Lesson 37 — Where Are the Dead?

1. 1 WHERE ARE DEAD?

WHERE ARE THE DEAD?

PART IV: GOD’S FUTURE DEALINGS WITH MAN (LESSONS 37–52)

In this lesson we shall consider the various doctrines of the dead under six main headings: Physical Death, Spiritual Death, Immortality, the Intermediate State, the Five Departments in the Underworld of Departed Spirits, and Eternal Death.

1. 1 What is spiritual death? It is simply the separation of man from God because of sin. “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” Isaiah 59:2. “And you hath he quickened [made alive, resurrected] who were dead in trespasses and sins . . . even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” Ephesians 2:1-10.

Adam’s penalty was death the day he sinned. This could not refer to physical death, for he lived 930 years after that day. It could only refer to spiritual and eternal death because of being cut off from God by sin. Adam’s soul lost life the day he sinned. He did not lose natural life that day or his soul would have ceased to function. Man’s natural life exists of itself separate and apart from God, for sinners continue to exist separate from God. Spiritual and eternal life cannot be given until man is resurrected from death in trespasses and sins and united to God 1 Corinthians 6:17Romans 8:9-16. For a more detailed study of spiritual death see Lesson Thirty-five, Point V, 18.

1. 1 Resurrection from spiritual death. In Eph. 2 we are told of being quickened and raised up from death in trespasses and sins. The Greek word for “quickened” is zoopoieo and means “to resurrect,” “make alive,” and “quicken.” It is translated “made alive” in 1 Cor. 15:22, referring to the physical resurrection of all men. It is translated “give life” in 2 Cor. 3:6; Gal. 3:21 and “quicken” in Jn. 5:21; 6:63; Rom. 4:16; 8:11; 1 Cor. 15:36, 45; 1 Tim. 6:13; 1 Pet. 3:18. Sinners are all considered spiritually dead even while they are physically alive Ephesians 2:1-10Colossians 2:12-131 Timothy 5:6. When they are saved from sin and united to God again they are spiritually resurrected to walk in newness of life.

II. The Doctrine of Immortality

The words describing the eternal existence or a never dying condition of the soul and body are dealt with below. They are used of both God and man as follows:

1. 1 Immortal . This word comes from the Greek word aphthartos , meaning “undecaying,” “not corruptible,” “immortal.” The word “immortal” is found only once in Scripture and is used of God 1 Timothy 1:17. This same Greek word is translated “not corruptible” in speaking of “the hidden man of the heart” and of the “spirit” of man in 1 Pet. 3:4, thus proving beyond doubt that the inner man is immortal (See also Ps. 22:26). It is translated “incorruptible” in referring to the eternal inheritance, and the crown that believers are to receive at the end of this life 1 Corinthians 9:251 Peter 1:4. It is translated “incorruptible,” referring to the Word of God 1 Peter 1:23 and of the resurrected bodies of saints 1 Corinthians 15:52.

Thus, we can conclude that God, the Word of God, the soul and spirit of man, the future crown, the inheritance of saints, and the resurrected bodies of believers are all immortal and incorruptible. One can argue that the soul and spirit of man are not immortal, but if Peter said the hidden man of the heart or the spirit is not corruptible, that settles it for honest hearts. We have just as much right to argue that God is not immortal as to argue that the souls and spirits of human beings are not immortal. The same Greek word is used of both God and man and if it means “immortal” in one case, it does in the other. The Greek word literally means “undecaying in essence or continuance,” “not corruptible,” “immortal,” “incorruptible,” and “uncorruptible” and whatever this word is used with, that person or thing is immortal.

1. 1 Immortality . This word is a translation of two Greek words, meaning the same as the Greek word in Point 1 above as follows:

(1) Aphtharsia means “incorruptibility,” “unending existence,” “immortality,” “incorruption,” “sincerity.” It is translated “incorruption,” referring to the resurrected bodies of saints in 1 Cor. 15:42, 50, 53, 54. It is translated “immortality,” referring to the life that saints get through the gospel Romans 2:72 Timothy 1:10, “sincerity,” referring to the uncorruptness of the love of men to Christ Ephesians 6:24, and “incorruptness,” referring to immortality of the life that saints are to demonstrate before men (Titus 2:7).

(2) Athanasia , meaning “deathlessness” and “immortality.” It is used of God being immortal in body and of the bodies of the saints in the resurrection 1 Corinthians 15:53-541 Timothy 6:16. Twice this word is used of man’s future immortal body 1 Corinthians 15:53-54 and once of God being the only immortal one 1 Timothy 6:16. This does not mean that He is the only one who has immortality of body, but that He is the Source and Giver of all such life to others. Angels have immortal bodies. Christ and the saints that have been resurrected with Him received immortal bodies Matthew 27:52-531 Corinthians 15:20-23Philippians 3:20-21Revelation 1:18. All men will be raised from the dead to live conscious lives forever, both the righteous and the wicked, as we shall see in Point IV, below.

1. 1 Incorruption . This word is from the Greek aphtharsia in Point 2, (I), above. It is used four times of the resurrected bodies of men 1 Corinthians 15:42, 50.

1. 1 Incorruptible . This word is from the Greek aphthartos in Point 1, above. It is used of “the resurrected bodies of men” 1 Corinthians 15:52; “an incorruptible crown” 1 Corinthians 9:25; “an incorruptible inheritance” 1 Peter 1:4; and of “the incorruptible Word of God” 1 Peter 1:23.

III. Biblical Proof of the Immorality of the Soul and Spirit

The Bible is very clear that the inner man made up of the soul and spirit is now immortal and will continue in a state of consciousness between death and resurrection and forever after the resurrection of the dead. The following proves this beyond doubt:

1. 1 Plain statements in Scripture prove the immortality of the soul. Peter said that the inner man or the spirit of man is not corruptible: “But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price” 1 Peter 3:4. In 1 Pet. 4:6 it is again stated by the apostle that all the dead live according to God in the spirit, proving that the inner man of everybody continues in consciousness like God. We have to believe this or else believe that God is unconscious. If men after death continue to live according to God in their spirits, then they continue to be conscious like God.

David said of Christ, “For thou will not leave my soul in hell neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption” Psalms 16:9-10. We know that the soul and spirit of Christ was alive and conscious while His body was in the grave. This is proven by the fact that He went and preached to the spirits in prison during that time, as we have seen in Lesson Eleven, Point VII, 6, (9). Also this is clear from the fact that Christ’s soul went into the lower parts and into the heart of the Earth Matthew 12:40Ephesians 4:7-11 and His body was put in the grave on the surface of the Earth Matthew 27:57-66. Certainly His grave was not in the center and in lower parts of the Earth. David said in Ps. 22:26 that the hearts of the saved “shall live forever.” The word for “heart” in this passage is used many times of the feelings, the will, and the mind and it refers to the inner man in this case.

The apostles made many statements proving men continue to live after death: “Who died for us, that, whether we wake [live in the body] or sleep [die or leave the body, Jas. 2:26], we shall live together with him” 1 Thessalonians 5:10. This plainly says that the saints who die physically will live together with Christ. This is in perfect harmony with 2 Cor. 5:6-9, “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord . . . We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.” This proves that the inner man leaves the body at physical death and goes to be with the Lord who is not the God of the dead (the physical body, Jas. 2:26) but of the living Matthew 22:23-33.

This same truth is clearly stated in Phil. 1:21-23, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.” What gain would there be in physical death if the soul and spirit were dormant and lifeless and unconscious in the grave? How could the soul remain in the body in the grave and still depart from the body to be with Christ? Is Christ in the grave? Is the grave the place saints are to go in order to be with Him at physical death? How could this be far better if the soul is not conscious? How could the grave and total extinction of consciousness after death be far better than to remain in the flesh to win souls for Christ and to help the saints live right? How could the inner man be absent from the body at death if it remained in the body and both went into the grave to be dormant until the resurrection?

Paul speaks of the outward man only as perishing and the inward man being renewed day by day and that the things that are seen [including the body] are temporal and the things that are not seen [including the soul and spirit] are eternal 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. This certainly shows the difference between the outer man and the inner man and that one is temporary and the other is eternal. This shows the ever increasing law of death for the body until the soul separates from it at physical death and the ever increasing life of the soul which is eternal.

Paul in 1 Tim. 4:8 refers to a life after this one. This surely speaks of the life after the resurrection, for he makes it clear in other writings that the inner man leaves the body and goes to be with Christ, as we have seen above. He taught that men who continue in Christ until death had eternal life because they did not give up this life for sin 1 Corinthians 15:2Romans 8:12-131 Thessalonians 3:8Galatians 6:7-8. He warns men that they have to fight the good fight of faith and lay hold on eternal life to be saved 1 Timothy 6:12. If it is possible to have eternal life, then there will be no period of cessation of life between death and resurrection except as to the body. The real saved person will continue to have eternal life after death or many Scriptures would be untrue John 3:16, 36John 5:24John 6:39-58John 10:27-29John 11:25-26John 14:19. John said that he that doeth the will of God abideth forever 1 John 2:17. Others confirm the same thing, as we shall see below.

1. 1 Only the body lies and sleeps in the dust until the resurrection. Physical death is the separation of the inner man from the outer man James 2:26. The body then is spoken of as going back to the dust again and as being asleep Genesis 3:19Matthew 9:24John 11:111 Corinthians 11:301 Corinthians 15:6, 181 Thessalonians 4:13-17. The spirit of a righteous man goes to Heaven 2 Corinthians 5:6-9Philippians 1:21-23Hebrews 12:23Revelation 6:9-11. The spirit of the wicked man goes to Hell Luke 16:19-31Isaiah 14:9-15Proverbs 15:24Ezekiel 26:20Ezekiel 31:14-18Ezekiel 32:18-27.

1. 1 Promises that the path of the just shines brighter until the perfect day prove the immortality of the soul Proverbs 4:18Daniel 12:2-3. If there is to be a period of extinction of life these and other passages could not be true for there would not be constant glory into eternity.

1. 1 Jesus said that God was not the God of the dead but of the living “for all live unto him” Luke 20:38. All do not live physically unto Him so it must be that all live in their spirits unto him, as stated in 1 Pet. 3:4; 4:6. Jesus said of Himself, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” John 11:25-26. This could not mean that they would never die physically for it is appointed unto men once to die and after this the judgment Hebrews 9:27. The above promise of never dying must refer to the life of the soul, thus proving that the soul is immortal. Jesus further taught the immortality of the soul when He stated that the soul cannot be killed by man like the body Matthew 10:28. If the soul cannot be killed with the body, then the soul is immortal.

1. 1 The existence of demons or disembodied spirits proves life after death. The demons are the spirits of the pre-Adamite races or of some persons other than Adam’s race, for they are loose and cannot fully manifest themselves except they take possession of the bodies of men or beasts, as seen in Lesson Six. They are not the souls and spirits of human beings for they are confined either to Heaven or Hell at death. Therefore, since demons exist and continue alive after they leave their own bodies, then it proves that the souls and spirits of human beings can also continue in consciousness after death.

1. 1 Souls are conscious after death, proving their immortality. Many statements that they continue to live after death are given in Point 1, above. Many concrete examples of souls being conscious after death are given in Scripture. The following are a few examples:

(1) In Mt. 17:3 we have the case of Moses appearing with Christ, wearing clothes, talking with Christ, and being recognized by the disciples as the one who gave the law. He could not have been in his earthly body at that time for it had died and been in corruption for about 1,700 years (Deut. 34). He could not have had a glorified resurrected body at that time, for Christ had not yet become the first-fruits of all who had died 1 Corinthians 15:23Acts 3:26Colossians 1:18. Therefore, he had to have his spiritual body, as we have explained in Lesson Four, Point II, 1, and the last paragraph in Point II, 7.

(2) The story of the rich man and Lazarus proves the consciousness of souls after death. Both were in a state of consciousness but they were in two separate places and states of being Luke 16:19-31. Some teach this is a parable, but it is not stated to be one and we have just as much right to teach that the statement in Lk. 16:18 about marriage and divorce is a parable as to say that Lk. 16:19-31 is a parable. As we have seen in Lesson Thirty-one, there is a particular truth stated in connection with each New Testament parable. If there is no special point stated that a story illustrates, then it is not a parable but a historical record. So in Lk. 16:19-31, there is no particular point or points illustrated by this story so it must be a real happening in the lives of two beggars, showing the true condition of life after death by the actual experience of two men from two different stations in life. One begged for a living during his life but was righteous enough to be saved in the end of life and go to a place of comfort to await the resurrection of the body. The other begged in the next life because he was ungodly and unmerciful. He died in his sins and went to Hell, or a place of torment, to await the resurrection of the body and to be judged and cast into the eternal Hell. Even if this true happening was used by Jesus as a parable it would still be the actual experiences of two men who lived, died, and went to two different places after death. Jesus did not use lies to illustrate truths as do some men today. However, since there are no points illustrated by this historical record of two experiences of life here and hereafter we should not try to prove the story is a parable.

