Rapture exposed 3 Admittance with Christ
The Rapture or admittance with Christ
“Our friends, we want you to know the truth about those who have died, so that you will not be sad, as are those who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will take back with Jesus those who have died believing in him. W_ hat we are teaching you now is the Lord's teaching: we who are alive on the day the Lord comes will not go ahead of those who have died. There will be the shout of command, the archangel's voice, the sound of God's trumpet, and the Lord himself will come down from heaven. Those who have died believing in Christ will rise to life first; then we who are living at that time will be gathered up along with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. So then, encourage one another with these words.” (1Th 4:13-18 GNB)
“For the trouble at that time will be far more terrible than any there has ever been, from the beginning of the world to this very day. Nor will there ever be anything like it again. But God has already reduced the number of days; had he not done so, nobody would survive. For the sake of his chosen people, however, God will reduce the days. "Then, if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Messiah!' or 'There he is!'---do not believe it. For false Messiahs and false prophets will appear; they will perform great miracles and wonders in order to deceive even God's chosen people, if possible. Listen! I have told you this ahead of time. "Or, if people should tell you, 'Look, he is out in the desert!'---don't go there; or if they say, 'Look, he is hiding here!'---don't believe it. For the Son of Man will come like the lightning which flashes across the whole sky from the east to the west. "Wherever there is a dead body, the vultures will gather. "Soon after the trouble of those days, the sun will grow dark, the moon will no longer shine, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers in space will be driven from their courses. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky; and all the peoples of earth will weep as they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. The great trumpet will sound, and he will send out his angels to the four corners of the earth, and they will gather his chosen people from one end of the world to the other. “(Mat 24:21-31 GNB)
"Do not be worried and upset," Jesus told them. "Believe in God and believe also in me. There are many rooms in my Father's house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so. And after I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to myself, so that you will be where I am. You know the way that leads to the place where I am going." (Joh 14:1-4 GNB)
In a lot of Christian groups the believers think they go straight to heaven when they die and then certain of them also believe either that they shall be gathered by Christ[1] in unity of the Church before Tribulation[2], while others think this shall happen in the time of tribulation, for whom the Tribulation is a relatively short period of time where people, who follow God[3], will experience worldwide persecution and be purified and strengthened by it. Some others think the rapture shall only be for the church, taking place after that Tribulation, at the Second Coming of Christ Jesus[4], before the Millennium[5], which according to most shall precede the Last Judgment[6] or final and eternal judgment by God[7] of all nations.
First it depends who you consider to be God and if you understand the role Christ Jesus, the son of God, is going to take when he returns. In the Holy Bible is namely written that it shall be Christ Jesus who shall come to judge the living and the dead, when he appears again[8]. The problem is in the first group that the Second Coming of Christ would not really be a singular public event. Because those groups have a different view of when the Tribulation or Armageddon[9] and the Rapture[10] would take place, they are ordered in the Dispensationalist[11] Premillennialists[12] (such as many Evangelicals[13], especially in the United States) who hold the return[14] of Christ to be in two stages. The majority of dispensationalists hold that the first event immediately precedes the period of Tribulation and therefore could be called Pretribulationists.
Pretribulationists believe that all Christians then alive will be taken bodily up to Heaven before the Tribulation begins. Those who become Christians[15] after the rapture will live through (or perish during) the Tribulation. After the Tribulation, Christ will return, according to them.
While the others, who believe that the rapture of the faithful will occur halfway through the Tribulation, but before the worst part of it occurs. can be called Midtribulationists.
Then you have the Posttribulationists, who also could belong to one of the groups of the Millennianists[16], who believe like the Christadelphians[17] that Christians will not be taken up into Heaven, except a few chosen ones (the 144.000[18], or the faithful saints[19]). Most of our brethren and sisters in Christ will be received or gathered by Christ into the Kingdom of God on earth after the Tribulation[20], ending with the Apocalypse[21] or Armageddon[22] [23], Day Of Reckoning[24] with Doomsday (domesday)and Judgement Day to receive the ‘Last Judgement’ or ‘the Judgement ‘[25]; taking into account that their still be a ‘Final Judgment’ after the Millennium, or period of one thousand years, the Golden Age[26] or Paradise[27] on Earth[28] in which “Christ will reign” for 1000 years prior to the final judgment and future eternal state (the New Heavens[29] and New Earth[30])[31].
