Command the Raven

Genesis 25:8 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

Then Abraham’s spirit was released, and he died a good [ample, full] old age, and old man, satisfied and satiated, and was gathered to his people [Gen. 15:15 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
]. The Amplified Bible.

This often repeated expression forms a remarkable testimony to the Old Testament belief in a life beyond the grave and to our recognition and fellowship with our loved ones there.

Isaac was 75 and Ishmael nearly 90 years of age when their father died. Jacob and Esau were 15, and may have been present.

- The Amplified Bible: page 31

Matthew 28:51, 52, 53, 54 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.
And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose.
And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

There were two veils; one at the entrance of the Holy Place and the other between this and the Holy of Holies, into which the high priest alone went once a year to atone for the sins of the people [Heb. 9:2-9 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
].

They were 60 ft high from the ceiling to the floor.

The rending of the veil signified that the middle wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles was broken down [Eph. 2:14-18 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
] and that each believer now could have personal access to God [Heb. 9:8 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; 10:19-23].

These bodies made part of the multitude of captives Christ captured from Satan in the underworld of departed spirits and which He took captive with Him when He ascended on high [Eph. 4:8-10 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Heb. 2:14-15 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
].

Now when Christians die they no longer go into the lower parts of the earth held captive by the devil against their will, but go to heaven to await the resurrection of the body [2 Cor. 5:8 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Phill. 1:21-24; Rev. 6:9-11 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Heb. 12:22 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
]. The wicked continue to go to hell to await their resurrection [Lk. 16:19-31 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Rev. 20:11-15 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
].

They could not have come out before for Christ was to be resurrected first and enter into immortality in a human body [1 Cor. 15:20-23 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
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; Lk. 24:39 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
].

[V 54] : Not “a” but “THE SON OF GOD” in a sense no other man ever was or ever will be – the only begotten Son [Jn. 1:14, 18 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Jn. 3:16, 18 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Col. 1:15-18 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
]. He was actually begotten; we are adopted [Rom. 8:14-16 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Gal. 4:5 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Eph. 1:5 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
].
- Dake A.R.B. – Page 33

PROOFS OF THE RESURRECTION OF DEAD
1 Corinthians 15:12 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

Some false apostles at Corinth denied the resurrection of the dead [2 Cor. 11:13-15 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
].

Proofs of the resurrection:
1. Proved from Scripture: [v 1-4; Job 19:25 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Ps. 16:10 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Dan. 12:2 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Matt. 28 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
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: Lk. 24 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Jn. 20-21 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
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].
2. Proved from fact: [v 5-8; note k, Jn. 21:14 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Eph. 1:20 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
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]
3. Proved by absurdity of unbelief in the resurrection [v 12-19]
4. Proved by declaration of fact [v 20-22]
5. Proved by prediction [v 23-56]
6. Proved by the inconsistency of those who deny it [v 29]
7. Proved by faith and consecration in sacrificing all for it [v 30-34]
8. Proved by nature [v 33:49]
9. Proved by absolute necessity of immortality of body in order to inherit the Kingdom and other promises [v 50-54].
10. Proved by fulfillment of prophecy in final victory over death [v54-57]

12 Calamities if Christ be not risen:
1 Corinthians 15:14 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

And if Christ be no risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
1. We have no guarantee of resurrection [v 12-13, 20-23]
2. Our preaching is in vain [v 14]
3. Our faith is in vain [v14, 17]
4. We are liars because we have preached such a doctrine [v 15]
5. We are yet in our sins [v 17]
6. All the dead are perished [v 18]
7. We have no hope [v 19]
8. We are most miserable [v19]
9. We are plain fools [v 30-32]
10. Nature is a farce [v 35-49]
11. Promises are lies [v 50-54]
12. Prophecies are false [v 55-56]

Christ’s resurrection is a fact and the guarantee of the resurrection of all other men [v 20-22].
- Dake A.R. Bible: page 188

Every Knee Shall Bow
by Max Lucado

“. . . whoever believes in him shall not perish . . .”