Jesus said “There was” and if these men did not live and these things did not happen to them, then He told a lie just like others who speak falsehoods. Since He knew no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth, we have all the right in the world to believe that He was relating the true experiences of two men. This story plainly reveals consciousness after death. The poor beggar was in comfort where there was water and other comforts, and the rich beggar was in torment in literal fire. He had a tongue, eyes, speech, compassion, feelings, memory, and other faculties that prove he had his soul (the feelings) and his spirit (that which knows) in Hell. Lazarus also had his own form and other soul and spirit realities that caused him to be recognized by the rich man as the one who was laid at his gate full of sores during his life on Earth.

Nothing is clearer in Scripture than the realities of full consciousness after death, some are in comfort and others in torment. As we have explained in Lesson Four, Point II, 7, the soul after leaving the body is just as real as the outer man and can wear clothes, feel, think, speak, remember, and act and be seen just as much as it did while in the body.

(3) Christ was conscious the three days his body was in the grave, as proven in Point I above. The penitent thief also was conscious and went with Christ into Paradise into the heart of the Earth Luke 23:43. Stephen prayed for Christ to receive his spirit when he died. Christ did not receive the body of Stephen for the disciples buried it Acts 7:59Acts 8:2.

(4) The spirits of just men are spoken of as being in Heaven Hebrews 12:23. John saw under the altar in Heaven the souls of the first tribulation martyrs Revelation 6:9-11. They had been given robes to wear and were fully conscious, as is clear in this passage. They were told to rest yet for a little season until the other tribulation saints are killed as they themselves had been, then vengeance would be taken on those who had killed them on Earth.

These should be enough examples to prove that the souls and spirits of men after leaving the bodies are fully conscious and that they are immortal.

1. 1 The nature of souls prove them to be immortal. They are real spiritual bodies, as we have proven in Lesson Four, Point II, 1, and 7. Souls and spirits are spiritual parts of men and as such they are not subject to mortal decay as is the body. They are as spiritual as God, angels, and demons and are just as eternal. (See Lesson Six for a study of spirits.)

1. 1 The intermediate state or the places where souls go between death and resurrection prove the immortality of the inner man, as we shall see in Point V, below.

1. 1 The doctrine of eternal life in Scripture proves the immortality of the soul. Eternal life is to know God and Jesus Christ John 17:3. Scientists claim that perfect correspondence would be perfect life and that if there were no changes in the environment but such as the organism had adapted changes to meet, and if it could never fail in the efficiency with which it met them, there would be eternal knowledge and therefore eternal life. This is similar to the claim of Jesus, that eternal life was to know or to experience God and Jesus Christ whom He had sent. It is entirely possible for every man to know and to experience God and His Son, to have perfect correspondence with them, and to have absolute power to make the necessary changes in adapting the spiritual life to the eternal life of God in Christ. This is true immortality and true eternal life. The soul and spirit now are being changed into the same image of Christ from glory to glory and from faith to faith by the Holy Spirit 2 Corinthians 3:18Romans 1:16-17.

The claim of Christianity and the Bible is that there are certain organisms that possess eternal life. All men who believe in Christ and are made new creatures by the new birth possess eternal life, according to Jn. 3:16, 36; 5:24; 6:39-58; 10:27-29; 11:25-26; 14:19; 1 Jn. 2:24-25; 1 Tim. 6:12. They have passed from death unto life 1 John 3:14-15. This life is in Jesus Christ 1 John 5:11-13. This Christian conception of eternal life is in perfect harmony with science, as defined above. Both the Bible and science unfold the principle according to which life is high or low, long or short. They both define the condition under which an organism will never die and they show why they live and why they die. The condition of perpetual and perfect life is perfect correspondence to the eternal God. Conditions necessary to have eternal life do not exist in the natural world, but in the spiritual, for that which is spiritual is eternal 2 Corinthians 4:18.

It is a well-known fact that there are degrees of life; that is, some lives have more and fuller correspondence with environment than others. For example, an amoebae, a gelatinous piece of matter, can only communicate with the smallest era of environment. An insect in virtue of its more complex structure, corresponds with a wider area and environment. It has more life than an amoebae because it is a higher animal. Fish, birds, reptiles, and beasts have more and longer lives than does an insect because they are higher type animals and because they have a wider correspondence with creation as a whole.

Man is more varied in his make-up and is capable of correspondence and association with all parts of creation and is even capable of knowing the Creator and of being in perfect harmony with Him eternally. He is the highest type of creature and life than all the rest of creation under him. He is capable of perfect and eternal correspondence with the eternal Creator. Thus the law of life varies with the degree of correspondence or relationship to other parts of creation and with the Creator. This law of life according to the degree of correspondence to God and His creation holds true to the minutest form of life to the highest type of living things. Life becomes fuller, richer, and more sensitive and responsive from the lowest to the highest form of life, depending upon relationship to God and His creation.

When creatures are taken out of their native environment they die. For example, a fish taken out of water will die. A bird fallen into the water will soon die because it is not a water animal. A fish if put back in the water will revive and a bird taken out of the water will live again. Higher forms of life can maintain life longer than the lower forms due to the powers of adaptation and the increased powers to master their environment. There are even higher powers over which they have no control and when they are overcome by these powers they must die. Man was given dominion over all creation and had he remained master of all things he would have continued to live forever. Satan, evil spirits, and sin, got the mastery over him and he had to die. Christ came to bring complete mastery over these powers and to annul death so that men can live forever again. Where there is perfect correspondence with the eternal God, man has everlasting life. Eternal correspondence and relationship with the eternal God brings eternal life. When man passes beyond the finite and the material where his life does not depend upon these things he enters into the infinite, spiritual, and the eternal. Because of this correspondence with the spiritual and the eternal he can live forever. Such a life in the spiritual world possesses the elements of eternity, provided that this spiritual life is maintained and not broken by sin.

To know and to experience God eternally is eternal life. To know and experience Him for a time is only temporary life. If anything arises that causes life to be cut off from God, then life ceases and death results. To know God is to conform to Him, and to conform to Him is perfect environment, and perfect, uninterrupted environment is eternal life. Eternal life is not prolonged existence or indefinite continuance of being, for all the wicked have this, but it is to know and to experience God and share with Him in the eternal and infinite environment. This life is only in God’s Son and hence those out of Christ do not possess eternal life even though they exist forever 1 John 5:11-12. Thus everlasting life has nothing to do with everlasting existence. True life consists of true and perfect environment and blessing for which man was created. When man fails in the purpose for which he was created, he is not truly living and it is not normal. Man was created to live in perfect harmony with God in perfect environment and he would have lived this way if sin had not separated him from this created purpose. In Christ, man is restored to this state and he may continue this way forever or he may commit sin and once again be cut off from this perfect environment and lose eternal life.

Since eternal life consists in knowing God, the more one knows Him the more he truly lives. This is why knowledge is stressed in many Scriptures as being essential to higher and better living in the spiritual world. When man knew only good he was not sinful. When he got to know evil he became a sinner Genesis 2:17. Men must know the truth before it can set them free from sin, sickness, and poverty John 8:32Romans 6:14-23. We now know in part and we have life in part, but when we shall know as we are known we shall have perfect, full, and complete life 1 Corinthians 13:9-12. Men who know God keep His commandments 1 John 2:3-5. The saved are commanded to increase in the knowledge of God in order to have increased life Philippians 1:9Colossians 1:9-10Colossians 3:102 Peter 1:1-82 Peter 3:18. No man can live in or enjoy a realm of which he has no knowledge. In the next age the knowledge of the Lord will cover the Earth as the waters cover the sea Isaiah 11:9.

According to our knowledge we can conform to the will of God. Of all creatures on Earth, man is capable of full consciousness with God and knowledge of His will and life, hence he is the only creature that attains to real and lasting life in Christ. It is the spiritual life that is eternal because it knows God and lives eternally with Him. Christ came to give life—real, literal, spiritual, and eternal life and one has this life when he has Christ and he loses it when he loses Christ by sin, as proven in Lesson Thirty-five, Point IV. The truth is that if one is to inherit eternal life he must cultivate correspondence with the Eternal. If he ceases to do this then he reverts back to death Romans 8:12-13James 5:19-20Ezekiel 18:4. When one rejects the knowledge of God and goes back into sin contrary to that knowledge, he again becomes ignorant of God Romans 1:18-32. One must walk in the light to stay in the light and to have his path get brighter and when he turns his back on the light he goes again into darkness 1 John 1:7. Eternal life demands eternal environment and this life cannot be maintained otherwise.

1. 1 Many other proofs of the immortality of the soul will be given in other arguments below concerning the state of the dead and the future immortality of the body.

IV. Biblical Proof of the Future Immortality of the Body

The following arguments prove the future immortality of the body. The inner man is now immortal, as we have seen above, but the body is mortal and will go back to dust again until the resurrection when it will be raised to deathlessness and will continue in a state of comfort and bliss or in a state of torment forever.

1. 1 The doctrine of immortality of the body has never been disproved. We have more facts and statements to prove the future immortality of the body than we have to prove what life is, what odor is, or what ether is. Many problems of life cannot be answered nearly as definitely as the immortality of man. It is a law of logic that an assumed believable faith not discredited or disproved has a right to be. For example, if I believe in God and immortality and you do not, which has a better right to exist, my faith or your unbelief. You cannot prove there is no God and no immortality, but I can prove both. Faith in God and immortality is native to the soul. It has a right to be and to grow in the human conscience because it is true. It comes from God, from His Word, and from nature so it must be a reality.

The belief in immortality of the body has a right to be just as much as the little flower, the insect, or anything that exists has a right to exist. Immortality grows in the human heart and is firmly imbedded in people of all nations in all lands. This could not be so if it had no right to be. Nature has a right to exist because it was created to exist and since belief in immortality exists in all moral creatures and since there are many thousands of actual demonstrations and illustrations of it in nature it must be true.

The longing of the soul for continued life in the body proves there is life in the future that beckons it. The yearning of the soul for immortality of the body proves that it will be immortal or there would be no constant yearning for it. No faculty of the soul can long for something that is not in existence or that is not possible to have. This passion for a longer as well as a future life was created in man by God and it is a foretaste or a prophecy of that which shall satisfy man in due time. Nature makes nothing in vain and God did not create anything without a purpose so as to conform to its environment.

1. 1 Universal belief of man proves that he will get immortality of the body. If such belief is natural to man and part of his creative make-up, it must be true or God would not have created it as part of man. Even the ungodly expect continued existence forever and they look forward with dread to the judgment and the future life. Relics found in graves of past ages prove that men expected a future life. Indians expected a happy hunting ground and they buried arrowheads and vessels with the dead. The Greeks put a silver obolus in the mouth of the dead to pay passage to the next life. The Egyptians furnished the corpse with the Book of the Dead, the prayer he is to offer, and the chart of the journey to the unseen world. The Gauls loaned money on the grounds that it was to be paid back in the next world. The Norsemen buried the horse and armour for the dead to ride in triumph in the next world. Judaism had its Paradise, and Christianity and the Bible plainly teach a future life of both the righteous and the wicked. The Hindu expects innumerable incarnations until he reaches the highest form of life, which he looks forward to. Other peoples of all lands and ages have had their tokens of faith in a future life, so it is not a recent and local idea in the hearts of men.

1. 1 Testimonies of the dying saved and unsaved prove life after death. Many thousands of testimonies at the time of death demonstrate faith in a future and eternal existence. The righteous have been shown the glories of the world to come, and the wicked have seen Hell and experienced the torment of the damned in the dying hour.

Testimonies of Dying Infidels and Wicked Men

(1) Sir Francis Newport was trained in early life to understand the great truths of the Gospel, and while in early manhood it was hoped that he would become an ornament and a blessing to his family and the nation, the result was far otherwise. He fell into company that corrupted his principles and morals. He became an avowed infidel, and a life of dissipation brought on a disease that was incurable. When he felt he must die . . . he exclaimed as follows: “Whence this war in my heart? What argument is there now to assist me against matters of fact? Do I assert that there is no Hell, when I feel one in my bosom? Am I certain that there is no after retribution when I feel present judgment? . . Wretch that I am, whither shall I flee from this breast?”

