A gracEmail subscriber asks about the Bible's frequent reference to the dead as "sleeping" and a different subscriber asks if death does not involve separation of body and spirit. * * * Indeed, death involves the separation of body and spirit but a word of caution is in order. "Spirit" (from Latin, spiritus) is ruach (Hebrew) or pneuma (Greek) -- "breath" or "wind" -- with which our material body is living and without which it is dead (Gen. 2:7). The spirit is not some immaterial "real person" or "immortal soul" which remains conscious when the body is dead, as in Platonic thought. The … [Read more...]
Archives for 2012
JESUS’ TRANSFIGURATION AND THE DEAD
A pastor in Florida quotes the biblical passage which says that the dead know nothing (Eccl. 9:5), and asks how to square that with the account of Jesus' Transfiguration, in which Moses and Elijah briefly appear and talk with Jesus, then disappear again. * * * Indeed, the Bible describes the dead as going down into Sheol (Hebrew) or Hades (Greek), the "unseen realm" for which one might easily coin the English name "Gravedom." In that "land of forgetfulness," that domain of "darkness" (Psa. 88:11-12), they are cut off from life and from enjoying blessings from God's hand (Psa. 88:5). Most … [Read more...]
YOUR SON IS SAFE
A dear Christian sister whose 21-year-old-son was killed in Afghanistan asks: "Until Judgment Day, are Christians who die just 'sleeping,' or are they with the Lord? I know the Bible says we won’t have our glorified bodies until the resurrection but it also says that to be 'absent from the body' is to be 'present with the Lord.'” * * * I am so sorry for the loss of your son. May God give you special comfort and his supporting Presence each new day. As for the state of the departed, the most common biblical description throughout both Old and New Testaments is that they have fallen asleep. … [Read more...]
THOSE GOD WILL BRING WITH HIM
In First Thessalonians 4:14, Paul states that God will bring with him those who sleep in Jesus. "Where are they now," asks a gracEmail reader, "that they will be brought to the earth? What does this verse mean?" * * * The young church at Thessalonica to whom Paul wrote these words seemingly expected the Lord to return during their own lifetime (1 Thes. 1:9-10). However, some of their fellow-believers had died already -- "fallen asleep" is the common biblical metaphor -- and Jesus had not come yet. This raised a concern for the Thessalonians whether their departed loved ones would miss the … [Read more...]
IMMORTALITY IS CONDITIONAL
A sister from an independent Christian church in Idaho writes: "You mentioned a book you co-authored on the subject of final punishment, your part being to present the biblical case for conditional immortality. What exactly do you mean by 'conditional immortality?' " * * * Part 1 "Immortality" means deathlessness, and anyone who is "immortal" is incapable of dying. According to the Bible, God "alone possesses immortality" inherently or in his own nature (1 Tim. 6:16). Human beings are not naturally "deathless" or "immortal." We are mortal human creatures who owe our existence every moment … [Read more...]
ROBERT SHANK (1918-2006)
I have just learned of the passing of Robert Shank, 88, who died peacefully at his home in Mount Vernon, Missouri on October 16, 2006, ten days after suffering a debilitating stroke. His death concluded an earthly pilgrimage of humble conviction and quiet scholarship, bringing to an end more than 60 years of faithful ministry as a Christian pastor, preacher, author, lecturer and teacher. Following in the footsteps of his Baptist minister father, Shank himself began pastoring Southern Baptist churches in 1941, also serving as teacher and president of a Bible academy. The same year marked his … [Read more...]
HEALING A BREACH
During the 1930's and 1940's, a group of congregations were pushed out of the mainstream of the Churches of Christ because they believed that when Jesus returns, he will reign for 1,000 years on the earth. Most Churches of Christ interpret the "millennium" in Revelation 20 figuratively rather than literally. A gracEmail subscriber in Tennessee asks how this church division might now be set right. * * * The history of Christianity has included some horrendously unchristian behavior -- Catholics and Protestants killing each other, Calvinists and Lutherans persecuting Anabaptists, and … [Read more...]
THE MILLENNIUM
A brother in England and a sister in America, from different parts of the universal Church, inquire about the meaning of "the millennium." * * * "Millennium" means "one thousand years." The Bible specifically mentions a thousand-year reign of Christ in one passage (Rev. 20:1-6). In a vision, John there observes Christian martyrs come to life and then rule with Christ for 1,000 years. Jesus earlier warned of "ten days" of persecution which would include martyrdom for some (Rev. 2:10). Here Jesus rewards "ten days" of suffering with "1,000 years" beside him on the throne -- both time periods … [Read more...]
THE KINGDOM OF GOD – 2
As the New Testament opens, we see John the Baptist announcing the Kingdom "at hand," as do Jesus and his first disciples (Matt. 3:1-2; 4:17; 10:7). Jesus heals the sick, casts out devils, teaches about God's kingdom and forgives sinners, claiming to do it all by God's direct and immediate power. Jesus' ministry thus embodies God's kingdom on earth in a way more complete and concrete than it had been seen since before sin first entered Eden (Luke 11:14-23; Matt. 12:22-29). In the person of Jesus, God's kingdom comes with tumult and force, waging unrelenting assault on the fortresses and … [Read more...]
THE KINGDOM OF GOD – 1
A gracEmail subscriber from Hawaii asks what the Bible means when it speaks of the kingdom of God. * * * The Hebrew and Greek words translated "kingdom" in the Bible both essentially mean "reign," "rule" or "dominion." In the most fundamental sense, God's kingdom exists throughout all time and encompasses the entire universe. The psalmist declares: "The LORD has established his throne in the heavens and his sovereignty rules over all" (Psalm 103:19). About 1,000 B.C., God associates his own divine reign in a special way with the dynastic kingdom of David, whom God took from among the … [Read more...]
