THE CONDITION OF THE DEAD, BOTH PHYSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY (Written on or about 14 July 2000; Updated on 19 May 2004) By S. Wolf Britain Another example of the majority usually being wrong is on the subject of the condition of people after they die. Many people think they "see dead people"; but it is impossible for ANYONE to see ANY of the dead, because God’s Word (the Bible) is very clear in Ecclesiastes 9:5 and 6 that "(t)he living know that they will die: but THE DEAD KNOW NOT ANY THING, neither have they any more reward; for the memory of them is forgotten...." Therefore, they have no separate "souls" or "spirits" that could communicate with anyone, let alone the living. The evil dead will be "burned up" (2 Peter 3:10), "....ashes under the soles of the (feet of the righteous)" (Malachi 4:3) at the time of the Day of Judgment, and "....neither (will) they have ANY more a portion for ever in ANY thing that is done under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 9:6). So NO ONE will suffer forever in an eternal burning hell; and the evil people will just be COMPLETELY DESTROYED FOREVER. (Emphasis added.) Yes, there are many verses in God’s Word that APPEAR to support the interpretation that there is a forever burning hell, and to support other false beliefs like what the Lord’s Day supposedly is; but they are, more often than not, taken out of context; and, with careful, completely contextual study, such "stumbling blocks" are thoroughly overcome. In the original Hebrew that the Old Testament was written in, and in the original Greek that the New Testament was written in, the definition(s) of the Hebrew and Greek words for "hell", ‘gehenna’, and ‘sheol’ or Hades, are simply ‘DEATH’ and ‘THE GRAVE’; and there are no Hebrew or Greek words for "soul" or "spirit" that mean any more than, in the case of "soul", the Hebrew ‘nephesh’ and the Greek ‘psuche’ (psyche), ONLY THE ENTIRE PERSON including their body and mind, and in the case of "spirit", the Hebrew ‘ruwach’ and the Greek ‘pneuma’, ONLY THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE MIND, PERSONALITY, CHARACTER OR DISPOSITION OF PEOPLE, and/or THE BREATH OF LIFE, but does NOT include ANY separate "spirit" or "soul". In other words, God’s Word proves that other than the Breath of Life, NOTHING separates from the body at death; and the Breath of Life is simply THE LIFE FORCE, not a (separate) consciousness; and there is NO consciousness that can in any way survive separate from the mind, body or soul. One of the greatest deceptions on this Earth, and one of the greatest counterfeits of a primary doctrine of God’s Word, the condition of the dead, is both the belief by most professed-Christian people that there is a soul or spirit that separates from the body, either before or after death, and that all people, and even (some) animals, go to "heaven" or "hell" right away when they die. But, again, God’s Word is very clear that, in the case of "hell", the evil people will be TOTALLY burned up and destroyed RIGHT AFTER THE DAY OF JUDGMENT of the evil people, and, in the case of "heaven", the righteous people will not go to heaven, either physically or spiritually, until RIGHT AFTER THE DAY OF JUDGMENT of the righteous people. In the meantime, all those who die either righteous or evil, both physically and spiritually, remain "asleep" IN THE GRAVE until the Day of Judgment; and there are absolutely NO other correct interpretations of, or beliefs on, this subject whatsoever, or in any way, shape or form: It is written, thus says the Lord God: "He that sacrifices to any (other) ‘god’, except to the LORD only, he will be TOTALLY DESTROYED." (Exodus 22:20.) "Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of His Hands, He will DESTROY them, and not build them up." (Psalms 28:5.) "....(T)he transgressors will be DESTROYED together: the end of the wicked will be cut off." (Psalms 37:38.) "God will likewise DESTROY (the wicked) FOR EVER, He will take (them) away, and pluck (them) out of your dwelling place, and root (them) out of the land of the living. Selah." (Psalms 52:5.) "For, lo, they that are far from You will perish: You have DESTROYED all (of) them who go whoring (away) from You." (Psalms 73:27.) "When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of evil flourish; it is (then) that they will be DESTROYED FOR EVER:" (Psalms 92:7.) "The LORD preserves all them that love Him: but all the wicked will He DESTROY." (Psalms 145:20.) "Whoever despises the Word will be DESTROYED: but he that obeys the Commandments will be rewarded." (Proverbs 13:13.) (Emphasis added by me.) "He that walks with wise men will be wise: but a companion of fools will be DESTROYED." (Proverbs 13:20.) "....