An infidel companion tried to dispel his thoughts, to whom he replied, “That there is a God I know, because I continually feel the effects of His wrath; that there is a Hell I am equally certain, having received an earnest of my inheritance there already in my breast; that there is a natural conscience I now feel with horror and amazement, being continually upbraided by it with my impieties, and all my iniquities, and all my sins brought to my remembrance . . . O that I was to lie upon the fire that never is quenched a thousand years, to purchase the favour of God, and be reunited to Him again! But it is a fruitless wish. Millions of millions of years will bring me no nearer to the end of my torments than one poor hour. O eternity, eternity! Who can discover the abyss of eternity? Who can paraphrase upon these words—forever and ever?”

As his mental distress and bodily disease were hurrying him into eternity he was asked if he would have prayers offered in his behalf. He turned his face and exclaimed, “Tigers and monsters! are ye also become devils to torment me? Would you give me prospect of Heaven to make my Hell more intolerable?”

Soon after, his voice was failing, and uttering a groan of inexpressible horror, he cried out, “Oh, the insufferable pangs of Hell!” and died at once, dropping into the very woe of which God gave him such an earnest, to be a constant warning to multitudes of careless sinners.

(2) The infidel, Voltaire , feeling the stroke that he realized must terminate in death, was overpowered with remorse. He at once sent for the priest and wanted to be reconciled with the Church. His infidel flatterers hastened to his chamber to prevent his recantation, but it was only to witness his ignominy and their own. He cursed them to their faces; and, as his distress was increased by their presence, he repeatedly and loudly exclaimed, “Begone! It is you who have brought me to my present condition. Leave me I say, begone!”

Hoping to allay his anguish by a written recantation, he had it prepared, signed it and saw it witnessed, but it was all unavailing. For two months he was tortured with such an agony as led him at times to gnash his teeth in impotent rage against God and man. At other times in plaintive accents, he would plead, “O Christ! O Lord Jesus!” Then turning his face he would cry out, “I must die—abandoned of God and of men!”

As his end drew near, his condition became so frightful that his infidel associates were afraid to approach his bedside. Still they guarded the door, that others might not know how awfully an infidel was compelled to die. Even his nurse repeatedly said, “For all the wealth of Europe I would never see another infidel die. It was a scene of horror that lies beyond all exaggeration.”

(3) Thomas Paine was born at Thedford, England, in 1737. He is widely known by his connection with the American and French Revolutions and by his infidel writings.

During the session of the French Convention, Paine composed his infidel work Age of Reason, by which his name has gained an unenviable notoriety, and after the alteration of political circumstances in France he returned to America and there dragged out a miserable existence, indebted in his last illness for acts of charity to disciples of the very religion that he had opposed.

Bishop Fenwick says: “A short time before Paine died I was sent for by him. A decent elderly looking woman showed us into the parlor. ‘Gentlemen,’ said the lady, ‘I really wish you may succeed with Mr. Paine, for he is laboring under great distress of mind, ever since he was told by his physician that he cannot possibly live and must die shortly. He is truly to be pitied. His cries, when left alone, are heart-rending. “O Lord, help me!” he will exclaim during his paroxysms of distress; “God help me! Jesus Christ, help me!”—repeating these expressions in a tone of voice that would alarm the house. Sometimes he will say, “O, God! What have I done to suffer so much?” Then shortly after, “but there is no God”; and then again, “Yet, if there be, what would become of me hereafter?” Thus he will continue for some time, then suddenly he will scream as if in terror and agony, and call for me by my name. On one occasion I inquired what he wanted. “Stay with me,” he replied, “for God’s sake! for I cannot bear to be left alone.” Then said he, when I told him I could not always be in the room, “Send even a child to stay with me, for it is hell to be left alone.” I never saw a more unhappy, a more forsaken man.’ “

Among the last utterances that fell upon the ears of the attendants of this dying infidel, and which have been recorded in history, were the words, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

(4) David Hume , the deistic philosopher and historian, was born at Edinburgh in 1711. In 1762 he published his work, Natural Religion. Much of his time was spent in France, where he found many kindred spirits as vile and depraved as himself. He died in Edinburgh in 1776, aged 65 years.

The following account was published in Edinburgh where he died. About the end of 1776, a few months after the historian’s death, a respectable looking woman, dressed in black, got into the Haddington stage-coach while passing through Edinburgh. The conversation among the passengers, which had been interrupted for a few minutes, was speedily resumed, which the lady soon found to be regarding the state of mind that persons were in at the prospect of death. A reference was made in defense of infidels, to the death of Hume as not only happy and tranquil, but mingled with gaiety and humor. To this the lady said, “Sir, you know nothing about it; I could tell you another tale. Sir, I was Mr. Hume’s housekeeper for many years, I was with him in his last moments; and the mourning I now wear is a present from his relatives for my attention to him on his death bed; and happy would I have been if I could have borne my testimony to the mistaken opinion that has gone abroad of his peaceful and composed end. I have, sir, never till this hour, opened my mouth on this subject but I think it a pity the world should be kept in the dark on so interesting a topic. It is true, sir, that when Mr. Hume’s friends were with him, he was cheerful and seemed quite unconcerned about his approaching fate; nay, frequently spoke of it to them in a jocular and playful way; but when he was alone, the scene was very different; he was anything but composed, his mental agitation was so great at times as to occasion his whole bed to shake. And he would not allow the candles to be put out during the night, nor would he be left alone for a minute, as I had always to ring the bell for one of the servants to be in the room before he would allow me to leave it. He struggled hard to appear composed, even before me, but to one who attended his bedside for so many days and nights, and witnessed his disturbed workings—who frequently heard his involuntary breathings of remorse and frightful startings, it was no difficult matter to determine that all was not right within. This continued and increased until he became insensible. I hope to God I shall never witness a similar scene.”

(5) The infidel Altamont’s frightful death has been recorded by Dr. Young as follows: “The sad evening before the death of the noble youth, I was with him. No one was present but his physician and an intimate friend whom he loved and whom he had ruined. At my coming in he said, ‘You and the physician are come too late. I have neither life nor hope. You both aim at miracles. You would raise the dead! . . . I have been too strong for omnipotence! I have plucked down ruin!’ I said, ‘The blessed Redeemer—.’ ‘Hold! hold! you wound me! That is the rock on which I split—I denied His name!’

“Soon after, I proposed prayer—’Pray, you that can. I never prayed. I cannot pray— nor need I. Is not Heaven on my side already? It closes with my conscience. Its severest strokes but second my own.’ Observing that his friend was much touched at this, even to tears, with a most affectionate look, Altamont said: ‘Keep those tears for thyself; I have undone thee—dost thou weep for me? That is cruel. What can pain me more?’

“Here his friend, too much affected, would have left him. ‘No stay—that thou mayest hope: therefore hear me. How madly I have talked! How madly thou hast listened and believed. But look on my present state, as a full answer to thee and to myself. This body is all weakness and pain; but my soul, as if stung up by torment to greater strength and spirit, is full powerful to reason, full mighty to offer. And that which thus triumphs within the jaws of immortality is, doubtless, immortal. And as for a deity, nothing less than an Almighty could inflict what I feel.

“ ‘I have not long to speak, my much injured friend; my soul, as my body, lies in ruins, in scattered fragments of broken thought. Remorse for the past throws my thought on the future. Worse dread of the future strikes it back on the past. I turn and turn and find no ray. Didst thou feel half the mountain that is on me, thou wouldst struggle with the martyr for his sake, and bless Heaven for the flames; that is not an everlasting flame; that is not an unquenchable fire.’

“With what an eye of distraction, what a face of despair, he cried out, ‘My principles have poisoned my friend; my extravagances have beggared my boys; my unkindness has murdered my wife! And is there another Hell? Oh! Thou blasphemed, yet indulgent, Lord God, Hell itself is a refuge, if it hid me from Thy frown!’

“Soon after his understanding failed, his terrified imagination uttered horrors not to be repeated, or ever forgotten.”

(6) The daughter of Ethan Allen , the noted infidel, said to him in her dying hour, “You will bury me, father, by the side of my mother, for that was her dying request. But, father, you and mother did not agree on religion. Mother often spoke to me of the blessed Savior who died for us all. She used to pray for both you and me, that the Savior might be our friend, and that we might all see Him as our Savior, when He sits enthroned in His glory. I don’t feel that I can go alone through the dark valley of the shadow of death. Now, tell me, father, whom shall I follow, you or mother? Shall I reject Christ, as you have taught me, or shall I accept Him, as He was my mother’s friend in the hour of her great sorrow?”

There was an honest heart beneath that rough exterior. Though tears nearly choked his utterance, the old soldier said:

“My child, cling to your mother’s Savior; she was right. I’ll try to follow you to that blessed abode.”

(7) The atheist, Thomas Hobbes , said in his dying hour, “I am about to take a leap in the dark. I shall be glad to find a hole to creep out of the world at.”

(8) Sir John Mason , privy-counselor to four kings and queens, said in his dying hour, “I have lived to see five sovereigns, and have been privy-counselor to four of them. I have seen the most remarkable things in foreign parts, and have been present at most state transactions for the last thirty years; and I have learned from the experience of so many years that seriousness is the greatest wisdom, temperance the best physic, and a good conscience the best estate. And were I to live again, I would change the court for a cloister, my privy-counselor’s bustle for a hermit’s retirement, and the whole life I have lived in the palace for an hour’s enjoyment of God in the chapel. All things now forsake me, except my God, my duty and my prayers.”

Testimonies of the Dying Saved Men

When we consider the above testimonies of the dying infidels we can say like Balaam of old, “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!” Numbers 23:10. The following are a few testimonies of the glorious death of the righteous:

(1) Characters of the Bible many times died giving prophecies and seeing visions. Of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob we read they were gathered to their fathers in peace. Jacob, David, and others prophesied in their dying hours (Gen. 49; 1 Ki. 2). Moses spoke the whole book of Deuteronomy on his dying day Deuteronomy 1:3Deuteronomy 31:2Deuteronomy 32:48-52Deuteronomy 34:1-12. Joshua admonished Israel on his death bed (Josh. 24). Stephen saw a vision of God and Christ and fell asleep Acts 7:56-60. The dying words of men in the New Testament reveal the same glorious triumph in death. Concerning Stephen we read, “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God . . . And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep” Acts 7:54-60.

The Apostle Paul said, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” 2 Timothy 4:6-8.

The Apostle Peter said, “Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me” 2 Peter 1:13-14.

In contrast to the way saved men in Scripture have died, some of the wicked in the Bible have died horrible deaths Numbers 16:301 Samuel 25:38Jeremiah 16:3, 4Ezekiel 28:8-10Amos 9:10Luke 12:20Acts 5:1-10Acts 12:20-24.

(2) Frances E. Willard said, “I have crept in with Mother and it is the same beautiful world and the same people . . . How beautiful it is to be with God.”

(3) Augustus M. Toplady, author of the old hymn, “Rock of Ages,” said, “O, what delights! Who can fathom the joys of the third heaven? What a bright sunshine has been spread around me! I have not words to express it. I know it cannot be long now till my Savior will come for me, for surely no mortal man can live,” and bursting into a flood of tears as he continued, “after glories that God has manifested to my soul. All is light, light, light—the brightness of His own glory. O come, Lord Jesus, come; come quickly.”

(4) Matthew Henry, the Great Commentator, said, “You have been used to take notice of the sayings of dying men—this is mine: That a life spent in the service of God, and communion with Him, is the most comfortable and pleasant life that one can live in the present world.”

(5) The last words of John Wesley were, “The best of all is, God is with us . . . We thank Thee, O Lord, for these and all Thy mercies, bless the Church and king, grant us truth and peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord . . . The clouds drop fatness. The Lord is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”

(6) Testimonies of other dying saints are: “I shall soon be with Jesus. Perhaps I am too anxious. Can this be death? Why, it’s better than living! Tell them I die happy in Jesus.” “Rest, happiness and peace forever.” “It is sweet to die.” “Oh! how beautiful. The opening heavens around me shine.” “Glory to God, I see the heavens open before me.” “What shall I say? Christ is altogether lovely; His glorious angels are come for me.” “My mansion is all ready.” “Now I go home into paradise.” “How bright the room; how full of angels.” “They sing! The angels sing!” “Is this dying? No, it is sweet living.” “I am not afraid to look death in the face.” “I have done with darkness forever.” “I see Jesus.” “I will soon be gone, but do not weep for me. I am going home to glory.” “I have no desire to recover—I would rather depart and be with Christ.” “Eternity rolls up before me like a sea of glory, and so near.” “The sun is setting, mine is rising. I go from this bed to a crown. Farewell.”

