Results 1 - 5 of 5
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Unanswered Bible Questions Author: goodnewsminister Ordered by Date |
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Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | The Rich Man and Lazarus... | Luke 16:23 | goodnewsminister | 85507 | ||
Does the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man Prove Some Will Suffer in Hell? "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. "So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then 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.' "But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.' "Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.' "Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' "And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.' "But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead' " (Luke 16:19-31). Allegorical account A consideration of the account of Lazarus and the rich man in view of other scriptures on the subject of death and the resurrection makes it clear that this is an allegory used to teach important spiritual lessons. It is not intended to be understood literally, nor is this a description of the actual events that take place after death or at the resurrection. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia discusses the contemporary background of the allegory. "This parable follows a story common in Egyptian and Jewish thought, in which the wicked rich and the pious poor have their positions reversed in the afterlife. It is told from the point of view of the rich man . . . who speaks with Abraham from his place of torment . . . "The parable . . . warns the rich that their possessions do not guarantee their future state. The parable was apparently directed toward Sadducean satisfaction with this life, based upon the belief that there would be no life beyond. Thus, Abraham said that even one from the dead would not convince the living to repent" (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1986, Vol. III, p. 94). Spiritual lesson Jesus took a familiar story of the day and pointed out a spiritual lesson to those of His day who identified with the law but did not keep it. The primary lesson of this account is simple: Eternal consequences depend on the choices we make and the kind of people we are. Lazarus is described as having an intimate relationship with Abraham (verse 22); that is, he is an heir to God's Kingdom through the promises made to Abraham. We know from other scriptures that Abraham has not yet received his promised inheritance (Acts 7:2-5; Hebrews 11:8-13). Therefore, neither could Lazarus have yet received any eternal inheritance. The rich man is said to have died. When resurrected from his grave (hades), the rich man learns that his fate is his destruction by fire. The torment he experiences (verses 23-24) is his mental anguish. He has lost everything by rejecting Jesus Christ and refusing to obey God. The "great gulf" between them (verse 26) represents their different rewards. Lazarus will receive eternal life, and the rich man will be destroyed in the lake of fire. Since there is no consciousness in death, the rich man would have had no awareness of the passing of time since his demise. The conversation with Abraham is not literal. It is a parable that allegorically teaches an important lesson. The rich man, facing eternal destruction because of the choices he made in life, urgently requests that at least his family members be warned so they can avoid his terrible fate (verses 27-31). This parable teaches us that choosing to reject God's instruction will bring disastrous consequences- everlasting destruction in a lake of fire. Taken from the following article on the following webpage: http://www.ucg.org/booklets/AD/sufferinhell.htm |
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2 | Prove all things hold fast to the good.. | 1 Cor 15:1 | goodnewsminister | 85505 | ||
"Do You Believe the True Gospel?" Chapter 1 — A Message About the Messenger? Your eternity depends on your willingness to understand and believe the true Gospel! Yet the Apostle Paul warned the Christians of his day, "For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a DIFFERENT GOSPEL which you have not accepted; you may well put up with it!" (2 Corinthians 11:4). Frankly, millions of sincere men and women have put up with a false gospel. They have been deceived all right-far too easily deceived. Why? Because too many have failed to obey God's command to "prove all things" (1 Thessalonians 5:21, KJV). Jesus Christ said, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15). Have you believed the same Gospel, which Jesus preached? You need to be sure! There are many, many "gospels" being preached in the world today! Have you ever heard something like this? "Just give your heart to the Lord. Jesus was born in the manger as the Christ, the Son of God, to save as many souls in this age as would accept Him into their hearts. When He grew up, He went around performing miracles and forgiving people. He kept God's harsh law for all of us before finally being nailed to the cross along with that old law. He rose from the dead on the third day and appeared to many witnesses. Then He returned to heaven and began to set up His Kingdom in the hearts of men. He'll forgive your sins and come into your heart-just as you are-if you'll only accept Him. Jesus saves! Just believe on Him, and you'll be saved-born again. And, when you die, you'll go to be with Him in heaven-forever!" But is that really the Gospel Jesus taught? If you have accepted, without question, the almost unanimous voice of mainstream Christianity in this regard, you probably think that it is. Yet consider what Mark Twain wrote: "In religion and politics, people's beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue but have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing" [Mark Twain's Autobiography, 1959]. Do you really know what constitutes the genuine Gospel that Jesus and His Apostles preached? Or have you made a careless assumption, following the crowd as Mark Twain noted, taking your beliefs from second-hand suppositions? Probably you were taught the mainstream understanding of "the Gospel" while growing up. Or maybe you learned it from the barrage of religious publications and broadcasts that exist in our modern world. In any case, you have, more than likely, not seen the need to question your beliefs. After all, most professing Christian authorities are in agreement here. Surely, they must be right. Or are they? In His famous Olivet Prophecy, Jesus Christ warned, "Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many" (Matthew 