is unable to destroy it. However, Matthew 10:28 states that God has the power to destroy a person's soul, in addition to that person's body, in Gehenna (Valley of Hinnom). Gehenna is mistranslated as "Hellfire" in the King James Version and various other translations. We will clarify the meaning of "Gehenna" later. Let's move on to Ezekiel 18:4. We read there: "Look! All souls are mine. As the soul of father, so also the soul of the son is mine. The soul that is sinning will die."
(17) Since the soul, or being, is the one who committed sin, it is the soul that must pay the price for it, which is clearly stated to be death. Since "for the wages of sin is death," not eternal torment as many believe, the soul that commits sin will perish. Romans 6:23.
(18) The entire Bible becomes very clear once we comprehend this. Many previously obscure passages are now easily recognizable. The statement "The King of kings and Lord of lords... only has immortality" (Strong's #110, athanasia, deathlessness) appears in 1 Timothy 6:15–16. Only Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords, had "put on immortality" when Paul wrote Timothy, since only Jesus had been raised to sit on the throne with his God and Father. (Ephesians 1:17-21; Philippians 2:9; Hebrews 1:3,13; 8:1; 10:12; 1 Peter 3:22; Revelation 3:21) According to the scriptures, there will be others who also "put on immortality" (Strong's #110, athanasia, deathlessness) in the resurrection. (1 Corinthians 15:53,54) Today, however, nobody on this planet truly "possesses" athanasia or "deathlessness".
(19) Let's look at example related to the idea that one has an immortal soul: Let's say your friend said, "I must put on my watch," after glancing at the watch already on his wrist. You would assume that your friend was having some sort of issue. Why? since he would be attempting to put on something that he already had on. However, many sincere Christians must put on immortality even though they claim to be immortal! The apostle states in 1 Corinthians 15:53–54 that "This mortal must put on immortality." However, if they were already wearing something, they couldn't put it on!
(20) Many must find it odd that this notion of the soul's immortality, which contradicts what the Scriptures teach, has become so widely accepted. Evidently, this Greek philosophers' teaching was quickly embraced by the mainstream church following the apostles' deaths. In the first century, Jews who believed in Jesus were severely persecuted. Thus, the majority of Jesus' Jewish followers had been murdered, leaving mostly "Gentile" believers in Jesus. In the second and third centurie, it appears that many of these Gentile disciples were, in effect, assimilating Roman religious beliefs and doctrines. These teachings were overlayed with Biblical termilogoy in such a way that suggested the Bible endorsed them. Thus, many of these adopted the idea idea that the human soul or spirit is immortal, that that is continues to be alive and conscious after the body dies.
(21) Some have claimed that Genesis 2:7 means that God breathed a part of himself into Adam, and that the soul is thus a part of God. Of course, there is nothing in Genesis 2:7 that says that God breathed a part of hismelf into Adam; such a thought has to actually reject what is stated and twist what is stated to conform to the claim. Those who theorize in this manner would soon realize that their argument is illogical if they would only follow it through to its logical conclusion. They should keep in mind that sin is committed by the soul, not the body. "The sinner's soul..." (Ezekiel 18:4–20) If the soul is a tiny portion of God, then sin is the result of this tiny portion of God in humans, and it would mean that portion of God would be under the condemnation of eternal damnation.
(22) Some people observe in contrast to the account of the creation of the lower animals, Genesis 2:7 states that God breathed the breath (Hebrew: neshâmâh, Strong's No. 5397, wind, vital breath) of life into man's nostrils. Accordingly, they assert that this neshâmâh, or spirit, is a tiny aspect of God rather than the soul and that it is the neshâmâh that is immortal because of this. The word neshamah is obviously used of both man and beast as recorded in Genesis 7:22. And Joshua "utterly destroyed all that breathed [neshâmâh]" as recorded in Joshua 10:40, suggesting that this neshâmâh is susceptible of destruction. (See also Deuteronomy 20:16, Joshua 11:11,14) Job 32:8 uses this word, where the KJV translates it as "inspiration." According to Job 37:10, frost is provided by "the breath [neshâmâh] of God." "Straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath [neshâmâh] left in me," Daniel stated in Daniel 10:17. These uses of the word make it clear that it is not a living thing that resides inside a person.
