Three Kinds of Death

Waking up each day feeling so alive, vibrant, and full of hope...we walk (or even run) through life with determination and zest for life. We enjoy every moment with our friends, family, and within our self we build our dreams. As years past, perhaps some of us may conclude that we had lived life to the fullest...or did we really live?

   Solomon as King of Israel should have written about a life well spent, he is considered the wisest man that ever lived, no one can compare to the wealth of his kingdom during his reign, even Jesus acknowledge the fact that Solomon had the best garment for Christ's compared these collections to the abundance of the earth's field. BUT in Ecclesiastes as a sort of the king's diaries of observation he concluded that life is "meaningless" or also rendered as vanity.

    The last chapter of Ecclesiastes will tell us why...Solomon noted that life is meaningless without God. The true giver of life....and what is this life? That we shall explore by understanding what are deaths. That is in plural because the Bible speaks of 3 kinds of death. 

1 Thessalonians 5:23-25 (English Standard Version)
 ²³Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
 ²⁵ Brothers, pray for us.

   Reading the verses above lead us to the realization that we are tripartite in nature: Spirit, soul, and body. The physical person is Our Body and this is compose of visible materials, including skin, hair, bones, and blood. Next, Our soul is often considered to be our emotions, intellect and will...it is referred to in the scripture as "the inward man"  (2 Cor. 4:16), or “the hidden man of the heart” (1 Pet. 3:4). On the other hand, The spirit is a person who is made of spiritual material, rather than physical material, just like angels, for example. The spirit has been described by some as the “real you.” Your spirit is eternal.

   Scripture makes reference also to three kinds of death: spiritual death, physical death, and the second death.  Physical death occurs when a person’s spirit departs from his body, and his body then ceases to function.  The second death (or eternal death) is referred to in Revelation 2:22; 20:6,14; 21:8, and is described as the time when unbelievers will be thrown into the lake of fire.   
   With this in mind we can better understand another kind of death of which the Bible speaks—spiritual death.

   For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.-- Romans 6:23

   Also known as inherited death spiritual death occur as a result of Man's disobedience to God. You see when a person disobey God, he commits sin...and sins leads to death...
   
   But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. — Gen 2:17
   Did God lied when He said they will "surely die" after eating the forbidden fruit? Of course NOT. As we read along the following chapters we have learned that Adam reach 130 years before he died (Gen. 5:5) So if something in them dies what was that? 


Being spiritually dead describes the condition of a human spirit which has not been born again by the Holy Spirit. A spiritually dead person has a spirit that is alienated from God, a spirit that possesses a sinful nature, a spirit that is, to some degree, joined to Satan. Ephesians 2:1-3 paints for us a picture of the spiritually dead person:

   And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

   Paul said the Ephesian Christians were dead in their trespasses and sins. Obviously he was not referring to physical death because he was writing to physically alive people. Therefore, he must have been saying that they were dead, spiritually speaking.

   What killed them, spiritually? It was their “trespasses and sins.” 
   Jesus when speaking to Nicodemus, an expert in Jewish Religion said: “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again." (John 3:3)

   Spiritually dead people, had walked in (or practiced) those trespasses and sins, following the “course of the world” (that is, doing what everyone else was doing) and following “the prince of the power of the air.”

   Who is “the prince of the power of the air”? He is Satan, who rules his dark domain as commander-in-chief over other evil spirits who inhabit the atmosphere. Those evil spirits are listed by various ranks in a later chapter of Ephesians (see Eph. 6:12).

   Paul said that dark prince is a “spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” The _expression, “sons of disobedience,” is just another description for all unbelievers which emphasizes that their nature is sinful. Paul later said that they “were by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3, emphasis added). Additionally, he said that Satan was working in them.

Made Alive in Christ

   Most people even Christians themselves considers that being born again is just a religious experience. To them it signifies only a renewed life, which is of course true to those who have committed their life to Jesus as it manifest clearly in their lives. But we must never neglect this truth that there is an actual re-birth taking place on the spiritual realm. 

Ephesians 2:1-3

New International Version (NIV)

 ¹ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ²in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh^[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.


   Now instead of being slave to sin we are now slave to righteousness...

Romans 6:17-22

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

¹⁷ But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, ¹⁸ and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. ¹⁹ I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.

 ²⁰ For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ²¹ Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. ²² But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.

   Now ask yourself this question: "Am I really alive?"

Was The Original Bible Preserved?

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. -- 2 Timothy 4:1-4

Are the Scriptures that we read today the same as the ones originally written long ago? Has the Bible been changed, or does it constitute the same inspired words written by the prophets and the apostles?

   The Bible wasn't translated into English until the 14th century. But did it change over the many centuries until then?

   These are important questions because if it can be shown that the Bible we have today is different from the one God originally inspired, why should we pay attention to it? If we can't trust that it has been accurately translated and preserved, there is little reason to trust that it is indeed God's Word. So it's very important that we see what the historical record shows. How can we know?

