Death

[murjahel]

Jasher CHAPTER 1 tells us about
the DEATH OF ABEL...
the story is a bit more detailed in Jasher
than in Genesis...​

12. And Adam knew his wife Eve
and she bore two sons and three daughters.​

13. And she called the name of the first born Cain,
saying I have obtained a man for the Lord,
and the name of the other she called Abel,
for she said,
In vanity we shall be taken from it.​

14. And the boys grew up and their father
gave them a possession in the land;
and Cain was a tiller of the ground,
and Abel a keeper of sheep.​

15. And it was at the expiration of a few years,
they brought an approximating offering to the Lord,
and Cain brought from the fruit of the ground,
and Abel brought from the firstlings of his flock
from the fat thereof,
and God turned and inclined to Abel and his offering,
and a fire came down from the Lord
from heaven and consumed it.​

16. And unto Cain and his offering the Lord
did not turn, and He did not incline to it,
for He had brought from the inferior fruit
of the ground before the Lord,
and Cain was jealous against his brother Abel
on account of this, and he sought a pretext to slay him.​

17.And in some time after,
Cain and Abel his brother,
went one day into the field to do their work;
and they were both in the field,
Cain tilling and plowing his ground,
and Abel feeding his flock;
and the flock passed that part
which Cain had plowed in the ground,
and it sorely grieved Cain on this account.​

18. And Cain approached his brother Abel in anger,
and he said unto him,
What is there between me and thee,
that thou comest to dwell and bring
thy flock to feed in my land?​

19. And Abel answered his brother Cain
and said unto him,
What is there between me and thee,
that thou shalt eat the flesh of my flock
and clothe thyself with their wool?​

20. And now therefore,
put off the wool of my sheep
with which thou hast clothed thyself,
and recompense me for their fruit
and flesh which thou hast eaten,
and when thou shalt have done this,
I will then go from thy land as thou hast said.​

21. And Cain said to his brother Abel,
Surely if I slay thee this day,
who will require thy blood from me?​

22. And Abel answered Cain,
saying, Surely, God Who has made us in the earth,
He will avenge my cause,
and He will require my blood from thee
shouldst thou slay me,
for the Lord is the judge and arbiter,
and it is He who will requite man
according to his evil,
and the wicked man according
to the wickedness that he may do upon the earth.​

23. And now if thou shouldst slay me here,
surely God knoweth thy secret views,
and will judge thee for thy evil
which thou didst declare to do unto me this day.​

24. And when Cain heard the words
which Abel his brother had spoken,
behold the anger of Cain was kindled
against his brother Abel for declaring this thing.​

25. And Cain hastened and rose up,
and took the iron part of his plowing instrument,
with which he suddenly smote his brother
and he slew him,
and Cain spilt the blood of his brother Abel
upon the earth,
and the blood of Abel streamed
upon the earth before the flock.​

26. And after this Cain repented having slain
his brother, and he was sadly grieved,
and he wept over him
and it vexed him exceedingly.​

27. And Cain rose up and dug a hole in the field,
wherein he put his brother's body,
and he turned the dust over it.​

28. And the Lord knew what Cain had done to his brother,
and the Lord appeared to Cain and said unto him,
Where is Abel thy brother
that was with thee?​

29. And Cain dissembled, and said, I do not know,
am I my brother's keeper?
And the Lord said unto him, What hast thou done?
The voice of thy brother's blood
crieth unto Me from the ground
where thou hast slain him.​

30. For thou hast slain thy brother
and hast dissembled before Me,
and didst imagine in thy heart that I saw thee not,
nor knew all thy actions.​

31. But thou didst this thing and didst slay thy brother
for naught and because he spoke rightly to thee,
and now, therefore,
cursed be thou from the ground
which opened its mouth
to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand,
and wherein thou didst bury him.​

32. And it shall be when thou shalt till it,
it shall no more give thee its strength as in the
beginning, for thorns and thistles
shall the ground produce,
and thou shalt be moving
and wandering in the earth until the day of thy death.​

33. And at that time, Cain went out
from the presence of the Lord,
from the place where he was,
and he went moving and wandering in the land
toward the east of Eden, he and all belonging to him.​

Abel was God's first prophet of this creation.​

He gave Cain a message of warning
against sin. ​

Luke 11:49-51
"I will send them prophets and apostles,
and some of them
they shall slay and persecute...
the blood of the prophets...
shall be required of this generation,
from the blood of Abel..."​

We distinguish man religions,
but God distinguishes only two. ​

There is first a worthless religion of trusting
works for salvation.
There is secondly the salvation of grace.​

Any religion that teaches that mankind earns, merits,
or does something to qualify for salvation is in error.​

Satan deceived Cain into thinking
that a sacrifice of fruits of his own
growing were satisfactory.​

Abel brought a lamb, a blood sacrifice,
that pre-figured the true Lamb of God,
Jesus Christ. ​

It is not works that save us,
it is trusting in the Lamb of God,
Jesus Christ..
to take our death for us... ​

Abel was the first shepherd,
and he was slain for his righteousness.​

Jesus is our "good Shepherd",
and He too was slain for His righteousness.​

John 10:11
"I am the Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd
giveth his life for the sheep..."​

Cain went to the land of "Nod" (Genesis 4:16).
The word "Nod" means "wandering."
Nod is supposed by some to be ancient Tartary. ​

This is the area of eastern Europe and western Asia.​

Because of sin, Cain became a fugitive.
Sin makes all of us fugitives, and vagabonds.​

The prophets of God are watched over by the Lord,
the prophets of God, point to Jesus,
and preach against sin.​

Many have dies doing their job...
​

Abel was the first to die for his prophetic message...​

 

[murjahel]