24:4-5, KJV). Many modern versions place quotations around "I am Christ," assuming that Christ was talking about individuals who would claim to actually be Christ themselves. However, there have not been "MANY" such people in recent centuries that have been taken seriously, much less deceived the "MANY." Another interpretation some have offered is that Jesus was referring to false "Savior" figures like Hitler and Mussolini. But this is really taking liberties with the text. Remember, Christ said, "Many shall come IN MY NAME." A clearer rendering of what Jesus meant would be: "Take care that no one leads you astray. Indeed, many will appear, making use of My name, saying that I am Christ, yet deceiving many." What an astounding warning! Christ was foretelling that MANY false preachers would talk about Him and that they would proclaim that He is the Christ, the expected Messiah. Yet even after acknowledging Jesus' Messiahship, the deceivers are prophesied to seduce the unwary from a correct understanding of Jesus' genuine Gospel! How about you? Might they have deceived you too? Do not make careless assumptions! Find out-prove-what is true. Then you will really know and nobody will be able to fool you! Amen, Brother Meredith, Amen! Taken from Dr. Meredith's booklet, "Do you believe the True Gospel?" at the following URL: http://www.lcg.org/files/booklets/btg/default.htm |
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3 | No, the dead are still DEAD...not alive! | Bible general Archive 1 | goodnewsminister | 85433 | ||
Do Good People Really Go to Heaven When They Die? Most churchgoers believe that when they die they will go to heaven. But will they? If heaven truly is a place of such everlasting happiness, why do so many do all they can to postpone going there? The Bible reveals some astounding and little-understood truths about heaven, the mystery of life beyond the grave and God’s great plan and purpose for us. To comprehend what the Bible teaches about heaven, we first need to understand that there is more than one heaven. Often the Bible refers to heavens, plural. In fact, three distinct “heavens” are mentioned in the Bible. The first of these is simply the sky above us—earth’s atmosphere, containing the air we breathe. It is in this heaven that birds fly and clouds give rain and snow (2 Samuel 21:10; Job 35:11; Isaiah 55:10). The second biblical heaven is the realm beyond earth’s atmosphere, what we commonly call outer space. Here we find the Obviously the deceased, Christian or not, are not floating around unnoticed in the first two heavens. No one seriously believes they can be found drifting about the sky or in outer space. Therefore they must be in the third of these heavens, right? Many people assume so, but the whole argument about heaven being the reward of deceased Christians runs into a brick wall with these words from the apostle Peter’s first sermon: “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day . . . For David did not ascend to heaven . . .” (Acts 2:29, 34, David off to heaven. The only one who had ascended to heaven, said Peter, was Jesus Christ (Acts 2:29-35). Was Peter mistaken? Did he simply misspeak? We might assume so, but notice what the Gospel of John says: “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man [Jesus Christ]” (John 3:13, NIV). Jesus never promised Christians heaven after they died. The New Testament plainly says that of the faithful men and women who had gone before—such spiritual giants as Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses, to name some of those listed in Hebrews 11—not one has ascended to heaven. In fact, says verse 39 of Hebrews 11, “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised” (NIV). If they aren’t in heaven, where are they? And what was it they were promised, if it wasn’t heaven? |
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4 | No, the dead are still DEAD...not alive! | Bible general Archive 1 | goodnewsminister | 85432 | ||
Do Good People Really Go to Heaven When They Die? Most churchgoers believe that when they die they will go to heaven. But will they? If heaven truly is a place of such everlasting happiness, why do so many do all they can to postpone going there? The Bible reveals some astounding and little-understood truths about heaven, the mystery of life beyond the grave and God’s great plan and purpose for us. To comprehend what the Bible teaches about heaven, we first need to understand that there is more than one heaven. Often the Bible refers to heavens, plural. In fact, three distinct “heavens” are mentioned in the Bible. The first of these is simply the sky above us—earth’s atmosphere, containing the air we breathe. It is in this heaven that birds fly and clouds give rain and snow (2 Samuel 21:10; Job 35:11; Isaiah 55:10). The second biblical heaven is the realm beyond earth’s atmosphere, what we commonly call outer space. Here we find the Obviously the deceased, Christian or not, are not floating around unnoticed in the first two heavens. No one seriously believes they can be found drifting about the sky or in outer space. Therefore they must be in the third of these heavens, right? Many people assume so, but the whole argument about heaven being the reward of deceased Christians runs into a brick wall with these words from the apostle Peter’s first sermon: “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day . . . For David did not ascend to heaven . . .” (Acts 2:29, 34, David off to heaven. The only one who had ascended to heaven, said Peter, was Jesus Christ (Acts 2:29-35). Was Peter mistaken? Did he simply misspeak? We might assume so, but notice what the Gospel of John says: “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man [Jesus Christ]” (John 3:13, NIV). Jesus never promised Christians heaven after they died. The New Testament plainly says that of the faithful men and women who had gone before—such spiritual giants as Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses, to name some of those listed in Hebrews 11—not one has ascended to heaven. In fact, says verse 39 of Hebrews 11, “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised” (NIV). If they aren’t in heaven, where are they? And what was it they were promised, if it wasn’t heaven? |
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5 | The Bible Definition of a soul is what? | Bible general Archive 1 | goodnewsminister | 85417 | ||
Does the Bible teach what the majority of religions teach and what many people believe, namely, that humans have an immortal soul and that at death it moves on to another realm, the "hereafter," heaven, hell, or purgatory, or that it returns in a reincarnation? | ||||||