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Bible Studies/Death
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Question
I would like to know as soon as a person passes away what happens to their body and soul? If they are not saved or have not accepted Christ, do they automatically go to Hell? If they are save do they go straight to Heaven, or do they're soul goes to a place to rest and their spirit go to heaven until judgement day? What really happens? Many people claim you meet Jesus right away. Some say you are in a resting place. I really would like to know what happens?
Hi Penny,
The jury is pretty much out on this one. However, here's what I think I can support by the Bible. First though, the Bible seems to present death from two perspectives, God's and man's.
From God's perspective, you're judged as soon as you die and your soul, or spirit, immediately goes to the reward you are to receive.
From the viewpoint of a person who believes in the continuance of life after death, death could be like going to sleep until the day of judgement, or it might be that the spirit goes to a waiting place until judgement. The purpose of this is what?
I think that what most likely happens is this; Those who die before judgement day go to their eternal reward. Those who are alive on that day, at least the faithful, will be changed to immortals and go to heaven. As for what happens to the unfaithful it seems that the best evidence is that they will also be made immortal and punished everlastingly.
How is that just, you might ask? Well, if you correctly understand what sin is, if you realize that you are responsible for your own sins because no one made you do them, and that God made his will perfectly clear knowing that you were capable of correctly understanding and obeying him, then you know you are without excuse. Just as in the case of Adam and Eve, God laid out the conditions for life, conditions that they could have met, but they chose not to. Therefore, God is perfectly just in the punishment he promised and gives out. The word "death" is a word that indicates separation from God's help due to rejecting him. It does not necessarily mean annihilation as some say. That idea would totally contradict very clear statements about it all through the Bible.
Hoping this helps,
Mr. McClellan
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Mr. McClellan
Expertise
I can answer questions concerning Christian doctrine as well as other kinds of questions relating to religion. One important thing, among many, that needs clearing up is the meaning of religion. Religion is any system of belief that tries to explain how people should think and behave so that life is the best it can be. The definition found in the dictionary is seriously in error being based on popular but wrong ideas. Email me at and.the.truth.is@GMX.com for a free PDF 5 page introduction to my just completed book, "And The Truth Is?" It's uniquely different and interactive, designed to show you that you can actually know the way, the truth, and the life Jesus spoke of and what he expected people to do to participate in it as well as what to expect if they did.
Experience
My education puts me second to none in this area and I have had over forty years experience in the area of teaching Christian theology, doctrine, apologetics, hermeneutics, history, and philosophy. Publications: Among the things that I have written is a summary of the entire Bible that is intended to help people put it all together and quickly understand exactly what the writers of the Bible intended for everyone to understand. By reading it and then reading the Bible, the correct understanding should become quite clear and a sincere student will recognize that they have received an invaluable aid to knowing how to correctly interpret the Bible so that they can know, with certainty, that they are understanding it correctly. At the same time, they will be able to recognize the vast number of false doctirnes that are being called Christian doctrines but are only the teachings of men and have no more authority than any oridinary man can give them.
Organizations
I belong to no officially recognized organizations. I'm simply a person with a deep and lifelong desire to know the truth, a desire so strong that I have, for more than 50 years, poured myself and a lot of money into finding it and making sure of it. I believe that life is too short and valuable to waste it believing a lot of stuff that isn't true. Everyone can't be right and be in disagreement at the same time and the claims made by the writers of the Bible are simply too serious to guess about.
Publications
It's quite obvious that the Bible is not easy to comprehend thus all the divided opinions about what it teaches. I am finalizing a short treatise on the Bible that I believe will help a lot of people who seriously want to get a clear understanding of what the Bible actually has to say to everyone, a treatise that should take the mystery out of it and show that it really makes sense. People deserve help in recognizing the truth about what the Bible says because there is so much false teaching about it that is actually leading people away from God instead of to God. It should be ready to send out by the end of this year, 2011 or before.
Now, you can purchase a PDF copy of my book "And The Truth Is?" on CD. It's very unique and it's interactive. If you're tired of living with a best guess and want to learn for certain what the truth is, this, the result of over 50 years of research and serious study, is what you're looking for.
Education/Credentials
I have two degrees in education, including religious belief systems. I also have many years of experience and many thousands of hours of study and research on which I've based my new book, "The Bible Actually Makes Sense."
Awards and Honors
All of my awards and honors are in the form of compliments from people who've read or listened to my attempts to help them understand what the Bible is about and how to comply with what it actually says. So many have said, in one way or another, that I helped them more than anyone they had ever met. It's comforting to know that my efforts to be of value to others is appreciated.
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