For some Posttribulationists[32] the two events, Second coming of Christ Jesus and the Gathering together or Rapture, are identical or simultaneous.[33]
Then we also have the Amillennialists [34](such as Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans and others), Postmillennialists[35] (such as some Presbyterians, and others), and Historic Premillennialists[36] (such as Calvinistic Baptists, and others) who hold that the return of Christ will be a single, public event.[37]
In the amillennial and postmillennial views, as well as in the post-tribulation premillennial position, there are no distinctions in the timing of the rapture. These views regard the rapture as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17[38] as either identical to the second coming of Jesus as described in Matthew 24:29-31[39], or as a meeting in the air with Jesus that immediately precedes his second coming[40] to the earth. Within premillennialism, the pre-tribulation position is the predominant view that distinguishes between the rapture and second coming as two events. There are also two minor positions within premillennialism that differ with regard to the timing of the rapture, the mid-tribulation view and the partial rapture view.[41]
For those who say that the souls of the living go either to Hell[42], Gehenna[43], Hades[44], Sheol[45], purgatory or heaven[46] after death, and think that those who became a Christian shall be saved and go up in heaven, they take it that they are ‘raptured’, so that would mean that Jesus would come to collect them. But in such a case Jesus has to come down more than a million times to collect those good souls. This also would mean that before what they call the ‘Second coming of the Lord’ there would be a transition time where Jesus would go to and fro from heaven to earth. This is totally un biblical. In the Bible we only find that Jesus shall return to this world to gather all the people so that they shall all be present at the Judgement by him, as appointed King of the Kingdom of God. The soul[47] is considered to be the body with the breath of life given by God, in it.[48]
In case the bad people would go to Hell after death there would no reason to raise them up again in a later time to bring them before the court[49] of Christ. They shall have received their sentence at dead then and be condemned to eternal punishment (according those believers)[50]. Because a lot of people in Christianity and Islam traditionally depict that place after death as fiery and painful, inflicting guilt and suffering, with demons[51], who torment the damned. Others take it that those who die would be brought in abodes[52] of the dead which are neutral places for all the dead (for example, see sheol) rather than prisons of punishment for sinners. Sheol is the Hebrew word for the grave, which is commonly made in the earth, where the bodies are put under the ground, in later cultures we do find also the graves above the ground.[53] In all those cases Jesus would bring them there, so he should have to come each time when somebody dies to collect them.
Also when you would take it that only the Chosen Ones or the 144.000 shall be collected straight-ahead after their death, that would mean Jesus had to come 144.000 times back to gather them from their grave. It isn't that Jehovah Witnesses do not believe in the raising of the dead to go to be with Jesus in heaven. They simply see it as an ongoing event, if you will. Whenever one who is of the 144,000 dies now, he is immediately raised. But notice they do not say being ‘raptured’.[54] They do believe that at the beginning of the 20th Century, when Jesus 'presence' occurred all those dead then, of that number, were raised. But as I stated and showed in the precious chapter we are told in the Scriptures that before the return of Christ, the gathering of all people, the judgment, the dedication and the appointment of the kings and priests, also the Church shall be taken and undergo the cruelties of this world.[55] Also members of the 144.000 shall have to face the tribulations.
According a lot of Christians there are the saints, the holy people who shall receive a special place in heaven; but a lot of Christians consider themselves also as being part of the saints who shall go to heaven. People from other denominations of Christendom[56], heathens[57] and pagans[58] shall come into hell according to them.
For those who are brought to hell Jesus would not be able to change anything to their position. For those who received a suspended sentence but went into purgatory[59] they really would have been send to a punishment camp. So they would fulfil already their sentence. Why would they have to come then back to the Court, for Jesus to speak out a sentence?
For the ones , in the modern understandings, who consider hell as a state of loss rather than as fiery torture literally underground, this does not create a problem. Jesus does not have to come to earth to bring the dead into the ground. People bury their dead. In that underground, their grave or tomb the body can return to dust without intervention of somebody else.
Christadelphians[60] or Brethren in Christ, or Thomasites[61], like Bible Students[62] or Researchers of the Bible[63] and Jehovah's Witnesses could be called annihilationists[64] because they also understand Gehenna to be a place, namely the grave, where sinners but also all the others who died go to. But that does not mean they are utterly destroyed, well that their body just deteriorates to become dust without that the people feel that or would be tormented forever. The dead are namely unconscious. They are aware of nothing and cannot feel anything.[65]
The God of gods[66], the Almighty, has a Plan[67] with humankind[68]. From the beginning, when everything went wrong in the Garden of Eden[69], Jehovah God gave men hope[70] to be able to live again in the Garden of Eden, the Paradise[71]. All humanly born and humanly-devised matters are due for Jesus' judgment and for eternity apart from Jesus because he cannot abide sin and cannot judge himself. Sin must be dealt with, and Jesus is the way sin is forever eradicated. All people are under the consideration and love of God[72]. He has given everybody the opportunity[73] to come to Him, before Jesus was born by the different prophets, and after the birth of Jesus by this last prophet and Master Teacher. God knew this would not be easy anymore after all the faults the first man and his offspring had caused. All humans can be saved[74] through Jesus Christ[75] and eventually come to harmony in God's kingdom[76]. God chose the Jewish people to be in a unique covenant with God[77] but with the First coming of the son of God, Jehovah has given Yeshua, Jesus Christ as the mediator[78] for everybody, Jew or heathen.
