HAS SCIENCE CONFIRMED LIFE AFTER

DEATH?
Are the dead living in another world? Can they see, hear, and know what is happening in this
6
world? Five minutes after you die, where will you be? In heaven? Hell? Purgatory? Or asleep in
the dust? What really happens to a person when he dies? There is nothing that man dreads and fears so much as
death. There are 60,000 deaths every twenty four hours! Just think of the mighty army that is passing away every
day! People of all religions and races, rich men and poor men alike all must die; black or white, educated or
ignorant, all must pass away.

It is because men are not acquainted with the true condition of man in death that there is so much fear of it.
The heart cry of millions tonight is: “Where are my deceased loved ones? What has God done with the millions
of dead?” Only as we read the whole story as it is given in the Bible can we properly understand this question.
There is much diversity of opinion and considerable confusion in respect to the state of the dead because
some have taken one or two texts and misinterpreted the meaning to their own destruction.

Most of us have had the heart-breaking experience of losing a loved one. Just about every home has a vacant
chair, as Longfellow said:

“There is no flock, however watched and tended,

But one-dead lamb is there!
There is no fireside, howsoever defended,
But has one vacant chair!”

Everyone wants to live; but there is a time when the grim reaper knocks on every door. We would give
everything we have if we might drive him away. Death is like a cruel monster who steals into the home and
carries away our loved ones, leaving a void and loneliness that can only be eased by the loving and sympathetic
compassion of Jesus.

Perhaps you have heard the song, “Fair as the morning, Bright as the day, Dear ones in glory LOOKING THIS
WAY.” But are our dear ones in glory looking this way? That is not what the Bible teaches. I sometimes think
that if an angel of God were to stand in the pulpits of some churches and teach the truth about the state of the
dead, as it is in the Bible, he would be cast out. I am sure that you who are here tonight are interested in the
truth of God’s Word in respect to the state of the dead.

After God created Adam and Eve, He warned them that they were not to eat of the tree of Knowledge of Good
and Evil; for if they did they would surely die. But Satan appeared to Eve in the form of a serpent and told her
not to believe what God said. In Genesis 3:1 we read: “Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the
field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every
tree of the garden?”

Eve was very curious about the serpent that could talk. In verses 2 and 3 of Genesis 3 we read: “And the woman
said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in
the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. Eve was not in
the dark about this matter. She knew that God had said if they ate of that fruit they would die.

But the devil came back with that original lie that he passed right down to our time. In Genesis 3: 4 & 5 it says

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the serpent said unto the woman, YE SHALL NOT SURELY DIE: For God doth know that in the day ye eat
thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” God said that if man
sinned he would die. Satan said he would not. Which pronouncement are you going to believe tonight, my
friend?

Satan here told the first great lie that was ever told to a member of the human race. What a pity that Eve
believed him! It is even more pitiful that so many people today still believe this lie. The sad fact is that men do
die, and they are dying every day. This fact is proved by the thousands of graveyards scattered all over the earth.
It is strange how many people choose to believe the lies of the devil. And, unfortunately, many preachers tickle
their ears with doctrines that are not according to the Word of God. People have heard the lies of the devil
repeated so many times that they are left in confusion- they do not know what to believe.

There is an epitaph on a tombstone in Richmond, Virginia, as follows:

“Stop, my friend, as you go by,

As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, you soon shall be.
Prepare yourself to follow me.”

A school boy, reading this inscription, added these lines with white paint:

“To follow you, I am not content

Until I know which way you went.”

There are many people today who believe that when death comes they will sort of flit away into a more glorious
life. They believe that they have been grinding away in low gear and suddenly they are going to shift into high
and be gone. But God has not left us in darkness regarding the future. He has told us plainly what really happens
to a man when he dies.

Many people admit that the body returns to the dust, but they believe that there is a spirit that is still conscious
and returns to God. The Bible says is Ecclesiastes 12:7: “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the
spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” We know that the body returns to dust, but what is the spirit that
returns to God? There are several theories in respect to the spirit that returns to God after death. Whenever there
is a diversity of opinion in these matters, it is always wise to let the Bible explain itself. The opinions of fallible
men are not always reliable The Bible is its own best commentary.

In Job 27:3 it says: “All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils.” Notice that the
spirit of God is in man’s nostrils. In other words, the spirit is merely the breath. In the marginal reference of
Job 27:3 it explains “the spirit of God” as “the breath which God gave him.”

Job gives us more light on the state of the dead than any other Bible writer. In his 17th chapter, verse 1, he says:
“My breath (margin -spirit) is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me.” In place of the word
“breath,” the margin reads, “spirit.” So again we find that the spirit that goes back to God is the breath of life.

Over in the New Testament, in James 2:26, we read: “For as the body without the spirit (margin -breath) is
dead, so faith without works is dead.” It is not the air which soars off when a person dies; for there is still plenty
of air. But it is the breath of life which leaves man. It is the breath which God gave him when He created him.

In Genesis 2:7, we read: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils

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the BREATH OF LIFE; And man became a living soul.” What was it that made man a living soul? It was the
breath of life that God breathed into his nostrils. When that breath is taken from him, he becomes a dead soul.
It is just like electricity. When I turn on the switch the lights come on; when I turn off the switch the lights go
out.

When God breathed the breath of life into man’s nostrils, he lived; when that breath of life returns to God, man
dies. David says in Psalm 104:29: “Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: THOU TAKEST AWAY THEIR
BREATH, they die, and return to their dust.” But someone asks “What about the soul that never dies?” Is it true
that the soul never dies? The word “soul” is mentioned in the Bible about 850 times, and nowhere does it say
that the soul never dies. To the contrary, there are a number of texts that say the soul does die.

What is a soul? Well, I am a soul, and you are a soul. The Bible tells us in I Peter 3:20: “. . . EIGHT SOULS
WERE SAVED BY WATER.” So Noah, his sons and daughters-in-law, and his wife were souls. A minister
once advertised that he would have a living soul on display, and when he told the people that he was that soul,
they were disappointed. They had expected to see some mysterious something that they had never seen before.
The human family seem to want to make the simple things of the Bible, dark mysteries.