1. 1 Natural laws demand immortality of the body. In nature there are literally hundreds of thousands of creations that prophesy and proclaim a resurrection and a future life. Paul said, “the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” Romans 1:20. If the invisible things are clearly seen by the visible things this means that immortality and the invisible life are clearly illustrated in nature. In the Fall, nature seems to die and pass through the grave of winter. Nature is not dead. She only sleeps until the resurrection in the spring when nearly 100,000 plants rise again from growing seeds. Each seed contains the doctrine of the resurrection and future life. Paul proved this again when He used the seeds to illustrate the fact and method of the resurrection of the dead bodies of men who sleep until the springtime of the future life when the dead will come forth to new and everlasting life in bodies that will never die again 1 Corinthians 15:35-58.

Each seed contains its own individuality and peculiar nature. In the resurrection of seeds, everyone reproduces after his own kind. A seed may lie for thousands of years and never reproduce. It may be marred beyond recognition but if sown it will in its resurrection reproduce perfect grains just like the one that is sown and dies. Paul said, “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption” 1 Corinthians 15:35-58. No seed reproduces or is resurrected to bring forth fruit until it dies John 12:24. The bad and poisonous seeds reproduce the same as the good. So in the resurrection of men, “All that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” John 5:28-29.

The difference between seeds and men is this, seeds were created to reproduce themselves eternally for the sustaining of life on this planet, while men were made to live forever without death provided they had not sinned. It is only appointed unto men once to die and after this a resurrection to judgment and eternal life or damnation Hebrews 9:27Revelation 20:11-15. The life germs in seeds are eternal and continue to multiply forever. How much more eternal and continuous is the life of God’s highest creation—man.

1. 1 Death is a blunder and an abortion if there is no immortality of the body. There is no need to argue that death is real. The fact that men die proves it. God appointed death because of sin Hebrews 9:27. The vindication of God as a Perfect Worker and a Just Judge requires life after death. The present life is too brief to finish life’s work or to receive justice and meet opportunities that come. Men merely begin their life’s work and have to leave it largely undone. Thousands die in infancy before starting in life. What incompleteness and what a waste of life if death ends all! Without life after death, the present life is a mockery, an incompleteness, and an infinite series of abortions. But with the wonderful hope of immortality to enter fully into life’s work and eternal plans, all the riddles of existence can be explained. With Paul we can say, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” 1 Corinthians 15:19.

Justice demands that all men live again that they might receive the things done in the body, whether they be good or bad Matthew 10:41-42Matthew 16:27Matthew 19:28-30Romans 14:101 Corinthians 3:11-152 Corinthians 5:9-10Hebrews 9:27Revelation 20:11-15. Mere extinction of being would not be justice nor would it be the proper penalty, nor would it permit degrees of punishment corresponding to degrees of guilt as taught in Scripture Matthew 10:15Matthew 11:22Matthew 12:41Matthew 16:27Matthew 23:14Mark 6:11Mark 12:40Luke 10:14Luke 11:31-32Luke 20:47. If punishment was extinction of being then all will be punished alike and this is contrary to these Scriptures which state that there are degrees of punishment according to deeds done. Degrees of guilt demand immortality of the body as well as of the soul of the wicked, just as obedience to God demands life for the saints to enjoy the fruits of their works. If death ends all, then the conscience and the Bible has told more lies than they have ever accused men of telling. The conscience and religion are both a cheat and a farce if men will not meet justice after death. If man is not to be immortal, God is not just.

1. 1 Spiritual laws prove immortality of the body. The soul and spirit are the parts of man which know, reason, and make one conscious of the things about him. By the faculties of the soul and spirit, man knows there is immortality. Everything this side of the brute creation longs for and wants to know about immortality. Man is the only creature that has faculties capable of God-consciousness, prayer, rational speech, reason, self-consciousness and spiritual correspondence with the Eternal God. Any creature less than man has none of these faculties. Right here is the line of demarcation between man and beast. There is something in man that makes him different from every other creature. This is proven by the Bible as well as by observation and experience. Things are true not altogether because they are referred to in the Bible, but it gives us greater faith and grounds for that faith when they are in the Bible. And it certainly should add to our faith in the Bible when we find it is always in perfect harmony with all facts of nature.

If the universe exists only for itself, it is abnormal and a deviation from the common rule of all creation as demonstrated in nature. If it exists for anything less than itself, it is a waste. If it exists for anything greater than itself, what is that something? The answer is that it exists to glorify God by carrying out the purpose for which it was created. Man was given dominion on this planet to rule it for God forever. He was created to be an eternal creature in order to rule forever for God. Man’s Fall and continued sin does not do away with God’s eternal plan. It only postpones the operation of the plan until the restitution of all things. Then man will become eternal in body and will rule forever, as we shall see in Lesson Forty-nine through Fifty-two.

Why is it that man of all creation is a religious creature? Why is it that religion can make something out of the lowest man in the depths of sin and depravity? It is because there is something in man that beasts do not have, and that something is God-likeness in soul and spirit. Man has spiritual faculties, reason, and consciousness that causes him to know that he is immortal and will live forever in union with God or in banishment from God because of rebellion.

This belief and consciousness of immortality in man has made him great and has raised him from the lowest cannibalism and paganism to the highest attainments in civilization. Such faith has accomplished this time and time again as is recorded in the pages of history. It has created the finest literature, the best arts, and the most beautiful pictures in the world. It has inspired men to attain to the highest achievements in life. For this faith Christ came and conquered death, Hell, and the grave and brought life and immortality to light for the body so that it could live again and exist forever with the immortal soul and spirit as God originally intended John 11:25-26John 14:19Colossians 2:14-162 Timothy 1:10Hebrews 2:14-15.

Reason alone finds in man himself the basis for faith in immortality. Such faith is native to him and it is as infallible in guiding man into future and eternal living as nature guides the animals by inherent instinct. Nature never makes a blunder and there is not an instance where nature has deceived her children. Nature therefore does not make blunders or misguide man when it constantly affirms to him that his soul and spirit are immortal and his body is going to be raised to immortality. Man is not a creature limited to the body as is clearly demonstrated by the inner man leaving the body at physical death. It continues on and on into all eternity.

Man’s spiritual life is eternal, guided by spiritual laws that reveal and declare to him that he will meet his thoughts, acts, and deeds again and give account to God for his stewardship. The brute reaches its limit of thinking but man’s thoughts know no bounds. He reaches out into eternity and communes with God and fellowships eternal beings. Man has thoughts, opinions, motives, ideas, attractions, feelings, hungerings, and other mystic powers that constantly testify of faith in immortality. If one of man’s faculties becomes warped and says it does not believe in immortality and the other faculties affirm that there is, on which side is the greatest weight of evidence? If a few men become depraved and unreasonable enough to deny immortality and the rest do believe in it, where is the weight of evidence?

Because frost kills the swelling buds is no proof that the trees will not bloom again, so if man does die that is no proof that he is extinct. He will live again in the resurrection bodily and continue to live in soul and spirit after the inner man leaves the body. This cannot be disproved, and it has been proven in manifold ways so it must be true. Immortality is not a Christian dogma just because Christ brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Peoples of all nations have demonstrated their faith in the universal, reasonable, and natural belief in a future life. This proves that all men have that hope within their breasts.

If it is true that man survives death and will have to live in two worlds, it certainly will pay all sane men to prepare to live in the next life. If men will obey their own conscience in this matter their lives will be purged of unlawful passions, motives, and plans. Their lives will become godly, reverent, tender, kind, patient, loving, merciful, and hopeful. Their future will be assured if they will conform to the gospel and live for the future.

Reason cannot tolerate any thought but a future life where all inequalities and injustice will be made right. For example, the ungodly steal, cheat, and get gain by every conceivable means and live off of the labour and ignorance of the poor. The brewer lives off the society which he has damned by his product. Thousands of poor wash women are robbed and forced to support him. The painted wreck of a mistress lives in pleasure and sin and the virtuous girl toils in the sweatshop and denies herself of pleasures because she has a hope of the future. Life is so inequitable and changeable. The wicked take advantage of the righteous and thousands cry for help and yet they refuse to break God’s laws to get revenge.

It cannot be that death ends all. Reason and justice cry out against such a theory. Such is contrary to all truth. If death ends all, then folly and crime are chargeable to the Maker of the universe. There is bound to be another life where justice will be meted out to all alike and where all things will continue in perfection and sinlessness. Therefore, immortality is reasonable and natural and in accord with spiritual and natural laws.

1. 1 The brevity of life demands immortality of the body. Life is too short for the development of the capacity with which man is endowed. The works of man outlive him and if he should live no more, then his works would be greater than what he is and this is unreasonable to believe. Everything in creation and nature is contrary to this idea. Does the life of the flowers cease to exist in the future because they died for the winter? Shall the leaves outlive the tree or prove that the tree is forever dead because they Fall? Shall seeds be powerless to reproduce if death comes to the trees? Shall the works of man’s hands be more eternal than he is himself? That would be a creative blunder and a moral monstrosity. The brevity of life demands that man live again to correspond with his own creative make-up

1. 1 Man’s greatness demands immortality of the body. Elephants live hundreds of years, trees thousands of years, and other parts of creation lower than man exist eternally. Shall we accuse God of creating and running a world out of balance? Shall we accuse Him of creating the highest type of creation to live lesser than the lower? Shall we accuse Him of making the moral and spiritual creations to live infinitely less than the brute, vegetable, and mineral creations? This, too, would be a blunder and a moral monstrosity. It would condemn the Creator and insult man. This cannot be. There must be another life for all men, and this the Bible teaches throughout. Man must live forever because of his greatness 1 Corinthians 15:19-23John 11:24-25John 14:19. Man would have lived forever had he not sinned. He will live again forever in the resurrection of the dead.

1. 1 The universal human desire demands immortality of the body. The desire for a future life is in every man and it must be satisfied. Even the lowest of rebels against God long for a better and longer life. God has made hungers in the human breast and also each has a corresponding satisfaction such as: water for thirst; food for hunger; friends for social nature; home for homesickness; God for spiritual hunger; and immortality for the desire for future life. We accept justice and believe in it because of universal conscience. Why not accept the belief in immortality because of universal hunger for it? Where did this faith come from if not of God? If you should find a dog yearning for eternal life, thinking about it, and reasoning how to get it, you would say that the dog has a higher nature and a spiritual faculty that you never dreamed it had. Take away the yearning and the spiritual faculties of men and he will be like a dog and will end like one.

No man of sound mind will reason that he is not of a higher nature than a dog and that he is not capable of higher and spiritual things of which the dog is incapable. After all the reasonings and arguments of men who seek to hide their sins by denying conscience and immortality, we still have the immortal soul left and the conscience to dictate to us the illogic and insanity of such reasoning. Man himself is left and man is a fact. He is an eternal creature, created of God, leaving his body only for a time until the day of reckoning because of his sin and rebellion. Thus, the desire for immortality not only demands it, but guarantees it.

1. 1 Moral nature in man demands immortality of the body. No man can explain the origin of moral nature and moral obligation apart from the truth of immortality. Moral nature demands a set of laws and a future reward or punishment for obedience or disobedience respectively. History records that nations whom have believed in immortality have moved onward and upward and those that have denied it have moved backward and downward. The increase of intelligence has brought human greatness as well as other improvements. However, it is not intellectual development alone that causes greatness, but it is this in conjunction with moral development in the lives of the common man. Egypt, Greece, and other empires prove this. When they reached the highest peak of their intellectual development, and failed to develop the morals, they fell. Paul states this to be a fact in Rom. 1:16-32. We must not only have mentality, but morality, if any nation is long to endure. Our moral nature affirms in a thousand ways that there is a future life and we must obey the conscience and this nature, or we will go back into darkness.

1. 1 The universal natural desire to worship proves immortality of the body. Man is a worshipper by nature. Why is there a universal desire to worship and seek God and peace for the soul if there is no future life. Nature causes the birds to know when to go North and South and when to mate. The ant knows how to build its home and the bee knows how to make its cell. Everything in nature knows beyond a doubt what to do by nature. All creation simply obeys its natural instincts except man. Man is capable of rebellion and has a power of free choice and he has become unnatural and abnormal in many ways due to sin. But in spite of this, his natural instinct makes him a worshipful creature and he worships something even if it is not the true God that he longs for. Does this natural desire to worship lie to man and prove to him that there is no true God and eternal life? Is man the only creature that nature has fooled? Why do not the animals worship and long for eternal life? This proves that immortality is not in their hearts like it is in man. If man will conform to his natural instinct to hope for a future life he will purify himself even as God is pure 1 John 3:1-32 Corinthians 7:1Hebrews 12:14-15Galatians 5:242 Corinthians 5:17-21.