According to the Hebrew Bible[79], all humanity are descendants of Noah[80]. Noah, his three children Shem, Ham, and Japheth and their wives survived the Flood[81] aboard the Ark[82]. Once the survivors were able to leave the ark for dry ground, they began to start new families and repopulate the earth. When Noah's family left the Ark, God made a covenant[83] with them. According to the Talmud[84], this covenant included the Seven Laws of Noah.[85] After many decennia came the promised Saviour or the Messiah[86], born in Bethlehem to the virgin Mary[87]. This was the first time the New Adam was on this world. While he was alive he told the people he was going away to His Father[88], but promised to come back. Jesus assured us that we had reason and could come to harmony with God so that we could come to harmony in God's kingdom[89] But people had to prepare themselves to Jesus his return and to hope for this beautiful time of unending life.
The Christadelphians in a certain way can belong to the Christian Universalism movement[90] and the Universalists[91]. They do believe that everybody has the opportunity to find God and to choose, from free will, to follow Christ Jesus, the Redeemer[92], and to hold his words for truth, and to comply with Gods commandments. The God of love would not create a person knowing that that person would be destined for eternal damnation[93]. He gives everybody the chance to come to Him. In our lifetime we have to take care that we come into good understanding with the Law of God and that we do try to live according the Will[94] of God. We cannot escape dead. Death shall be the end of this earthly life in this system. But we have the promise that there shall be another system, without hate, pain, or any form of suffering. Before that time comes it can well be that we shall have to wait, as in a deep sleep, in our graves. The Grave being a location where a dead body[95] (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried[96]. It shall be from that place that the bodies shall be woken up. From there Jesus shall gather all the Deceased. Death is the termination of the biological functions that define a living organism and afflict all living things except those who would survive Armageddon. There is no afterlife[97] or rebirth[98] but when Jesus shall return we are warned that at that point is shall be too late to change of opinion about changing our life. We had to prepare ourselves before our death. When Jesus returns he shall gather all the dead and living to come in front of his judgement seat. In case those people were looking for an afterlife, then shall be the time of Truth, the time of Revelation.
That the rapture of the church would be the secret disappearance of millions of Christians who have placed their faith in the completed work of Jesus Christ on the Cross is not Scripturally told.[99] According to some the first clear mention of the Rapture would stand in Scripture in the words of Jesus recorded in John 14:1-4.[100] Jesus said, "I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." But the word rapture from the Latin rapere was only introduced in that language in 1594[101]. On several occasions Jesus warned the listeners that he was going to come back. The faithful he assured also that he would prepare some place for them and that they might be sure that God the Father would welcome all those even went they were lost in between.[102] The promise is that someday very soon, at the blowing of a trumpet and the shout of an archangel, Jesus will appear in the sky and wake up all the dead. That Jesus will save the church from the wrath of God that is poured out during the coming Tribulation period is a misreading of the Bible. All the people who are alive at the End Times [103] shall find themselves in the tribulation. And those who live to the end will be gathered by the angels of the Lord.[104] Nowhere is written in the Bible that in the twinkling of an eye, we shall all vanish and be in Heaven with Jesus Christ forever. What is mentioned in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians and the one to the Corinthians is that we shall be carried away (from the grave and our situation for being death) to become changed, because he talks about the believers in Christ which shall be raised, not into heaven but into life again, and shall receive an incorruptible body instead the weak earthly body they had before.[105] Jesus is going to gather his followers who with the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and God shall give them a new body without and beyond the reach of corruption and having put on immortality[106], able to live forever, in the Kingdom of God under the sovereignty of Jesus. It is only at that moment that we shall reach the true point of the end for the death because of the first sin. (The Original sin[107] by Adam and Eve).[108] It is until the Second coming of Jesus that we have to wait before death will be swallowed up in victory. Only then there shall be made an end to the dominance of death. So before that time all the dead shall have to be under the spell of death But when Jesus shall return we shall be able to wipe away all tears. [109] We shall be reunited with all the other believers.
