The title statement is the first recorded lie in the bible, and indeed in all of creation. It was uttered by a serpent in the garden and it was directed towards Eve. Not only was this the first lie, but it remains the most ENDURING lie of all time. I say that it endures because this particular lie is the most pervasive lie today. What makes it even more heinous is that this lie now parades itself as a THEOLOGICAL TRUTH.
Well we know what happened, Eve and Adam ate the fruit and just as true as God spoke it death entered the world. I think we can all agree that we have been dying ever since. But what exactly is death? Death was first mentioned by God as punishment for disobeying him. Death literally means the cessation of life or lifelessness. In essence life IS what death IS NOT.
The prevailing Christian thought on death is that at the moment you die, that is your body dies, the 'real' you travels to some other place. If you have been righteous in life you are welcomed into heaven, and if you have been unrighteous in life then you will be cast into a bad bad place. But is it true? Let us look at some problems with this view:
1- The Christian teaching on death assumes that when you die you continue to live. This is based on, depending on who you talk to, presumptions that your body is not you and the real you lives inside of your body. The big problem with this, IF IT WERE TRUE, is that that would mean upon birth in this life you would have IMMORTALITY. Immortality means being unable to die. Think about it, if you die but the real you continues to live then that means that YOU HAVE NEVER EXPEREICED DEATH. That would also mean that you are IMMORTAL. What would be the point of God's punishment for Adam's disobedience? What does the bible say about this?
1 Timothy 6:16
16 (GOD) who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
Paul tells us that God is the ONLY one who possesses immortality, no one else possesses it YET. In fact Paul tells us that we will, IN THE FUTURE, be GIVEN immortality.
1 Corinthians 15:51-54
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But 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.
It is NOWHERE written that this process takes place upon ones death. IN FACT PAUL CLEARLY SAYS THAT IT WILL HAPPEN AT THE LAST TRUMPET.
2-Jesus NEVER taught this. In fact Jesus confirms that when you die you are in fact DEAD, not alive somewhere else but DEAD. Consider these words:
John 14:3
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
This one is a doozy! Jesus is comforting his disciples by telling them he is going to prepare a place for them. Now Christians teach that upon death we go to heaven to be with the Lord. How can this be when in the above verse he says:
...I will come again, and receive you unto myself; THAT WHERE I AM, THERE YE MAY BE ALSO.
Does anyone see the contradiction here? If when you die you go to be with Jesus in heaven how is it that he tells you that he 'will come again to RECEIVE you unto myself'. But they teach that you are already in heaven with Jesus! Then he continues, 'that where I am THERE YE may be also'. Wow! This being with Jesus DOES NOT EVEN HAPPEN UNTIL AFTER HE RETURNS!
Jesus even goes further when he says the following:
John 5:28-29
28 Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, 29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
Do you see this? Let's ask Jesus some questions:
Christian teacher: Mr. Jesus, Sir, where are dead christians right now? In heaven right?
Jesus: No they are in their graves
Christian teacher: but we teach that when you return christians who have died will come back with you because they are already in heaven with you.
Jesus: No, upon my return the dead will hear my voice FROM WITHIN THEIR TOMBS
Christian teacher: errr.... Jesus we don't teach that.
Jesus: well guess which one of us is right.
3-The concept of resurrection is negated if we CONTINUE to live upon death. Just think about it. The word resurrect means to RESTORE TO LIFE. Why would we need to be resurrected of we are not dead. But beyond that consider how the bible uses the term:
Luke 20:35-36
35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: 36 Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
Do we REALLY read the bible? JESUS tells us here those who are resurrected FROM THE DEAD cannot die ANYMORE. Why would he say this if they were living with him in heaven? Why would he say that if they were NEVER REALLY DEAD? Additionally, Christians today believe that when you die we will be translated into our spiritual bodies, but Jesus says that we will only be EQUAL to the angels AFTER THE RESURRECTION. Paul tells us as much:
1 Corinthians 15:44
44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
Why do we continue to teach error even in the presence of CLEAR truth?
1 Thessalonians 4:16
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
Who is it that will rise first? And what will they be raised to do? The very next verse tells us that they will 'MEET the Lord in the air, AND SO SHALL WE EVER BE WITH THE LORD'. THIS IS THE POINT WHEN THE DEAD WILL FIRST meet Jesus. If you think that's mind-blowing, guess what. PAUL IS STILL DEAD AND HE HASN'T MET THE LORD YET, neither has ANY OTHER Christian who has died.
Where did this teaching come from?
To those who believe the prevailing Christian thought on death, this teaching comes from the same verse you have been probably shouting at you computer since you started reading this post. The verse is:
2 Corinthians 5:8
8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Ahhh, you say, doesn't this verse tell us that if we are absent from the body we will be present with the Lord. Let us examine this. To what does Jesus and Paul liken death?
1 Corinthians 15:51
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep...
John 11:11
11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
1 Corinthians 11:30
30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
I believe that the comparison of death to sleep was divinely inspired by God to convey to us an understanding of death. Most people when they go to sleep at night they wake at morning. If you are a sound sleeper like most you can go to sleep at 10 pm and awake at 6am. Here is the marvel of sleep, 8 HOURS WOULD HAVE PASSED AND YOU WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AWARE OF ANY OF THEM. Your last memory would be of you falling asleep and then presto you are awake. This is EXACTLY how death is. For the believer they die (fall asleep) and their NEXT conscious thought is hearing the voice of Jesus FROM THEIR TOMBS. They would NOT BE AWARE OF ONE SECOND of any length of time that might have passed. So Paul is correct in his assertion that ABSENT FROM THE BODY he will be PRESENT WITH THE LORD. After all we have these witnesses:
Ecclesiastes 9:5
5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing...
And
Psalms 6:5
5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee:
The summation of the matter is that when you die you are DEAD. You are not somewhere else with wings or looking down from some great cloud. You are DEAD. Death makes you dead.
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