1. 1 Man’s constitution demands immortality of the body. Man was created to live forever in body, soul, and spirit. Sin is the only thing that has hindered this original plan. Jesus came to restore man to his original position and greatness. Souls of all men must continue in consciousness between death and resurrection in order to be given bodies in the resurrection 1 Corinthians 15:35-58. Man thus is constituted to live forever in soul and spirit and he is promised immortality of the body. Man’s creation in the image and likeness of God demands eternal existence. The eternal purpose of God for eternal man demands eternal existence. Sinners forfeit their part in the eternal plan and it is taken away from them because they refuse to have a part in it Matthew 25:29, 31Proverbs 1:22-33. Even these wicked men will exist eternally as a monument of God’s wrath and as an example to all coming eternal generations Isaiah 66:22-24Revelation 14:9-11Revelation 20:10-15Revelation 21:8.

1. 1 The scriptures throughout teach the immortality of the bodies of all men. Many Bible writers expressed faith in the future resurrection, retribution, and life beyond the grave Job 19:25-27Psalms 16:9-11Ezekiel 37:1-14Daniel 12:2, 3. That all heathen nations believed in life after death is proven from the fact that God commanded Israel not to seek communication with the dead as did the heathen Leviticus 19:28, 31Leviticus 20:27Deuteronomy 18:10-121 Samuel 28:7-19Isaiah 8:19Isaiah 29:4. Jesus and the New Testament writers made many references to life after death (Mt. 6:20; 10:28; 12:32; 13:50; 18:8, 9; 19:27-30; 22:23-33; 23:15; 25:31-46; Mk. 9:42-48; Lk. 16:19-31; 23:43; Jn. 11:24-26; 12:24, 48; Acts 1:3; 2:25-36; 3:26; 4:2, 10, 33; 5:31; 7:59; 10:40-42; 13:34-37; 17:31, 32; 23:8; 24:15, 21; 26:8; 1 Cor. 15; 1 Thess. 4:13-16; Phil. 3:20, 21; Col. 3:4; Heb. 11:8-19, 35-40; 12:23; Rev. 20:4-15).

These are just a few of many references teaching a life after death, both for the wicked in eternal Hell and for the righteous in eternal bliss. Jesus and others promised that all men would be resurrected, some to everlasting life, and some to everlasting shame and contempt John 5:28, 29Daniel 12:2, 31 Corinthians 15:21, 22Revelation 20:11-15 Jesus and Paul illustrated the resurrection by a grain of wheat or some other grain that continues to exist when the bodies decay and that the life germs reproduce other bodies just like the ones sown John 12:241 Corinthians 15:35-58. No natural life in any grain can cease to exist and thus fail to produce new bodies and so it is also with the resurrection of the dead. The inner man of each person that dies continues to exist, else there would be nothing to enter the resurrected bodies. Christ and others raised the dead to life, demonstrating that men can and will live again 1 Kings 17:17-242 Kings 4:18-37Matthew 9:18-25Luke 7:11-18Acts 9:36-43Acts 20:6-12.

The greatest proof of immortality is found in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His life after death, a work accomplished by His own power. This demonstrated that Jesus was still alive after His death to resurrect His own body John 2:19, 21John 10:17, 18. By coming back from the dead, He proved that death was not annihilation. His resurrection and immortality is a guarantee of the resurrection and immortality of all men 1 Corinthians 15:1-582 Corinthians 5:1-8Philippians 1:21-23John 11:23-27John 12:24John 14:19. Many saints were resurrected from the dead after the resurrection of Christ Matthew 27:52-53. Christ has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel 2 Timothy 1:10.

In all the above passages on the resurrection it is clear that the body only will be resurrected from the dead and will receive immortality. The inner man is already immortal as we have seen in points above. It is only the body that is mortal, sees corruption, and goes back into dust again Genesis 2:7Genesis 3:19Ecclesiastes 3:19-21. It is only the body that sleeps and knows nothing in the grave. All passages used by some to teach the doctrine of soul-sleep really refer to the body that lies dormant and knows nothing in the grave until the resurrection, as we shall see in Lesson Forty-two.

1. 1 Philo, Josephus, and other secular writers throughout the ages expressed faith in the future life. For example, see Josephus, Antiquities, XVIII: 1:3 and Wars of the Jews, 11:8, 11-14). Thus there is abundant proof inside and outside of the Bible that there will be a future life for the just and the unjust.

Russelism says, “Death is a period of absolute non-existence.” Adventism also teaches that the dead are unconscious in the grave and that the soul sleeps at the time of physical death. Both of these false religions teach the total extinction of the wicked in eternity. The Bible does not teach soul-sleep, unconsciousness of souls after death, total extinction of being, or a second chance for the wicked, as we shall see in the points below:

1. 1 The material and spiritual natures of man are clearly distinguished in Scripture: “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” Genesis 2:7. Here it is clear that the soul was not formed out of the dust. It was the body only that was formed and the soul was breathed into the newly formed body and man became a living person. Just as the body was dead before the soul and spirit were put within it, so the body dies again when the inner man leaves it James 2:26. Many Scriptures distinguish between the inner man and the body according to the following Scriptures:

“The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly” Proverbs 20:27. “But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn” Job 14:22. “But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding” Job 32:8. “The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him” Zechariah 12:1. “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” Matthew 10:28. “Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me . . . And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt . . . And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? . . . Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” Matthew 26:38-41. “And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices Mark 12:33. “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour” John 12:27. “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God” 1 Corinthians 2:11. “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” 1 Corinthians 6:20. “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” 2 Corinthians 5:8. “And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) . . . How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter” (2 Cor. 3-4). “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” 1 Thessalonians 5:23. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” Hebrews 4:12. “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him” Hebrews 10:38. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain . . . But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not . . . For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you” Philippians 1:21-24. “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” James 2:26. “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: . . . And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? . . . And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled” Revelation 6:9-11.

1. 1 At physical death the soul leaves the body: “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” James 2:26. “And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? . . . And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived” 1 Kings 17:20-22. “But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? Job 14:10. “But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead?

And they said, He is dead . . . Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the Lord, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat . . . Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? Thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread . . . And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live? . . . But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me” 2 Samuel 12:19-23. “While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master . . . But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole . . . And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden . . . And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth . . . And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead . . . And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise . . . And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat . . . And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done” Luke 8:49-56. “And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried” Luke 16:22. “And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise . . . And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour . . . And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst . . . And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost” Luke 23:43-46. “Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband” Acts 5:10. “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” 2 Corinthians 5:8. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain . . . But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not . . . For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you” Philippians 1:21-24. “And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see . . . And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth . . . And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: . . . And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? . . . And white robes were given onto every one of them: and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled” Revelation 6:7-11. “Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; . . . Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me . . . Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance” 2 Peter 1:13-15. These passages speak of the soul leaving the body at physical death and of its being carried by angels into Paradise. If the body without the spirit is dead James 2:26, if the soul and spirit depart from the body and are then absent from the body and present with the Lord Genesis 35:182 Corinthians 5:8Philippians 1:21-23, and if men give up the ghost at death and the body remains, then it is clear that physical death is the separation of the inner man from the body, and that the soul and spirit do not go into the grave with the body Genesis 25:8Genesis 35:29Genesis 49:332 Peter 1:13-15.

1. 1 The inner man is fully conscious between death and resurrection, as proven by the following passages: “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” Matthew 10:28. “And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.” Moses’ body was in corruption, but not his inner man Matthew 17:3. “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day: . . . And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, . . . And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores . . . And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; . . . And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torment, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom . . . And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame . . . But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented . . . And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence . . . Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: . . . For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment . . . Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them . . . And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” Luke 16:19-31. “For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him” Luke 20:38. “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: . . . And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” John 11:25-26. “Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption in the grave Acts 2:27. “Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” Ephesians 3:15. “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men (Now that he ascended what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? . . . He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things)” Ephesians 4:8-10. “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” 2 Corinthians 5:8. “It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord . . . I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven . . . And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) . . . How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter” 2 Corinthians 12:1-4. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain . . . But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not, . . . For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better” Philippians 1:21-24. “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; . . . And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” Hebrews 2:14-15. “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect” Hebrews 12:22-23. “And when he had opened the fifth seal I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: . . . And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? . . . And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled” Revelation 6:9-11. Concrete examples of consciousness of the dead are given in a number of passages, as we have seen in Point III, 6, above.

1. 1 The spirit and soul are not the breath for they are distinguished in Scripture. Try to substitute the word “breath” for “soul” and “spirit” in these passages and see how utterly foolish such an idea is. For example, “If he gather unto himself his [breath] spirit and his breath” Job 34:14-15; “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the [breath] soul” Psalms 19:7; “And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their [breath] soul” Psalms 106:15; “And I will say to my [breath] soul, [Breath] Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry” Luke 12:19; “For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor [breath] spirit: but the Pharisees confess both” Acts 23:8-9; “Circumcision is that of the heart, in the [breath] spirit, and not in the letter” Romans 2:29; “The word of God is quicker than any two-edged sword . . . dividing asunder the [breath] soul and [breath] spirit, and of the joints and marrow” Hebrews 4:12; “I saw under the altar the [breaths] souls of them that were slain for the word of God” Revelation 6:9-11.

Try any place where the words “soul” and “spirit” are found and see if the word “breath” can be substituted in place of these words. It cannot be done and make sense, as can be seen in 1 Cor. 2:11; 15:5; 6:20; 2 Cor. 7:1; Gal. 6:15; 1 Thess. 5:23; Mt. 10:28; Jas. 5:19-20; 2 Pet. 2:8; Heb.10:38-39). Try this also in the many Scriptures where the words “soul” and “spirit” are found as listed in Lesson Six, Point IX, 2 and 3.

1. 1 The souls of the wicked are dead while they are in the bodies and while they still live. “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” Genesis 2:17. “But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead” Matthew 8:22. “It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found” Luke 15:32. “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; . . . Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: . . . Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others . . . But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, . . . Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) . . . And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: . . . That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus . . . For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: . . . Not of works, lest any man should boast . . . For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” Ephesians 2:1-10. “But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth” 1 Timothy 5:6. “And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead” Revelation 3:1.

The souls of the righteous still live and are conscious after they leave the bodies at physical death John 3:16John 5:24John 6:47, 53John 11:25-26John 14:19. In fact, the souls of both the wicked and the righteous continue in consciousness after death, as proven in Point III, above.

1. 1 Resurrection of the dead always refers to the bodies of men and never to the souls. The bodies only sleep and never the souls, as we shall prove in Lesson Forty-two.

1. 1 The souls of the righteous at physical death before the resurrection of Christ were held captive by the devil in Paradise in the lower parts of the Earth Hebrews 2:14-15Ephesians 4:7-11. Both the righteous and the wicked were in the same underworld of departed spirits with a great gulf between the two departments Luke 16:19-31. This is why the penitent thief went with Christ into Paradise the day of the crucifixion Luke 23:43. This Paradise was located in the lower parts of the Earth or the heart of the Earth Matthew 12:40Ephesians 4:7-11. Christ descended into Hell and liberated all these righteous souls and took them to Heaven with Him when He ascended on High Ephesians 4:7-11Psalms 16:10Acts 2:25-36. Now when a righteous person dies his body goes back to dust again and he himself goes to be with Christ in Heaven 2 Corinthians 5:8Ephesians 3:14-15Philippians 1:21-23Hebrews 12:23Revelation 6:9-11. At the rapture these righteous souls in Heaven will come back with Christ and enter new bodies 1 Thessalonians 4:13-161 Corinthians 15:23, 35Philippians 3:20-21. The wicked dead will remain dead until the Millennium is over and then they will be resurrected and judged and then sent to eternal Hell Revelation 20:4-15.

1. 1 The souls of the wicked dead at physical death go into Hell or the torment part of the underworld of departed spirits, and are in a conscious state of torment until the end of the Millennium when their bodies will be resurrected, and they will come out of Hell to enter their bodies, be judged, and be cast into the Lake of Fire forever Luke 16:19-312 Peter 2:9Revelation 20:11-15. This state of the wicked dead is not purgatorial in any sense. There is no such thing as purgatory mentioned in Scripture. Men will be resurrected either righteous or wicked as the case may be and this is determined by how they have lived and died here on Earth Revelation 22:11. The righteous are in a state of bliss and the wicked are in a state of torment in the intermediate state. The perfect and eternal bliss and rewards for the righteous will not be given until the resurrection of their bodies and at the Judgment Seat of Christ. The utter misery and complete punishment of the wicked according to their deeds will not begin until their resurrection and judgment. Both classes will be punished and rewarded according to the deeds done in the body, as we shall prove in the next lesson when we study the judgments.

