Immortality or Resurrection (Updated) by William West (reading strategies book .TXT) 📖

would bring the most fruit, he knew not. HE IS NOT SAYING HE DID NOT
KNOW WHETHER LIVING IN THIS WORLD WAS BEST, OR LIVING IN
HEAVEN WAS BEST; BUT THIS IS WHAT HE IS MADE TO SAY WHEN THIS
PASSAGE IS USED TO PROVE AN IMMORTAL SOUL.
Philippians 1:12-30: When it became know that Paul was in prison it was gain to the
Gospel for it made others bold to preach the Gospel and others preached the Gospel
“thinking to raise up affliction for me in my bonds.” In the same way Paul is saying his
death would be gain to the cause of Christ just as his being in prison was, not a personal
gain. If "To die is gain," means we go to Heaven when we die, WHY WOULD PAUL
SAY HE DID NOT KNOW IF GOING TO HEAVEN WAS BETTER THAN
LIVING ON EARTH; why do we go to a doctor to get well and do all we can to keep
from going to Heaven; why do we pray for each other when one of us is sick; are we
not asking God not to take us to Heaven and are thankful if He does not? The reason
we do not want to die is that death is not a gateway to Heaven, but death is an enemy. If
death were a gateway to Heaven, we would be praying, "Lord, do not make us come live
up there with You, let us live down here on earth where Satan can tempt us."
We are repeatedly told we will be with the Lord at His coming, not at death [2
Thessalonians 2:1] when He shall appear [Colossians 3:4], yet "To die is gain" is used to
set aside many plain and clear passages and make the entrance to Heaven be immediately
at death, not after the resurrection.
[3]. “TO DEPART AND TO BE WITH THE LORD”
Philippians 1:23; 2 Corinthians 5:8
BE WITH THE LORD AT THE JUDGMENT DAY, NOT INSTANTLY AT
DEATH: In the same letter Paul says, "If by any means I may attain unto the resurrection
from the dead" [Philippians 3:11]. He tells the Thessalonians that we will BE WITH THE
LORD after the resurrection, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in
Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always BE WITH THE
LORD" [1 Thessalonians 4:16-17].
• Be with the Lord "at that day" 2 Timothy 4:8
• Be with the Lord at "His appearing" 2 Timothy 4:8
"Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous judge, SHALL GIVE TO ME AT THAT DAY; and not to me only, but also
TO ALL THEM THAT HAVE LOVED HIS APPEARING" [2 Timothy 4:8]. Paul
clearly says the time of his death has come, but he will not receive the crown of
righteousness unto the appearing of Christ at the Judgment Day. He will be with the Lord
at the same time all the saved will be, "AT THAT DAY" the Judgment Day, not at death.
At "HIS APPEARING" See 2 Timothy 1:12; 1:18; 4:18; 2 Thessalonians 1:10;
Philippians 1:10; 1:6; 1 Corinthians 1:8; 5:6. When will Paul be given "the crown of
righteousness," when Christ comes, not at death? See 1 Peter 5:4. When will Paul and all
the saved be with the Lord, at "His appearing," not at death? "To be with the Lord," says
nothing about an "immaterial, invisible part of man" between death and the resurrection.
"For the Lord himself shall descend for Heaven…and so we shall we ever be with the
Lord" [1 Thessalonians 4:16-17]; it is after the resurrection that we will be with the Lord,
not at death. No one has ascended into Heaven but Christ; therefore, Paul has not
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ascended to Heaven and is not now in Heaven with the Lord [John 3:13]. PAUL DIED
ABOUT TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO, BUT LIKE DAVID [Acts 2:29], PAUL IS
NOT YET IN HEAVEN WITH THE LORD AND WILL NOT BE UNTO AFTER THE
RESURRECTION; THEREFORE, THIS PASSAGE COULD NOT BE SAYING PAUL
HAD AN IMMORTAL SOUL THAT WOULD GO TO HEAVEN AND BE WITH THE
LORD AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH.
• Peter says of David "that he both died and was buried...for David ascended not
into the heavens" [Acts 2:29-34].
• Today's theology says, "David is not dead and has ascended into Heaven."
To make "with the Lord" mean we go to Heaven with the Lord at death takes away
any need for a resurrection and makes it useless and foolish. After some had been in
Heaven with the Lord for centuries, why would He send them back to earth to raise them
from the dead and take them back to Heaven when from the day of their death they had
been very much alive in Heaven and were never dead?
There are three major views on the condition of the dead.
1. The dead are dead and will be dead unto the resurrection of the dead.
2. The dead are alive in an intermediate state without the resurrection.
3. The dead are alive in Heaven or Hell without the resurrection.
Although this passage is used as undeniable proof or both 2 and 3 and to set aside the
many passages on the resurrection, this passage is completely silent about where the dead
are before the resurrection.