(23) The Word of God is consistent. It does not teach that immortality is the natural possession of man, whether that immortality is thought to be the spirit in man or a soul in man. Rather, it says: "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) Some claim that Paul was speaking of spiritual death, not physical death. The fact is that the man, Christ Jesus, physically died to pay the wages of sin for all of us, thus eternally sacrificing his body of flesh with its blood. (Romans 5:8,15-19; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 1 Timothy 2:5,6; Hebrews 10:10-12; 1 Peter 2:24) Although eternal life is not something that is innate in us, it is made available to us as a gift through Christ Jesus, who gave himself in sacrifice for our sins. -1 John 2:2; 1 Timothy 2:6. For more related to spiritual death, see our study: The Wages of Sin -- Spiritual Death?
(24) Because God, in his mercy, has provided some other means of delivering man from his death state, it is clear that man will not be granted a future state because he is or possesses an immortal soul or spirit. Does this imply the removal of the basis for Biblical hope? Not at all! Scripture assures us repeatedly that the resurrection from the dead is what gives us hope for a future life. The scriptures no where present any idea that eternal life is due to any alleged innate immortality. -- Acts 24:14,15; 1 Corinthians 15.
(25) The best way to define the soul, according to what we find in the Scriptures, is as a living being that is conscious of its own existence and its surroundings. The most potent parts of a being are the mind and will, but they require an organism to function. Therefore, the ego requires a body of some kind to exist, even though the soul can be narrowly defined as the mind, will, or conscious ego. We have also come to the conclusion that, rather than asserting that the soul is immortal, the Bible makes it abundantly evident that the soul that sins will die. Ezekiel 18:4.
Do Good People Go To Heaven At Death?
(26) The idea most often presented by Christians is that "the souls of the believers are at death made perfect in holiness and do immediately pass into glory." This idea is based on the traditional teachings which are often expressed in the catechisms or various denominations.
(27) But is it accurate to say that everyone who died believing in God is now in heaven? Let's look at an example. What about David, a man after God's own heart and a favorite of Jehovah despite all his flaws? Is David in heaven? Most likely, a lot of people will say "Yes." Regardless, let's read what God's Word has to say. In Acts 2:34, we read: "David is not ascended into the heavens." That could not be more straightforward. Here's the question: Will you believe it? "That's odd," someone might say, "I assumed David would be in heaven, but I'm obviously wrong. He wasn’t as good as I believed him to be." However, let's not hastily reach such a conclusion! Look at what Jesus said. In John 3:13, we find it recorded: "No man has ascended up to heaven, but he who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man." Most ancient manuscripts do not contain the phrase "which is in heaven" that is used in the King James Version, thus many translations, such as the Revised Standard Version, do not add these words to what Jesus stted. "No man has ascended to heaven" so as to tell of heavenly things. (John 3:12) Jesus, however, descended from heaven to take on human form and live among us, and he could thus tell of heavenly things. We must be careful not to let human traditions cause us to reject what the Messiah has said. -- Matthew 15:3–9.
(28) According to Acts 26:23, Jesus was the first person to rise from the grave. He was "the first born from the dead," "the first fruits of them that slept." (1 Corinthians 15:20; Colossians 1:18) One might ask: "Does not this contradict the other Scriptural statements regarding the raising of Lazarus and others?" The answer is, of course, no, because Jesus was the first person to rise in full life, never to die again. After a few years at most, the others simply returned to the tomb after being awakened from the death-state to their previous dying state. They briefly awoke from their slumber before resuming their death-related slumber. They were not given the gift of eternal life as a result of it.
(29) But what all those who die in Christ since Jesus died and was raised? Did all of his devoted followers from the previous 1900 years receive their fair share of compensation when they passed away? Most Christians do not agree with the scriptural answer to this question. We learn what happens to the wicked in 2 Peter 2:9. Is it true that the apostle there asserts that God knows how to punish the wicked when they die? Actually, the scripture tells us that God "knows how to reserve the unjust until the day to judgment to be punished". Thus, Peter makes abundantly evident when the wicked are to punished. The scriptural conclusion, then, is that when Jesus returns on the day of judgment, that is when the wicked will be punished. Actuallly, the Greek word for punished would be more properly rendered as "chastised".
(30) According to popular Christian theology today, every believer dies instantly to be with Jesus. However, Jesus never said this to His disciples, whom He loved deeply. "I will receive you unto myself the moment you die" is not what Jesus said. What he did say was: "There are many mansions in my father's house; if it weren't so, I would have told you," he said. I'll get everything ready for you. And if I go and set up a place for you, I'll return and take you to myself so that you can be where I am." (John 14:2,3) Furthermore, Paul told the Colossians: "You are dead, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God. When the Messiah who is your life appears, then you will also appear with him in glory." -- Colossians 3:3,4.