Pretribulationists oppose those who think Christ were to come back after the tribulation, rapture all the saints, and slay all the ungodly with the remark: “who would be left to populate the earth during the millennium?” According to them only the pre-trib viewpoint can account for this post-trib problem. They say that the Church is raptured before the tribulation, a vast number of souls are saved during this seven-year time frame, and those who make it through the tribulation go into the millennium while the unsaved are cast into hell.[110] But they overlook the point that there does not exist a special place for torture[111] called hell[112], because the sjeool or hades is just the place for the dead[113]. There does not exist hellfire[114] and no purgatory[115] as there is no reason for them because “sin is not able to make any claim on the one who is dead”[116]. So Christians do not have to be tested or be afflicted again when they died. When the approved people from the grave shall be entered in the Kingdom of God they can still give birth in the thousand year period before the Final Judgment. It shall be those who were born in that period that shall be put for a short time to ‘an ordeal’ and put on trial. They did not receive a test before, so at the end of the Millennium it shall be them who still have to be judged. The other people received already their last judgment at the Second Coming.[117]
When Christians are removed in the so called rapture when all the dead shall be taken away from the graves or being ‘snatched’[118] (read 1 Cor. 15:51-55 and 1 Thes. 4:13-18)[119], the things on Earth will change dramatically. The prophesies of Isaiah shall come into existence. Before Jesus shall hand over the Kingdom again to his Father, the world shall become renewed as the people also will be changed. You can say that Jesus has to take the people with him, firstly to be able to divide them into the two groups, those who shall receive the second dead or the final state of oblivion and the other group who shall be able to enter in that promised Kingdom of God where there also shall be those who shall reign with Jesus for a thousand years. [120]
All who are "born again" or “born anew” (see John 3:3)[121] in Christ and could be called Christians[122], will go to the heavenly homes (dwelling places)[123] Jesus has been preparing for them since He ascended to the right hand of God the Father (read John 14:1-3)[124]. These will include everyone - dead and living - who have accepted Christ for salvation of their souls. But that does not mean those great divine places would be in heaven. When God created the earth He wanted that humans would populate the World of God. [125] It was not the intention of God that it would become a lacuna or void place. Also Jesus promised that the good people would be able to inherit a place on this earth, when it would be turned into a place of no troubles any more. He even learned us to pray to God his and our Father, to receive a place on this renewed earth, which shall be part of Gods Kingdom. [126] There has been predicted that there on that earth people will continue to live in houses whom they them self have built. These houses will not be devastated by hostile irruptions like in the past. Also people will work the country and vintages to plant and the turnover of it shall nurture them self. There shall be no enemies or others that will take seizure. Even if hard work will be, people will sense it not like it. They fully shall be able to enjoy the turnovers of the harvests. Children will not be born to die to early. Because they are the children of them that God has blessed and their children will be also blessed. Everyone shall be able to sit quietly in the shade of his own house, in peace and prosperity, because nobody will startle them.[127]
Gods Plan to peopling the World and make it good shall come into fulfilment.[128] It would be after the Second Coming of Christ that those people would be gathered to fulfil those sayings. Then would be the time of that future habitable world of humanity–about which we are speaking.
It shall be but a little while, and the wicked shall disappear and you shall search his place, and suddenly he shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the overflowing of peace.” (Ps 37:10-11)[129]
Notes
[1] Yeshua or Jesus from Nazareth, the promised Messiah, born in Bethlehem, and indicated by the Creator God, Jehovah/Yahweh as His beloved son.
[2] About Tribulation see a.o. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribulation
http://bijbelonderzoekers.multiply.com/tag/grote%20verdrukking
[3] http://bijbelonderzoekers.multiply.com/tag/god
[5] http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/millenium
[6] + About the Last Judgment: http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/laatste%20oordeel
[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_in_Christianity + http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/god
[8] “Therefore I solemnly witness before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who is going to judge [the] living and [the] dead according to His appearance and His kingdom,” (2Ti 4:1 MKJV)
[9] Armageddon or End Time, a Biblical term, on Wikipedia > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End_time + http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Armageddon + http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/armageddon
[10] http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/vervoering
[11] About Dispensationalism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispensationalist
[12] Premillennianism: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premillennialisme
[13] Christian Evangelicalism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Christian_evangelicalism + http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evangelicalism
[14] http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/terugkomst
[15] Followers of Christ Jesus. > About Christians > http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/christen
[16] Millennialism > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennialism
[17] Christadelphians could be counted by the dispensational Post-Tribulational Premillennialism group who believe in two judgments: one for all at the Second Coming of Christ, in Belgium and Holland most easily referred to as the ‘Last Judgment’ (using that general known word for that Judgment Day) or Doomsday (Day of Judgment) and the ‘Final Judgment’ only for the new born in the selected group of believers who passed that general first judgment for all.
> http://sites.google.com/site/belgianchristadelphians/christadelphianpeople + http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/christadelphian
[18] http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/144000 + http://bijbelonderzoekers.multiply.com/tag/144000
[19] About saints: http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/heiligen
[20] "Immediately after the tribulation ... then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man [Jesus] ... and he shall gather his elect" (Matthew 24:29–31; Mark 13:24-27; Luke 21:25-27).
