Even If Someone Rises From the Dead
Most everyone should be familiar with the New Testament
story of the rich man and Lazarus. If it
is a story, a parable, or the truth is a matter of opinion and there are many
opinions. Regardless of its state, there is much truth contained within
it. The rich man lived “high on the hog”
/ “the life of Riley” / very well. He
had the best clothes, a gated house, “sumptuous” food, and certainly much more material
wealth than is listed. The poor man had
no food, no home to live in, was covered with sores that stray dogs licked, and
sat by the gate of the rich man perhaps as a beggar.
"There was a rich man who
dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. But at
his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus whose body was covered with sores, (Luke 16:19-20 NET)
The rich man apparently had no compassion, sympathy, or
charitable thoughts and passed Lazarus most every day hoping he would disappear
or at least go away. Later in the story,
both the rich man and Lazarus die and are taken into separate areas or compartments
of a place apparently designed for the dead such as Hades, but is referred to
as Abraham’s bosom in this scripture story.
The Abode of
the Dead
Facts and information concerning the temporary resting
place of the dead are sketchy in the Biblical scriptures which may explain the
many suppositions available today.
Mythologically, Hades is the place where the dead are taken, and this
appears to also be the resting place referred to in the Bible as well. Current opinions and theology of the location
of the dead are mostly based on conjecture and wishful thinking.
Traditional, conservative thinking teach that the
righteous dead go directly to heaven to be with the Lord. However, that concept is never directly taught
in the scriptures and the idea is based on supposition of a few scripture
verses. The Bible does teach that people
die and are considered in a state of “sleep”.
And the LORD said unto Moses,
Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy
fathers; (Deuteronomy 31:16 KJV)
Otherwise it shall come to pass,
when my lord the king shall sleep
with his fathers, (1 Kings 1:21 KJV)
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 4:14 KJV)
When a person dies, the soul and/or spirit goes to be
with the Lord as hinted in the 1 Thess. 1:21 scripture listed above. That verse does not teach the dead will be
sitting on a cloud playing a harp, but that all will be resurrected just prior
to the return of the Messiah. Another
hint or indication is found in Revelation 6:9.
These souls are protected by God and are allowed to briefly speak. These souls do not have a glorified body
standing around the throne of God singing praises. They are under the altar or in Abraham’s bosom
which may be a compartment of Hades.
And when he had opened the fifth
seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of
God, and for the testimony which they held: (Revelation 6:9 KJV)
The Book of Enoch, which is non-canonical, describes compartments
or sections in Hades similar to the story in Luke. The locations of the rich man and Lazarus
notes two different sections but there may be a total of four. According to 2 Peter 2:4 the angels who mated
with women (Watchers) were imprisoned in Tartarus, which is rumored to be the
lowest part or section of Hades.
For if God spared not the angels
that sinned, but cast them down to hell (tartarus), (2 Peter 2:4 KJV)
For if God did not spare sinning
angels, but giving them over to chains of darkness, thrust them down into Tartarus (2 Peter 2:4 KJ3)
Ninety percent of the Nephilim (human/angel hybrids) were
imprisoned into the third section of Hades.
The spirits of the remaining ten percent of the Nephilim are allowed to
roam the earth as demons until the day of judgment.
Unrighteous humans are placed into the second compartment
generally referred to as “hell”, which is not the final lake of fire. According to the story in Luke, this hell is
apparently not air conditioned and there is a definite lack of water. Unlike many popular stories, this scriptural
hell is not inhabited by the devil and his demons with fire raging in all
directions. It is a place for souls
awaiting the final judgment with a complete lack of creature comforts.
The first compartment, called Abraham’s bosom, is the
abode of the righteous dead and may be the place called Paradise by the Lord
Jesus to the thief on the adjoining cross.
At His death and prior to His resurrection, Jesus did go to Hades. It is unknown if He visited every compartment,
but He surely visited Paradise. Many
expositors believe He emptied Paradise and took them to Heaven, but that is
highly doubtful (in my opinion). When
Jesus said to the thief, “To day shalt
thou be with me in paradise” He literally meant Paradise and not Heaven
because Jesus did not go to Heaven until several weeks later at His ascension. All the saved being in heaven after the death
of Jesus is an important issue with the pre-tribulation rapture theorists
Moses and the
Prophets
The rich man inquired if Abraham would send Lazarus to
testify to his five brothers so they would not be sent to the place of
torment. Abraham answered the former
rich man saying his brothers have Moses and the prophets. That is all they need if they will merely pay
attention to the writings and follow His words.