The Thief in Paradise
(31) Many object that the criminal, often presented as being a thief, who died with Jesus was promised to be with Jesus in paradise on that day. (Luke 23:43) The conventional wisdom holds that the thief who repented immediately went to heaven to be with Jesus. Jesus actually promised the thief that he would be with him in "paradise," not heaven, and Jesus made no mention of heaven. As we shall demonstrate later, paradise is not synonymous with heaven, although many people have been conditioned to associate "paradise" as being the same thing as "heaven". However, the Scriptures testify that all of the apostles, martyrs, and other saints — dedicated individuals — who have passed away are awaiting the Messiah's return in order to receive their reward. If the conventional wisdom regarding our Lord's response is accurate, then this thief must have been more important than the apostles and all of the holy martyrs, since nowhere do we find that they were to immediately be living with Jesus the moment they died. On the third day following his assurance to the thief, however, our Lord himself told Mary, "I have not yet ascended to my Father." Acts 2:27, where Peter again highlights David's words from the 16th Psalm, "You will not leave my soul in hades," demonstrates that David was not referring to himself but rather, as our Lord Jesus' prophetic spokesperson, he was predicting that Jesus' soul would go to hades, not heaven, but would not stay there. Furthermore, contrary to what some people teach, no scripture states that Paradise is a part of Hades. This topic will be covered later in this study. Investigating the issue reveals a straightforward explanation. The passage's difficulties are eliminated in Rotherham's translation (1904 edition). It's as follows: "Verily, I say unto thee this day: With me, shalt thou be in Paradise" Instead of putting a comma before "this day", he placed a colon after it. Is this appropriate, though? Many may wonder, isn't this changing the Bible? In actuality, doing so does not alter the Bible. Why? because commas were not used when the Bible was written. It wasn't until about five or six centuries ago that punctuation was created. To help the reader understand what is written, punctuation has been added, either by copyists, or by translators, at points where the scribe or translator thought such punctuation should be. If you want to have proof that the oldest Bible manuscripts lack punctuation, we suggest you go to the British Museum, where the oldest manuscripts are displayed in a glass case for public viewing. Alternatively, copies of these manuscripts might be found in a number of reference books at your neighborhood library. Whether you know Greek or not, you will notice that the entire manuscript lacks commas and that all of the words and sentences are written together without any breaks, Therefore, commas and other punctuation that are used in our English translations are not inspired; rather, they were simply added by the translators based on their own understanding of the text. Because the King James translators thought that "souls of believers do immediately pass into glory," they followed the word "thee" with a comma. However, we have discovered that Jesus and His apostles stated that believers would receive rewards and the wicked would receive punishments when He returned in the splendor of his Father with his holy angels. Consequently, "today" should have been followed by a comma. "Truly I say to you today, you will be with me in Paradise," was what Jesus actually said. "[Even though I am being put to death this day] What I say to you today is true: You will be with me in Paradise," is another way we could phrase this in ordinary English. As a result, it is clear that Jesus was not reversing his previous statements or creating an exception for the repentant criminal. The possibility that Jesus would ever rule as king must have seemed improbable on the day He spoke the words of our text. With the title "King of the Jews" written in derisively above his head and him hanging on a tree, dying like a criminal, it must have seemed impossible that he would ever be granted a kingdom. "Truly I say to you today," Jesus said, honoring the criminals's faith when he asked to be remembered by him when he entered his Kingdom. In effect, when Jesus said, "Today", it may have been that Jesus was saying: "This dark day, when I am dying a felon's death, and it seems like I was an imposter". Our Lord could have used the word "today"* for another significant reason: it was the day that the great sacrifice for the world's sin was to be completed, allowing for the establishment of his Kingdom. Regardless, it does not give reason to imagine and assume that the criminal to whom Jesus spoke went to paradise on that day that he died.
Footnote to Paragraph 31:
There are numerous examples given by some of Jesus' use of the phrase "Verily I say to you," where the comma is always placed after the word "you." Naturally, the word "today" is not used in any of these other instances, and there was no need to emphasize the day that Jesus was speaking because we only find the need for such in Luke 23:43.
Additionally, we discover that the word "today" is used in the Bible according to two general rules: if "today" comes after a verb, it is associated with that verb. This is relevant to the verse at hand. The words "say" and "today" are joined. Matthew 21:28 and Luke 22:34 are two more instances of this. "Today" is attached to the following clause when "hoti" is used to separate it from the verb. Mark 14:30, Luke 19:9, and Luke 4:21 are a few examples. In Luke 23:43, the word "hoti" is not used.