The Apostle Paul tells us of a certain voyage on a ship: “And we were in all in the ship two hundred three score
and sixteen SOULS.” Acts 27:37. In other words, human beings are all souls, living souls. The Bible tells us
that there are three things that make a conscious-man: The body, the soul, and the spirit. We all know what the
body is. The spirit, we have found, is the breath of life; and the soul is the intelligence, or consciousness of man.
Not one of these three can exist apart from the other. When the spirit, or breath, leaves a man, his intelligence or
consciousness, ceases and his body then returns to the dust.

In Ezekiel 18:4 we read: “Behold, all SOULS are mine; as the SOUL of the father, so also the SOUL of the son
is mine: the SOUL THAT SINNETH, IT SHALL DIE.” It is quite evident from this text that those people
who say that the soul never dies must be making a mistake. While soul and spirit are mentioned some 1800
times in the Scriptures, there is not one single reference that says that they are immortal. Some men say that the
soul never dies; but God says that it does. Whom are we to believe?

Again we read in Revelation 16:3: “And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the
blood of a dead man: and EVERY LIVING SOUL DIED in the sea.” It is quite evident from these and many
more Bible references that a soul can and does die. Some will say, “But I have always been taught that the soul
lives on after death.” Again let me say that we should be interested only in what the Bible says. If we accept any
other authority than the Bible, we are treading on dangerous ground. The reason we have so many conflicting
theories about religion today is that the opinions of men are held by many to be above the Word of God. But
those who are honest will say, as did the reformers, “The Bible and the Bible only,” and will accept what the
Bible says.

David tells us what happens to a man when he dies. In Psalm 146:3, 4: “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the
son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his
thoughts perish.” The princes cannot help you, for they die just the same as anybody else. “His breath (spirit)
goeth forth, he (the body) returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts (soul) perish.” Here we have all
three things that make up a man, the body, the soul, and the spirit. David says that the body returns to the earth,
or to dust the spirit, or the breath, returns to God, and the consciousness, or soul, perishes.

If the soul or the spirit were conscious after death and went to heaven, it would surely want to praise God
when it got there; but the Bible says in Psalm 115:17: “The dead praise not the Lord neither any that go
down into silence.” The dead are not in heaven praising God, for as David has told us when they die their

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thoughts perish, and then, as he says, they praise not the Lord, for they have gone down into silence. David was
called a man after God’s own heart, and if anyone would have been taken to heaven, surely David would have
been the one; for the Lord loved him very dearly.

But when Peter preached on the day of Pentecost under the mighty power of the Holy Spirit he said: “Men and
brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that HE IS BOTH DEAD AND BURIED, and
his sepulcher is with us unto this day.” Now someone says: “Yes, that is right. I know his grave is still here, but
I think there is something -either the soul or the spirit that flits off to heaven.” Let us read verse 34: “FOR
DAVID IS NOT ASCENDED INTO THE HEAVENS.” So David is resting in the grave until the resurrection
day, just like everybody else who died then and since David’s time.

Did David expect to go to heaven as soon as he died? He says in Psalm 17:15: “As for me, I will behold thy face
in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, WHEN I AWAKE, with thy likeness.” Notice that David looked forward
to a glorious day when the Lord would come and awaken him. He did not believe that he was going to be
translated when he died, and that some part of him would fly away to a glory land. He says: “I’ll be sleeping, but
I will be satisfied when I awake.”

The apostle Paul did not expect to go to heaven when he died either, and he is one of the greatest men of God
found in the Bible. He says in II Timothy 4:7, 8: “I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course, I have
kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge,
shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” Notice that Paul
expected to receive his reward, his crown of righteousness when Jesus comes. Paul makes it clear that a future
life for the redeemed is dependent upon the second coming of Jesus and the resurrection of the dead in Christ.
He says in I Corinthians 15:16-18: “For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised,
your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.” Paul
tells us that the grave is not the doorway to paradise or heaven, but that those who have gone into their graves,
except they have hope in Jesus Christ and believe in a resurrection from the dead, ARE PERISHED. If there is
no resurrection, there is no reward. But thank God, THERE WILL BE A RESURRECTION.

The apostle Peter did not expect the members of the early Christian church to go to heaven when they died; for
he wrote in I Peter 5:4: “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth
not away.” Peter expected to receive a crown of glory at the coming of Jesus. All of the disciples looked forward
to the second coming of Christ as the fulfillment of their fondest dreams. They knew and taught that the reward
of the righteous would not be received until that time.

But someone wonders about the thief on the cross. Doesn’t the Bible say that he was going to be with Christ in
paradise the day that Christ died? We shall read that text in Luke 23:43: “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say
unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.”

Let me point out two very important facts which might help you to understand this passage correctly. Remember
we are going to let the Bible interpret itself. In other words, we should compare this text with all other relevant
texts in the Bible to make sure all of them harmonize.

Fact 1: The thief didn’t ask Jesus to take him to paradise that day! He did not say “Take me tonight to paradise!”
Luke 23:42 reads as follows: And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
Jesus certainly did not get his kingdom that day!

Fact 2. The thief did not die that day: It is a very interesting fact that the thief on the cross did not die that day;
therefore it would have been impossible for him to be with Jesus in paradise on that day.

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We are sure that the thief did not die on that day because in John 19:31-33 it says: “The Jews therefore, . . . that
the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day . . . besought Pilate that their legs might be
broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the
other . . . But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs.

[(Jews did not want to leave the criminals hanging on the cross on the Sabbath and so they would break the legs
so the criminals could not run away and the Jews would put them back on the cross after the Sabbath was over.)
(People don’t die immediately simply because their legs are broken! How often do you hear of people who died
immediately because they had a broken leg?) People who were crucified usually died from dehydration,
exposure, and starvation and typically it took them several days to die.]