Samson's death​

Josephus tells us that Samson
drank heavily one night,
(another breaking of his vow to God),
and Delilah cut Samson's long hair. ​

The Philistines captured the weakened Samson,
bound him, put out his eyes,
and made him grind grain in their prison.​

Samson had trusted a deceitful, greedy,
and impure woman,
and had been tricked by those
he thought himself mentally superior...​

He had failed over and over in God's plan
for his life...
Later, after his hair had again grown long,
and Samson had repented of his sins
and stupidity...
the Philistines brought Samson to a feast
to their god, Dagon.
(Dagon is a name that comes from
'Dagh' meaning 'fish'.
The idol of Dagon looked like
a half man, and half fish being...)​

While in the huge temple of Dagon,
Samson prayed again for strength,
and another chance
to do what God wanted
and that was physically
to defeat the Philistines...​

Blind now, Samson had a servant
to take him to the great pillars
that held up the roof of the building.​

He slid the pillars aside
from the foundation,
and the collapse of the roof killed 3000
celebrating Philistines...​

It also took the life of Samson.​

Judges 16:29-30
"So the dead that he slew at death
were more than they
that he slew in his life..." ​

Samson did not complete his task
given him by God,
and the rest of his life had been
one failure after another...
He only had "begun" to do as God had wanted...​

Yet, in Hebrews 11:32-39:​

"And what shall I more say?
for the time would fail me to tell
of Gideon, and of Barak,
and OF SAMSON,
and of Jepthah, of David,
and also of Samuel,
and of the prophets...
and THESE ALL,
having obtained
a good report through faith..."
　
So, Samson is in heaven,
forgiven of God,
and a hero of faith...​

Most often a failure,
mistaken in his methods,
weak in his lustful sins,
sidetracked by women,
shamed before those he was sent to stop,
and yet, God forgave him,
and now honors him
as one who finally won the battle of faith...
We too can find mercy from God,
amidst our shameful failures and sins...​

Romans 5:10
"For if, when we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God
by the death of His Son,
much more, being reconciled,
we shall be saved by His life..." ​

We need to cease to
"do what is right in our own eyes,"
and to find what God wants us to do... ​

God's rules and ways
are to be our rules and ways... ​

God is merciful for our past mistakes,
but they do carry a punishment,
and shame... ​

We can still find God's mercy,
and end up on God's list
of "heroes of faith..."​

 

[murjahel]

Comparing John the Baptist's
and Herod's deaths...

John the baptist was imprisoned
because of his sermon condemning
Herod's marriage to Herodias,
the wife of his brother Philip
(Luke 3:19-20, Matthew 14:3-4,
Mark 6:17-18).

Josephus says that John the baptist
was imprisoned and put to death
due to the:
"fear lest his great influence
over the people might
put it in his power or inclination
to raise a rebellion..."
(Ant. XVIII v, 2).

This does not disagree with the motivation
and events recorded in the Bible...
for though Herod wanted
to avoid a rebellion being started...
he also feared
to behead John the baptist
for fear of the reality of his ministry to God.

Salome, daughter of Herodias,
danced before Herod Antipas...
As a reward for pleasing him thereby,
she was granted her wish...
which was
for the head of John the baptist
upon a platter...
(Matthew 14:3-11, Mark 6:17-18,
Josephus Ant. XVIII v 4).

Herod Antipas was son of Herod the Great
and his Samaritan wife Malthace,
was therefore half Idumean
and half Samaritan...

He had no Jewish blood in him...

Yet, he ruled as "tetrarch" of Galilee
and Peraea from 4 B.C. till 39 A.D.

Herod Antipas was cunning, superstitious, immoral...

John the baptist was not afraid
to announce to his congregations
that the sin of Herod Antipas
taking the wife of his half brother, Philip...

The first wife of Herod Antipas
was the daughter of Aretas, king of Petra.
He sent her back to her father,
and then
married an already married Herodias...

An angry Aretas declared war
on this insult
and shameful action of Herod Antipas...

Herodias proved to be the undoing
of Herod Antipas...
She made her husband protest
to Caius Caligula, emperor of Rome,
about a favor given to Herod Agrippa,
and not to Herod Antipas...

Going to Rome to protest personally,
led to the banishment of Herod Antipas
to Lyons in Gaul
where he died in great misery...
(Josephus Ant. XVIII v11 2).​

 

[murjahel]

death has become almost a 'taboo'
subject ...
to some, they fear death, as though
it were a sign of failure..
but God says that He sees it as
'precious' when a saint dies...

sinners need to fear death,
it is their entrance day to hell fire...

Christians need not only not fear,
but need to see it as 'to live is Christ,
to die is gain'...

so... to die and go to be with Jesus
is better than here...
'dah !' LOL
so, why do we get all upset when
we find out we are soon to go???

to 'live' here is to be for Jesus,
to do our ministry for Him,
to win souls to Him,
to make our testing time her productive...

but...
if when we face 'death', and we
fight it, cry, weep, fear, seek everyway
to overrule the passing...
does that show we really have 'faith'???

of the heroes of faith listed in the book
of Hebrews, they all were great saints,
and it says they 'all died, not having received
the promise' that they had been given...

so... even to say, you don't want to leave
till you receive all you were promised from
God, is not a Biblical response...

they were shown promises..
and yet, died before receiving all of them...
and so might we...
and God will still fulfill the promises...

if God promised your child will someday
be saved, you could watch it from here,
or watch it happen while you are in heaven
standing next to Jesus..
what is so wrong with the latter???

come on, now...
why this fear of death?
are you not ready yourself to stand
before Jesus?
it would only be a short prayer to fix
that, then you could smile and get
ready to meet your Savior...

