Bible Question: I believe that at the time of death, the spirit of the righteous goes to be with God, as Jesus told the thief on the cross. this to me instantaneously. I am not sure about the spirit/soul of the lost! |
Bible Answer: Hi: Samuel was righteous,and King Saul was not. Yet Samuel said Sam 28:19 "Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Samuel and Saul in the same place when dead. Paul was also in Paradise according to hisown words, and so was John in Revelation. Both went when they were still alive. Both did not stay. Both died after coming back. Why would you think the thief on the cross went when he was dead. This is an interpretation, which the passage does not specify. When Jesus died, He went into the bowls of the earth it says, and preached to the dead. Then He was resurrected. Samuel came UP OUT OF THE EARTH when he was called up from the dead. The only interpretation left for that passage is that if the thief went to Paradise with Christ that day, it happened when they were both still alive. According to Solomon the righteous and unrighteous have the same fate when they die. They go to the place of the dead, where Jesus Himself also went for three days when He died. I have shown you two examples of persons while alive going to Paradise. Can you show me one where a dead person goes to paradise, other than the one in question which does NOT state that the thief was dead when he went. Saying that this thief went to Paradise when he died is to contradict the words of Solomon that in death, the righteous and unrighteous have the same fate. This fact was revealed to Solomon by the same sourse as any prophet, which sourse is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not contradict Himself. If He taught Solomon that they have the same fate, and that the dead know nothing, it must be true. In which case you have jumped to a conclusion that the thief was dead when he went to Paradise that day as opposed to being alive. Sincerely Henry and Emmy |