How could a loving God send sinners to hell? He doesn’t. They
volunteer.

Once there, they don’t want to leave. The hearts of damned fools
never soften; their minds never change. “Men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory”
(Rev. 16:9 NKJV [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
). Contrary to the idea that hell prompts remorse, it
doesn’t. It intensifies blasphemy.

Remember the rich man in torment? He could see heaven but didn’t
request a transfer.

He wanted Lazarus to descend to him. Why not ask if he could join
Lazarus? The rich man complained of thirst, not of injustice. He wanted water for the body, not water for the soul. Even the longing for God is a gift from God, and where there is no more of God’s goodness, there is no longing for him. Though everyknee shall bow
before God and every tongue confess his preeminence (Rom. 14:11 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
), the
hard-hearted will do so stubbornly and without worship.

There will be no atheists In hell.
(Phil. 2:10-11 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
), but there will be no God-seekers either.

But still we wonder, is the punishment fair? Such a penalty seems
inconsistent with a God of love-overkill. A sinner’s rebellion doesn’t warrant an Eternity of suffering, does it? Isn’t God overreacting?

Who are we to challenge God? Only he knows the full story, the number
of invitations the stubborn-hearted have refused and the slander they’ve spewed.

Accuse God of unfairness? He has wrapped caution tape on hell’s porch
and posted a million and one red flags outside the entrance. To descend its stairs, you’d have to cover your ears, blindfold your eyes, and, most of all, ignore the epic sacrifice of history: Christ, in God’s hell on humanity’s cross, crying out to the blackened sky,

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
). The
supreme surprise of hell is this: Christ went there so you won’t have to.

From 3:16, The Numbers of Hope
Copyright (W Publishing Group, 2007) Max Lucado

For the Christian Prayer is not an option but an opportunity.
“In prayer; expect setbacks, but refuse retreat.” Richard
Eastman
Do your best, bring out the best in others,
Don’t tell the Lord how big the problem is,
tell the problem how Great the Lord is!

Job - on Immortality
Job 14:7 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.

Job reasoned that a tree seems to have more hope than a man. When a tree is cut down it will sprout again and grow into another, but when man is cut down, where is he? [v 7-10].

Job expressed the idea that man gives up the ghost – his body lies down and does not rise till the heavens be no more [v 10-12].

He asked God to hide him in sheol until His wrath was past, and then set a fixed time to remember him again [v 13].

Attempts have been made to use such a passage to prove that there is no hell, that men become extinct at death, and that the soul sleeps; but nothing like this is stated here. It is only the body that lies down, sleeps and goes back to dust [Gen. 13:19 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Eccl. 3:19-21 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
]; the ghost or inner man leaves the body at physical death [Jas. 2:26].

The statement that man will not rise till the heavens be no more, proves that the ancients believed in a continued existence after death and that they would be raised again in due time [v 12].

Wishing that God would hide him in sheol, and keep him there in secret for a time [until His wrath was past], then appoint a set time to remember him again, is proof that Job believed in a separation of the inner man from the body, in the inner man going to sheol, and in the set time of the resurrection of the dead [v 13].

The fact that he asked the question – shall he live again? – gives evidence of faith in a future resurrection. So also the statement of waiting until his change would come is proof of his faith in the resurrection [v14].

All of this is in perfect harmony with truth as seen in notes listed under ‘Hell’ and ‘Immortality’ in Index [Dake A.R.B.].
- Dake A.R. Bible: page 425

From Koinonia House

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DIE PART II

Death is an uncomfortable, often painful subject. We grieve at the deaths of our loved ones, and we work to avoid death for ourselves.  Yet, if the Lord tarries, death waits for all people - even more absolutely than taxes.

Not only does death present a tremendous loss for us in this life, this subject also squarely confronts the issues of Heaven and Hell. Unpleasant. Controversial. And clearly the subject of fanciful folklore in all directions and dimensions.