Stephen's death shows an intterrupted
sermon, a young man with great
potential for future ministry...
and yet, God called him home...

loved ones missed him,
but Jesus was standing up,
not sitting down, next to the Father,
ready, and anxious to have Stephen
come home to heaven...

come on...
was that so bad???
no...
it was a wonderful day for Stephen ...

will you go to meet Jesus with a smile?
or go kicking and screaming as though
heaven were hell itself???​

 

[murjahel]

The Bible talks much about 'death',
we talk little about it...
we avoid the subject until we
sit in a funeral, and listen to what
is said about that person's death...​

We need to be more informed on the subject,
we need to study the Word on the subject,
for even the most arden prosperity believer,
finds out that God considers 'death' to be
prospeirity.. LOL​

Some are probably avoiding this thread
on death, like they would avoid falling off
a cliff...
but...
this subject is one that is vital to our
witness, for us to understand, so that
we have 'an answer for everyman'
in our witnessing...​

Stephen's death is a prime
example for us...​

In the age in which Stephen lived,
every Christian was taught to be a witness. ​

Lay preaching was very common. ​

The seven deacons chosen were not called
to preach between their waiting on tables,
they were chosen to cease preaching periodically, in order to wait tables... ​

Preaching was already their primary ministry,
and to be a deacon was only a part time job
to aid the 12 discipl​

Stephen, who was attempting to reason
with these three synagogues,
did not intend to be preaching a sermon
which would end his life...​

None of us should be seeking to end
our ministries through death..
even though we should be longing to see Jesus.​

Even his mild, reasonable,
and logical arguments
began to stir up these men.
They were not able to
"resist the wisdom and the Spirit"
Who empowered Stephen. ​

The word for "resist"
is the Greek word
"anthistemi"
which means
"to stand against, to withstand..."​

In other words,
they could not come up with valid arguments
that could prove the reasoning and
evidence of Stephen.​

Stephen was much like the Lord that he loved,
for the words of Jesus were likewise irresistible... ​

Unable to out-talk this blessed preacher
of the gospel,
they decided to bring false charges
against Stephen. ​

They charged him with a two-fold accusation...​

They said that he had spoken heretical words
against the law of Moses,
and
against the person of God, Himself.
(Acts 6:11)​

With these charges, these men ​

"stirred up"
(Acts 6:12).​

The words "stirred up" is from the Greek word ​

"sunkineo"
meaning "to excite, to move together"​

. ​

​

They did not want to do the work ​

of attacking Stephen alone,
so they caused others to be so stirred up
and excited that they moved to bring Stephen
to trial. ​

The Sanhedrin could bring a death sentence, ​

but the Roman government
had required that they get Roman consent
before the judgment could be carried out.​

Before this "council", i.e. the Sanhedrin,​

they brought
"false witnesses" (Acts 6:13)​

These false witnesses said that Stephen had blasphemed...​

Yet, they perverted his words,
and the customs that they said Stephen had claimed
would now be changed were to be changed...
for the Scriptures had confirmed such.​

They fired up the group so much,​

that some led Stephen to where they stoned people...​

Stephen’s last sermon and death

had marked the start of great persecution.
But,
it resulted later in the conversion
of Saul of Tarsus (Paul).​

Stephen died, a martyr,​

with a shortened ministry,
but a very good witness ​

He died 'willingly' but not 'anxiously'..​

he did not seek to die,
but he was unafraid to die...
He looked up as the stones fell,
not panicking in fear and terror...
He saw Jesus, his face shone with
peace and joy...​

His last words...​

"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."
are an example of how we should someday
face our Lord, if we die ...
instead of being raptured...​

 

[murjahel]

Andrew was less adventurous than
Peter, James and John...

He was older, less physically capable...
He also was a personality type
that made him get more into ministering,
rather than sitting at the feet of Jesus...

He was more like Martha,
who ministered in the kitchen
while Mary sat at the feet of Jesus.

Perhaps he was more content to be passed over,
and to be subordinate...

He was willing to take the lower place,
and be meek and humble...

We do know that Andrew was self-forgetful,
self-effacing, humble, and meek.

Paul later explained that true "love envieth not..."
and Andrew had a love that was without envy,
desire to be in the first place...

Andrew wanted to share what he had found with others...
James and John wanted to be first.
Andrew was not distressed
that he was not in with the first three...

All Andrew was interested in was the work...

He labored quietly,
he did not work for recognition and acknowledgement.

Andrew was a people-person,
a missionary, and a soul-winner.

When a person really experiences
the salvation of God, he must tell of it.

Peter and John later said:
"We cannot but speak..."
and
Andrew is not recorded to have said that,
but his life showed that...

Andrew so longed for the Messiah
that he had to spread the word
that he had found Him...

He started with his own brother...
"He findeth first his own brother, Simon..."

There would have been no Simon Peter
amidst the disciples,
had it not been for the soul-winning
nature of Andrew.

Perhaps it was because of this aggressive
missionary nature that made Jesus call Andrew
to be his first disciple...

Andrew went to his brother Simon Peter,
he was willing to minister to the Greeks,
he was willing to talk
to a young boy with a small lunch...

Andrew had broad sympathies.
He had an openness that made others
willing to come to him...

Andrew had wisdom, insight, keenness of perception,
common sense, approachable, un-assuming,
and a great desire to know spiritual truths...

Andrew was the evangelist of the group.

As the first chosen,
he became an arm reaching out
to draw others to the Lord.

Andrew's later ministry took him to:

Bithynia
(according to a Syrian didache),

Greece
(according to Lipsius, "Apocryphon of the Apostles I, 63),

the Kurds in Turkey and Iraq,

Egypt and Ethiopia to help Matthias
who had been blinded and imprisoned
(both were imprisoned,
but a flood came and freed them),

Ephesus
(to see John and encourage him to write his gospel
(according to the Muratorian Fragment),

and to Scythia
(according to Eusebius, H.E. III, i, 1, 5)
where he was imprisoned and crucified
by order of the Proconsul Eges
(whose wife had left him due
to the preaching of Andrew).

