Jesus Christ spoke about the condition of the dead. He did so with regard to Lazarus, a man whom he knew well and who had died. Jesus told his disciples: “Lazarus our friend has gone to rest.” The disciples thought that Jesus meant that Lazarus was resting in sleep, recovering from an illness. They were wrong. Jesus explained: “Lazarus has died.” (John 11:11-14) Notice that Jesus compared death to rest and sleep. Lazarus was neither in heaven nor in a burning hell. He was not meeting angels or ancestors. Lazarus was not being reborn as another human. He was at rest in death, as though in a deep sleep without dreams. Other scriptures also compare death to sleep. For example, when the disciple Stephen was stoned to death, the Bible says that he “fell asleep.” (Acts 7:60) Similarly, the apostle Paul wrote about some in his day who had “fallen asleep” in death.
The Bible teaches that the dead “are conscious of nothing at all.” They are not alive and have no conscious existence anywhere. The account of Lazarus confirms this. Upon returning to life, did Lazarus thrill people with descriptions of heaven? Or did he terrify them with horrible tales about a burning hell? No. The Bible contains no such words from Lazarus. During the four days that he was dead, he had been “conscious of nothing at all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5) Lazarus had simply been sleeping in death.
The account of Lazarus also teaches us that the resurrection is a reality, not a mere myth. Jesus raised Lazarus in front of a crowd of eyewitnesses. Even the religious leaders, who hated Jesus, did not deny this miracle.
Think about this too: If Lazarus had been in heaven for those four days, would he not have said something about it? And if he had been in heaven, would Jesus have made him come back to earth from that wonderful place? Of course not!
Yet, many people say that we have a soul, and they say that the soul lives on after the body dies. They say that Lazarus’ soul was alive somewhere. But the Bible does not say that. It says that God made the first man Adam “a living soul.” Gen. 2:7, Adam was a soul. The Bible also says that when Adam sinned, he died. He became a “dead soul,” and he returned to the dust from which he had been made. The Bible also says that all Adam’s offspring inherited sin and death too.
The Scriptural teaching of the resurrection, however, is not compatible with the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. If an immortal soul survived death, no one would need to be resurrected, or brought back to life. Indeed, Martha expressed no thought about an immortal soul that was living on elsewhere after death. She did not believe that Lazarus had already gone to some spirit realm to continue his existence. On the contrary, she showed her faith in God’s purpose to reverse the effects of death. She said: “I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.” (John 11:23, 24) Likewise, Lazarus himself related no experiences of some afterlife. There was nothing to report.
Clearly, according to the Bible, the soul dies and the remedy for death is the resurrection. You enjoy the best sleep ever, until Jesus resurrects you, sometime in the future.
2007-05-20 17:48:24
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answer #1
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answered by BJ 7
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We all are souls,and when we die we go through a tunnel then we might go with god a face judgment he basicly is gonna show you every single thing you did in life every single thought,also he will show you like a photo album of your entire life from a kid to when you are old,and anything you ask there it will be answer right away anything,i yet dont know if there is hell however those who dont make it to the other side will stay has a ghost lost,those who make it will be a spirit and will be in a very peaceful place.
2007-05-20 16:14:58
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answer #2
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answered by Siegfried4245 2
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I'm a Buddhist, we do not believe in a eternal soul. We believe that it is our attachment to worldly desires and bad emotions such as greed and hate that cause suffering. Aging is suffering, death is suffering, sickness is suffering. We believe that there is no identity, but only the energy of our thoughts and actions which can get reincarnated until we reach nirvana, reaching complete knowledge and growth and ending our cycle of suffering.
2007-05-20 16:14:40
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answer #3
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answered by Starvin' Marvin 3
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Revelations gives insight. The Sea of life possibly a place were souls rest in a state of slumber until the Resurrection. Then there is Hell, Hades, Death, Place of burning sulfur, Lake of fire.Different places different degrees of pain.Possibly more dungeons.
2007-05-20 16:24:58
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answer #4
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answered by Anonymous
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Well, seeing as according to the Bible, a soul is created by flesh and the Breath of God, my life breath so to speak will go back to God until the Resurrection when he comes to take us all to Heaven. I won't know a thing, and my body will simply decompose in the ground or do whatever depending on if I'm cremated or not.
2007-05-20 16:13:14
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answer #5
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answered by Tachus Ischus 2
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Just my opinion I believe that our “true lives” are in heaven as our spirit selves and we come to earth to learn life lessons. When our lessons are learned we die and if you are a good person/ spirit on earth you get to go back to “heaven” and be back with all your eternal friends but if you were an evil/dark spirit while on earth you get reincarnated right away. So instead of getting to go back to heaven/home you instantly enter the womb again to be born again. (I don’t believe in hell… God didn’t create evil or the devil…God loves all his children. So even if you do wrong like he is going to send you to hell to shovel coal.) Plus do you really believe there is a horned devil underground just wanted for you in hell??? I also believe you won’t get to go to heaven until you ask for god’s forgiveness. And since god forgives all his children you will get to return to heaven/home again but it could take you several lifetimes to do so. Take it or leave it but this is what I believe. On the other side/heaven I believe it is a place that is perfect. A place where you can have and do what ever you can imagine. With that being said why wouldn’t we call that our real home and look as life on earth as a form of summer camp or boot camp were we come learn and than leave to return tour real home. I also think that you can be reborn as many times as it takes to learn and gain all the information you need to and after each death you return home to start planning your next “trip” to earth. And when you have learned everything there is that you want to know that you just stay in “heaven” enjoying your self.
2007-05-20 16:48:21
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answer #6
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answered by TK 1
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rd Ecclesiastes 9:5 also Ezkiel 18:4
2007-05-20 16:21:51
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answer #7
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answered by krurius 2
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in the bible it mentions a couple times about going to so-called paradise RIGHT after death which i think is a 'perfect' place containg no evil.. then whenever Jesus actually returns to earth taking all of his followers we all enter Heaven together. at least that is what i interpret from my bible study.
2007-05-20 16:14:14
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answer #8
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answered by kacie 2
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If you knew Jesus as your Lord and Savior while you were on Earth, then your soul goes to Heaven. However, if you deny God/Jesus/the Holy Spirit, you have condemned your soul to Hell for eternity.
2007-05-20 17:37:14
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answer #9
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answered by †Lawrence R† 6
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Your soul is your= Mind-Will -Emotions
You need to be born again to save your spirit,and thats the start of your spiritual journey.You can do that by confessing your sins
to Christ.Read John3:16
Then as a saved soul/spirit you can be in Heaven after you die
2007-05-20 16:16:45
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answer #10
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answered by Darren 4
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