Fact 3. Jesus did not go to heaven that day either. Therefore, how could Jesus have meant that the thief was
going to paradise that day? What Jesus was saying to him was: “TODAY of all days, when I am hanging on the
cross seemingly defeated, and I do not appear to be a Savior to anyone, even today, this very day when
everything appears dark and hopeless I say unto thee thou shalt be with me in paradise.”

We know that Jesus was not in paradise on that day because three days later when He appeared to Mary after
His resurrection: Jesus saith unto her, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: . . .” John 20:17.

You can see how important it is to let the Bible explain itself.

There are two ways that this text can be read, and it is determined by the placing of the comma; the comma can
be placed either before or after the word “today.” Let us read it with the comma after the word ‘today.’ “And
Jesus said unto him, verily I say unto thee today, shalt thou be with me in paradise.” This changes the meaning
of the text altogether.

The 1930 Revised Edition of the Concordant Version of the Bible has a more correct translation: “And
Jesus said to him, ‘Verily to you I am saying today, with me you shall be in the paradise.” We should understand
that commas and other punctuation marks were not used in the first manuscripts of the Bible. In fact, commas
were not invented until 1490. Therefore I believe that the comma has been misplaced, and should be placed after
the word “today” instead of before. In order for the text to harmonize with the rest of the Scriptures, it has to be
this way.

To show how a comma can change the entire meaning of a sentence, I would like to tell an experience that
occurred years ago when women were fighting for women’s suffrage. They were planning to hold a rally in a
certain town, and they had sent a copy ahead to a printer to prepare posters to put up all over the town before
they would arrive. The poster was to read: “Woman, without her, man would be a beast.” The printer made the
posters and hung them up. When the women arrived they were amazed to find that he had made a mistake by
putting the comma in the wrong place. It read as follows: “Woman without her man, would be a beast.”
Needless to say, this printer had to leave town to escape the wrath of the women.

(Here is an example how one should not develop a doctrine based on just one or two texts but must read all
relevant texts and all texts should fit together!)

[The safest and surest way to derive any doctrine from the bible is do the following: First find and list all the
texts in the bible that touch upon the topic. Next read the entire chapter containing each text to make sure you

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understand the context of the text. Come up with a theory that explains all of the texts equally well or at least
one that explains most of the texts. You will find that either all of the texts or almost all of the texts will fit into a
unified concept. Finally, try to understand the last few texts that seem to contradict the unified concept by
looking at the context of the texts, looking at the Hebrew and Greek texts whenever possible using the logic that
those few texts have to fit in with the rest of the texts -not the other way around! Often people take one or two
texts and spin a theory around it and ignore all of the other texts! ]

Let us call some witnesses to the stand tonight, men whom God considered great and loyal servants of His. The
first one is Job. What does Job say about the subject of death? Job 14:14, 15: “If a man die, shall he live again?
all the days of my appointed time will I wait till MY CHANGE COME. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee:
thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.” Job asks the question that so many are asking today. Job was
looking forward to the time when his change would come, when his mortal body would be changed to an
immortal one.

Job says in the 14th chapter, verse 12: “So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they
shall , not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.” Job certainly makes it plain that when a man dies he will not
be raised again till the heavens be no more, or at the second coming of Jesus. Why will men try to change the
truth about the dead? The Bible distinctly says that they are asleep until Jesus comes to awaken them on the
resurrection morning. They do not rise to haunt their relatives, or to appear in some spooky seance to perform
monkey-shines. They are unconscious, peacefully resting. Why should we be concerned about them? The sleep
of the dead is sweet rest.

In verse 13, Job continues: “O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until
thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!” Job is speaking of the last days,
when the Lord will come. Job had just buried ten children and he was looking forward to the resurrection day
when they would be raised and he would see them again.

Where did Job expect to wait? He says “If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the
darkness.” Job 17:13. So Job was going to wait all the days of his appointed time until his change came, until
the Lord would call and he would answer right in his grave. The dead, according to Job, have a quiet resting
place away from the confusion of this world. They are in their quiet graves, unmolested by the wars, storms, and
other horrors of this sinful world. There they wait until their change comes. The Bible does not say that the dead
wait WITH JESUS until He comes back. They wait in their graves, not in heaven.

Now when does this change come, according to Job? In the 19th chapter, verses 25 and 26, It says: “For I know
that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin
worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” Isn’t it wonderful, Christian Friend, that our
Redeemer shall stand at the latter day and shall awaken those who have fallen asleep in Him?

What was this change that Job expected when the Lord would call? We find through the apostle Paul in I
Corinthians 15:51, 52: “Behold, I shew you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” We are all going to be changed at the time of the resurrection- And
this is when Jesus comes.

Paul says in verses 53 and 54: “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality . . . then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN
VICTORY.” This is the change that Job was looking forward to at the second coming, at the resurrection of the
just, and also David, Paul, and the others. These vile bodies are going to be changed. We are not immortal now,

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and we will not be until the last trump sounds.

Now the smartest man who ever lived in the history of this world as Solomon. What does he say about the dead?
Let us read in Ecclesiastes 9:10: “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might; for there is no
work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave whither thou goest.” Please notice how specific this
is. No language could be clearer.

Where are the dead, and what is their condition in death? Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 9:6: “Also their love,
and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing
that is done under the sun.” Now that is direct and strong, isn’t it? According to such devilish deceptions as the
Bridey Murphy case, the dead come back to watch their loved ones, and to participate in their deeds. Our dead
loved ones would have very little rest if they had to observe all the sufferings and troubles of their relatives and
friends in this vale of tears. God says that the dead have no more to do with anything that is done under the sun.
This proves that such stories as the Bridey Murphy hoax are lies of the devil.

But Solomon makes even a stronger statement in Ecclesiastes 9:5 when he says: “For the living know that they
shall die: but THE DEAD KNOW NOT ANYTHING, neither have they any more reward; for the memory of
them is forgotten.” How could any language be clearer than this? The living know that they shall die; they live
in expectancy of death; but the dead know not anything. It fits perfectly into the picture that we have already
drawn as given to us by other servants of God.