Too many saints want to put a "WELCOME"
mat at the front door of the church,
and see if anyone comes to Jesus...

If it were not for saints like Andrew...
there would have been many "Simon Peter's"
who would go unsaved...

The church needs more disciples like Andrew.​

 

[murjahel]

the death of Judas​

Judas is always listed
at the end of the lists of apostles
in the Bible. ​

He is always called the "betrayer", the "traitor"... ​

He had shipwrecked his life...
He had lost the respect of his fellow disciples...
He committed spiritual suicide
before he committed physical suicide.​

He had loved 30 pieces of silver
more than he loved Jesus.​

The love for money had crept into Judas...
Matthew too had a love for money,
but he left his toll booth
with all its potential income
for his discipleship with Jesus...​

To trade a price-less Savior for temporal mammon is foolish!
The divided heart of trying to have both
will doom the soul of such a fool.​

The sin of Judas started small but grew.​

It did not take long for Judas to fall:
from ministry,
from casting out demons,
from laying hands on the sick and
seeing them healed,
to infamy, to shame,
to betrayal....
　
For Judas,
it was -Thirty pieces of silver... ​

For Esau,
it was - a bowl of soup...​

For Samson,
it was the attention of a beautiful woman...​

For Eve,
it was the satisfaction of her curiosity...​

For Cain,
it was revenge against Abel...​

For what will you sell your Lord???​

The reason for the betrayal was the fact
that he loved money MORE
than he loved Jesus.
He had tried to keep both a love for
Jesus and a love for money...
and the love for money kept pulling more and more of the attention of Judas... ​

When Jesus said, during the last supper,
"ONE OF YOU SHALL BETRAY ME!"
the disciples answered: "IS IT I?" ​

If Jesus had said "YES"
to other of the disciples
they would have repented... ​

But one was turning a deaf ear
to the discussion...
When Jesus said it was the one
who dips his bread
in the broth at the same time as I...
the only disciple who was not
listening carefully enough
to avoid doing so was JUDAS. ​

He had a spiritual-willing-deafness
at the end...
Jesus foreknew the fall of Judas...
and
although Judas had preached, prayed,
and done miracles as the other disciples...
Jesus knew that someday Judas
would betray Him...​

John 6:64
"Jesus knew from the beginning
who should betray Him..."​

Judas tried to appear loving
and faithful by greeting Jesus
with a KISS at the moment of the betrayal...​

Judas tried to divert the blame
to the chief priests after the betrayal...
(Matthew 27:3-4)​

This Judas had been appointed
the keeper of the purse...
and yet he disregarded warnings of Jesus...​

Matthew 6:20
"But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt,
and where thieves do not break through nor steal..."​

Matthew tells us that Judas
"cast down the pieces of silver
into the sanctuary
and departed,
and he went away and hanged himself..."​

The chief priests purchased a potter's field
(a worthless field filled
with broken pieces of useless pottery...) ​

This field was filled with those remnants
of the failures of the potter... ​

No one wanted to walk across such a field,
for it would cut, scrape and hurt
to walk across all those pieces... ​

This broken pottery was a fitting
type for Judas...
for he had been the one piece of pottery
that the Lord had labored,
as the great POTTER,
but had to cast out broken and useless... ​

The flaw in that piece of pottery
known as "Judas"
was his love for money...​

Judas went to this same field of a potter,
before they purchased it...
and he hanged himself there upon a tree
in that worthless field. ​

After he had broken his neck in the hanging,
his body fell from the tree upon the broken,
sharp pieces of pottery below...​

His body was mutilated by the
broken shards of pottery...
His blood flowed upon these broken pieces...​

The field became known as the
"field of blood..." ​

When the body was found the next day,
the chief priests decided to use the money of Judas to purchase it,
and use the field to bury Judas,
and others who were worthless,
and had no proper burial spot,
nor could their families afford such...​

The events at the end fulfilled the prophecy
of Zechariah 11:12-14:
"...So they weighed for
my price thirty pieces of silver.
And the Lord said unto me,
Call it unto the potter;
a goodly price that I was prised at of them.
And I took the thirty pieces of silver,
and cast them in the potter
in the house of the Lord."
　
Psalms 69:25-28
"Let their habitation be desolate;
and let none dwell in their tents.
For they persecute Him
Whom thou hast smitten;
and they talk to the grief
of those whom thou hast wounded.
Add iniquity unto their iniquity,
and let them not come into
Thy righteousness.
Let them be
BLOTTED OUT OF THE BOOK OF THE LIVING,
AND
NOT BE WRITTEN WITH THE RIGHTEOUS."​

Judas did not find repentance and redemption...
but had his name blotted out of the book of life... ​

This is quite a warning for us...
who walk with the Lord daily as did Judas...​

 

[murjahel]

in the gospels,
a story, told by Jesus,
tells of the death of a 'rich man'
and a 'poor man' named Lazarus...​

the rich man was wicked,
for it is also told by Jesus that it
is hard for a rich man to enter heaven,
he tends to let carnal prosperity become
a hindrance in many ways to his
spiritual life...​

the poor man, Lazarus, sat at this rich
man's gate, and instead of 'giving' of
his wealth to help Lazarus,
we find Lazarus eating the throw-away's...​