See:
http://www.godstruthfortoday.org/Library/bullinger/app173.htmlThe Greek word "semeron," which means "today," is used to emphasize the phrase "today." "Semeron" qualifies this preceding verb in the following references: Acts 20:26–26:29; Luke 2:11–22:34; 2 Corinthians 3:14–15. There are numerous instances in the Septuagint translation where the Greek phrase "I say unto you this day" is equivalent to the emphatic phrase "I testify unto you this day," such as Deuteronomy 6:6; 7:11; 8:1; 10:13; 11:8,13,28.
(32) "To be with Jesus means to be in heaven," some people will assert. We deny this. We do believe that the Bible teaches that when those who receive spirit bodies are raised from the dead in the last day, they will join Jesus in heaven. As co-heirs to him, they will stand atop heavenly Mount Zion. (Revelation 14:1; Romans 8:17; Hebrews 12:22) That being said, being "with Jesus" does not necessarily imply that the individual is in heaven. When Jesus comes back to earth, the time will come when he will be "with" people on the planet just like God. (Ezekiel 37:25–28; 43:7; Revelation 21:3,4) As a result, Jesus was able to tell the thief who died with him, "You will be with me in paradise." Luke 23:43 Thus, it is concerning the time when Jesus returned with his Kingdom to bless all the families on earth that Jesus spoke of when he told the thief that he would be with him. He was certainly not that the criminal would sit on the throne with him, as the joint-heirs do (Matthew 19:28; Revelation 3:21; Romans 8:16). "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I will be in their midst," Jesus said, indicating that he would be "with" his followers on earth, without meaning that they would be in heaven. (Matthew 18:20) Also we read: "Look, I am with you always until the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20) Jesus was not speaking of taking them to heaven so that he could be with them, but he was speaking of being with his people here on the earth. Therefore, being with Jesus does not necessarily mean that one is in heaven.
The Intermediate State
(33) We believe that the scriptures teach an intermediate state, a period of waiting between death and the reward, as we have seen. Many Bible scholars have reached this conclusion, but regrettably, the majority of them continue to hold onto the false notion that the soul is naturally immortal. As a result, they think that the soul is conscious during this transitional state, that it has the ability to think and feel, and they usually claim that one in his alleged immortal gains even more knowledge after death. We will investigate these claims in the following paragraphs.
(34) Do we find that scriptures declare that soul of person lives after the death of the body so as to know even more than before the person passed away? Ecclesiastes 9:5 informs us: "The dead know not anything"; also the tenth verse: "There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in Sheol (the realm of death -- Sheol will be discussed later), where you are going." We should also note the prayer of Hezekiah: "Sheol cannot thank you, death cannot praise you: those who go down in the pit cannot hope for your truth. The living, the one living, he shall praise you, even as I do this day." (Isaiah 38:18,19) The Psalmist also adds a similar thought as recorded in Psalm 146:4, that when a man dies, "he returns to his earth, and in that very day his thoughts perish." This does appear to reflect the thought that at death the soul lives on to know more than before the person dies. Let us also not what is said in Psalm 6:4: "Return, O Jehovah, deliver my soul: O save me for your mercies' sake." The Psalmist was praying that his soul be saved from death. The next verse shows what the Psalmist expected his soul to be like when dead: "For in death there is no remembrance of you; in sheol who shall give you thanks?" It should be clear from these scriptures that during the intermediate the soul is in a condition of unconsciousness, awaiting the resurrection in the last day.
The Sleep of Death
(35) Only when we comprehend what death is can we appreciate the beauty of the sleep of death, a figure that appears frequently in both the scriptures written before and after Jesus' arrival. When his disciples did not understand him, our Lord told them, "Our friend Lazarus is sleeping," and "then Jesus said to them plainly: Lazarus is dead." (John 11:11–14) Because death is a state of unconsciousness that is followed by awakening, it is compared to sleep.