One night after meeting a woman came up to the minister and said “Pastor, you are preaching such a sad
doctrine on the state of the dead.” “Well, I will let you be the judge,” he said. “Do you love your husband and
two children?” he asked. “Yes, very dearly,” she said. Then he said: “Well, suppose you should die and, as you
like to believe, you went immediately to heaven. According to your theory, you would know everything that
your husband and children were doing.

“Now, suppose that after you have gone to heaven you saw your husband going out with a young girl of
questionable character, would you be very happy in heaven watching this? You can see that this girl is out to get
all your husband’s money. You remember how you worked and saved with your husband to get the things that
you had; and here is an unscrupulous girl taking it away from him. You see them get married, and you see the
misery that comes into your home. That husband who vowed that he loved you has fallen in love with a girl of
low character. Would you be happy about it?”

“Suppose you see your daughter, without any influence to guide her, falls in with the wrong associates. She
becomes a wayward child, and you see her traveling down the road of dissipation and degradation. Then you see
her in a terrible auto accident, on the way to the hospital in agony, bones broken, body severely injured for life.
Now, honestly, do you believe you would be happy in heaven under such circumstances? Do you think that the
doctrine that the dead go immediately to heaven when they die is the best way, God’s way?”

“Suppose your son takes to drinking and falls into the snares of crime and drunkenness. Would this make you
happy or sad as you supposedly observed him from heaven?” The woman agreed that the Bible way is best. The
doctrine of the dead being asleep, not knowing anything, is God’s way. God tells us in Job 14:21: “His sons
come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low.” They do not see their children when they get
into bad company or any trouble. They do not see them when they are brought low, or when they are suffering
pain. They are sleeping; they know not anything. God’s way is the best way.

A newspaper sometime ago told of a man who died on the operating table, and to all appearances was dead for a
moment or two, but they quickly made an incision and massaged the heart so that he revived again. When asked,

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“Did you know anything during the time that your heart stopped beating?” His answer was: I did not know a
thing.” Now, if it were true that when a person dies, when the heart stops beating, he goes immediately to
heaven, this man should have gone to heaven right away. But he says he knew nothing.

“Time Magazine” a few years ago reported the work of some Russian scientists who had successfully
administered powerful heart stimulants a few minutes after death and revived patients. A reader asked the
editors: “During the interval when the patient was dead, did his soul or spirit go to heaven only to be required to
return quickly, or was the spirit halfway to hell when summoned to the body again? Can these questions be
answered?” One of the editors replied: “NOT BY TIME MAGAZINE.”

When Jesus was on His way to Bethany after He received word that Lazarus was sick the disciples could not
understand why He did not hurry to get to him. After receiving word that Lazarus was dead Jesus said to His
disciples: “. . . Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.” The disciples could not
understand why Jesus would want to awaken a sick man who was sleeping. Then Jesus said unto them plainly,
“LAZARUS IS DEAD.” John 11:11, 14. Jesus immediately went to the home of Lazarus, and then to the tomb
where Lazarus was laid.

When Jesus came to Bethany, Martha heard Jesus was coming and she went and met him. She said to Jesus,
“Lord if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ..” John 11:21. Jesus said to her “Your brother
will rise again” verse 23. Now notice what Martha says to Jesus in verse 24, “I know that he will rise again in
the RESURRECTION AT THE LAST DAY.” She knew that he hadn’t gone up to heaven or hell. She knew
when the resurrection was going to be and that it was going to be at the last day.

Standing surrounded by mourning people Jesus commanded that the stone be rolled away. Then did Jesus say,
“Lazarus, come down from heaven?” No, what Jesus actually said was: “. . Lazarus, come forth.” John 11:43.
And Lazarus obeyed. After being buried four days Lazarus came forth from the tomb, still wearing the grave
clothes. If he had been in heaven I should think that Lazarus would have been disappointed to have to come
back to this troubled world. But Jesus did not call him down from heaven, or up from hell; but He called him
forth from the tomb where he had been sleeping.

The Bible tells us about Jairus’ daughter who was sick with a fever. They sent for Jesus; but the girl died before
Jesus could get there. Jesus went to her side, called her by name, and said something to her. Did He say, “Now,
daughter I want you to say goodbye to the angels in heaven and come on back down here -to be with your
folks” No, He didn’t say that; but what Jesus did say to her was: “Damsel, I say unto thee arise” Mark 5:41.

If the dead go to heaven as soon as they die, then there would be no need for Jesus to come again to raise the
dead. Most Christians believe that when Jesus comes He is going to judge the world. But if individuals go to
heaven or hell as soon as they die, if they are already judged, then why would Jesus need to come to judge the
world? Surely Jesus would not come and give us our disease-ridden bodies back again. No, dear Friends, we are
waiting in our graves for Jesus to come and give us new bodies, incorruptible and immortal when He raises us
from death unto life. Jesus most certainly would not call all the spirits back from heaven and tell them to get
down in their graves so He could raise them again.

There is going to be a literal resurrection from the dreamless sleep of the dead some day. Jesus makes it plain
that the dead will be in their graves when He comes, for He says in John 5:28, 29: “Marvel not at this: for the
hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have
done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
Notice here Jesus says that both the good and the bad are in their graves. They will not be raised until the Lord
comes again.

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In Daniel 12:2, that grand old prophet says: “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” So both wicked and righteous are again
pictured as in the grave till Jesus comes. Every outstanding prophet of God that had anything to say about the
dead clearly states that they are asleep in the grave. Even Christ referred to the dead as sleeping.

Now notice what the angel said to Daniel in the 13th verse: “But go thy way till the end be: for thou shalt stand
in thy lot at the end of the days.” So Daniel will be right in his lot in the cemetery until the end of the days, until
Jesus comes. All of the outstanding Bible characters revealed that they would stand in their lot to await their
crowns of glory at the end of the world when Jesus would appear the second time. Peter, Paul, John, Daniel,
David, Job, and many others definitely state that they would not see Jesus and receive their reward until the
resurrection morning.