The Hebrew Sheol, and the Greek Hades, are not the grave. The grave is where the body goes. Sheol and Hades is where the departed spirits go. (For this brief discussion, we’ll regard them as equivalent.)

Gehenna, however, is their final disposition. Hades is cast into Gehenna at the end (Rev 20:14 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
). (In fact, their topology appears to be opposites: Hades is presented as geocentric - inside the earth; Gehenna is in “the outer darkness.”)

It is significant that Jesus spoke much more about “Hell” than He did about Heaven (about 5 to 1). The very concept of the need for a Savior presupposes the avoidance of the otherwise certain destiny of desolation and eternal punishment. The good news is that you and I are the beneficiaries of a love letter: a letter written in blood on a wooden cross erected in Judea about two thousand years ago and which is the fulcrum of all history and the entire universe. The crucifixion was not a tragedy: it was a crowning achievement. His achievement makes it possible to avoid an otherwise certain destiny.

The Physics of Immortality
There are many in the secular world who do not even take the existence of the “afterlife” seriously. There are many who do, however. Frank J. Tipler, Professor of Mathematical Physics at Tulane University, is a major theoretician in the field of global general relativity, that rarefied branch of physics created by Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose. In pursuing a mathematical model involving the end of the universe, Tipler (a professed atheist) came to two conclusions (one obvious, and one stunning):

1) Using the most advanced and sophisticated methods of modern physics, and relying solely on the rigorous procedures of logic that science demands, he discovered a proof of the existence of God. (You’re thinking, “No kidding, Dick Tracy!”)

2) He also now believes that every human being who ever lived will be resurrected from the dead.

He claims to have arrived at these conclusions about God and immortality “in exactly the same way physicists calculate the properties of an electron.” (While I personally disagree with much of his published book, this turnabout for a professed atheist is interesting. You can learn more about the resurrection from the most important chapter in the Bible: 1 Cor 15 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
.)

A far more insightful book is by Erwin Lutzer, One Minute After You Die. He is a truly delightful friend, has pastored the Moody Church in Chicago for over twenty years, and we used his popular book as our point of departure for our current briefing package on this subject. We also explore the intrinsic architecture of man, why he is immortal (saved or not), and we attempt to repair some of the misconceptions about Sheol, Hades and Gehenna, and the real nature of our present physical reality, as well as some of the more problematic issues involved in the “afterlife.”

Related Links:

• Heaven and Hell - Koinonia House
• The Kingdom, Power & Glory What Is Salvation? - Koinonia House

From Koinonia House

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DIE?

We don’t like to think about death. It’s not a pleasant subject, and we avoid even discussing it seriously or giving it any diligent study. Yet, our appointment with death is an absolute certainty - probably our only certainty. It may come sooner than we expect: a car crash, a stray bullet, an unforeseen stroke. We all know of personal examples where death has come suddenly, without warning, without any preparations. When it finally does come, what do we expect it to be like?

Shedding Our Misconceptions
One of the penalties of our casual - or reluctant - attitude about death and dying is that most people are steeped in myths and misconceptions. Almost every commonly held belief is erroneous, misleading, and contrary to what we do know about the subject.

There are numerous books that have been published about “near-death experiences,” which at best are less than reliable sources, no matter how well intended. But there are several incidences that we can trust as reliable. Stephen, as he was being stoned, gave us a glimpse:

“But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” - Acts 7:55,56 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

This notion that being greeted by the Lord Himself - at least in Stephen’s case - is not fanciful. As serious Christians, we can take significant comfort from Stephen’s experience. Paul also speaks of a “near-death” type of experience in which he was caught up to paradise (2 Cor. 12:4 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
).  Since this happened 14 years before writing about it to the Corinthians, some scholars believe it may have coincided with his experience at Lystra where he was stoned and dragged out of the city and left for dead (Acts 14:19-20 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
).  (Whether this was a “near-death” experience or an actual death-and-return, we’ll have to wait until we can ask him.)