[21] Apocalypse: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse
[22] Armageddon, Jehovah’s Global War > http://www.watchtower.org/e/20051201/article_02.htm
[23] In the Scandinavian countries also known as Ragnarok or Ragnarök from the Old Norse "Doom of the Gods", the final battle between gods and giants, involving all creation, where the world is also consumed in flames, which brings the end of the world as it is known and almost all life, . (Simek (2007:260), Simek (2007:222-224); Wiktionary)
[24] http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/day_of_reckoning
[25] Judgment: http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/oordeel
Last Judgment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Judgment
[26] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Age
[27] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise + http://bijbelonderzoekers.multiply.com/tag/paradijs
[28] http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/aarde
[29] About heavens > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven + http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/hemel
[30] http://sites.google.com/site/belgianchristadelphians/bestemmingvandeaarde
[31] “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. And the things before will not be remembered, nor come to mind.” (Isa 65:17 MKJV)
“But according to His promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2Pe 3:13 MKJV)
[32] Post Tribulation Rapture doctrine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post_Tribulation_Rapture
[33] For the Christadelphians there is first the Second Coming of the son of God, then the waking up from the dead, the gathering of all the people and then the judgment where people shall receive everlasting life or the second dead. (Note: not eternal life, because they had a life with a beginning, and God could always end their life, but shall let them live forever. They are granted a ceaseless habitation in the Kingdom of God).
[34] Amillennialism > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amillennialism
[35] Postmillenialism > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmillenialism
[36] Historic_premillennialism > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premillennialism#Historic_premillennialism
[37] Christadelphians also do believe Jesus shall come only once for the second time to the earth.
[38] 1Th 4:13 But we would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them who are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died, and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them who are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive, and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore, comfort one another with these words. (1Th 4:13 -18 Primitive NT)
[39] 29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkned, and the moon shall not give its light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man who is in the heavens, and then shall all the tribes of the land mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming upon the clouds of heaven, with great power and glory. 31 And he shall send his angels with a trumpet, of a great sound and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. And when these things begin to come to pass, Look up, and lift up your heads for your redemption draweth nigh. (Mt 24:29-31 Primitive NT)
[40] Second coming of Christ, Parousia or Second Advent: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_of_Jesus
http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/terugkomst
[41] Clouse, R.G. (1984), Elwell, Walter A., ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, pp. 910
[42] Gehenna or hell fire > http://sites.google.com/site/belgianchristadelphians/hellfire
Dead and after > http://sites.google.com/site/belgianchristadelphians/hellfire
Hell: http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/hel
Harrowing of Hell: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrowing_of_hell
[43] Gehenna signals the valley of Hinnom, that lay south and west of Jerusalem and where long repugnantly false religious rites were practiced and king Josia preventing further abuse let pollute the place by using it as an incinerator for Jerusalem. There then the deads were brought to be burned and this way to limit infections. They kept the fire burning all the time. (Jos 15:8; 2Ch 28:3; 33:6; Jer 32:35; 2Ch 23:10; Mr 9:47,48)
[44] Greek equivalent for Hebrew Sjeol: place of the dead, the grave or sepulcher.
“25 For David saith concerning him, {1} I beheld the Lord always before my face; For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: {1) Ps 16:8 ff} 26 Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; Moreover my flesh also shall {1} dwell in hope: {1) Or [tabernacle]} 27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul unto Hades, Neither wilt thou give thy Holy One to see corruption.” (Ac 2:25-27 ASV)
[45] Sheol or the Grave > http://sites.google.com/site/belgianchristadelphians/hellfire
[46] hemel > http://sites.google.com/site/belgianchristadelphians/hemel
Heaven > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven
Around heaven: http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/hemel
Place to be in Death #4 Establishement of a new world
Articles about heaven: http://bijbelonderzoekers.multiply.com/tag/hemel
[47] Man himself is the soul: http://sites.google.com/site/belgianchristadelphians/soul
The Soul not a ghost: http://christadelphians.multiply.com/journal/item/1102/The_Soul_not_a_ghost
Articles about the soul: http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/ziel
[48] “And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Ge 2:7 ASV)
“So also it is written, {1} The first man Adam became a living soul. The last Adam became a life–giving spirit. {1) Ge 2:7}” (1Co 15:45 ASV) (..’a soul’/’a living soul’)(“Earthly soul”: Naarden bible)
Man himself is the soul. http://sites.google.com/site/belgianchristadelphians/soul
[49] Judgment by Christ: http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/oordeel
[50] However according to the bible the hell or sheol is the place where all deads shall be shut up, simply the sepulchre where no conscience is.