Lazarus was a righteous person...
poor and righteous, go figure!!!
the rich man was wicked, and went
to hell when he died, rich, but
spiritually poor...​

one was prosperous...
and it was Lazarus...
for true prosperity is spiritual,
his wealth was laid up in heaven...​

sick, poor, but really prosperous...
and he went to paradise,
where there was comforted, and had wealth
beyond measure on earth...​

the one who sought wealth on
earth, instead of laying up his treasures
in heaven, found pain and suffering,
he found that earthly riches are not
true prosperity....​

God provides for His own...
and God does it most abundantly...
the poor Lazarus was loved by the Lord,
angels carried him to paradise...
the joy he felt made his suffering on this
cursed earth to be far worth it...​

as Paul said,
the sufferings of this world are not
worthy to be compared to the joys of heaven...​

this earth was cursed millennia ago...
we still on this earth suffer some of its
effects, all the saints still can age,
bald, wrinkle, need glasses... sweat...
etc... and those are part of the curse...​

so... the curse is defeated by Jesus,
in our spirit we have eternal life,
but the new body is not here yet...
we 'groan and travail' in pain,
waiting for the 'adoption'... the
'redemption' of the body, as Paul
said, is yet to come, at the resurrection
time...​

Lazarus suffered in body,
but was wealthy in spirit...
the rich man was rich in carnal things,
but destitute in spiritual prosperity...​

death revealed much to them...
the rich man even became missionary
minded after death, and wanted to
warn his family about what he learned
too late....​

spiritual prosperity is to be our goal...
and to get too earthly greedy for financial
prosperity is not the answer...​

some saints have great riches...
but those that are should
keep their minds on the heavenly
blessings, use what is provided
in earthly things to work for the Lord...​

We should never be like the 'rich man'...
unloving toward Lazarus...
he recognized Lazarus even looking
from hell to paradise...
he knew who Lazarus was...
but had not
taken him in to his house to help him,
to feed him, to care for his sickness...​

no, he probably attacked him verbally
for making his property not look as good,
by a sick, poor man being at his gateway...​

he probably told him he needed to
get righteous and rich, probably thinking
the two go together...
but
he was wrong...​

the prosperous one was Lazarus...
he trusted God during poverty,
during sickness, during mocking,
during all that..
he was wealthy though...
he had treasures laid up and waiting for him...​

death can teach lessons...​

but...
we should try to learn them earlier
than at death...
Lazarus learned what true prosperity was
previous to his death ....​

 

[murjahel]

In the study of the subject of 'death',
it is obvious that we have not talked
sufficently of it in Christianity....​

We hear about it a bit,
during a funeral,
but, there, at a time when family
and friends are grieving their loss,
the words are chosen
carefully,
and a real truth declaring discussion
is not given...​

We need to understand death, alot better...
for our lack of education on the subject of death,
causes many problems...​

Larry Parker, wrote a book called
‘We Let Our Son Die"
and told how he and his wife
had kept their son from insulin,
believing some church teachers,
that if they positively confessed
that he was healed, he would be. ​

They believed that if they gave him insulin,
they would be confessing negatively. ​

The son died,
and they were convicted
of manslaughter and child abuse. ​

Instead of a funeral,
they had a ‘resurrection service’
and positively confessed
that he would be resurrected. ​

It took a year before they realized
they had been duped by incorrect,
un-Scriptural doctrine,
and had erred from God’s will. ​

How many cases of
‘failed’ positive confession
result in such things,
or in causing a crisis of faith. ​

Severe mental stress is caused
by the incorrect view of God's working...​

Death is not the 'most evil enemy'...
no, this earth is only a testing place,
we are here to do a work, but then to go
to heaven, which is not a bad place...
Jesus is not some ogre to fear...
God is not doing 'wrath' upon us to bring us
to death...​

To confess a lie, hoping and believing
it will become the truth, and we can live
forever on this sinful earth, in our mortal body,
avoiding the eternal body, avoiding seeing Jesus
face to face... is not wise.... ​

The inner stress,
the crisis of realization
that God is not controlled by such demands,
is ‘tempting God’,
and not God’s plan.​

The teaching that 'death' is some kind of
failure or some kind of weak faith,
is not taught in Scripture...,
rather, we are to learn that 'to die is gain'...
and that 'precious in the sight of the Lord,
the death of His saints...'​

The teaching of some is that
man had lost dominion over the earth
at the fall.
They teach that God had lost control too,
according to them,
and
we are supposed to get
into a new covenant,
and re-take dominion,
becoming overcomers of sickness,
death, and prosperously live forever...​

This had a seed of truth,
but a harvest of false emphasis.
Those who came to this
‘special knowledge’
were to be healthy, wealthy,
and live forever. ​

The Bible does not teach that
death for the Christian is to be feared,
nor to be considered a failure,
a sin, or a thing to be hated...​

Death for the saint is a calling to our
home, for a respite before returning
with Jesus in a new eternal body...
Joys in heaven, rewards for our earthly
sacrifices for the Lord, are to be
waiting us after death...​

This is good... not bad...​

To teach 'death' as an enemy results
in many problems...​

 

[murjahel]

In discussion of 'death',
some believe that they are supposed
to become 'gods' themselves,
are meant to take authority, claim in power,
create with their own words, rule as a 'god'...​

They take a verse in the Bible that says
"YE ARE GODS", and use it for their proof..
Therefore, they think, they are to reach a point
of NO DEATH...​

What this theory does is the
glory that should be given to God
and to the plan of God
as shown in the Bible is given
to themselves. ​

That false belief on themselves,
and on 'death',
takes them from loving, serving,
and obeying God,
and offers pride, and self seeking,
and false expectations of what lies
ahead for us...​

The devil offered to Eve a knowledge
that he said God did not want her to have.​

She was offered a substitute
for the great blessings God had given.
She fell for it. He told her
‘Ye shall be as gods,
knowing good and evil."
(Genesis 3:5).​