In I Thessalonians 4:16 Paul tells us: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: AND THE DEAD IN CHRIST SHALL RISE FIRST.” There
is certainly no doubt as to when the dead will be raised. It will be at Jesus’ second coming. The “dead in Christ”
will be raised at this time to be taken to heaven with the living saints.

When Christ comes He rewards His children with immortality and eternal life. We read in Revelation 22:12:
“And behold I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
Again, we read in Matthew 16:27: “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and
THEN HE SHALL REWARD EVERY MAN according to his works.” All the Bible writers looked forward to
the day when the rewards would be given. They all made it plain that it was to be a future event, that
immortality would not be given until the last trump sounds, when Jesus comes.

Sometime ago a Sunday school teacher and deacon in a church in Kansas was held for the murder of his wife
and little children. When he was questioned he said: “Well, I just thought it would be better for them to be
rushed on to the glory world. I couldn’t bear to think of their going through the trials of this life.” If the theory
was correct that one goes to heaven immediately when he dies, this man would have had the right idea. If it were
true that when men die they are immediately ushered into a glorious paradise, then it seems to me that everyone
would be desirous of dying so he could go to that wonderful place. If the doctrine were true that death is a
quick jump into glory, then Stalin and Hitler in killing off so many people did more good than all the
sermons that have been preached in the world today.

If death is a gateway to heaven, then why do people weep and sorrow at funerals? The Bible says in Psalm
127:2: “. . . He giveth his beloved sleep.” Sleep is wonderful. There is no pain or trouble, no knowledge of the
passing of time. If they are in their graves one year or a thousand years, it will be just as a moment. Think of it,
one moment you lost consciousness in the sleep of death, the next moment you will hear the trumpet sound and
see Jesus face to face. Death would not seem so dreadful if we could only realize this.

O, Friends, we need not be troubled about death. Jesus says in John 14:1-3: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye
believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told
you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you
unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” Jesus does not say that He is coming to receive His own
when they die, but He does say that He will come again, after the mansions have been prepared in heaven, to
gather His saints. Then even though their bodies have returned to the dust, they will be made whole again.

Ezekiel was shown the vision of the valley of dry bones, and he was shown how God will remake those bodies
and fashion them like unto the glorious body of Jesus Christ. Paul tells us in Philippians 3:20, 21: “For our
conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change

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our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able
even to subdue all things unto himself.”

A seed was discovered by Lord Lindsay in the hand of a two thousand-year-old mummy. The seed was planted
to see if it would grow, and it did. Though it had been dormant for two thousand years it sprang up into a
beautiful plant once again. Dear Friends, no matter how long the dead rest in the grave, they shall some day
spring up as beautiful new creatures.

One time a chemist placed a silver cup into a chemical solution, and it dissolved completely. Other chemicals
were mixed in and the silver then settled to the bottom of the container. That same silver was taken and molded
into a beautiful cup once again. So the Lord will mold our bodies once again and make beautiful spiritual bodies
that will never be afflicted with sickness, pain or death anymore.

I want to say that there is no future for any of us except in the Lord Jesus Christ. His life in this world makes
possible our life in the world to come. Life in this old earth is short and full of trouble, but there is a better life
coming to those who walk with Jesus. He says that death is an enemy. In I Corinthians 15:26 we read that “The
last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” If death is an enemy, it certainly wouldn’t be the ushering into a
better life.

But if your loved ones were up in heaven could they be happy seeing your troubles and heartaches? The
majority of people are not going to be saved. Jesus says that the way to glory is strait and narrow, and few will
find it. Most of the people are in the broad way that leads to destruction. Frankly, I would rather have all my
loved ones resting peacefully in their graves tonight than to know that even one was suffering torment in hell.
Someone says, “I don’t see how Jesus will remember every one.” Well, in Isaiah 49:15 it says: “Can a woman
forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget,
YET WILL I NOT FORGET THEE.” It matters not what our end may be, whether we go down into the depths
of the sea or whether our bodies be burned in a holocaust of flames or whether we are blown out of existence by
atomic bombs, God says, “I WILL NEVER FORGET THEE.”

When General MacArthur was driven from the Philippine Islands, he made the promise to the people:
“I WILL RETURN.” Many months later, after the war had been going on for some time and the tide had
turned, General MacArthur came back, and when he landed the first thing he broadcast was, “I HAVE
RETURNED.” Jesus is returning soon. He is going to raise the dead. He is going to give us all immortality -
eternal life - bodies that are free from sickness and disease.

A mother and father stood at the side of the coffin of their dear little girl who had recently died. Just before the
coffin was closed the father said: “Good-bye, Darling, good-bye.” Then the mother leaned over and kissed the
brow of her little daughter and said: “Good-night, my Baby, good-night.” Later the father asked the mother why
she said “good-night.” She replied: “Well, I know that Jesus is coming soon and our daughter will be raised; and
we will be united again. You are not a Christian, so you have no hope of ever seeing her again; therefore, you
say good-bye.” Tears came to the father’s eyes and he said, “God helping me, I am going to be a Christian, for I
want to see our little baby again.”

My Friends, I want to say tonight that there is only one heartbeat between you and eternity. Your life hangs by a
slender thread, and when Jesus takes the scissors and clips that thread, you will have to go to your rest. When
people reach the age of sixty or seventy years they know that they must be careful, for they realize that they are
living on borrowed time. Everyone in this auditorium tonight is living on borrowed time.

One time a sculptor carved out a beautiful work of art, and when the people of the artistic world came to view

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his work the young sculptor hid behind a screen so he could hear the comments of the viewers. Michelangelo
also came to see it. After some little time he was heard to say: “IT LACKS ONLY ONE THING,” and he left.
His words hurt the young sculptor. He was so grieved that his friends sought out Michelangelo and asked him
what it was the statue lacked. He replied, “Oh, I should have explained. It lacks only one thing, ‘THE BREATH
OF LIFE,’ to make it alive.”

