The Bible presents death as separation: physical death is the separation of the soul from the body, and spiritual death is the separation of the soul from God.
Agree - here is my
study: "What Saith
All The Scriptures?" on This Important Doctrine:
man/woman/child = a tripartite being?:
"And the very God of Peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your
Whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23; Comfort 2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
A Divider/Discerner of the [ internal ]
two :
"For The Word of God Is Quick, and Powerful, and Sharper Than any two-edged sword,
Piercing Even To The Dividing Asunder Of soul And spirit, and of the joints and marrow,
And Is A Discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)
Death?:
"...the body without the spirit is dead..." (Jam 2:26)
1) When the body is dead, it becomes ignorant and hence
"knows not anything" (Ecc 9:5), "returning to dust" (Ecc 12:7):
2) "the spirit returns (from the body) back to God Who Gave it" (Ecc 12:7)
What about "the soul"? Some
think it disappears into nothingness/annihilation?:
What Saith The Scriptures?:
3) "the soul departs" (Gen 35:16-19):
a) Jesus Clearly Taught unbelievers' souls go to the "place of torment, having vision, speech,
feeling, and remembering everything" (Luke 16:19-31) "across the great fixed gulf":
b) Believers (previously) went to "paradise (in the earth) = Abraham's bosom" - Confirmed:
b1) Jesus, Just Before
His Death, Clearly Said [ to the repentant thief ] "Today
thou Shalt
Be With Me In Paradise!" (Luke 23:43) - Confirmed by:
b2) "I AM The God of Abraham, and The God of Isaac, and The God of Jacob?
God Is not The God of the dead, but of the living." (Matthew 22:32) Amen:
OT living souls departed and "gathered Unto their own people!":
"And thou shalt go [ living soul that departs ] to thy fathers in peace;
thou shalt be buried [dead body] in a good old age." (Genesis 15:15)
"Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man,
and full of years; and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and
Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son
of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre;" (Genesis 25:8-9)
"And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people,
being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him."
(Genesis 35:29)
Jacob (v 1):
"And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered Unto
my people [living soul]: bury me with my fathers [ dead body ] in the cave
that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite," (Genesis 49:29)
Now critics will argue that the 'dead body' "buried with fathers" = "gathered
with their people," and 'the soul is
extinguished into non-existence,' Correct?:
However, again: "What Saith The Scriptures?":
"And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his
feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people."
(Genesis 49:33):
Thus,
Immediately his "
living soul departed to paradise in Abraham's bosom!"
And,
his '
dead body' was
buried Much Later (Genesis 50:1-13), Correct?
+ Further Confirmed By:
b3) The prophet Samuel's [ dead body ] was buried
Nowhere Near his father Abraham's in
"the cave of Machpelah," Correct? So that Cannot be the critic's
theory "gathered to his
fathers/people," right?
"And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together, and
lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah." (1 Samuel 25:1)
Further Confirmed by King Saul "disturbing 'Samuel's rest,' getting the
witch at Endor to call up Samuel from the dead" (1 Samuel 28:7-20)
Again, there is
proposed the theory that this is a "demon [ one of the gods ]
'ascending out of the earth'" that "appeared to the witch and Saul"?
The witch "identified him as Samuel." Did she lie?
Now, we do
admit it is possible demons might
know this, from the past?:
"Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce
wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day."
(1 Samuel 28:18)
But,
Exactly how did God's Spirit Give demons the "gift of prophecy," to predict the future?:
"Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines:
and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the
host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines." (1 Samuel 28:19)
Thus falls the
theory that demons were in Paradise, So "after Samuel went back to
resting In Paradise," the next day, Saul and Jonathon were killed in battle, [
And their
'souls' ]
Departed to be "gathered Unto their people,"
with Samuel, "As Prophesied,"
Correct?
b4) In the future, according to God's Revelation to John, he saw:
"And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the [ living ] souls of them
that were slain [ dead bodies ] for The Word of God, and for the testimony which they held"
(Revelation 6:9) "...cried out with a loud voice...Given white robes..." (vs 10-11)
How is that 'nothingness/annihilation [
no comfort ],' when these are "living and conscious," Correct?
And, In
Addition To
All of This Truth
, Scriptures Get Even Better! =
Very Comforting!!:
c) ...(But now), for believers, Under God's Grace!:
In Christ's Revelation Of The Mystery To Paul, He Teaches:
"For to me to live is Christ, and to die Is Gain!" (Philippians 1:21)
+
"For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to Depart { soul },
And To Be With CHRIST; which Is Far Better!" (Philippians 1:23)
+
"Now He that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, Who
also hath given unto us The Earnest of The Spirit. Therefore we are
always Confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body,
we are absent from The LORD: ( For we walk by faith, not by sight: )
We are Confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body,
and to be Present With The LORD!" (2 Corinthians 5:5-8) Where?:
"...Paradise in The Third Heaven!..." (2Co 12:1-4) =
Very Comforting Indeed,
Correct?:
Further
Confirmed in Resurrection:
"But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning
them [ souls ] which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which
have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so
them [ souls ] also which sleep in Jesus Will God Bring With Him."
(1Th 4:13
God does
Not Bring 'nothingness' but, living souls
With Him! Amen.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Bears repeating! Correct?:
"I AM The God of Abraham, and The God of Isaac, and The God of Jacob?
God Is not The God of the dead, but of the
living." (Matthew 22:32) Amen.
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LORD Jesus, thanks So Much for
All Of Your
Comforting Words.
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Praise
HIS Precious and Wonderful Name!
Amen.