Those who believe the dead go to hades, some to be with the rich man in torment and
some to be in "Abraham's bosom" also use "be with the Lord" when they are trying to
prove men now have an immortal soul, but in doing so they do not seen to be able to see
that they are making all go to Heaven or Hell at death and, therefore, they have made
going to hades at death impossible. We could not be in "Abraham's bosom" and in
Heaven with the Lord both at the same time. When they need to, they make hades be "the
grave" for the body to be in; and when they need to, they make it be "Abraham's bosom"
for the "soul" to live in. How do they know when it should be one, and when it should be
the other? In trying to make Paul and Stephen be conscious after death, both are put
directly in heaven at death before and without the Judgment Day sometimes even by
those who do not believe anyone is now in Heaven.
We need to be very careful not to make Paul say something he did not say [2 Peter
3:16]. "To be with the Lord," but where and when will we be with the Lord? Not in our
permanent abode in Heaven at death, for we will not be there unto after the judgment. If
we go to Heaven or Hell at death, this would mean that the final judgment takes place
immediately at death, for God would have to decide our destiny then; therefore, God
would have made the final judgment before the Judgment Day, before the coming of
Christ.
Jesus said, "AND IF I GO AND PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU, I WILL COME
AGAIN, AND RECEIVE YOU TO MYSELF; THAT WHERE I AM, THERE YOU MAY BE
ALSO" [John 14:3]. Many say, "Not so Lord, we will be with you in Heaven, Your
second coming and the resurrection will not be needed for we will be alive with You in
Heaven." But Paul says, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly
wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; WHO WILL TRANSFORM THE BODY OF
OUR HUMBLE STATE INTO CONFORMITY WITH THE BODY OF HIS GLORY”
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[Philippians 3:20-21]. It is us who will be transformed, not just a part of us that is now
just as immortal as it will always be and will not need to be transformed, and this part of
us will not wait for the Lord Jesus to come again, but immediately go to Heaven to be
with Him at death.
Living Christians need not sorrow as the rest who have no hope [1 Thessalonians
4:13]. There are four points in this passage.
1. Those who are asleep will be resurrected from the dead at the second coming of
Christ. THE DEPARTED PERSON WILL NOT BE WITH CHRIST UNTO HE
COMES "AGAIN, AND RECEIVE YOU TO MYSELF; THAT WHERE I AM,
THERE YOU MAY BE ALSO" [John 14:2]. Not alive before "The Lord himself
shall descend from heaven...and the dead in Christ shall rise first." At the coming
of Christ the dead shall rise from the grave, not come back from Hell or Heaven.
2. Those who are living at the time Christ comes will be changed. Living Christians
will not precede [go ahead of] the Christians that are not living [them that are
fallen asleep] to meet the Lord, “AND SO SHLLL WE EVER BE WITH THE
LORD” [1 Thessalonians 4:15].
3. Both those in Christ who are dead and those who are living, will
TOGETHER GO FROM THE EARTH TO MEET THE LORD IN THE
AIR WHEN HE IS COMING FROM HEAVEN BEFORE WE WILL “BE
WITH THE LORD.” "Then we that are alive, that are left, SHALL
TOGETHER with them be caught up (from the earth) in the clouds, to meet the
Lord in the air" [1 Thessalonians 4:17-18]. HOW COULD PAUL HAVE SAID
ANY CLEARER THAT THOSE WHO ARE NOW ASLEEP ARE NOT NOW
ALIVE IN HEAVEN, BUT THAT THEY WILL BE RAISED FROM THE
DEAD AND MEET THE LORD IN THE AIR AS HE IS RETURNING?
4. "And so shall we (both the living Christians and the Christians that are not living
at the time He comes) ever be with the Lord" [1 Thessalonians 4:17]. With the
Lord in the place in Heaven where He has gone to prepare for the saved [John
14:2]. The future existence of the dead in Christ absolutely depends upon (1) the
resurrection of those who are asleep (2) or on a translation of those who are living
when Christ comes.
Why did Paul say he had a desire to depart? He lived a life of suffering, toil, and trials
[2 Corinthians 11:23-33] and like Job, he understood death would be a relief from pain;
and he knew that from the standpoint of the person that departs it will be as if he or she is
with the Lord the next moment for we will know nothing of the time between death and
the resurrection, that time will seem as if it was only a moment. The dead in Christ are
asleep and have not ascended into Heaven, not even David or Paul, only Christ is now in
Heaven, “But now has Christ been raised form the dead, the first-fruits of them that
ARE ASLEEP…in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the
first fruits, then they that are Christ’s at His coming” [1 Corinthians 15:20-23]. To
those who are asleep there is no awareness of time; it will be as if we are with the Lord in
only a moment. For us, there is no life after death unto the resurrection and never would
be life without a resurrection of the dead.
Analus is used in the New Testament only two times. Luke 12:36 "when he will
RETURN [Greek-analus] from the wedding." Philippians 1:23 "having a desire to
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DEPART [Greek-analus], and to be with the Lord." "To depart" or "Will return,"
which one does analus means?
[4]. HOUSE NOT MADE WITH HANDS: 2 Corinthians 5:1-10
This is used to show the "house not made with hands" is the spirit and it will be
conscious