“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.” (Ec 9:5 NIV)
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, {Hebrew Sheol} where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.” (Ec 9:10 NIV)
When a person dies everything finishes and goes away to become dust. “When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.” (Ps 146:4 NIV)
“19 Man’s fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; {Or spirit} man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless. 20 All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return.” (Ec 3:19-20 NIV)
Sheol or the Grave: http://sites.google.com/site/belgianchristadelphians/sheolorthegrave
[51] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon
Angels, Demons and Elohim: http://christadelphians.multiply.com/journal/item/581/Angels_Demons_and_Elohim
Articles on Demons: http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/demon
Is een Demon een op zijn eigen bestaande geest?: http://christadelphians.spaces.live.com/blog/cns%21AC6D6D7126DC567C%21527.entry
[52] Limbo or the "edge" of Hell, the purgatorium or de purifying mountain: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbo , voorgeborchte or limbo: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagevuur; http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voorgeborchte
[53] That underground is therefore sometimes refered to as the ‘underworld’ or the ‘world beneath’.
[54] Paul Leonard in reply of my letter 2010/03/22 on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JWquestions-and_answers/message/3789
[55] “But before all these things, they shall lay their hands on you, and shall persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, {1} bringing you before kings and governors for my name’s sake. {1) Gr you being brought}” (Lu 21:12 ASV)
“They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto God.” (Joh 16:2 ASV)
[56] Christendom: http://bijbelonderzoekers.multiply.com/tag/christendom
http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/christendom
Christianity: http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/christenheid
[57] http://bijbelonderzoekers.multiply.com/tag/heiden; http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/heiden
[58] Paganism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paganism http://bijbelonderzoekers.multiply.com/tag/paganisme
[59] Purgatory or Limbo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purgatory; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbo
[60] Christadelphians or Brethren in Christ: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christadelphians
http://sites.google.com/site/belgianchristadelphians/christadelphianpeople
Christadelphians in the Law Countries: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overleg:Christadelphians
[61] Thomasites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomasites http://sites.google.com/site/belgianchristadelphians/thomasites
[62] Bible Students: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_Students + http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_Student_movement
[63] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associated_Bible_Students
http://bijbelvorsers.blogspot.com
http://bijbelonderzoekers.multiply.com
[64] Annihilationist denominations include the Seventh-day Adventists, Bible Students, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christadelphians
annihilationists: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annihilationist
[65] “His breath goes forth; he returns to the earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” (Ps 146:4 MKJV)
“For that which happens [to] the sons of men also happens to beasts, even one thing [happens] to them. As this [one] dies, so that [one] dies; yea, they all [have] one breath; so that a man has no advantage over a beast; for all [is] vanity. All go to one place; all are of the dust, and all return to dust again.” (Ec 3:19-20 MKJV)
“For the living know that they shall die; but the dead do not know anything, nor do they have any more a reward; for their memory is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; nor do they any longer have a part forever in all that is done under the sun.” (Ec 9:5-6 MKJV)
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do [it] with all your might; for [there is] no work, nor plan, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave where you go.” (Ec 9:10 MKJV)
[66] God of gods: http://sites.google.com/site/belgianchristadelphians/godofgods
The Only One God: http://sites.google.com/site/belgianchristadelphians/onlyonegod
http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/god
http://bijbelonderzoekers.multiply.com/tag/god%20de%20vader
[67] Gods Plan: http://bijbelonderzoekers.multiply.com/tag/plan%20van%20god + http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/plan%20van%20god
http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/plan
[68] Humanity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanity
Humankind = mensdom: http://bijbelonderzoekers.multiply.com/tag/mensdom
[69] Adam and Eve origin of humanity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_and_Eve
Garden of Eden or Paradise: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_of_Eden + http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise
[70] http://www.godshope.net/godsandourhope.php
http://www.godshope.net/hopeofthefuture.php
http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/hoop
[71] Paradise: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise
http://bijbelonderzoekers.multiply.com/tag/paradijs
[72] God’s love: http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/liefde%20van%20god
[73] Opportunity : http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/kans
[74] http://www.godshope.net/promisecomforter.php
Saved=> Salvation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvation
http://www.godshope.net/godssalvation.php
http://bijbelonderzoekers.multiply.com/tag/redding + http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/verlossing
[75] Jesus Christ, Yeshua/Jesjoea or Yashua of Nazareth also called Son of God the Mašíaḥ or Messiah: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Christ
Jezus: http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/jezus
Yeshua: http://bijbelonderzoekers.multiply.com/tag/yeshua
Son of God: http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/zoon%20van%20god
[76] Kingdom of God: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_God + http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/koninkrijk%20van%20god
[77] Jewish people to be in a unique covenant with God: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jews_as_a_chosen_people
[78] http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/bemiddelaar
