Kingdom Ready Blog

© 2011 Matthew Elton
matt@faithfirstmedia.com

Two Views: Eternal Torture vs. Soul Sleep

According to a popularized Christian belief, when a person dies his or her soul departs from the body and either floats up to a place of eternal paradise (heaven) or down to a place of eternal torture (hell). This belief has become so widely accepted among Christians that it is often assumed that it must have originated in the Bible.

Christian News Update

King David Missing

Breaking news of an ongoing investigation has been reported into the missing of patriarch, King David.  David was the infamous shepherd boy who slew the giant Philistine, Goliath, and was anointed King of Israel, by well-loved and respected Samuel, the Prophet of Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  King David is allegedly missing from all the  dead Biblical “Greats” who are supposedly in heaven at this current time, praising and worshiping God, without bodies.  Since Jesus, Son of God, is to sit upon the throne of David, to rule in an everlasting kingdom upon the earth someday, sources tell us that one would expect this David to also be included in the heavenly chorus of saints.  He is not.  He is blatantly missing from such a Who’s Who of Biblical Greats!

This is what Easter is suppose to be about. When you strip away all the commercialism and pagan customs, it is about remembering why we can escape the death penalty we all deserve as sinful humans.  It was this one human man, the 2nd Adam, the Messiah of Almighty Yahweh that died an undeserved death in our place and became the FIRSTFRUITS of those who are asleep!

Acts 17:30-31

Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.

This post is by Dr. John Roller, an expert on the doctrine of Conditional Immortality. You can visit his blog at johnroller.com and hear an interview I (Sean) did with him on Truth Matters or download his e-book about the historical development of the doctrine of hell. The following question and answer was sent out as part of the “Roller Update.”

Q: How do you respond when someone who knows that you believe in “soul sleep” goes through the death of a loved one and tells you that they find comfort in thinking that that loved one is in Heaven looking down?

Death. It’s not a pleasant thing, nor is it something which to look forward to with anticipation. It is something to be hated, despised, abhorred. Yet, most people, when asked the question, “What happens to you when you die?” they would quickly answer, without even pausing to consider, “I will go to heaven when I die.” Even people who marginally believe that there is a God, believe that heaven is where they will go upon their death.

Going way WAY back into some old-school literature this week with a pamphlet that is 65 YEARS OLD! This one-time radio sermon was broadcast just a few months after the close of World War II in November of 1945!  I thought I would bring this sermon tract into the digital age and give it new life as it is a great explanation of how Paul’s famous expression is NOT a support for the immortal soul belief - but is instead a Resurrection truth like all of Paul’s other writings. 

Enjoy! 

PAUL’S DESIRE TO DEPART AND TO BE WITH CHRIST

by

VICTOR L. HARRISON

Radio Pastor and Evangelist

This post is by Dr. John Roller, an expert on the doctrine of Conditional Immortality. You can visit his blog at johnroller.com and hear an interview I (Sean) did with him on Truth Matters or download his e-book about the historical development of the doctrine of hell. The following question and answer was sent out as part of the “Roller Update.”

Coming to you live from Anthony Buzzards’ 19th Annual Theological Conference in Atalanta GA… I’m on the laptop and wirelessly connecting to the web.  Yeah, isn’t technology great!

Anyway, here’s an article I’ve been trying to write forever it seems.  Finally, I got around to getting it done over some downtimes over the past couple of days.  The subject is the 11th Chapter of John and the wonderful truths I believe that can be learned from it.

Life after death – according to Martha & Jesus

By Ron Shockley

With last Sunday being “Resurrection Day” or “Easter,” it has caused me to take the time to reflect upon Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, and ponder the question, “Where did Jesus go when he died on the cross?” 

Here’s another old conditional immortality pamphlet from my father’s collection that I’m bringing into the digital age.  I searched the internet for this particular piece and never found it.  Although I did find out that the author (Horace Lorenzo Hastings) lived back in the 1800′s (1831-1899).  This little track was published by Adventist churches for decades after – my particular copy by Advent Christian Publications & then hand stamped from the Advent Christian Church of Shamrock, Texas (probably in the early 1970′s).  Enjoy!

1. Who is immortal?
“The King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God.” 1 Tim. 1:17.