Many today are being offered an idea
that they can be ‘as gods’.
Part of this teaching stresses
that this knowledge makes one to
not ever suffer sickness, or death...
Yet, if they looked in a mirror,
they are wrinkling, balding, sweating,
tiring, aging, etc...
all part of the curse...
still ongoing on the body till the
rapture/resurrection...​

They oft use the verse in Psalms 82:6:
"I have said, ye are gods,
and all of you."​

They say... ‘look, we are gods’... ​

Jesus referred to this verse in John 10:34:​

"... written in your law,
I said, ye are gods...’​

Psalms 82 is attributed to the psalmist
named Asaph.
He declares in that passage
that God judges His human judges. ​

Asaph calls on God to do that judgment.
Asaph warns that the judges of this earth,
who ignore
that they are representing God
when they ‘judge’
and do His judgment work will perish. ​

Judges are told in that passage
that they are appointed by God,
to be ‘gods’ or ‘elohim’
and ‘sons of the Most High’.​

In other words,
they are representatives of God,
to do judgment
as God would inspire them to do. ​

God did not endorse the pagan idea
that mankind could be deity.
He is speaking in Psalms 82
to earthly judges
that were judging in appointment from God,
and therefore answerable to Him
for their judgments. ​

God is showing Himself to be
the Administrator to earthly judges.​

Those ‘gods’ of Psalms 82
did not own the name,
it was a temporary and
conditional assignment given to them by God. ​

They are censured for their misuse of the authority.
They had been temporary stewards of part of God’s authority.
They were threatened with perishing
if they did not obey God’s will
in the matter.
God sits in judgment over all,
even over those to whom
He has given authority
to exercise in His name.​

Exodus 21:6 shows ‘elohim’ being used,
and says that a slave who wants
to be indentured for life
should be taken before the judges,
so that they could determine
if this was his own will,
or was being forced upon him. ​

They were to judge righteously,
and were answerable to God
for their judgment.​

Exodus 22:8 says an owner who complains
of theft from a servant,
would have to appear before the judges (elohim).​

Psalms 82, when the context is
also noticed,
shows that these ‘elohim’
were ‘sons of God’, not deity themselves. ​

They were elohim in that they had a mission
for God,
and were answerable to Him
for that mission.​

Jesus used Psalm 82:6 when He
was accused of blasphemy.
Since these judges of Psalm 82
are called ‘gods’,​

Jesus reasoned,
how could they say He had
blasphemed by calling Himself
a ‘Son of God?’
　
Jesus responded to their attack.
He first directs hem to the verse
of the Old Testament. ​

There it speaks of God as the Judge
(vss 1, 8),
and then speaks of men as ‘appointed’
judges (vss 2-7). ​

The word ‘gods’ in vss 1 and 6 refer to these human judges. ​

The phrase ‘ye are gods’
is not saying
they have a divine nature,
not teaching we can create with our words,
nor teaching we should live forever in
our human bodies, diety of ourselves...​

but it does teach, if one reads the context,
that they are appointed by God
to do part of God’s work.​

These men here were being threatened
with great punishment
if they did not cease their sinfulness.​

So, for some today to use this passage
to try to infer they are ‘gods’
and not subject therefore
to God’s laws for us,
is totally inconsistent with the passage. ​

Jesus was claiming that He too was
on a divine mission,
representing God the Father. ​

To say that He blasphemed is wrong. ​

Even if Jesus was not recognized by them
as Deity Himself,
He would yet have the same authority
as those judges of Psalm 82. ​

So their claim that He spoke blasphemy
had no merit
regardless of their view of Him
as deity or not.​

The word ‘gods’ is from ‘elohim’.
It is used of mankind in Exodus 21:6, 22:8. ​

Elohim is used 3000 times in the Bible.
2300 of those times, it refers to God.​

It is used of ‘idols’ in Exodus 34:17,​

of Men in Psalm 82:6, John 10:34-35,​

of angels in Psalms 8:5, 97:7,​

of God’s men in Genesis 3:5,​

and of judges in Exodus 22:8. ​

In instances where it does not refer to God,
it is indicating ‘might’ and ‘authority’. ​

When used of God, it is showing ‘plurality’ (Trinity)
and His might and authority. ​

Mankind is in ‘the image and likeness of God’. ​

The word ‘image’ is the Hebrew word ‘celem’
meaning a physical likeness.
The word ‘likeness’ is ‘demith’ meaning an ‘ethical likeness’.​

 

[murjahel]

Some have strange ideas regarding
death...
one of them is
REINCARNATION
​

REINCARNATION is the unwise idea
that existence is an endless
cycle of returning to inhabit another body
after death,
depending on one's good or bad deeds.

It could be the body of an animal, a human,
or even an inanimate object.

Actor Glenn Ford believes he was
once eaten by lions as a Christian martyr.

Sylvester Stallone claims he was
previously a Guatemalan monkey.

Shirley Maclaine believes she's had
many past lives--
an aristocrat beheaded during
the French revolution, a prostitute,etc.

If all the people that have lived
since Adam were counted, the number
would be around 12 billion...
there are half that many alive now...
so... at most, if the idea of reincarnation
were for real, all those who previously
lived, would, at the most,
have their second life...
or there would be many millions,
billions, who never had a previous life...
just going by numbers...

this shows one of the foolish points of
the idea of reincarnation...

Reincarnation teaches that you
need countless lives
to improve and redeem yourself
from past sins, and wrongs.

It teaches that your next existence
is the reward or punishment
for this current life.

Christianity teaches that you must
in this life,
repent and be forgiven for your sins.

We believe that the blood of Jesus Christ
cleanses us from all sin,
we do not need to go through many lives
and by our own works
atone for the sins of a previous life.