[79] Hebrew Jewish Bible (Tanakh), Biblia Hebraica, synonym for the Old Testament and the Tanakh or Tenach together or separate: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_Bible
[80] Noah, Noe, Noyach, in the Islam also known as Nuh: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah.+ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_view_of_Noah
[81] Flood or Deluge: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deluge_(mythology)
[82] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah%27s_Ark
[83] The biblical covenant is an agreement found in the Bible "between God and his people: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covenant_%28biblical%29
Mosaïc covenant: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covenant_%28biblical%29#Mosaic_covenant
[84] Talmud (with Mishnah and Gemara): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talmud
[85] Judaism teaches that God chose the Jewish people to be in a unique covenant with God, and one of their beliefs is that Jewish people were charged by the Torah with a specific mission — to be a light unto the nations, and to exemplify the covenant with God as described in the Torah to other nations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universalist + http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Laws_of_Noah
[86] Or Mashiach: http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/messias
[87] Virgin Mary, Saint Mary: Maryām, Miriam, daughter of Joachim and Anna, wife of Joseph and mother of Jesus: Maria, Blessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic), Mary (mother of Jesus): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blessed_Virgin_Mary + http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_(mother_of_Jesus)
[88] God the Father, YHWH Jehovah/Yahweh: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_the_Father
+ http://bijbelonderzoekers.multiply.com/tag/god%20de%20vader
[89] Kingdom of God (Greek: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ, Basileia tou Theou) or Kingdom of Heaven (Hebrew: מלכות השמים): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_God
http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/koninkrijk%20van%20god
[90] Christian_Universalism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Universalism +
[91] Universalism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universalism
[92] “For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,” (1Th 5:9 MKJV)
Redeemer or Saviour: http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/redder
http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/verlossing
[93] Damnation in Gehenna or hell :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damnation
[94] http://bijbelonderzoekers.multiply.com/tag/wil%20van%20god
[95] The dead body, cadaver, corpse, remains or lich, a dead human body: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadaver
[96] Grave = place where deceased is placed. Burial: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burial + http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death
[97] The afterlife, the Hereafter, other life after death, the Hereafter or the Next World in an immaterial or spiritual realm, a specific plane of existence, a Walhalla or back on this world as another person: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afterlife
[98] Reincarnation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnation + http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnation_in_popular_culture
[99] See chapter 1: Rapture what does it mean.
[100] “Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, so that where I am, you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” (Joh 14:1-4 MKJV)
[101] Rapture what does it mean?; M. Ampe; 2010
[102] Parable of the lost son and the lesson of the lost sheep.
[103] The End Time, End Times, or End of Days and Armageddon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End_time + http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armageddon
http://bijbelonderzoekers.multiply.com/tag/eindtijd
[104] “And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of [the] heavens to the other.” (Mt 24:31 MKJV)
[105] “After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord for ever.” (1Th 4:17 NIV)
“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” (1Co 15:51-52 NIV)
[106] “For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.” (1Co 15:53 NIV)
Note that there is not written eternality. Those who shall be able to enter the Kingdom of God shall all be people who had a beginning. The first group shall be the people who lived in this system of the world and the second group shall be those who are born in the Millennium, the time of a Thousand Years between Jesus Second Coming and the Final Judgment.
[107] The First or Original sin, sometimes called ancestral sin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_sin + http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancestral_sin
http://bijbelonderzoekers.multiply.com/tag/erfzonde
[108] “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."” (1Co 15:54 NIV)
[109] “He hath swallowed up death for ever; and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people will he take away from off all the earth: for Jehovah hath spoken it.” (Isa 25:8 ASV)
[110] The People of the Millennium; http://www.raptureready.com/rr-pretribulation-rapture.html
[111] No torture after dead because then people are not aware anymore of anything: “And others had trial of [cruel] mockings and scourgings; yes, more, of bonds and imprisonments. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented.” (Heb 11:36-37 MKJV)
“For the living know that they shall die; but the dead do not know anything, nor do they have any more a reward; for their memory is forgotten.” (Ec 9:5 MKJV)
“Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your presence? If I go up into Heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You [are there].” (Ps 139:7-8 MKJV)
“Hell and destruction [are] before Jehovah; even more the hearts of the sons of men.” (Pr 15:11 MKJV)
[112] Hel: http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/hel
[113] Hellfire: The Hebrew “Sjeöl” or “Sheol” and the Greek equivalent ‘haides’ stand for the common grave of the deceased. >
[114] Hellfire: http://sites.google.com/site/belgianchristadelphians/hellfire
[115] Purgatory is based on tradition and not on Scripture. The Bible says clearly that after death, the person has paid for his sins, and that is why he dies. (Ezechiel 18:4; James 5:20) When a persons dies he shall become free from sin: “for he that hath died is {1} justified from sin. {1) Or released; Compare Sir 26:29 (Gr); Ro 7:1}”
[116] Translation from the Dutch good News Bible. “For when we die, we are set free from the power of sin.” (Romans 6:7 E.GNB):
[117] And people shall only have to appear once in front of the Judgment seat.
