Unfortunately, many Christians have not received the truth about hell, heaven, or the Resurrection of the Dead.
Hell, what does the bible really say on this subject?
Fact: There is more than one hell in the bible. A current temporary hell, and a future eternal hell.
Do people go to Heaven when they die?
Fact: Heaven is a real place, and the souls of the faithful have been going there from the beginning, even before the New Testament.
What does it mean to say that Christians have eternal life?
Fact: There is physical life and death, but there is also spiritual life and death. Everyone dies in the flesh, but true Christians never die spiritually.
Does the bible say that heaven is literally in outer-space, and hell is literally underground?
Fact: The bible teaches that hell and heaven are not of this world. However, it also indicates that the earth and sky act as "spiritual gateways" to heaven and hell.
Does the bible support the traditional view that we have a spiritual soul dwelling within a flesh body?
The secularists want you to believe that the Old Testament does not support the existence of human souls!
Fact: Both the Old Testament and the New Testament teach that we have spiritual souls dwelling within our flesh bodies.
Do believers go to heaven, or do they fall asleep when they die?
Fact: People's souls leave their bodies and go to either hell or heaven when they die. The dead continue to "exist" in either hell or heaven.
Do people literally rise up out of their graves, or do they rise up spiritually in the Resurrection of the Dead?
Fact: In the Resurrection of the Dead, the dead will not be "physically resurrected" out of their graves, but rather they will be "resurrected spiritually".
Do all people partake in the Resurrection of the Dead?
Fact: All people will partake in the Resurrection of the Dead.
When does the bible say that the Resurrection of the Dead will take place?
Fact: The Resurrection of the Dead is a future event that is related to the Day of the Lord and the millennium.
What is the millennium, and will there be children born during this period?
The millennium will be a future thousand year period when the faithful will rule with Christ over the world. During the millennium, many souls will hear the truth.
Fact: There will be no flesh people, children, or animals during the millennium.
What is the Lake of Fire, and will the wicked suffer there forever and ever?
Fact: The Lake of Fire is eternal hell, but the wicked will not be tormented there forever and ever.
"Risen From the Dust" is the most definitive and unbiased study that has ever been done on these subjects. It looks at these three related Christian issues from a non-denominational biblical perspective.
While the existence of a spiritual soul, life after death, and the Resurrection of the Dead are three fundamental tenets of Christianity, on almost every detail of these subjects there is considerable confusion and disagreement among believers. This is because of an unfortunate tendency of churches to build their theologies around a few bible verses, often taken out of context and interpreted according to convention or popularity, as opposed to building their theologies around the entire Word of God. Thus, once again man’s vain traditions interfere with the truth, because rather than finding confidence and encouragement in the scriptures, Christians find contradiction with what they’ve been taught.
In regards to these topics the Word of God does not contradict itself, nor does it contain an evolving conglomeration of ideas from ancient Middle-Eastern religions (as some so-called scholars will tell you). What is does contain are bits and pieces of information, often wrapped in figurative language and metaphor, concerning mysteries which have been hidden from the foundation of the world. “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory” (1st Corinthians 2.27 KJV bible). These bits and pieces have been revealed to us through God’s prophets and apostles at the proper times and in the proper places. A complete and fair analysis of the relevant scriptures, in context, will reveal an astonishing level of consistency, logic, and insight amongst them. This demonstrates to us that the truth is in our midst if we are willing to receive it.
Here are some key points that "Risen From the Dust" firmly documents in the bible:
1) It is commonly believed and taught that when someone dies they are judged and either go to heaven or hell forever and ever. That is not accurate. It’s true that when a person dies their soul goes directly to either heaven or hell, but there will also be a future day of judgment. On this Judgment Day, the souls who didn’t make it into heaven will be raised up out of hell, and judged according to their works.
2) There are not one, but two hells in the bible, a current and a future one. The current hell is more of a holding tank for the great multitudes of unbelievers. The second hell is called the Lake of Fire, and it is a place of final and permanent damnation. On Judgment Day, all of the souls from the first hell will be judged and enter into either eternal heaven or the Lake of Fire.
3) Heaven and hell are both real places, but not physical places. Heaven is not floating around in outer space and you can’t dig a hole down into hell. They exist in the spiritual dimension, so to speak.
4) Heaven and hell are locations, but they are also states-of-being. Hell is one of death and despair, and heaven is one of life and peace.
5) People who have died are not literally asleep. The bible sometimes refers to the dead as being asleep to convey to us their ongoing spiritual reality. It’s similar to how in modern times people say that the dead have “passed on”, because they believe that they still exist, except in a different place.
6) In the future, all humanity will partake in something called the Resurrection of the Dead. The true nature of the Resurrection of the Dead is somewhat mysterious. The best way to describe it is that people’s disembodied souls are transformed into spiritual or angelic bodies. People do not literally rise up out of their graves like a horror movie.
7) The Resurrection of the Dead is divided into two parts; a resurrection of the saints at the start of the millennium, and a resurrection of judgment after the millennium. The resurrection of judgment is part of Judgment Day.
8) The millennium is a thousand year period of time that separates the two resurrections from each other. It will be a spiritual golden age of teaching, peace, and enlightenment.
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