VI. Five Departments in the Underworld of Departed Spirits

There are five distinct prisons in the underworld of departed spirits. Not one of these places is the same as the grave, as proven by the following points:

1. 1 Tartarus 1 Peter 3:192 Peter 2:4. This prison is the special one for the fallen angels that sinned both before and after the flood, as discussed in Lesson Eleven, Point XTII, 6. No human beings or demons ever go into this department that we have any record of in Scripture. It is the first prison on the chart and is under the Dispensations of Conscience and Human Government. In these passages it is clear that there is a real Hell which is not the grave, and that spirits are confined in chains until the judgment. Are we going to be foolish enough to believe that Hell is the grave and that angels are dormant, unconscious, and extinct in the grave? Are we going to believe that unconscious spirits have to be chained in the grave to keep them there until the judgment?

1. 1 Paradise Luke 16:19-31Luke 23:43. This is the second prison on the chart and is under the dispensations of Promise and Law. We have pictured comfort, water, etc. in this prison because the rich man saw Lazarus afar off in comfort and bliss and asked him to dip his finger in water and cool his tongue Luke 16:19-31. It was the abode of the righteous souls and spirits after leaving the bodies at physical death. All the righteous went into this prison and were held captive by the devil against their wills Hebrews 2:14-15Ephesians 4:7-11. The devil had the power of death and of the underworld before Christ conquered him Colossians 2:14-17Hebrews 2:14-15Revelation 1:18. It was into this prison that the penitent thief and Christ went the day they died Luke 23:43. That it is located in the heart and lower parts of the Earth is clear from Mt. 12:40; Eph. 4:7-11. Christ not only went into this prison but He also went into Tartarus and preached to the angels. In fact, He conquered death, Hell, and the grave during His crucifixion and during the three days He was in the underworld. He captured all the righteous souls that were in Paradise and took them to Heaven when He ascended on High Ephesians 4:7-11. He now has the keys of Hell and of death Revelation 1:18.

But ever since Christ liberated the righteous from Paradise, all the righteous souls that leave their bodies go immediately to Heaven and are not held captive by the devil against their will 2 Corinthians 5:8Philippians 1:21-26Hebrews 12:23Revelation 6:9-11. This place is now empty unless the present Hell has been enlarged to take in what was formerly Paradise. Many Bible teachers believe this and use Isa. 5:14, but there is nothing in this passage or in any other one that proves such a theory. If this Hell has enlarged itself to take in Paradise, the waters and comforts of the place would have to be destroyed. It may be that it will be left as a monument of the bliss that the righteous were in even when they were held captive by the devil. Be that as it may, we shall find out in due time what will happen to this place. One thing is clear, and that is, that the righteous no longer go there and this is the main fact we need to know about this place.

1. 1 Hell Matthew 16:18Luke 16:19-31. This prison is the third one pictured on our chart and it can be located under the Dispensation of Grace. This was the torment department in the unseen world and was, still is and will yet be the abode of all the wicked souls and spirits of men from Abel to the end of the Millennium. Then at this time all the wicked will be liberated out of this prison and will be given immortal bodies and be judged before being cast into the Lake of Fire forever Revelation 20:11-15Revelation 21:8.

The Greek word Hades in the above verses literally means “the unseen world,” or “the world of departed spirits.” It is the equivalent of the Hebrew word Sheol , and is never used to denote the grave, the Abyss, Tartarus, or the eternal lake of fire where the wicked will be tormented forever and ever. Wicked souls and spirits are now in a conscious state of torment Luke 16:19-31. This temporary place of torment before the judgment and the eternal Hell might be compared to the city or county jail where prisoners are kept until their trial. The only difference between the punishments in the present and future prisons is the degrees of torment that is meted out to them at the judgment according to the deeds done in the body. That there will be degrees of punishment will be made clear under Point 5, below. Thus, human souls went into two different prisons in the underworld before Christ conquered death, Hell, and the grave. There was a great gulf between the two prisons Luke 16:26.

Sheol is Translated by Three English Words:

(1) Hell, thirty-one times (Deut. 32:22; 2 Sam. 22:6; Job 11:8; 26:6; Ps. 9:17; 16:10; 18:5; 55:15; 86:13; 139:8; Prov. 5:5; 7:27; 9:18; 15:11, 24; 23:14; 27:20; Isa. 5:14; 14:9, 15; 28:15, 18; 57:9; Ezek. 31:16, 17; 32:21, 27; Amos 9:2; Jonah 2:2; Hab. 2:5).

Jonah cried out of Hell Jonah 2:2. Jonah evidently died and went to Hell the three days and three nights his body was in the belly of the whale. Jesus taught this in Mt. 12:40, “For as [just like] Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Jesus was dead this long and if Jonah was not dead this long the comparison could not have been a true one. Nothing is ever said of Jonah being preserved alive in the whale. If he had been, that would not have been a true sign of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Jonah testifies that he swooned or became unconscious while the waters and sea weeds covered his head and that God brought him out of corruption and out of Sheol Jonah 2:5-7.

(2) Grave, thirty-one times (Gen. 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 31; 1 Sam. 2:6; 1 Ki. 2:6, 9; Job 7:9; 14:13; 21:13; 24:19; 33:22; Ps. 6:5; 30:3; 31:17; 49:14, 15; 88:3; 89:48; 141:7; Prov. 1:12; 30:16; Eccl. 9:10; Song 8:6; Isa. 14:11; 38:10, 18; Ezek. 31:15; Hos. 13:14). Sheol-Hades should have been translated “Hell” in every place, as can be seen in the above Scriptures.

(3) Pit, three times Numbers 16:30, 33Job 17:14. These first two verses speak of men going down alive into Sheol-Hades and the last one speaks of having bars.

Hades is Translated in Two Different Ways:

The Hebrew Old Testament word Sheol , translated hell, grave, and pit is the equivalent of the Greek New Testament word Hades , translated as follows:

(1) Hell, ten times. Hades-Sheol is spoken of as being down under the Earth and is contrasted with the height of Heaven Matthew 11:23Luke 10:15. Gates of Hades-Sheol are mentioned by Christ Matthew 16:18. Christ further teaches that Hades-Sheol is a real place for departed spirits who remain in full consciousness Luke 16:19-31. The soul of Christ is spoken of as going into Hades-Sheol Acts 2:27, 31. This passage is quoted from Ps. 16:10 thus proving that Hades and Sheol is the same place. Christ taught that He had “the keys of hell and of death” Revelation 1:18.

Both hell and death must be real powers or Christ would not teach that they could not prevail against the Church, or that He had authority over them. In Rev. 6, 7, 8 both death and Hell are symbolized by horses and riders. In Rev. 20:11-15 they are pictured as giving up the dead which were in them. Death holds the bodies of the wicked dead and Hell holds their souls. Hell and death will deliver up the wicked dead that are in them and they will be cast into the Lake of Fire Revelation 20:11-15. There must be a distinct difference between death and Hell or they would not be spoken of as separate powers. Death is associated with the grave and with the bodies of men 1 Corinthians 15:35-58James 2:26 and Hell with the souls of men, as we shall see below.

(2) Grave, one time. Hades-Sheol is translated grave in 1 Cor. 15:55 but here it is clear that it is a different power from death which holds the bodies of men. This passage literally should have been translated, “O death, where is thy sting? O hell, where is thy victory?” Hell has no victory because Jesus not only predicted that Hell would not prevail against the Church but He literally conquered death and Hell and He now has the keys of both Hebrews 2:14, 15Revelation 1:18.

Sheol-Hades is Not the Grave

The Hebrew and Greek words for grave prove that hell is not the same place that the bodies of men go at death.

(1) The Hebrew word for “grave” is queber and is translated six different ways in the Bible, as follows:

A. Grave Genesis 35:20Genesis 50:5Numbers 19:16, 182 Samuel 3:322 Samuel 19:371 Kings 13:301 Kings 14:132 Kings 22:20Job 3:22Job 5:26Job 10:19Job 21:32Psalms 88:5, 11Isaiah 14:19Isaiah 53:9Ezekiel 32:23, 24Nahum 1:14.

B. Graves Exodus 14:112 Kings 23:6Job 17:1Isaiah 65:4Jeremiah 8:1Jeremiah 26:23Ezekiel 32:22, 23Ezekiel 37:12, 13Ezekiel 39:11.

C. Burial Ecclesiastes 6:3Isaiah 14:20Jeremiah 22:19.

D. Buryingplace Genesis 23:4, 9Genesis 47:30Genesis 49:30Genesis 50:13Judges 16:31.

E. Sepulchre (Gen. 23:6; Deut. 34:6; Judg. 8:32; 1 Sam. 10:2; 2 Sam. 2:32; 4:12; 17:23; 21:14; 1 Ki. 13:22, 31; 2 Ki. 9:28; 13:21; 21:26; 23:17, 30; Ps. 5:8; Isa. 22:16; Jer. 5:16.

F. Sepulchres Genesis 23:62 Kings 23:162 Kings 21:202 Kings 24:252 Kings 28:272 Kings 32:332 Kings 35:24Nehemiah 2:3, 5Nehemiah 3:16.

(2) The Greek word for “grave” is mnemeion and is translated six different ways in the Bible as follows:

A. Grave John 11:17, 31John 12:17.

B. Graves Matthew 27:52, 53Luke 11:22John 5:28Revelation 11:9.

C. Tomb Matthew 27:60Mark 6:29.

D. Tombs Matthew 8:28Mark 5:2-5Luke 8:27.

E. Sepulchre Matthew 27:60Matthew 28:8Mark 15:46Mark 16:2-8Luke 23:53, 55Luke 24:1, 2John 19:41, 42John 20:1-11Acts 2:29Acts 7:16Acts 13:29.

F. Sepulchres Matthew 23:29Luke 11:47, 48.

It can be seen from reading these passages that there is a vast difference between the grave and Sheol-Hades. The grave is the place for the body and Sheol-Hades is the place for the inner man after it leaves the body. The soul is confined there in a prison in the unseen world until the resurrection. Revelation 20:11-15.

Sheol-Hades and Queber-Mnemeion Contrasted in Scripture

Sheol-Hades (Hell) Queber-Mnemeion (the Grave)

1. 1 Never the place of the body. 1. Never the place of the soul.

1. 1 Never in the plural. 2. Plural 38 times, singular 74 times.

1. 1 Never located on the Earth. 3. Mentioned as located on Earth 73 times.

1. 1 Body never goes to Hell. 4. Body mentioned going there 75 times.

1. 1 Individual’s Sheol never mentioned. 5. Individual graves, mentioned 79 times.

1. 1 Man never puts anyone into Sheol. 6. Man puts bodies into graves 40 times.

1. 1 Man never digs or makes one. 7. Man digs and makes graves 51 times.

1. 1 Man never touches one on Earth. 8. Man touches graves on Earth 51 times.

1. 1 Man never sees one on the Earth. 9. Man sees graves 51 times.

1. 1 God puts men into Sheol (Num. 16:30 10. Man always puts men into graves except

33; 1 Sam. 2:6; Ezek. 31:16; Lk. 16). in the case of Moses (Deut. 34; Jude 9).

1. 1 A place of wrath Deuteronomy 32:22. 11. No wrath in the grave.

1. 1 A place of sorrow Psalms 18:5Psalms 116:3. 12. No sorrow in the grave.

1. 1 A deep place (Job 11:8; Amos 9:2; 13. Graves are made on the face or surface

Mt. 12:40; Eph. 4:9). of the Earth.

1. 1 Men go into it in a moment (Job 21:13; 14. The dead do not go into graves in a mo-

Ps. 55:15; Lk. 16:19-31). ment. Burials take time and human effort.

1. 1 A place naked before God, not before 15. Graves are made by men and are the only

man (Job 26:6; Prov. 15:11; Amos 9:2; places for the dead that are naked to them.

Ps. 139:8).

1. 1 A place for the wicked only (Ps. 9:17; 16. Graves are for the bodies of both the

Job 24:19; Prov. 5:5; 7:27; 9:18; righteous and the wicked John 5:28-29.

Isa. 14:15).

1. 1 A place for the soul (Ps. 16:10; 30:3; 17. Graves are for the bodies only and never

86:13; 89:48; Acts 2:24-36; Prov. 23:14; the souls of men John 5:28-29.

Lk. 16:19-31).

1. 1 A place where men are conscious of 18. In the grave the body knows no conscious-

God (Ps. 139:8; Lk. 16:19-31; ness of God or man.

Isa. 14:9-20; Rev. 14:9-11).

1. 1 A place where souls are alive 19. There is no life in the body in the grave

(Num. 16:30, 33; Ps. 55:15; for physical death is the separation of

Prov. 1:12; Lk. 16:19-31). the inner man from the body James 2:26.

1. 1 Chastening can help men to be godly 20. All chastening and godliness will not

and escape Hell Proverbs 23:14Psalms 9:17.