[118] See chapter 1: Rapture what does it mean.
[119] “I long to know him in the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, by sharing the likeness of his death; if by any means I might attain to the resurrection from the dead!” (Php 3:10-11 MONTNT)
“Lo, I tell you a secret truth. we shall not all be sleeping, but we shall be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, when the last trumpet sounds. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised, incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must be clothed with incorruption, and this mortal must be clothed with immortality. And when this mortal has been clothed with immortality, then will the words of Scripture come to pass, Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, Death, is thy victory? Where, Death, is thy sting?” (1Co 15:51-55 MONTNT)
“But I would not have you ignorant, brothers, about those who are falling asleep. You must not sorrow like other men, who have no hope. For if we really believe that Jesus died and rose again, so even so will God through Jesus bring with him those also who have fallen asleep. For this I tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are living, who survive unto the coming of the Lord, will in no wise precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God will descend from heaven. Then the dead in Christ will rise first. And afterwards we who are alive, who remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. So comfort one another with these words.” (1Th 4:13-18 MONTNT)
[120] “Blessed and holy [is] he who has part in the first resurrection. The second death has no authority over these, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him a thousand years.” (Re 20:6 MKJV)
[121] “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except one be born {1} anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God. {1) Or from above; See Joh 3:31; 19:11; Jas 1:17; 3:15, 17}” (Joh 3:3 ASV)
[122] Christians: http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/christen + http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/christen%20zijn
[123] Be aware: there is not written: “to heaven”.
[124] “Let not your heart be troubled: {1} believe in God, believe also in me. {1) Or ye believe in God} In my Father’s house are many {1} mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. {1) Or abiding–places} And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (Joh 14:1-3 ASV)
http://sites.google.com/site/belgianchristadelphians/hijdiezitaanderechterhandvanzijnvader
http://christadelphians.multiply.com/tag/rechterhand
[125] “And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it. And have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the heavens, and all animals that move upon the earth.” (Ge 1:28 MKJV)
“For so says Jehovah the Creator of the heavens, He [is] God, forming the earth and making it; He makes it stand, not creating it empty, [but] forming it to be inhabited. I [am] Jehovah, and [there is] no other.” (Isa 45:18 MKJV)
“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from the heavens, and does not return there, but waters the earth, and makes it bring out and bud, and give seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so shall My Word be, which goes out of My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall certainly do what I sent it to do.” (Isa 55:10-11 MKJV)
[126] “Blessed [are] the meek! For they shall inherit the earth.” (Mt 5:5 MKJV)
“Therefore pray in this way: Our Father, who is in Heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as [it is] in Heaven.” (Mt 6:9-10 MKJV)
“having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, for an administration of the fullness of times, to head up all things in Christ, both the things in Heaven, and the things on earth, [even] in Him, in whom also we have been chosen to an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His own will,” (Eph 1:9-11 MKJV)
“For He has not put in subjection to the angels the world to come, of which we speak.” (Heb 2:5 MKJV)
“And You made us kings and priests to our God, and we will reign over the earth.” (Re 5:10 MKJV)
[127] “And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people, and my chosen shall {1} long enjoy the work of their hands. {1) Heb [wear out]} They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for {1} calamity; for they are the seed of the blessed of Jehovah, and their offspring {2} with them. {1) Or [sudden terror] 2) Or, shall be [with them]}” (Isa 65:21-23 ASV)
“But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig–tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of Jehovah of hosts hath spoken it.” (Mic 4:4 ASV)
“For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and {1} he shall not be. {1) Or [it]} But the meek shall inherit the land, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” (Ps 37:10-11 ASV)
[128] Read: God’s design in the creation of the World. > http://sites.google.com/site/belgianchristadelphians/god'sdesigninthecreationoftheworld
[129] “[It is] but a little while, and the wicked shall not be; yea, you shall search his place, and he shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the overflowing of peace.” (Ps 37:10-11 MKJV)
“And they will build houses and live [in them]; and they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They will not build, and another live [in them]; they will not plant, and another eat. For like the days of a tree [are] the days of My people, and My elect will long enjoy the work of their hands. They will not labor in vain, nor bring forth for terror. For they [are] the seed of the beloved of Jehovah, and their offspring with them.” (Isa 65:21-23 MKJV)
“But they shall sit each one under his vine and under his fig tree; and there shall be no trembling; for the mouth of Jehovah of Hosts has spoken,” (Mic 4:4 MKJV)