Abraham saith unto him, They
have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. (Luke 16:29 KJV)
The laws of God are the rules of righteousness. The laws were written as the rules of
righteousness. With the salvation of
Jesus the laws are written on our hearts with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit
giving us direction.
Though One Rose
From the Dead
The rich man apparently knew his brothers did not pay any
attention to Moses and the prophets so he requested that a resurrected person
go to them and they would listen due to their amazement.
And he said unto him, If they
hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one
rose from the dead. (Luke 16:31 KJV)
Abraham basically told him that if his brothers will not
pay any attention to the scriptures they will not acknowledge a person raised
from the dead. It that statement was
true in the day of Jesus, what about current times? It is still a true statement. Very few pay any attention to the
scriptures. Even many who occasionally
go to church do not read the Bible. Very
few are involved in intense study of the scriptures. Many consider the Bible to be myth; not the
word of God; prophecies written after the fact; Isaiah written by two people;
Hebrew roots people considering Paul to be a heretic; preterists believing all
prophecy was fulfilled at 70 AD; others considering the Old Testament to be
outdated. Many comments are made using
material from old and new Babylonian sources, the Koran, Hindu sources, and
many other totally non-scriptural sources.
If the majority of today’s current population maintain a
low opinion of the Bible, it should be certain their opinion of the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ is equally as low.
Most may have the opinion of Thomas Jefferson – that Jesus taught a good
moral code but was not the son of God. Below
is a quote from Thomas Jefferson:
From a letter to General Alexander Smyth dated January 17, 1825:
“It is between fifty and sixty
years since I read it (the book of Revelation) and I then considered it as
merely the ravings of a maniac, no more worthy nor capable of explanation than
the incoherences of our own nightly dreams.”
Some will claim Jesus as the resurrected Son of God. They may even go to church on Easter Sunday,
but they live their lives as daughters and sons of the whore of Babylon. Even the demons know that Jesus is the son of
God, but knowing is not the answer.
The good news is that many will be able to view a
resurrection from the dead. It is my
view and opinion that we are either near or close to the 70th week
of Daniel. Almost everyone knows something
about the antichrist, 666, rapture, tribulation, and the wrath of God (usually
they know very little but think they know a lot). By the same token, many have heard of the
return of Jesus Christ – they will either say it will happen; consider it a
myth; or claim it may happen but not in my lifetime or my children’s
lifetime. It will perhaps occur way in
the future when the world looks like downtown Damascus.
What will occur prior to the advent of the 70th
week of Daniel? There will be wars (check);
There will loss of food leading to famines (check); Liberties and freedoms will
be taken away (check); The world will be divided into ten regions (check);
What will occur during the 70th week of
Daniel? The Jewish temple will be
rebuilt (if not prior); One leader will subdue three world regions; This leader
will be killed; This leader will be resurrected (ascend from the abyss) However, many people including myself could
be mistaken. The beast may rise from the
abyss at the beginning of his career as a recognizable once-dead individual (no
one really knows – they just think they do – but we will see soon enough);
Everyone who previously considered the Bible as myth and the resurrection of Jesus
a fraud or fairy tale will be amazed beyond understanding and get in line to accept
the mark of the resurrected Nimrod/Apollo/Osiris/Asshur/Baal and eventually
burn in the lake of fire. Amen – not that
I am happy for you who qualify but that is the complete context and content of
the matter.
And I saw one of his heads as it
were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world
wondered after the beast. (Revelation
13:3 KJV)
And I saw the head of the beast
as if his ancient or recent death had been caused by a head wound; however his
deadly head wound is now healed and he is appearing alive and well: because of
this the complete population of the world were amazed beyond understanding at
the death and resurrection of the beast. (Personal Version)
Is it necessary to go to church, parade down the aisle
during the invitation hymn and whisper in the ear of the preacher (or someone
else)? You can, but that is only one
method to make your confession public. The
Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus in Hebrew) came preaching the establishment of the
Kingdom of God with miracles and physical healings. He fulfilled all facets of the Mosaic law. To be a part of the Kingdom of God one must
believe that Yeshua is the son of God; that he was crucified, buried, and
resurrected; then one must live their life and change one’s thoughts as God
intends by living the law as a reminder of His moral attributes. John the Baptist proclaimed, “repent and be baptized.” Repent of your immorality and evil thoughts
and then be baptized. Water is a symbol
of death and resurrection, but the real baptism is repenting and receiving a
new life as a new forgiven person in the Kingdom of God. As Jesus said to Nicodemus, “You must be born
again (from God who gives you the Holy Spirit).” That is:
you must die to the old self and be reborn (or resurrected in a sense)
as a new person and a member of the Kingdom of God.
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