What happens when we die?
Disclaimer: This is my belief and some
of the reasons for it.
To begin with, I firmly believe that
I am in him (Christ) and he is in me; therefore, according to scripture (John
11:26) I will never die, although my physical body shall perish.
People would understand people better
if they stopped looking for a canned answer that an entire group supposedly
believes, should believe, or has to.
I am constantly reminding people that
you can not discredit my beliefs by pointing out what someone else believes!
Again, speaking only for & as
myself:
I believe the carnal mind is the non-believer.
Romans 8:7 makes it crystal clear that the carnal mind is ENMITY, AGAINST GOD,
NOT SUBJECT TO HIS LAW, AND most importantly, CAN'T BE!
My belief short & simple?
Ecclesiastes 12:7
“Then
shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto
God who gave it”
No, it doesn't say the spirits
<<< multiple; it says THE SPIRIT (singular) and this is THE SPIRIT
that came forth from God, belongs to God, and as the verse says, it WILL &
DOES return to him.
It also does not specify the
righteous spirit, the saved spirit, the Christian spirit; and it likewise
mentions nothing of a special day, person, or event that causes this.
I believe this is representative in
"Absent from the body, is to be
present with the Lord" (2nd Corinthians 5:6 & 8) because
once the physical body is dead, with God is the only place THE SPIRIT can be.
Many then would ask me something such
as “But what about the soul, hell, or the lake of fire.
I believe the Soul = the Carnal Mind.
I believe Hell depends on which scripture,
and which Hebrews/Greek/Aramaic/Latin word(s) one is referring to.
The Lake of Fire; according to the
Book of Revelation, is where DEATH & HELL are thrown (ALIVE) into. DEATH is
an ACT/ACTION/EVENT/OCCURRENCE, not a PHYSICAL/LITERAL THING, such as a piece
of paper to be thrown into the trash, or a physical body to be thrown into a
grave, or burned in cremation.
So if DEATH is an ACT/ACTION/EVENT/OCCURRENCE
and not a physical thing, how could it possibly be thrown (ALIVE) into another
PHYSICAL/LITERAL thing?
So; discounting the human body, as I
believe it is merely a VESSEL which houses both Soul & Spirit?
I see the Carnal Mind as the
Unbeliever (which perishes with the physical body) and The Spirit (which is the
believer) Returns to God who gave it. >>> Ecclesiastes 12:7
I’m often at this point asked for
further clarification on what I believe Heaven and/or Hell relate to, or are:
HELL? As written above, depends on
which scripture, and which Hebrews/Greek/Aramaic/Latin word(s) one is referring
to.
Heaven? Heaven is all around us.
While standing ON EARTH, Jesus said
he was IN HEAVEN!
John 3:13 And no man has ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from
heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
Heaven is the realm of the living,
and contra-wise, HELL is the realm of the dead.
Then, others will ask “But what about YOUR spirit”
The Spirit, which God placed in me,
IS ALREADY ETERNAL, and as such, HAS eternal life.
There is not 1 scripture in the
entire Bible, which speaks of THE DEATH of THE SPIRIT!
Jerry William Bowers Jr. THE HUMAN, is my TEMPORAL/FINITE IDENTITY, and
DIES!
The Christ IN ME? Is my true ETERNAL/INFINITE
identity, and already has ETERNAL LIFE!
As written above, I believe the
carnal mind is the unbeliever, AND DIES. My spirit? I believe in ONE SPIRIT!
1st Corinthians 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one
spirit.
1st Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into
one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have
been all made to drink into one Spirit.
Ephesians 2:18 for through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Ephesians 4:4 there is one body, and one Spirit, even as you are called in one hope
of your calling;
Philippians 1:27 only let your conversation be as it becomes the gospel of Christ: that
whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that
you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of
the gospel;
I do not see it as MY SPIRIT; it comes
FROM GOD, and returns TO GOD.
But what about those who die, what
happens to them?
Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they
have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.
The DEAD know nothing!
An argument is often presented from
the story of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:20-31) which I believe is a parable;
which shows (verse 26) that those on either side of the “great gulf fixed between them” can not pass, or transition from 1
side to the other.
But what about Jesus speaking of
being cast into hell-fire?
Mark 9:47 and if your eye offends you, pluck it out: it is better for you to
enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast
into hell fire:
Can the EYE or KINGDOM OF GOD here be
physical? What about the scripture that says “flesh and blood can not inherit the kingdom of God”? (1st
Corinthians 15:50)
Likewise, as to the 2nd
part of Mark 9:47; how could the two eyes
or hell fire by physical? Have
you ever known anyone that teaches physical bodies go to the ethereal underworld
realm of THE DEAD?
I certainly can’t claim to have it
all figured out, perfected, or even complete, but for me, the explanation seems
so simple: humans are temporal beings, and as such, die; but the spirit that
dwells within us, is eternal, and therefore, already possesses eternal life.
John 3:15 that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Isn’t this stating the same thing
referred to above in John 11:26? (will never die)
This I believe, to be the inner man
or that which is born/begotten of God; and scripture (1st John 5:4)
clearly states “For whatsoever is born of
God overcomes the world” and look at what all the Book of Revelation says
is given/possessed by them that “overcome”
Revelation 2:7 He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the
churches; to him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life, which
is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Revelation 2:11 He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the
churches; He that overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death.
Revelation 2:17 He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the
churches; To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and
will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man
knows except he that receives it.
Revelation 2:26 and he that overcomes, and keeps my works unto the end, to him will I
give power over the nations:
Revelation 3:5 He that overcomes, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I
will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name
before my Father, and before his angels.
Revelation 3:12 Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he
shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the
name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which comes down out of
heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
Revelation 3:21 To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as
I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
Revelation 21:7 He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and
he shall be my son.
Isn’t this the “Christ in you --- the hope of
glory” and didn’t Jesus THE CHRIST (who scripture also states is the ONLY
begotten/born of God) state that he was IN HEAVEN, even while standing ON
EARTH?