Subject: Do we go directly to Heaven? |
Bible Note: Hi EdB, You might be interested to know that this "death by asphyxiation" would only occur should the victim be crucified with his arms suspended ABOVE his head, not (as in Jesus' case) with the arms stretched out on either side. It could take up to three days for a person to die with the arms outstretched on either side. Death in this manner is the result of the victim going into hypovolemic shock. Death is this manner can be in, a manner of hours, or days depending on the manner in which the victim is affixed to the cross. If the victim is crucified with a small seat, a sedile, affixed to the uptight for minimum support in the region of the buttocks, death can be prolonged for hours and days. If you will recall, Pilate was surprised that Jesus was already dead after just six hours. He had to send someone to go check to make sure. (Mark 15:43-45) Second John 20:17 in the Greek is "haptomai mou me" (touch/cling to, me/mine, not/that not) so it HAS been (the KJV) translated accurately enough. And the word "paradise" in Luke 23:43 is "paradeisos" Strong's #3857 and DOES denote the place where God dwells. (Rev. 2:7) It is another word for heaven. Third "Hades" denotes "the grave", the place where the dead go. It does NOT mean some underground place where living souls are. And the parable of the rich man and Lazarus was just that (a parable). It was not a literal account of things. Consider that a man's arm could not literally stretch across this great gulf. Much less would a couple of drops of water ease the suffering of anyone in a place of perpetual burning. Jesus said this story to show that those that live a life of pleasure (at the expense of others) in this life would end up suffering the final penaly for sin. While those that lived a life of suffering (for Jesus' sake) would enherit eternal life. And finally II Cor. 5:8 I take to mean "absent from the fleshly desires of the body". Note verse 7 "we walk by faith not by sight" (these things are spiritualy discerned) and verse 10 shows that he is talking about "things done in the body". He is not talking about being physiacally dead. Another verse in Col. 2:5 shows that "absent in the flesh yet am present in the spirit" simply means that his physical presence is not there with them at that time yet his (Paul's) spirit is. Much in the way that you might think about someone (wishing you were with them) yet you are physically apart from them. |