  The Old Testament, is far older than the New Testament—having been written between approximately 1446 and 400 B.C., some 25 to 35 centuries ago. Is the version we have today a faithful and accurate rendition of the original?

   Now how it was preserved?

   The manuscripts of the Bible that we have today were written by hand long ago, well before the invention of the printing press. The Jewish scribes who made the copies of the Old Testament Scriptures from generation to generation were scrupulously cautious about their copying procedures.

   This meticulous care was perpetuated by the Masoretes, a special group of Jewish scribes who were entrusted with making copies of the Hebrew Bible. Their version of the Old Testament, widely considered the most authoritative, came to be known as the Masoretic Text.

   Before and during this time, trained copyists followed various meticulous and stringent requirements for making scrolls of their holy books. The Masoretes required that all manuscripts have various word numbering systems. As an example of one test they used, when a new copy was made, they counted the number of words in it. If the copy didn't have the proper count, the manuscript was unusable and buried.

Such steps ensured that not a single word could be added to or left out of the Holy Scriptures. Through such steps the scrolls that formed the Hebrew Bible were copied meticulously, carefully and accurately, century after century.

   What about the New Testament? At last count, there are nearly 5,700 hand-written Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. In addition, there are more than 9,000 manuscripts in other languages (e.g., Syriac, Coptic, Latin, Arabic). Some of these nearly 15,000 manuscripts are complete Bibles, others are books or pages, and a few are just fragments ...Not only does the New Testament enjoy abundant manuscript support, but it also has manuscripts that were written soon after the originals ... The time gap between the original and the first surviving copy is still vastly shorter than anything else from the ancient world.

"... The early church fathers—men of the second and third centuries such as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Tertullian, and others—quoted the New Testament so much (36,289 times, to be exact) that all but eleven verses of the New Testament can be reconstructed just from their quotations ... So we not only have thousands of manuscripts but thousands of quotations from those manuscripts" (Norman Geisler and Frank Turek, I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, 2004, pp. 225-228).

   However, God did choose to record and preserve His Word in the Hebrew and Greek languages. When the Hebrew and Greek are translated into English, no one English translation preserves the complete essence of God's inspired thoughts. Regrettably, in moving from any language to another, something is always lost because not all words and concepts translate precisely.

   Most people have found that they benefit from using several translations rather than relying on only one. And God has seen to it that we have several excellent English translations with which to obtain understanding, each with their own different strengths. 

   Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.               -- John 16:13

    We can be sure that the Word of God has been preserved accurately for us today. We must make sure to read it, study it, treasure it and put it into practice in our lives.

   

   

Shias Turning To Christ In Iran and Young Iranian Muslim became a Pastor

  Shia Islam  is the second largest denomination of Islam (approx. %10-20), after Sunni Islam. The followers of Shia Islam are calledShi'ites or Shias. "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī (شيعة علي), meaning "followers of Ali", "faction of Ali", or "party of Ali".

  Like other schools of thought in Islam, Shia Islam is based on the teachings of the Islamic holy book, the Qurʻān and the message of the final prophet of Islam, Muhammad. In contrast to other schools of thought, Shias believe that only the Almighty has the right to chose his representative to safeguard Islam, Quran and Shariah. 

What Qur-an says About The Bible

This had always amazed me why Islam in general reject the Bible and said it was not inspired by God – for whatever purposes, Islam claims our Bible is corrupted.  The Qur’an DOES claim it as the word of God, when it contradicts the Qur’an they believe the message of the Qur’an is accurate and the Bible has been corrupted.

   The Qur-an, aside from recording of the virgin birth and testament to the death and resurrection of Christ, although Islam view the event as something short of a miracle and deny the uniqueness of Jesus Ministry or totally reject his deity and consider him just another prophet But on more than one occasion, the Bible (both Old and New Testament) are described as inspired.  

   Surah 29:46, Mohammed is commanded to speak with “People of the Book” (a reference to the Bible), “We believe in the Revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down to you.  Our God and your God is One.”   

Surah 10:94 says, “If you were in doubt as to what We have revealed unto you, then ask those who have been reading the Book from before you; the Truth has indeed come down to you from your Lord: so be in no wise of those who doubt.”   

Surah 3:2-3, “He sent down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) … as a guide to mankind.”   

Surah 5:68, “People of the Book! …Stand fast by the Law, the Gospel and all the revelation that hath come to you from your Lord.  It is the revelation that has come to thee from your Lord.”

   I hope this would shed some light to everyone most especially Muslim who deny the veracity of the Bible. Tell me now what faith is contradicting itself?