(36) Like many of us, you may have experienced the situation of returning home exhausted and drowsy. You rest somewhere by lying down or sitting. You close your eyes and then open them again, reflecting, "I almost fell asleep." However, you are shocked to discover that you have been asleep for over an hour when you check the clock! You couldn't believe that any time had passed; you thought you had just closed your eyes for a moment. What caused that? Obvious, it is due to the fact that during the period you were asleep, you were unconscious. As a result of your fatigue, you were able to sleep soundly. It sounded like death. That is the state of the deceased. When someone passes away, they become oblivious, go unconscious, and a period of time passes. This period could be weeks, years, centuries, or even millennia, but to the person who has passed away, it is a blank slate. It is comparable to the aforementioned sleep duration. To put it another way, it will seem to everyone who is awakened on the day of resurrection that they have just closed their eyes and then opened them. That is the state of the deceased. They are not conscious at all. They "know not anything." -- Ecclesiastes 9:5.
(37) Many may insist that while the dead are active after death, they would have us believe that Jesus and others, when they compared death to sleep, merely meant that they were no longer active in this world. Nevertheless, the Bible doesn't contain anything like that! Such actually would deny the plain statements of scriptures that describe the unconscious in death (Psalm 30:91; 115:17; 146:4; Ecclesiastes 9:10; Isaiah 38:18,19). However, many may claim: "Nowhere does Scripture say that the soul of the departed one falls asleep. It was the person who fell asleep, not necessarily the soul." As a result, they would differentiate the individual from the soul. Does the Bible do such? For instance, when is says "man became a living soul [Hebrew, nephesh, Strong's #5315]", is saying the soul is different the man, Adam. Actually, it is stated quite clearly in Genesis 2:7. This is in line with 1 Corinthians 15:45. Additionally, the Bible mentions the dying soul and "dead" souls (Ezekiel 18:4,20; see Leviticus 21:11; Numbers 6:6; 9:7, where the Hebrew word nephesh is translated as "body," in the King James Version, thereby concealing the Biblical mention of dead souls). The Bible does state that the soul dies, even though it does not state explicitly that the soul sleeps.
(38) In an attempt to maintain that we do not truly die, some people contend that after Lazarus passed away, the Lord kept his soul in an unconscious resting place because he knew that his friend would be raised from the grave in a matter of days. Such contend that this exception — as well as a few others of a similar nature — would not establish the rule. Another argument is that even though Lazarus and other people who were raised from the dead might have entered heaven, they were either denied entry or were unable to speak about their amazing experience.
(39) Naturally, this line of thinking does not negate a number of facts: 1) There is no mention of the soul going to heaven at the time one dies in the Bible. 2) The soul dies at death, according to numerous scriptures. 3) Death is characterized in numerous scriptures as a state of unconsciousness. 4) To develop such an argument that soul is conscious after death, one must create this assumption beyond what is written and then read the assumption into the scriptures.
(40) But what if Lazarus's death resulted in his going to heaven? If Jesus returned Lazarus to the current evil world, would he not have been doing more harm to Lazarus than good? Or what if, as has been proposed, although normally a righteous person would go to heaven when dies, Jesus had prevented Lazarus from entering heaven by keeping his soul unconscious? Wouldn't this kind of interference have been for Lazarus' good? In either case, such actions would have been unreasonable.
(41) But Jesus did promise that the "hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth." (John 5:28,29) Observe that Jesus stated, "all that are in the graves," the state of death, rather than, "all that are in eternal bliss and in eternal torment.""Ah, yes," some will respond, "in other words, when Jesus calls, the souls of the saved and the lost will fly back and re-inhabit their bodies; it does not refer to their souls. Because only the bodies enter the death-state, it is the bodies that will rise." However, Jesus did not say that. Scripture and science both testify that the bodies will not be raised from the dead. According to science, when a person dies, their body is broken down into its constituent parts. After that, the elements could be recycled into plants or other materials. The plants can then be consumed by humans or animals, becoming a part of a new body, etc. Consequently, the same body cannot possibly rise. However, we don't have to rely solely on scientific evidence. In response to this query, the apostle Paul said, "How are the dead raised up? "And what body do they come with?" Paul did not state: "That is a strange question! Why do you ask, "What BODY do they come from, and how are the dead to be raised?" Are you unaware that only the body dies and needs to be resurrected, while the soul never dies? No! Paul did say, however: ""You foolish ones!...You do not sow that body that will be . . . but God gives it a body as it has pleased him, and to every seed his own body." (I Corinthians 15:35-38) What could be more straightforward than that? According to Isaiah 53:12, the Messiah's soul dies along with his body: "he has poured out his soul unto death." Therefore, it is the soul, not the body, that will be raised from the dead. God will assign each soul a body that suits it, based on the seed sown during this lifetime.
More to be added later, God willing...
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