Heb. 2:3).

1. 1 Sheol is never full or satisfied 21. Graves become full and there is nothing

Proverbs 27:20Proverbs 30:16Habakkuk 2:5. in the graves that crave satisfaction.

1. 1 Sheol is a cruel place (Cant. 8:6). 22. No cruelty is mentioned in graves.

1. 1 Hell has enlarged itself Isaiah 5:14. 23. Graves do not enlarge themselves.

1. 1 A place where newcomers stir up its 24. Newcomers to graves do not stir up the

inhabitants Isaiah 14:9-15Ezekiel 32:21. dead in them.

1. 1 A place of gates and bars (Job 17:16; 25. There are no bars, gates, or keys to the

Isa. 38:10; Mt. 16:18; Rev. 1:18). graves that men dig and fill up again.

1. 1 A place of debasement Isaiah 57:9. 26. No debasement is spoken of the grave.

1. 1 A place of power (Hos. 13:14; 27. No power is spoken of the grave except

1 Cor. 15:55; Rev. 1:18; Mt. 16:18; in 1 Cor. 15:55 and grave here is Hades.

Jas. 3:6; Ps. 49:15).

1. 1 A place of prayer (Jonah 2:2; 28. No prayer is offered in the grave.

Lk. 16:19-31).

1. 1 Lowest Sheol contrasted with the 29. No such contrast is ever made between

height of Heaven Job 11:8Amos 9:2Psalms 86:13. Heaven.

1. 1 Conversations in Sheol (Isa. 14:9; 30. No conversations in the grave are ever

Ezek. 32:21; Lk. 16:9-31). mentioned in any Scripture.

1. 1 Men go down into Sheol at death 31. No man descending into the grave at

(Isa. 5:14; Gen. 37:35; Eph. 4:7-11; death is recorded in Scripture.

Ps. 31:16-17; Ezek. 32:27).

1. 1 Fire in Sheol-Hades (Deut. 32:22; 32. No fire is mentioned in graves, or men

Lk. 16:19-31; Song 8:6; Mt. 5:22-30; would not put loved ones in them.

18:9; Mk. 9:43-49).

1. 1 Pains in Sheol-Hades (Ps. 18:5; 116:3; 33. No pains are ever mentioned in the graves

Lk. 16:19-31). in any Scripture.

1. 1 Sheol-Hades is located in “the lower parts 34. The grave could never be spoken of as

of the earth” Psalms 63:9Ephesians 4:7-11, “the being in the lower parts of the Earth

heart of the earth” Matthew 12:40, “the nether and no terms such as “lowest hell”

parts of the earth” Ezekiel 31:14-18, “depths of hell” (Prov. 9:

32:18-27), and “beneath” the Earth like a 18), “I cast him down to hell” (Ezek.

pit Proverbs 15:24Isaiah 14:9-15Ezekiel 31:14, or “descend into the pit”

18; 32:18-27). Ezekiel 26:20Isaiah 5:14 could ever be used in speaking of the grave.

1. 1 Sheol-Hades delivers up the dead that 35. Death (the grave, the place of the body)

are in it and they will be put into the and Hell (the place of the soul)

lake of fire forever Revelation 20:11-15. will deliver up the dead that are in

This passage proves that the dead are them Revelation 20:11-15. This distin-

in both Hell and the grave. guishes between the two places and

shows that Hades is not the grave.

1. 1 The soul of Christ went into Sheol- 36. Shall we believe that Joseph made a

Hades Psalms 16:10Acts 2:24-34 and tomb in Hell in the lower parts of the

His body was put into the tomb of Earth where Christ’s soul and body

Joseph Matthew 27:57-61. Christ went both went for three days and three

into the lower parts of the Earth (Mt. nights? Shall we believe that Christ as

12:40; Eph. 4:7-11). God ceased to live during the time of

His physical death?

1. 1 Christ preached to angels and liberated 37. If the soul is dormant in the grave at

the righteous from Sheol when He went death how could Christ have preached,

there (1 Pet. 3:19; Eph. 4:7-11; and conquered death, Hell, and the

Heb. 2:14-15). grave?

1. 1 Christ took all righteous souls captive 38. If the souls are dormant until the resur-

when He ascended out of Hades rection and the resurrection is yet

Ephesians 4:7-11Hebrews 2:14-15. future, what was it that Christ led captive?

Ephesians 4:7-11.

1. 1 Jacob said, “I will go down into the 39. How could Jacob and David go to their

grave [sheol] unto my son [Joseph] sons in the same place if this does

mourning” Genesis 37:35 and David said not refer to the souls going into the

that he would go to his son at death same place? Neither Jacob nor David

2 Samuel 12:23. This further proves were buried in the same grave with

that all the righteous went into the same their sons, so they must have spoken

place at death, for both expressed the faith of their souls going into the same

that they would go to meet their sons in the place. Jacob at that time believed that

same place and this place had to be the place Joseph had been devoured by wild ani-

of the soul and not of the body. mals and was not buried at all (Gen.

37:33), so he could not have believed

that he was going down into a grave to

meet Joseph.

1. 1 There is torment, feelings, pain, suffering, 40. There is no such revelation in any

memory, and full consciousness in Scripture of feelings, memory, and

Hades Luke 16:19-31Deuteronomy 32:22. consciousness of any kind in the grave.

1. 1 There was a great gulf dividing the 41. There is no such gulf between the

righteous and the wicked in Sheol- righteous and the wicked in grave- Hades Luke 16:26. yards for sometimes they are buried

side by side.

1. 1 The two compartments in Sheol- 42. There are no such compartments of

Hades were different; one was a place comfort and torment mentioned in any

of comfort and the other a place of Scripture as being in the graves of the

torment Luke 16:19-31. righteous and of the wicked.

1. 1 Lazarus was carried by the angels into 43. Angels do not take the bodies of the

a place of comfort and the rich man righteous and put them into graves nor

was taken to a place of torment at death do the wicked see the bodies of the

Luke 16:19-31. righteous in other graves as is true of

Sheol-Hades in Lk. 16:19-31.

1. 1 A change took place in the abode of 44. No changes are made in the graves of

the righteous when Christ took all of the righteous and the wicked. Both

them to Heaven when He ascended on continue to die and the bodies of all

High Ephesians 4:7-11. Now Christians no continue to go back to dust again, so

longer go into Hades. They go to Heaven there must be two separate places for

to be with Christ 2 Corinthians 5:8Philippians 1:21-23. the souls and bodies for these facts to

be true.

1. 1 The gates of Hades cannot prevail 45. The power of death and of the grave

against the Church in this age Matthew 16:18. still prevail against the Church for

They did prevail against saints in the Old all saints die in this age as they did in

Testament days for all were held captive Old Testament days, so there must be a

against their will by the devil (Heb. 2: distinction between Hell and the grave

14-15; Eph. 4:7-11). in order for these facts to be true.

Thus, it is abundantly clear that Sheol-Hades is not the grave, that the souls of all the dead went into Sheol-Hades before the resurrection of Christ, and that at His resurrection and ascension into Heaven He took all the righteous souls out of Sheol-Hades. Also it is clear that the wicked will continue to go into the underworld of spirits until the end of the Millennium at which time they will be brought out of Hell and be judged and then they will be cast into the Lake of Fire forever, and that the righteous now go to Heaven to wait the resurrection of their bodies to live forever with God. The present Hell is only a temporary place until the resurrection of the wicked dead at the end of the Millennium (Rev. 20). The future and eternal Hell is the Lake of Fire, as discussed below in point V.

There are three passages spoken by a backslider Ecclesiastes 9:10 and two men in great distress Psalms 6:5Isaiah 38:18 which seem to teach that there is no consciousness in Sheol, but these must be understood as the words of men expressing the cessation of human activity at the time of death. Not one of these men claim by their statements that they are stating true conditions in Hell.

Just because these references are found in Scripture some argue that Sheol must mean the grave, but this is not the intended thought at all. It is clear from the above that Sheol is not the place of the body. There is consciousness, fire, pains, sorrows, prayer, conversations, life, memory, torment, feelings, comfort, and many other conditions in Sheol that are not mentioned in connection with the many Scriptures above concerning the grave. In the passages above concerning the grave there is not one reference to such conditions. Therefore, we must be sensible and understand that there are two different places. Sheol-Hades is the place of the soul after death and Queber-Mnemeion is the place of the body.

If men who claim to believe the Bible would be honest enough to investigate the truth for the sake of finding truth and find out what the Bible really does teach, they would soon discover the truth. But so many men are dishonest and seek to prove the errors of certain creeds and doctrines of men that they have been taught. They are the ones that will be judged for willful rejection of plain truth, which they could have learned by themselves if they had been honest with the Word of God.

Let us not do away with the many truths in the Bible revealing the true state and conditions of Sheol by what Solomon said while in a backslidden condition. Many things he said in Ecclesiastes are not truth and are out of harmony with the words of God in other Scriptures. Understand what Solomon and David said, as we have explained above and all Scriptures will harmonize.

1. 1 The Bottomless Pit or Abyss. This is the fourth department in the underworld. It is the abode or prison of demons and certain angelic beings. No human being ever goes to the Abyss. The Old Testament equivalent is Abaddon and is translated “destruction” in Job 26:5, 6; 28:22; 31:12; Ps. 88:11; Prov.15:11; 27:30. In the New Testament the Greek word is abussos, and means Abyss, “an immeasurable depth.” It is a very deep chasm in the lower parts of the Earth. It is translated “deep” Luke 8:26-31 and “bottomless pit” Revelation 9:1-3, 11Revelation 11:7Revelation 17:8Revelation 20:1-10. These Scriptures are further proofs that there are prisons in the lower parts of the Earth for departed spirits and they are not and could not be the same as the grave on the Earth.

1. 1 The Lake of Fire. This department is the eternal Hell and perdition of wicked men, demons, fallen angels and all rebellious creatures who have ever rebelled against God. It is called the Gehenna of Fire and is always translated “Hell” Matthew 5:22, 29Matthew 10:28Matthew 18:9Matthew 23:15, 33Mark 9:43-45, 47Luke 12:5James 3:6. This department is also called “the second death, which is the Lake of Fire” Revelation 2:11Revelation 20:6, 14. This final Hell is prepared for the devil and his angels Matthew 25:41-46 and for all other rebels, and is eternal in duration Revelation 14:9-14Revelation 20:10-15Isaiah 66:22-24Matthew 25:46. We have no record of anyone being in the Lake of Fire at present. The beast and the false prophet will be the first to be cast into it. This will take place before the Millennium Revelation 19:20. They will still be there 1,000 years later when the devil and other rebels will be cast into it Revelation 20:10-15. If they are there for 1,000 years in torment and have not been annihilated, why should any other man have hopes of being annihilated within a few moments after getting there? This is a concrete example of what is plainly stated in all the above-mentioned passages.

That there will be degrees of punishment in Hell as far as remorse and the torment of the conscience are concerned is clear from Mt. 10:15; 11:22; 12:41; 23:14; Mk. 6:11; 12:40; Lk. 10:14; 11:31, 32; 20:47. These degrees of punishment will be because of the kind of sins committed by one that were not committed by another. No man will be punished or could have remorse over something that he did not do. The same is true in the case of the saints. One will be given a greater reward than another according to the deeds committed in the body. Heaven, as far as a place is concerned, will be alike to all but there will be different rewards for the righteous, as we shall see in the next lesson.

VII. Eternal Death and Punishment of the Wicked

The final abode of the righteous will be discussed in Lesson Forty-two, so we shall confine our remarks to the final state of the wicked. Those who go to Heaven will be eternally redeemed and blessed in body, soul, and spirit, and those who go to Hell will be punished forever in body, soul, and spirit, as proven in the following points:

1. 1 Gehenna is called the Lake of Fire and the second death seven times Revelation 2:11Revelation 19:20Revelation 20:11-15Revelation 21:8. Jesus speaks of gehenna fire several times Matthew 5:22Matthew 18:9Mark 9:43. The fire is called everlasting fire that never shall be quenched Mark 9:43-48Matthew 18:8Matthew 25:41, 46. It is called a furnace of fire where there is weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth Matthew 8:12Matthew 13:42, 50Matthew 22:13Matthew 24:51Matthew 25:30Luke 13:18. It is a place of fire and brimstone Revelation 14:9-11Revelation 21:8. It is a place into which the body as well as the soul and spirit will be cast forever Matthew 5:29Matthew 10:28Matthew 13:41-42Matthew 18:9Mark 9:43Luke 12:5Revelation 21:8. It is a place of damnation Matthew 23:33 where the worm does not die Mark 9:43-48Isaiah 66:22-24. It is a place of real, literal fire and brimstone Matthew 5:22Matthew 18:9Matthew 13:41-42Matthew 25:41, 46Mark 9:42-48Revelation 14:9-11Revelation 19:20Revelation 20:11-15Revelation 21:8Isaiah 66:22-24.