There is NO Battle Between God and Satan

   Believe it or not there is NO battle between God and Satan that had ever happened or will ever be. This scenario is impossible to happen and the Bible is witness to that. We will not find any verse that ever hinted a battle happening between God and Satan. Not even to the Lord Jesus, the son of God, he is no match.  Satan is just a creation of God like the rest of the angels, even like us. The All-powerful God can simply pinch Satan, and there may be a bit of a struggle from Satan but God can barely be move. Satan can easily be pulverized because after all he was just a created being. The omnipotence of God must be made very clear to all believers for here we can draw out our strength during tough times and trials. Jeremiah 50:44 noted that "Who is like me and who can challenge me?" To make an illustration it is like Manny Pacquiao fighting a little baby.

   Here are some illustrations of how God conduct His justice to offender. Moses was called to free the Israelite from slavery in the hands of the Egyptians. Now do you think God can not free His chosen people from the hands of their captors? God can do that all by Himself. How about driving the sinners around the promise land, do you think He needed Joshua’s fighting ability to drive the Canaanites off if He wants to?  One must remember that when Satan rebel, He was immediately dispel from Heaven, no real battle occur they were simply thrown out of God’s sight. Satan was cast away and he can’t do anything about it.

   Jesus once said something concerning Satan’s fall from heaven that will help us understand how much power Satan has in comparison to our omnipotent God:

   And the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning” (Luke 10:17-18).

   Jesus had witness the scene before, it does not surprise him at all how his disciple cast out demons so easily.

   Now why it was said that Jesus conquered Satan during His death and resurrection? Is there a battle between them? No and that would be unfair. Jesus is not a created being; he came from the bosom of God. In his own offering of life, what Jesus did was to ransom us from the hold of SIN. Jesus conquered death here as consequence for our sin. He is making the supreme sacrifice to go thru the experience of dying and ultimately death to be the first resurrection. Jesus was sent on Earth not to battle Satan but to make it clear that we are conquerors of Sin if we believe in Him. After all, Satan was already a looser long ago. And this looser wants to deceive us that we are like him. Adam and Eve fail, so you will fail too. Jesus came to explain to us that we are not destined to hell, he came so that we can benefit from the eternal life God offers.

   

   Hebrews 2:14-15 tells us: “Since then the children [that’s us, the children of God] share in flesh and blood [that is, we have physical bodies], He Himself [Jesus] likewise also partook of the same [a physical body], that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives” (emphasis added).

   Note that Jesus, through His death, rendered Satan powerless. To what extent did He render Satan powerless? Obviously, Satan is not completely powerless, or else the apostle John would never have written that “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19, emphasis added). Neither would James and Peter have told us to resist the devil, because if Satan had no power, there would be nothing for us to resist (see James 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:8-9). Nor would Paul have written, “And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom. 16:20).

   Let us remember that the wages of sin is death. Satan had been defeated long ago during the angelic revolt; he was already destined to Hell. Temporarily he is thrown to earth (as prisoner) before the judgment day and unluckily we are with him and his demons here too. The bad news is, before hand the first human succumb to the deception of Satan too like the other fallen angels, and fall prey to SIN. Now since we are sinners Jesus have to ransom us from SURE death.

    I'm not sure why would God imprison Satan on a place inhabited by us but one plausible reason is that maybe want to demonstrate His justice and mercy to all His creation.  And If God is all-powerful, then Satan doesn't have a ghost of a chance at slightly hindering God from doing what He wants to do. And if God does permit Satan to do something, ultimately it is only to accomplish His own divine will. 

   The REAL battle that is happening is within us. Satan knew that he is no match to God so he is preying on His creation. Although the fallen angel and his demons may seem have some advantages over us, but God guaranteed to us that He is our very own power. He gave the Holy Spirit to us. None of the angels or the demons had that capabilities BUT they don’t want us to discover that truth. They are utilizing all their efforts to present lies and false hopes….

   They want to keep us ignorant thru deceptions via the False Religions, Media, Education, among others. They tried to hinder Bible reading because once we discover the truth; we will know our special power. They want to keep us away from Jesus (who is the Word) so we can become ignorant of our special place in God’s Kingdom.

   Now, speaking of battle, it is neither God nor Jesus who will be facing Satan. There is no need; he is just a earthworm in their sight. 

And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time (Rev. 20:1-3).

   This future incident could not be considered a battle between God and Satan any more than Satan’s original expulsion from heaven could be considered a battle between God and Satan. This unnamed angel will simply lay hold of Satan and put him out of operation for a thousand years. There is no mention of any skirmish.

   Notice also that Satan will not have the power to break out of his prison and will only be released when it suits God’s purposes (see Rev. 20:7-9).

   He had appointed an angel to that job. Since Satan is an angel he will be face with another angel. That’s how justice works in Gods hand, he will not step into a mismatch battle being justly and fair. Since we are only human and we are having a struggle against spiritual being in the air, He gave us the power of Holy Spirit too.

   So to those who seem to be stuck in a situation where you feel giving up and almost surrendering, don’t fret You are above the situations, you have the power of God at your artillery bag.