Messages From the Dark Side
What makes this subject so difficult to research is that most information is not only unreliable, it is the specific focus of deceit by the ultimate Deceiver himself. One of the first mistakes is to look for answers in the wrong places. Channeling, necromancy (attempted communication with the dead), and all forms of commerce with demonic activity are expressly prohibited in the Scripture (Lev. 19:31 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; 20:6, 27; Deut. 18:11-22 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Isaiah 8:19-20 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
). Even such ostensibly harmless things such as a Ouija board or role-playing parlor games can prove extremely dangerous and are not to be taken lightly.

Satan’s deceptions are designed to eliminate any awareness of a coming judgment and accountability, and to promote the perceptions that all roads lead to the same place. [Remember, he is the "prince of this world," and the "prince of the power of the air." (John 12:31 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; 14:30; 16:11; Eph. 2:2 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
)]

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” - 2 Cor. 11:13, 14 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

So, what position do we take?  Jesus warned us:

“Enter ye in at the strait [narrow] gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” - Matthew 7:13-15 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

If the gate you’re relying on is wide, with a large majority taking advantage of it, you’ve got the wrong gate!  Get into the Scriptures and learn what God Himself has to say about the issue.

To be continued next week…

Related Links:

• What Happens When You Die? Audio CD - Koinonia House Store
• Physics And The Bible: Six Hours in Eternity - Koinonia House
• A Biblical Mystery: His Unfamiliar Face - Koinonia House

Psalm 9:17, 18 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish forever.

The 5th prophecy in Psalms. [Ps. 9:17-18 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
, partially fulfilled and will be completed when the last of the wicked are in hell and the righteous are vindicated and safe with God forever].

Where are the dead? That hell is the grave is one of the most popular themes of all false cults. They, without exception, change the Bible to suit themselves and gain converts who are always glad to accept any method of escape from the reality of hell.

Their tactics remind one of the free translation of the new electronic brain designed to translate English into Russian. It was fed the words, “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” The machine answered with a sentence in Russian, “The whiskey is agreeable but the meat has gone bad.”

Where is the harmony between the two statements?
To make hell the grave and the grave hell is just as ridiculous, for different Hebrew and Greek words are used for hell and the grave. These are two distinct subjects and as foreign to each other as heaven is to hell.
There is no possible harmony of scriptures when we FORCE the same meaning for hell and the grave.

The following study is the truth of the Bible on all phases of the subject of the dead and their destiny:

DEATH DEFINED:
The word death as applied to man in Scripture means SEPARATION or a cutting off from realizing God’s purpose for which he was created.
One can logically substitute the word separation for death in every scripture where it is used. It will clarify many passages to do so, as we shall see below.

PHYSICAL DEATH:
Physical death is the separation of the inner man from the outer man: the soul and spirit from the body [note I, Jas. 2:26; 3 kinds of death, p. 213 of N.T. as follows:

3 Kinds of death in Scripture: Eph. 2:5 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

1. Physical death – the separation of the inner man from the body [Jas 2:26]

2. Spiritual death – separation from God because of sin [Eph. 2:1,5 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Isa. 59:2 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Matt. 8:22 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Col. 2:13 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; 1 Tim. 5:6 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
]

3. Eternal death – eternal separation from God because man chooses to remain separated from God in sin [Matt. 10:28 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; 25:41, 46; Rev. 2:11 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; 14:9-11; 20:11-15; 21:8; 22:15; Isa. 66:22-24 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
]. This is called the second death or second separation from God [Rev. 2:11 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; 20:14; 21:8].
Death in all scripture means separation from the purpose for which one was created, never annihilation or extinction of being. PHYSICAL DEATH is separation of the inner man from the body. The body only dies at this time and goes back to dust [Gen. 3:19 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Js .2:26].
The spirit and soul are immortal and are either dead in sins or in possession of eternal life in Christ at the time of physical death. In either case, they continue in consciousness whether in heaven or hell [notes on 1 Pet. 3:4 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Lk. 12:5 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Lk. 16:23 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; 270, 421-424 notes].