Men can argue that the word “fire” is used in a figurative sense in some passages and therefore the fire in Hell is not literal, but such plain literal language as used in the passages above prove that real, literal fire is meant. We have just as much right to do away with the literal bodies, hands, feet, eyes, brimstone, and other literal things mentioned in the above passages as to do away with the literal fire. If these things are not figurative, then the fire is not figurative. The language is too literal for anyone to try to make the fire mean anything other than literal fire. Suppose we try to make the fire figurative, what is it figurative of? In all figurative language the literal truth conveyed is always clear but there is no other truth conveyed in the passages on Hell but real, literal torment in fire, as clearly stated by Jesus when he spoke of the rich man in the fire Luke 16:9-31. Just because fire is used in a few places in a figurative sense is no proof that the fire of Hell is figurative or that any place we want to make it figurative we have that authority. The law of biblical interpretation is to take the Bible literally when it is at all possible, and when the language cannot be literal we know it is figurative. Since it is possible for literal fire to be in Hell and since there is nothing to even suggest that it is not literal we had better believe that the fire is as literal as it is in all other literal passages describing other places.

Men who make the fire of Hell figurative can never be sure just what is meant by such figurative language, so if men want mystery and indefinite speculations instead of plain literal truth that is their responsibility. Of the 542 times the word “fire” is used in Scripture it is used in a figurative sense only a very few times, and these references are always clear as to the meaning. But in such plain, literal, descriptive passages of places and things as in the above passages on Hell, there is no doubt that the meaning is literal. To emphasize that the fire of Hell is literal, it is described as a lake of fire, smoke and brimstone Revelation 14:9-11Revelation 19:20Revelation 20:10Revelation 21:8. Real smoke is pictured as coming out of the Abyss that darkens the sun when the demons are liberated under the fifth trumpet Revelation 9:2. Where there is this much smoke there is bound to be some fire. Hell is also called a furnace of fire and this naturally would mean literal fire Matthew 13:42, 50Matthew 25:41, 46. Nothing is to be gained by denying that there is real fire in Hell. Unbelief in a literal Hell damns many thousands of souls yearly, but faith in a Bible Hell saves thousands yearly so the truth of such a doctrine is worth everything to men. Faith in a hell itself does not save but it does cause men to turn to God and to true saving faith in Christ that will save the soul.

1. 1 Eternal death simply means eternal separation from God in the Lake of Fire. It is called “the second death,” which is the Lake of Fire Revelation 2:11Revelation 19:20Revelation 20:10-15Revelation 21:8. The second death simply means the second and eternal separation from God in the Lake of Fire. There is nothing mysterious about it, as some make believe. Adventists, Jehovah Witnesses, and a few other cults teach that all the wicked will be annihilated, or put entirely out of existence, but the Bible does not teach this theory. Scriptures given by these cults to prove annihilation are passages where the words “destroy,” “perish,” “destruction,” and “consume” are found, but none of these words in Scripture mean “annihilation.”

The word “destroy” in Mt. 10:28, “destroy both body and soul in hell,” is from the Greek word apollumi, meaning “to destroy in the sense of, to kill the body” Matthew 2:13Matthew 12:14, “to punish by torment” Matthew 8:29Mark 1:24, “to cut off spiritual life” Romans 14:15, “to lose something” Matthew 10:42Luke 15:4, 8, “to mar” Mark 2:22, and “to be lost in Hell” John 17:12John 18:92 Corinthians 4:3. The word “perish” is from the same Greek word and it never means “annihilation,” as can be seen in the above passages and in Mt. 5:29-30; 8:25; 9:17. The Greek apollumi means “to ruin or render unfit for intended use,” as is clear in the Scriptures above.

If the word “annihilation” is substituted for either “destroy” or “destruction” in Gen. 6:7; 9:11; Job 19:10; 21:17; Ps. 78:45; 91:6; Jer. 17:18; 1 Cor. 5:5; etc. one can then see how utterly foolish is such an idea. If “destruction” meant “annihilation” the devil and all his works would be annihilated according to Heb. 2:14; 1 Jn. 3:8.

The word “consume” in Ps. 37:20, used by these cults to teach annihilation of the wicked, does not mean cessation of existence any more than the same word does in Gen. 41:30; Job 7:9; 19:27; 33:21; Ps. 6:7; 31:9-10; 39:10. “Consume” is from the Hebrew kalah and is the equivalent of the Greek apollumi mentioned above. It simply means “to mar” or “ruin” or “render unfit for the intended purposes for which a person or thing was created.”

The words “burned up” in Mal. 4:1 are used to teach annihilation of the wicked in Hell, but, in the first place, this passage refers to the Battle of Armageddon and not to Hell, as is clear from a study of the whole chapter and from statements in Ezek. 38:17-21; 2 Thess. 1:7-10. In the second place, it is said that the Earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up 2 Peter 3:10-13, but all that will happen is the purification of the Earth by fire. It will be changed and delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God Romans 8:20-23Hebrews 1:10Hebrews 12:25-28. The Earth abideth forever and it cannot be annihilated Ecclesiastes 1:4Psalms 104:5. Thus “burned up” does not mean “annihilation.” In fact, fire cannot annihilate anything. Material things may be changed from one form to another but never annihilated. Complete cessation of existence cannot possibly be the meaning of “perish,” “destroy,” “consume,” and “burn up.”

1. 1 The Bible does not teach the final restoration of rebels to God, as taught by some. What is meant in Acts 3:21; Rom. 5:18; Col. 1:13-20 is that all who will conform to God’s plan will be reconciled and that all the creation with the exception of the rebels will be restored to the original perfect state. The “all things” does not include Satan, demons, fallen angels, and wicked unredeemed men, as is clear in Ps. 9:17; Mt. 25:41, 46; Rev. 14:9-11; 20:10-15; 21:8; etc. The word “all” in these passages must be understood in a limited sense, just as it is in many places in Scripture Matthew 3:5-6Matthew 17:11Luke 2:1Romans 1:8Daniel 2:38-40Colossians 1:23. The context always shows to what extent “all” is limited to a part. The word is seldom if ever used in the absolute sense as including everything in existence. As an illustration, in Acts 3:21 it means all the creation that submits to the plan of God. It excludes the rebels who will be punished forever in Hell. The “all” of Rom. 5:18 includes all men if all will believe and be saved, but some will not accept salvation, so they cannot partake of the benefits of redemption John 3:161 Timothy 2:4-52 Peter 3:9. The “all” of Col. 1:20 includes all that will become reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, as we have seen in Lessons Thirty-three and Thirty-four. So the doctrine that all rebels will be finally saved is unsound and all men can see that it is false if they will take all the Scriptures on the subject and be honest in reading them. Likewise, we can do away with the idea that there are two sets of Scriptures that cannot be reconciled, one set teaching everlasting punishment, and the other set teaching the final restitution of all rebels. No man is compelled to reject Scriptures on either side because all passages can be harmonized if the least honest effort is made to do so. The simple truth is that God’s plan is to reconcile all who conform to His will and to punish all who do not, and this will automatically harmonize all Scriptures.

1. 1 Rebels against God will be punished forever and ever and this is one of the clearest and simplest doctrines of Scripture. We have seen in the points above that the soul is immortal and the body becomes immortal in the resurrection, and that both the righteous and the wicked will live again forever in bliss or in torment. The final Hell is a place of endless punishment. If there is a Heaven there is a Hell, and if one is eternal the other one must be, for the same eternal terms are used of both. All souls and bodies will spend eternity at some place. Shall the wicked be loose with the righteous to constantly stir up rebellion? Shall Christ have died in vain to save men from eternal Hell if there be no such place? Would God reveal such a future for the wicked in order to deceive men or scare them into accepting Him? Many Scriptures plainly teach everlasting punishment and we cannot teach otherwise. Note the following passages on eternal punishment:

(1) The prophets predicted and pictured eternal punishment Psalms 9:17Isaiah 66:22-24Daniel 12:2. Some argue that “forever” means “an age” or “period of time.” This may be true of temporary things, but never of endless things. In other words, eternal terms when used of God’s plan literally mean “perpetual” and “everlasting.” The Hebrew word olam translated “everlasting” in Dan. 12:2 literally means “eternity,” “time without end,” “time out of mind,” “everlasting,” “perpetual,” “forever,” and “always.” It is the equivalent of the Greek aionios which is used of the “everlasting God” Romans 16:261 Timothy 6:16Revelation 15:7, “everlasting life” John 3:16, “eternal salvation” Hebrews 5:9, “eternal Spirit” Hebrews 9:14, “eternal redemption” Hebrews 9:12, “eternal punishment” Mark 3:29Hebrews 6:2 “everlasting punishment” Matthew 18:8Matthew 25:41, 461 Thessalonians 1:9Revelation 14:6, “everlasting destruction” 2 Thessalonians 1:9, and “eternal fire” (Jude 7).

In these passages it is clear that not only is life eternal but punishment and Hell are also eternal. Common logic forces us to believe in everlasting punishment of the wicked. Non-existence would not be punishment, for where there is no being to punish, no punishment can be inflicted. Everlasting punishment teaches perpetual suffering, and this presupposes perpetual existence. The persons punished forever must continue forever. To annihilate such persons would do away with everlasting destruction (ruin) and punishment, for there would be no beings to punish forever. God only can destroy (mar) the soul in Hell Matthew 10:28, hence Hell is not extinction of being at all.

In Isa. 66:22-24 we have a clear passage of the existence of Hell and of people on the New Earth being able to look into Hell forever to see those in punishment: “They [all flesh on the New Earth] shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.” This proves that there is a Hell in the New Earth long after the Hell of false cults ceases to exist. This passage is quoted by Jesus in Mk. 9:42-48, proving it refers to a Hell in the New Earth, and the Lake of Fire where all rebels will be cast after the Great White Throne Judgment Revelation 2:11Revelation 19:20Revelation 20:10-15Revelation 21:8. Men are called worms in Job 25:6; Ps. 22:6; Isa. 41:14, and in Isa. 14:11 worms are spoken of being in Sheol. The worms of Hell evidently refer to the souls of men that will never die or become dormant. If these are revelations of God concerning Hell, then it is a fact regardless of how much ungodly men rebel against it. At any rate, there is eternal torment and fire pictured in Hell by Isaiah and men on the New Earth will be able to behold it as a monument of God’s wrath against sin and as an example to coming generations forever Isaiah 66:22-24Revelation 14:9-11Revelation 21:8.

(2) In Mt. 25:41, 46 Jesus taught that Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels and that punishment in Hell was as long as the life of the righteous. The Greek aionios is translated “everlasting” and “eternal” in verse 46: “And these [the wicked] shall go away into everlasting [aionios] punishment, but the righteous into life [aionios] eternal.” Thus the punishment of the wicked is exactly as long as the life of the righteous. If the punishment of the wicked is age-long, then the life of the righteous is also that long. If we are not going to admit this, then we will have to admit that God, the Spirit, redemption, etc. are also to exist only for an age or period of time. However, aionios is never translated “age” in any Scripture. It always means “eternal.” A lady in Amarillo, Texas, some years ago got up in my church and said, “Bless God! Just as sure as there is an eternal bliss, there is an eternal blister.” This is one way of saying what the Bible plainly teaches on eternal Hell.

(3) In Rev. 14:9-11; 20:10-15 it is stated that men and the devil will be tormented day and night forever and ever in fire and brimstone and that the smoke of their torment ascends up forever. See the same term forever and ever as used of God thus proving the term expresses eternity Revelation 4:9-10Revelation 5:14Revelation 10:6Revelation 15:7Revelation 22:5.

(4) Other passages plainly expressing eternal punishment are Mt. 18:8; Mk. 3:29; 9:42-48; 2 Thes.1:7-9; Jude 6-7, 13; Ps. 52:5; 92:7. Thus it is clear that endless punishment is taught in Scripture for men who persist in going to Hell. Such men are not children of God. They are children of the devil and if they choose to go to Hell with the devil and his angels God is not to blame for their choice or destiny. God will not suffer one of His children to go to Hell but He cannot be responsible for the devil’s children who choose their own destiny by the life they live. God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked Ezekiel 33:11, but He has promised to segregate them from the eternal society if they reject His plan, and He is obligated to preserve society and to finally rid the Earth of all rebellion 1 Corinthians 15:24-28. No man needs to go to Hell if he will accept Jesus and conform to the plan of God John 3:16, 36John 5:24Romans 1:16Romans 10:9-101 John 1:7-9.