(F)ear not those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him who is able to DESTROY both soul and body in hell (the final death)." (Matthew 10:28.) "And it will (soon) come to pass, that every soul, who will not hear th(e) prophet(s), will be DESTROYED from among the people." (Acts 3:23.) (Emphasis added.) "If any man defile the temple of God, he will God DESTROY; for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are." (1 Corinthians 3:17.) "The last enemy that will (soon) be DESTROYED is death." (1 Corinthians 15:26.) "But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and will TOTALLY PERISH in their own corruption...." (2 Peter 2:12.) "And the nations were angry, and Your wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should give reward to Your servants the prophets, and to the saints (the true Christians), and those who fear Your name, small and great; and should DESTROY them who destroy the earth." (Revelation 11:18.) (Emphasis added by me.) Also, death is simply called "sleep" at least fifty times in God’s Word; and when both the righteous and the evil are resurrected, God’s Word speaks of them as being "awake(ned)" from sleep. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18: "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep (or ‘have died’), that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again (which is undoubtedly a proven historical fact), even so those also who sleep (or ‘die’) in Jesus (the righteous) will God bring with Him. For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the (second) coming of the Lord will not prevent (or ‘precede’) those who are asleep (in the Lord). For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God: and the dead in Christ will rise first: Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so will we ever be with the Lord (at that time). Wherefore comfort one another with these words." Revelation 20:1-15; and 21:8: "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they (who) sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and who had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. (Of the righteous only, before the final judgment and destruction of all the evil people after the thousand years....) "Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him a thousand years (in heaven). And when the thousand years are expired, Satan will be loosed out of his prison, And will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and (en)compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and DEVOURED them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and will be tormented day and night for ever and ever (until they are completely burned up and totally destroyed for all eternity). (Emphasis added by me.) "And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the (evil) dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell (the grave) delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second (resurrection and final) death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." "....(T)he fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, will have their part in the lake which (will) burn with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Very soon there will be no more loneliness, suffering, disease, and death! Let all who have eyes and minds to correctly interpret and understand these Words of God, understand them fully and correctly! They, not my own words, have the Power; so I will let them speak for themselves; as they certainly make more than clear what is truly and finally going to happen, who and what is going to be completely destroyed, and who the only people are who are going to survive it and live with God throughout eternity. The next and last two chapters, Revelation 21 and 22, describe in short detail how Earth itself is going to become heaven, the very center of God’s pure and holy universe where there will be absolutely no evil (right now the only planet in the entire universe where there is any evil is Earth), and how soon all of the final events to take place before this total renewal of our planet are to take place. Very soon our Earth will truly be a very wonderful place to live forever! One of the final deceptions that has already been taking place for some time, and that will very soon occur even more, is the so-called appearance of the dead to loved ones, friends, acquaintances, or strangers, telling them that falsehood is supposedly truth, like the false doctrine of reincarnation, an almost perfect counterfeit of True Christianity, that The Truth is supposedly false, that we cannot or do not have to do all that God’s Word commands us to do, and/or that we should or must do things which are contrary to Truth, reasonableness, health, or safety of ourselves or others’, etc. But, because the dead cannot truly appear to us, the truth of what is, or will be, really appearing to those who think the dead are appearing to them, is that it is the evil angels of satan appearing to be those dead people, when in reality they are nothing more than evil demons leading us astray; and, when we follow even their apparently well-meaning instructions, even those instructions which are partly according to truth or right, or appear to be, we will be carrying out the instructions of evil, and separating ourselves further and further from God and any Hope we might still have of redemption or salvation. So, please, don’t be deceived or be taken in by any of these evils! The foregoing is what is known as "spiritualism"; and it is a mixture of truth and falsehood, which is what makes up the best counterfeits. God’s Truth is nothing but 100% Truth; and it contains absolutely no falsehood(s) whatsoever; therefore, it is very important to "(p)rove all things" (1 Thessalonians 