How the devil must laugh at the ones
who stupidly accept
this fake idea
for the truth of SALVATION BY FAITH
that God offers us now.

God offers FORGIVENESS FOR SINS.
The devil wants you to die without repenting.
He wants people to think
they will have another chance
in the next life,
so why repent!!!

REINCARNATION is the promise
the devil gives as
a STUPID SUBSTITUTE
for the FORGIVENESS OF SINS NOW
that God offers.

The rapture or resurrection is what
we can anxiously expect,
not another life as somebodies cow,
etc.

The Bible teaches that we must,
in this life, before death of this mortal
body, find atonement in Jesus' blood...
and by that atonement,
we receive a new body,
with this same soul and spirit within it...

No, we cannot atone for this body's
sins by coming back in a cow,
and being faithful in our milk giving...
LOL​

 

[murjahel]

This 'mortal' body will die,
or experience cessation of being (death)
in the rapture...​

As we consider the 'mortality of the body',
as we look at death,
consider...
The body is for the Lord (I Cor. 6:13). ​

Our bodies are ordained to be vessels of service,
tabernacles of the Holy Spirit,
vehicles to manifest the life of Christ.​

God wants to use our bodies.
As we have been taught, we have given our bodies to be
"a living sacrifice to God..."
(Romans 12:1-2). ​

This body is not only the temporary dwelling
place of our soul and spirit,
it is now, as we are saved,
become the dwelling place (temporarily)
of the Lord...​

We should care for this body,
even though it is doomed to death...
and we care for its hurts, its ailments
due to the curse on this earth...​

It is 'appointed' yeet unto 'death'...
but we are going to soon have an eternal
body, made from the atoms of which this
one is currently made...​

The Lord has come into our lives to dwell within us... ​

We are the "arks" of God, for He dwells within us.
As the ark of the covenant was not to be defiled, touched, or misused...
or there would be sudden judgment...
our bodies are to be kept pure from defilement.​

Our bodies are members of Christ.
These bodies must never humiliate Christ. ​

I Corinthians 6:15-17
"Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? Know ye not that he who is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith He, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit."​

Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. ​

They are sanctuaries of the divine power.
There is not stronger argument for purity than this.
We have been bought with a price.
Therefore our bodies must glorify God.
We must keep our bodies pure, and holy for the Lord Who dwells
within us, and Who desires to work through us.​

I Corinthians 6:18
"Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without
the body; but he that committeth fornication
sinneth against his own body."​

"Flee" is the advice, or commandment!
It does not say "Fight fornication!"
We need to realize that victory is in flight, not in fight. ​

Some think they are strong enough to resist temptation.
But the Bible says "FLEE". ​

Joseph was wise. He fled from Potiphar's wife.
All would have been lost, if he had stayed and tried to resist,
and fight the temptation of fornication.
He fled, and lost his coat, but kept his purity.​

How do we allow our body to glorify God?
There are given to us a number of Scriptural practices
to follow that will make us to be glorifying God with our bodies.​

1. YIELD IT TO GOD,
AND MAKE IT A LIVING SACRIFICE,
HOLY AND ACCEPTABLE TO GOD​

Romans 12:1
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service."​

I Corinthians 3:16-17
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
If any man defile the temple of God,
him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are."​

2. MAKE THE BODY TO BE FULL OF LIGHT​

Matthew 6:22-23
"The light of the body is the eye;
if therefore thine eye be single,
thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil,
thy whole body shall be full of darkness..."

3. RECKON YOUR BODY TO BE DEAD TO SIN,
BUT ALIVE TO GOD​

Romans 6:11-12
"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof."​

4. MORTIFY THE DEEDS OF THE BODY
WHICH WOULD SEPARATE YOU
FROM THE LORD​

Romans 8:13
"For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die;
but if ye through the Spirit do mortify
the deeds of the body, ye shall live..."​

5. REFUSE TO DEFILE THE BODY,
BUT KEEP IT A FIT TEMPLE
OF THE HOLY SPIRIT​

I Corinthians 6:19-20
"What! Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit Who is in you, Whom ye have of God, and ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."​

Even though the body will die,
death will claim it...
but it cannot be 'kept' in death...
the atoms that make up this flesh and blood
body, will become, soon, a flesh and spirit body...​

So, now, that God has made this
mortal body to be the Temple of the Holy Spirit.
we need to take care of this body...​

 

[murjahel]

Sometimes, we see people demand
healings and miracles, and get angry at God
if the person dies instead...​

Did the person fail, and therefore deserve
death? or did God fail, and not honor faith
with a miracle or healing?​

THE GIFTS OF HEALINGS
is the special abilities to heal diseases.
The plural form of the words
"gifts" and "healings"
indicate the varieties of ways
in which God heals.
These gifts are the impartation
from God to heal, cure, repair,
and make whole the physical body,
and deliver it from demons or disease.​

THE GIFT OF MIRACLES
has to do - with more than recovery
from illness -
and could include restoration
of limbs, raising the dead, etc.
Yet, there is a third gift,
amidst the POWER gifts...
and it is largely ignored...​

When one is dying, and asks
for God to intervene,
sometimes He heals,
sometimes He does a miracle...
but
sometimes, He gives the GIFT OF FAITH
INSTEAD...​

NOTICE THIS...
Hebrews 11:13
"THESE ALL DIED IN FAITH,
NOT HAVING RECEIVED THE PROMISE,
BUT HAVING SEEN THEM AFAR OFF,
AND WERE PERSUADED OF THEM,
AND EMBRACED THEM..."​

.​

Most would rather see the miracle.​

The desire for the miracle is not wrong.
The willingness to patiently endure the trial,
and await the miracle is
what God wants. ​