Many a man today is carving a perfect life as best he can by being a good husband, a good neighbor, a good
father, or a good business man. But no matter how good his work may be there is one thing lacking. Unless a
man lets Jesus come into that life, he lacks the breath of life. He may be a good man, but only those who accept
Jesus Christ and let Him breathe into them the breath of life can be truly perfect.

In John 11:25 it says: “And Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me,
though he were dead, yet shall he live.” “He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son hath not
life.” We do not really have life unless we have Jesus. He came that we might have life and that we might have
it more abundantly.

And some day He is coming with the keys of the grave and will call our loved ones. And we with them shall be
taken home to dwell in the mansions fair. Some day Jesus will make it all plain, and then we will understand
those things that we have experienced in this life. But best of all we will be reunited with those we have lost in
this life, and then we will live beyond the vale of tears. We do not know the day nor the hour of His coming-
only God knows that. But we know it will be soon. The important thing is to be ready to meet Him.

Paul says in I Thessalonians 4:13: “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which
are asleep, that YE SORROW NOT, even as others which have no hope.” O, Friends, on that bright and
cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise and the glory of their resurrection share, when that roll is
called up yonder on that glorious resurrection day, will you be there?

If you are not with the redeemed, there will be sadness in the hearts of your loved ones. Most of all, Jesus your
Redeemer will be sad to know that you will not be with Him through eternity. Make your decision right now to
be there. If you have lost a loved one, you cannot give flowers as a tribute of love and expect them to last. But
YOU CAN GIVE YOUR HEART TO JESUS and expect to meet that loved one in days to come. Friend, are
you going to meet your loved ones in the kingdom? This will depend upon the decision that you are making
today. Is it going to be good-bye forever, or will it be “I’ll meet you in the morning?” May God help you to
make the most important decision of your life now; and may the decision be to give your heart completely to
Jesus.

This is part 6 of a 21-part Prophecy Lecture series. If you wish to obtain a Free copy of the other 20 issues, please write to: 1191 South
Columbia Road, Grand Forks, ND 58201 or call 701 780 2000. You may email me nchelliah@heartnd.net if you want me to email the articles
to you.

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 HAS SCIENCE CONFIRMED LIFE AFTER DEATH?
Addendum

There are mainly 9 passages in the scriptures that are quoted/used by most people to support their theory that
dead people continue to live-on in a different form i.e. soul, spirit, etc. although there are literally scores of
texts which teach us that the dead are asleep and know nothing. Therefore, any discussion of the state of the
dead may be considered not complete until we have examined the so-called evidences that support this alternate
theory that the dead live-on in another form!

The first one we have already dealt with is the story of the thief on the cross in the main part of this article. You
might remember that we know that Jesus was not in paradise on that Friday because three days later when He
appeared to Mary after His resurrection: Jesus saith unto her, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my
Father . . .” John 20:17.

Now we will deal with the other eight passages that are commonly quoted to support the theory of immortal soul.

Î
Luke 16: 22, 23

19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every
day: 20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21 And
desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked
his sores. 22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's
bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and
seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have
mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I
am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy
good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26 And
beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to
you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 27 Then he said, I pray thee
therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: 28 For I have five brethren; that he
may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29 Abraham saith unto him, They
have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went
unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the
prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

Either this story about the rich man and Lazarus is literally true or it is a parable. Here are five reasons why it
could not possibly be literalistic:
1. The beggar died and was taken by the Angels to Abraham’s bosom. No one believes that
Abraham’s literal bosom is the abode of the righteous dead. It is a figurative or parabolic
expression. Incidentally, the angels will gather the saints, but according to Matthew 24: 31, this
will take place at the coming of Jesus, not at a person’s death.
2. Heaven and hell were separated by a gulf and yet the persons in each could converse with each
other. There are few individuals in the world who believe that this will be literally true of the
saved and the lost (Luke 16: 26).
3. The rich man was in hell with the body. He had eyes, a tongue, etc. (Luke 16: 24). How did his
body get into hell fire instead off into the grave? I know of no one who teaches that the bodies of
the wicked go into hell as soon as they died. This story could not be literal.
4. The request for Lazarus dip the tip of his fingers in water and come through the flames to cool the

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 rich man’s tongue is obviously not literal. How much moisture would be left and how much relief
would it gives? The whole story is unrealistic and parabolic.
5. At the time Jesus was speaking this parable, Moses was not on this earth. Why did Jesus recite
the statements as coming from Abraham that “they have Moses and the prophets” on this earth as if
Moses was still here. It is simply a parable.

The rich man undoubtedly represented the Jews in the parable because only a Jew would pray to “father
Abraham.” The beggar symbolized the Gentiles, who were counted unworthy to receive the truth. In Matthew 15:
27, the Canaanite woman acknowledged that her people were beggars at the table of the Jews.

Christ probably chose the name of Lazarus to use in the parable because later he would actually raise Lazarus from
the dead. And the climactic point of the entire parable is found in verse 31: “if they hear not Moses and the
prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.” Sure enough, they didn’t believe even
when one named Lazarus was raised before them.
Adapted from Answers to Difficult Bible Texts by Joe Crews

Ï
1 Peter 3:18-20

18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being
put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the
spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the
days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

There has been considerable misunderstanding of these verses of Scripture. It has been preached that Christ
actually descended into the lower regions of the earth and preached to lost souls who were in prison in some type
of purgatory or limbo. This is very far from what the text actually says. Let’s look at it closely now and get the real
message of these verses. It says, “Christ also hath once suffered for sins. . . that he might bring us to God, being
put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached.”

First of all, notice how Christ preached to the spirits in prison. He did it by the Spirit and that word is capitalized
into your Bible. It actually a reference to the Holy Spirit. So whatsoever Christ did in preaching during this
period of time, he did it through or by the Holy Spirit.