5:21) whether they be of God or not. Evil, or satan and his evil angels, is or are constantly at work seeking to deceive, and, though it is extremely sad, greatly succeeding in deceiving, the vast majority of people; and our only Protection from, and Hope for overcoming, all of this is The Word(s) of God, and prayer or meditation, ONLY to Him. Evil is also constantly at work convincing the majority of people that the One and Only True God, and His Word(s), guidance and requirements of us are supposedly not the only Way, Truth and for our best Good, and to follow all kinds of counterfeit beliefs, including false, so-called Christian beliefs, that separate us further and further from God, though we really believe that we are being brought closer and closer to Him by them when we truly are not. "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21.) "(Jesus is) the Way, the Truth and the Life: (and) NO MAN (OR WOMAN) comes to (God) the Father, except by (Him)." (John 14:6.) (Emphasis added by me.) The only Way we can overcome evil with good is to only go by God’s Good, His One and Only, Truth. As I alluded to before, God’s Word is the only thing that has any real power; but none of, or any part of, the many other religious or spiritual belief systems in this world will truly provide any everlasting, ultimate, finally-overcoming, and true, power, love, peace, joy, happiness or contentment; and most of what is considered to be normal and acceptable, and to be sought after in this world, is not normal or worth seeking after at all. The best counterfeits appear so much like the true that they fool all but those with the most trained eye(s); and virtually all of that which is considered to be normal and good in this world is so successful at appearing to be so when it isn’t, that it fools most people into believing that it supposedly is normal and good. As a result, while rationalizing that they are only being responsible, and allegedly fulfilling God’s requirement(s) that people earn their own living, most people are committing the "root of all evil", "the love of money"; and they are ‘sold out’ to this world, worldliness and nothing but hypocritical so-called believers' in The Truth, that God’s Word commands us to completely separate from (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 6:11-18; Revelation 18:4; etcetera). Humankind has all kinds of excuses and rationalizations for evil; but there are no justifications or excuses for evil of any kind, or level, whatsoever; and all such self-justifiers' and hypocrites will also be completely destroyed along with the rest of the evil people, unless of course they stop all of their commissions of, and overcome all, evil. It is written, thus says the Lord God: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit (of God) says to the churches; To him who overcomes (evil) will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God...." "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches; He who overcomes will not be hurt of the second death...." "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches; To him who overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knows except he who receives it...." "And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him will I give power over the nations:" "....He who overcomes, the same will be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before his angels...." "He who overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God: and I will write upon him My new name...." "To him who overcomes will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne...." "He who overcomes will inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he will be My son." (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; and 21:7.) Clearly, those who do not overcome will not inherit all things, have God for his God, or be His son; but, if God promises such wonderful things to those who overcome evil, then clearly it IS possible to overcome ALL evil NOW in this life; and we must be prepared for heaven BEFORE Jesus returns! "Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48.) "But Jesus beheld them, and said to them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26.) "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: (stop committing evil), and believe the gospel (the ‘Good News’ of God’s Word)." (Mark 1:15.) "And Jesus looking upon them said, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible." (Mark 10:27.) "And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." (Luke 18:27.) "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." (John 7:24.) "Neither do I condemn you: go, and sin no more." (John 8:11.) See, our All-Powerful Creator-God is more than able to make us holy; and He WILL do so if we truly want to totally stop being evil, and want to fully become holy NOW! There is no time to waste! "He who commits (evil) is of the devil...."! (1 John 3:8.) And, as you saw above, all those who are of the devil will be completely destroyed! So, please, let the One and Only True Light overcome the darkness in your life, and let "(p)erfect Love cast out (ALL of your) fear"! (1 John 4:18.) [Copyright (c) 2000-2004 in the U.S.A. and Internationally by S. Wolf Britain. All rights are reserved.]