To the great heros of faith,
it is recorded in Hebrews 11:16 that -
"WHEREFORE GOD IS NOT ASHAMED
TO BE CALLED THEIR GOD..."​

In other words,
God could have done miracles for them
then, but He had another plan,
and they DIED before they received
the miracles...
they arrived in paradise healed there,
blessed there... but God is proud,
not ashamed of them, for they
exercised the GIFT OF FAITH,
and did not receive the healings,
miracles that would have been
possible for them to have had before death...
　
　
God is probably ashamed
to be called the God of those
who complain, moan, and gripe
about their trials, storms, lion's dens,
that they are supposed to patiently endure. ​

God will demand that we exercise
the gift of faith,
even if we try to make it clear
that only the healing or miracle
will satisfy us. ​

God is greatly displeased when Christians
refuse to pray for this gift of faith.​

Hebrews 11:38
"NOW THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH;
BUT IF ANY MAN DRAW BACK,
MY SOUL SHALL HAVE NO PLEASURE IN HIM." ​

THE GIFT OF FAITH
is a special impartation of faith
to believe in what God wants done. ​

Hebrews 11:1
"now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction of things not seen."​

Faith is the mark of all Christians.
We cannot please God if we do not have faith.
(Hebrews 11:6) ​

Yet, the gift of faith is a supernatural
impartation of this faith
for special, unique situations. ​

There must first be a trial.
For without a trial,
there is no faith needed. ​

Therefore if Christians were not to go through
any troubles, etc.
then no faith would be needed. ​

God does not bring the troubles,
He did not bring sickness, disease,
death ... into this world...
Sin, the devil, did that...
and our mortal bodies still await
the redemption of the rapture...
Our soul, spirit is redeemed, but the
body still sweats, feels pain, can get
sick, will bald and wrinkle, will eventually
die... and the resurrection/rapture has
not happened yet... but will..​

We need faith for the time
when we are going through troubles.​

Until a miracle, healing,
or deliverance from the trial arrives,
we need a special impartation of faith.​

God has told us that He will deliver us
from all our troubles.
He has promised to make all things to work
together for our good. ​

Yet, sometimes the trial seems to be so long,
and the miraculous answer
seems to take so long to come. ​

During this waiting time,
we need a special impartation of faith.​

It is the greatest of the gifts of power. ​

The gift of faith is to believe God's Word
in such a way
that honors God
and helps one endure the trial
until a miracle comes.​

The gift of faith does not provide
deliverance from the trial,
as does miracles or healing,
but it provides the courage
and endurance for the trial.​

This gift can be a great witness too.
The world can see us endure our "lion's den",
and our bed of affliction,
and still be rejoicing in Jesus. ​

When the world sees this type of faith,
they marvel. ​

In Hebrews chapter 11,
the great list of heros of faith
are praised for enduring their trials,
and awaiting the fulfillment
of the promises God gave them,
by the exercising
the greatest of the power gifts-
-the gift of faith.​

Some of the heros of faith even died
while exercising the gift of faith
and never in this life
saw the miracle or healing.​

 

[murjahel]

Hebrews 11:13
"THESE ALL DIED IN FAITH,
NOT HAVING RECEIVED THE PROMISE,
BUT HAVING SEEN THEM AFAR OFF,
AND WERE PERSUADED OF THEM,
AND EMBRACED THEM..."​

.​

is it not amazing, that
sthe ones that 'died'...
but still had not gotten the
'promised' blessings...
but were waiting in 'faith'
are the ones in the 'heros of faith'...?!​

so often, we connect getting the
answer to 'faith'...
whereas, faith is the confidence
and hope while waiting...​

sometimes, we die,
still waiting...
and that waiting, despite not
seeing the answer and promised
blessings come...
is what God says He is
'not ashamed of'...​

death may come...
while still in faith,
still waiting...​

 

[Ajax 777]

Sylvester Stallone claims he was
previously a Guatemalan monkey.
​

HAHAHAHAAAH!!!!

 

[murjahel]

Jesus 'wept'
according to John
when Lazarus' burial site was
being viewed...​

that site, of what death does,
was too much for even Jesus...​

God never planned 'death'...
sin brought death into this world,
the devil was the first sinner,
and so... we cannot be mad
at God...​

God planned and gave LIFE,
He breathed into the dust,
and it became a living body...
He intended that body to live forever,
and it was all spoiled by mankind's sins...​

I wondered why God has kept me
posting on death these last days here...
I thought, well, someone may need
to take a good look at the subject...
and perhaps there have been some...​

also found out it was for me too, though..
my youngest brother died yesterday...
and this subject of death is fresh
in my mind, been preaching the longest
funeral service ever, I guess...​

death is joyous, if the one passing
is a child of God...
when one is not saved,
it can be very sad... to the max...​

when one is not sure,
it can be difficult...​

Jesus 'wept' even though
He knew that He was about to resurrect Lazarus...​

I have never seen a person who is
being 'interceded for', die without
a last chance to be saved...​

intercession for the unsaved is one
of our vital tasks...
Jesus did it... demonstrated it...
and the Bible certainly encourages it...
and even begs for it...​

Having our loved ones die...
is joyoous when we know of a certainty,
where they are going...​

This world is a tough place to be...
it is unkind, it is evil...
it is a great place to leave,
if we know the Lord...
for the treasures of heaven
far exceed the earth's best to offer...​

talked enough about death...
gonna change the subject...​

 

[Ajax 777]

also found out it was for me too, though..
my youngest brother died yesterday...​

I weep with you, brother.

 

[murjahel]

I weep with you, brother.

thank you,
it is great to have Christian brothers
and sisters...

losing a sibling is not easy...
​