With that in view, let’s ask this: “when was the preaching done?” The answer is plainly given in verse 20: “when
once the long suffering God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing.” So the preaching was
actually done while the ark was being built -during the preaching of Noah to that antediluvian world. Now, one
more question: “to whom was the preaching done?” The text says here “unto the spirits in prison.” Throughout
the Bible we find this terminology used in describing those who are bound in the prison house of sin. David
prayed, “bring my soul out of prison.” Psalm 142: 7. Paul spoke of his experience in these words, “bringing me
into captivity to the law of sin.” What Peter is telling us here is simply that Christ, through the Holy spirit to
spoke conviction to their hearts and appeal to them to come into the ark. There is absolutely nothing in this text to
indicate that Jesus left his body during the time he was dead to go to any subterraneous place to minister to wicked
spirits. The three questions are clearly answered in the text itself: (1). That he preached by the Holy Spirit, (2) he
did it while the ark was preparing, and (3) he did it to the spirits in prison or to those individuals through sinful
life are bound in the prison house of sin.
Adapted from Answers to Difficult Bible Texts by Joe Crews

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Ð
Revelation 6: 9 – 11

9 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: 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long,
O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11 And
white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a
little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should
be fulfilled.

Several facts appear from this symbolic account of the fifth seal:
1. These figurative souls of the martyrs are not pictured in heaven, but under the altar. There is no
indication in the context that these “souls” were in heaven!
2. They show signs of being not merely unhappy, but tortured. Is that what happens? Souls are
suffering, unhappy and tortured? Doesn’t the bible say there will be no sorrow or crying there.
3. Quite contrary to Christ’s instruction to pray for them which persecute you (Matthew 5:44), these
souls are represented as demanding vengeance on their persecutors.
4. This is an example of personification, when objects are assigned personal attributes. Such is the
case of Abel’s blood crying out from the ground (Genesis for: 9, 10). In this sentence, the lives
of the martyrs are portrayed as crying out for vengeance.
5. If this is not figurative language and its souls are disembodied, how do they wear robes?
Obviously these verses are not related to the so-called immortal souls of the dead.
Adapted from Answers to Difficult Bible Texts by Joe Crews

Ñ
Matthew 10: 28

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 soul and body in hell.

Jesus clearly teaches in this text that the “soul” is not naturally immortal! It can and will be destroyed in hell.
But what it does he mean about killing the body, but not the soul? Is it possible for the soul to exist apart from the
body? Some say it is but the Bible indicates otherwise.

The Greek word “psuche” has been translated “soul” in this text, but in 40 other texts it has been translated “life.”
For example, Jesus said, “whosoever will lose his life [“psuche”] for my sake shall find it.” Matthew 16: 24.

But what of Matthew 10: 28? Put in the word “life” instead of “soul” and the text makes perfect sense in its
consistency with the rest of the Bible. The contrast is between one who can take the physical life and him who can
take away eternal life. Proof lies in the words of Jesus: “and I say unto you my friends, be not afraid of them that
kill the body, and after that have no more than they can do. But I will for warn you whom ye shall fear: fear him
which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell.” Luke 12: 4,5.

In other words, the word “soul” here means not only life, but eternal life. Notice that Luke says everything just
like Matthew except that he does not say “kills the soul.” He said he says “cast into hell.” They mean the same
thing. Men can only kill the body and take away the physical life. God will cast into hell and take away eternal
life. Not only will their bodies be destroyed in that fire but their lives will be stuffed out for all eternity.
Adapted from Answers to Difficult Bible Texts by Joe Crews

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Ò
1 Kings 17: 21, 22

“And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I
pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the
child came into him again, and he revived.”

And since it is not possible for souls to exist outside of bodies, how do we explain this apparent contradiction?
The word “soul” is translated from the Hebrew word “Nephesh” which has been translated 118 times in the Old
Testament as “life.” The same word is used in Genesis 1: 30 in reference to animals. It is never used in one single
instance to denote an immortal or undying part of man.

Every conflict is harmonized if the more proper word “life” is used in reference to the child instead of “soul.” His
life slipped away, or left the body. Then the life returned to the boy when the prophet prayed.

Don’t overlook the fact that the lifeless body was called “him” as well as the restored boy. This proves that the
“person” did not depart to be with the Lord. The whole person was represented by the body, whether dead or
alive.
Adapted from Answers to Difficult Bible Texts by Joe Crews

Ó
Job 14: 21, 22

His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.
But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.

Verse 22 appears to be saying that the dead man’s fleshly body of can continue to give him pain and that the soul
can be grieved. Although it is obvious to all that the bodily sensations cease at death, a closer look at these poetic
words revealed their true meaning. It must be remembered that in Hebrew poetry, intelligence, personality, and
feelings are often ascribed to objects or concepts that do not normally have these attributes (Judges 9: 8-15). Job is
actually describing, in a very graphic away, the damages that take place at death. As the body deteriorates, it’s
horrible state of decomposition can distort all the physical features into the expression of grimacing pain.

The new English Bible transposes verses 21 and 22 and correctly translates the passage this way: “his flash upon
him becomes black, and his life -blood dries up within him. His sons rise to honor and he sees nothing of it; they
sink into obscurity, and he knows it not.”
Adapted from Answers to Difficult Bible Texts by Joe Crews

Ô
Absent from the body and present with the Lord
2 Corinthians 5:1-6

“For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an
house not made with hands. Eternal in the heavens. “For in this we groan, earnestly designing to be clothed
upon with our house which is from heaven: “If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. “For
we that are in this tabernacle do groan being burdened; not for that we would be unclothed but clothed
upon that mortality might be swallowed up of life. “Now He that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is
God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. “Therefore, we are always confident, knowing

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that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord.”

Note: The part that is mortal is to lose its mortality, be “swallowed up of life” at the Resurrection. See Paul’s
statement in 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. To be present with the Lord, we must look to
the Resurrection or Translation at the Coming of the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:17) See Romans 8:11, 22, 23.

