TrustandObey,
I would like to offer another perspective, the historical Judeo-Christian perspective whose premise is based on Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and History. I believe this premise warrants a particularly specific conclusion that disagrees with your current understanding.
The doctrines endemic to Judaism were not deposited completed and ready to consume like a dollop of mash potatoes dumped on your plate in a cafeteria line, they developed over time. Mash potatoes first need to be planted, grown, harvested and prepared before they reach the state familiar to all of us when they sit on our plate.
This analogy works the same way with Christian Doctrines and very few of them were dumped onto a plate already in mash potato form.
The understanding of Judaism at the time Ecclesiastes 9 was written denied dualistic belief that necessities belief in a person’s spirit. The author emphatically states that “the same destiny” overtakes both the wicked and the just and that “they both have no further reward”.
Because the Author of Ecclesiastes believed that God’s mercy and favors were metered out in the here and now (under the sun) in the same way the Sadducees did, then nothing existed after death. The Sadducees believed that the Pharisees had been perverted by Hellenism and therefore rejected prophecy and were very materialistic attempting to glue themselves to whatever ruling power existed next to them. This is a very important point to understand when moving forward from Ecclesiastes because the teaching from Our Lord Jesus Christ rejected the Sadducees in that He omitted them from the God Established Religious Authority tasked with teaching correct doctrines;
“Then spake Jesus to the multitudes, and to His disciples, Saying the Scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works; for they say and do not”. Matthew 23
Moses’ seat was very serious in Judaism because this teaching authority was tasked by God to “interpret” the books of the law and prophets to the masses so rejection of God’s Established Authority was tantamount to holding God in contempt (please read the whole Chapter of Numbers 16). Also important to note that while Jesus clearly said the Pharisees and Scribes were hypocrites He made it a point to remind the multitudes as well as His disciples to do whatever they said because while they didn’t practice what they preached they preached correct doctrines.
Now, here comes the kicker, Jesus believed in an immortal soul as did “all” Jews at that time (with the exception of the Sadducees).
“But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the Council, “Brethren, I AM A PHARISEE, a son of Pharisees; with the respect to the hope and resurrection of the dead I am on trial. And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees ; and the assembly was divided. FOR THE SADDUCEES SAY THAT THERE IS NO RESURRECTION, NOR ANGEL, NOR SPIRIT; BUT THE PHARISEES ACKNOWLEDGE THEM ALL”. Acts 23,6
“The poor man died and was carried by the angles to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried; and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom”. Luke 16,22
“And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingly power”. And He said to him, “Truly, I say to you, TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE”. Luke 23,42
“Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: Handle me, and see; FOR A SPIRIT HATH NOT FLESH AND BONES, AS YOU SEE ME HAVE”. Luke 24,39
“Then said Samuel, “whenfore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord has departed from thee and is become thine enemy”. 1 Samuel 28,16
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: But rather fear Him which is able to destroy both body and soul in hell”. Matthew 10,28
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep that ye sorrow not, even as those which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him”. 1 Thessalonians 4,13
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If it is to be life in the flesh , that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. MY DESIRE IS TO DEPART AND BE WITH CHRIST, FOR THAT IS FAR BETTER. But to REMAIN IN THE FLESH is more necessary on your account. Philippians 1,21
“For the Son of man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born”. Mark 14,21
I have went to the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and read the fundamental belief associated with this thread and believe it to be incorrect. It’s like Seventh-day Adventists have reverse engineered Ecclesiastes and attempted to bend what seems to me to be the clear teaching of the Prophets in the Old Testament and the explicit teachings of the New Testament, specifically Christ’s own words that the thief would be with him in Paradise on the very day Jesus was made a “quickening Spirit”.
Normally one would reverse engineer a completed machine to see how it is made but in this case (and I mean no disrespect) a non-doctrine was reverse engineered in order to destroy a crystal clear doctrine that Jesus and His Apostles unequivocally accepted.
Paul was a New Testament heavy-weight and he flat-out said he believed in Angels, the Resurrection and a spiritual soul. Paul said he would rather his soul leave his body (as in be dead) and be with Christ. If fundamental belief #26 of the General Conference is correct then Paul wouldn’t know if he was with Christ because he would be unconscious. Which reminds me of a Scripture that makes me cringe when I apply Seventh-day Adventist teaching to it;
“ And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city; and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their cloths at a young mans feet, whose name was Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit”. And he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, “Lord do not hold this against them”. And when he had said this he fell asleep”. Acts 7, 56
Stephen asks the Lord Jesus to receive his (Stephen’s) spirit and at the moment of death God strikes the spirit of Stephen a sharp blow rending it unconscious, because as the Sadducees say, there is no spirit.
I know this is a differing opinion about this subject but you did ask for it.