SPIRITUAL DEATH:
Spiritual death is separation of man from God because of sin [as above notes on Pg 213: 3 kinds of death].

One spiritually dead can be alive physically [Matt. 8:22 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Col. 2:14 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; 1 Tim. 5:6 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
], or he can be dead physically and alive in hell, conscious in the soul and spirit or the inner man [point 14, The Doctrine of Man, p 618 [previous on this web site], and the facts about hell, page 620-622 Dake’s A.R.B.

SECOND DEATH : ETERNAL DEATH:
The second death means the second and eternal separation from God in the lake of fire [Rev. 2:11 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; 20:6, 14; 21:8].

- Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible – Page 619 O.T. and Page 213 N.T.

Genesis 25:8 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

Then Abraham’s spirit was released, and he died a good [ample, full] old age, and old man, satisfied and satiated, and was gathered to his people [Gen. 15:15 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
]. The Amplified Bible.

This often repeated expression forms a remarkable testimony to the Old Testament belief in a life beyond the grave and to our recognition and fellowship with our loved ones there.

Isaac was 75 and Ishmael nearly 90 years of age when their father died. Jacob and Esau were 15, and may have been present.

- The Amplified Bible: page 31

Heaven & Hell – Part 4
Luke 16:31 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

He [Abraham] said to him, If they do not hear and listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded and convinced and believe if some one should rise from the dead.

Abraham reminds the wicked rich man of Lazarus’s present bliss – “now he is comforted and you are tormented”.

Heaven is comfort, and hell is torment; heaven is joy, and hell is weeping, gnashing of teeth, and wailing.

Those who have fallen asleep in Christ, though subject to the many calamities in this world, will now be comforted and all their tears will be wiped away – IN HEAVEN THERE IS EVERLASTING CONSOLATION.

And, on the other hand, hell will be hell indeed to those that go thither from the midst of the enjoyment of all the delights and pleasures of sense.

Abraham assures him that it was to no purpose to think of having any relief from Lazarus, “For besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, a great chasm, in order that those who want to pass from [this] place to you, may not be able, and no one may pass from there to us”.

The saints in heaven cannot pass to the congregation of the dead and damned, to comfort or relieve any there who once were friends.

Those incarcerated in hell cannot force their way out of their eternal prison.

In this world, there is no gulf fixed between a state of nature and grace – but we may pass from one to another – FROM SIN TO GOD.

We are afforded the opportunity here and it might have been prevented in time, BUT IT CANNOT BE REMEDIED TO ETERNITY.

The further request he makes to Abraham is to improve the situation for his relatives he left behind and begs that Lazarus be sent to his father’s house.

He knows well enough where the house is and that he had five brethren, and they will know him and regard what he says – let Lazarus tell them what condition he is in – let him warn them not to tread in his steps, lest they come into the place of torment.

The testimony of Lazarus would be sufficient to frighten them out of their sins.

He does not ask leave to go himself, but begs for Lazarus to go – the poor godly man, who was slighted and suffered their contempt and cruel conduct towards him now became an acceptable messenger for the rich wicked man.

This family, in their entirety, and indeed their many acquaintances, denied Lazarus an extended hand of kindness or even one word of comfort or even a crust of bread, except the crumbs he shared with the dogs.

Abraham denies him this favour too – THERE IS NO REQUEST GRANTED IN HELL.
They have Moses and the prophets – let them hear them – and that will be sufficient to keep them from this place of torment.

He urges his request further – if one went to them from the dead, they would repent – that would be a realistic conviction for THEY WERE USED TO MOSES AND THE PROPHETS!

God’s method of conviction, by his word, is the chosen and appointed way and cannot be superceded by another.

Abraham insists upon the denial – for indeed a witness from the dead cannot triumph over the written word of God – which is the ordinary way of God’s making known his mind to us, and it is sufficient. - Dake A.R. Bible