Departing and being with Christ

Phillipians 1:20-25

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet
what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with
Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And having this
confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;

Paul does not say in this text that he will go to be with Christ when he dies. He undoubtedly was using the word
“depart” in reference to his death. But the Bible clearly reveals that Paul did not believe his departure would
mean immediate entrance into heaven. Here’s the proof: “the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a
good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of
righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all
them also that love his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4: 6 - 8

Says Paul obviously did not expect to get his eternal crown at his departure in death, when was it that he
anticipated actually being with Christ? “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven . . . And so shall we
ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians. 4: 16, 17 There it is. Paul’s desire to depart and be with Christ
involved the resurrection that would take place at the end of the world. Since unconscious sleep of death is like
a moment, Paul speaks of death and the coming of Christ as almost simultaneous. And so it will seem to those
who depart and awake from death to see Jesus coming.

More one jumps to (the wrong) conclusions, one must also read other passages of scriptures written by the
same author, Paul on this very subject.

I Thessalonians 4:13-18
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them 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 also which sleep in
Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and
remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall
rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the
Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

These verses clearly say that the Righteous go to be with Christ at the Second Coming of Christ, by Resurrection
or Translation. 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 Here Paul says we get immortality at the Resurrection. Colossians 3:4
“Then” shall we appear with Him (when He comes). 2 Timothy 4:8 “Crown of righteousness” given me “at that
day” Since the scriptures teach us we are asleep when we die and we will rise again when Jesus comes, the very
next conscious thought after we die is when we are resurrected and are with the Lord at the Resurrection day. It
does not matter whether it is second or a thousand years. To interpret this in any other way would negate or
falsify scores and scores of other scriptures including the ones written by the same author which say we are
asleep until we rise again when Jesus comes.
Adapted from H .M .S. Richards’s notes & Adapted from Answers to Difficult Bible Texts by Joe Crews

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é
1 Samuel 28: 14 (Verses 6-19)

6 And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor
by prophets. 7 Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may
go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar
spirit at Endor. 8 And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with
him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit,
and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee. 9 And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou
knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of
the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? 10 And Saul sware to her by
the Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. 11 Then said
the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. 12 And when the woman
saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived
me? for thou art Saul. 13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman
said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. 14 And he said unto her, What form is he of? And
she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel,
and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. 15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou
disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war
against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams:
therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. 16 Then said Samuel,
Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? 17
And the Lord hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the Lord hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand,
and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: 18 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. 19
Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and tomorrow shalt
thou and thy sons be with me: the Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.

This spiritual séance has been cited as evidence for life after death. But here are points to the contrary:
1. Wizards has been sentenced to death and banned from the land (1 Samuel 28: 3; 20: 27)
2. And God had departed from Saul and would not communicate with him (1 Samuel 28: 15)
3. Samuel was supposedly “brought up.” Other expressions used in this passage include: “ascending
out of the earth,” “cometh up,” and “bring . . . up.” (Verses 13 – 15). Is this where the righteous
dead are -down in the earth? Not according to those who believe in the immortal soul.
4. Samuel is described as an old man covered with the mantle. Is this the way immortal souls appear?
And where it did the soul get the body? They are supposed to be disembodied. Was there a
resurrection? Did God obey the beck and call of the witch to raise up Samuel? If not, can Satan
raise the dead?
5. The apparition of Samuel told Saul, “tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me.” 1 Samuel 28:
19. Saul committed suicide on the battlefield the next day. Where did Samuel dwell, if the wicked
Saul was to go to the same place?
6. The Bible never says that Saul saw Samuel. He received his information secondhand from the
witch and only concluded it was a Samuel from her description. The truth is that the devil
deceived the old woman and she deceived Saul. It was nothing more than a devil-generated a
séance.
7. The enormity of Saul’s sin is revealed in these words: “so Saul died for his transgression . . . and
also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it; and enquired not of the
Lord: therefore he slew him.” 1 Chronicles 10:13,14.
Adapted from Answers to Difficult Bible Texts by Joe Crews

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Please note that once we have carefully examined all of the scriptural passages critically, prayerfully and with the
help of the Holy Spirit to help us understand the so-called difficult passages, we will find that the Bible does not
contradict itself! We must not try to take just one or two texts and formulate our theories but we must study all the
scriptures in their contexts and try to understand the seemingly contradicting scriptures in the light of all the other
texts on the subject.

Let me enumerate the steps we took to arrive at our conclusion:

1. Using a large exhaustive Bible concordance, we listed all the texts that dealt with death.
2. We read the whole chapter in which the text appeared to obtain the context of the text and try to
understand it.
3. We noticed that all of the passages (literally scores) which indicated that the dead are asleep and
they know nothing and go no place when they die.
4. We found only a handful of passages which seem to contradict the rest of the scriptures.
5. We assumed that the scores of texts which told us that the dead were asleep and knew nothing and
that they did not go any place must be the correct teaching of the Bible and we went back to
critically analyze why these few passages seem to contradict the scores of texts and when we
carefully analyzed them, and when we went back and looked at the original Greek or Hebrew
manuscripts, we found the answer that these handful of passages did not actually contradict the
other texts.

God has said in Deuteronomy 18:9-12:9 “When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee,
thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you any one
that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or
an enchanter, or a witch, 11 Or a charmer, (a Hypnotist) or a consulter with familiar spirits, (Spirit Guides) or
a wizard, or a necromancer (Magician, Sorcerer, Soothsayer, or Psychic). 12 For all that do these things are an
abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before
thee.” (Explanatory words in brackets have been added by the author.)

Dear friend, please note that this is one of the most effective tools Satan has used since Adam and Eve were
created to deceive the whole world: “ye shall not surely die!” Please don’t fall into his trap. All our relatives who
are dead are not floating around somewhere in some other form. They are sleeping. And if they died as believers
and saved ones, they will arise (be resurrected) when Jesus comes back.

This is an addendum to part 6 of a 21-part Prophecy Lecture series. If you wish to obtain a Free copy of the other 20 issues,
please write to: 1191 South Columbia Road, Grand Forks, ND 58201 or call 701 780 2000. You may email me nchelliah@heartnd.net
if you want me to email the articles to you.

18 06Life after death.wpd.VI.and.addendum09.wpd