Death.
How terrible a reaction the sound of this otherwise innocuous word produces in so many people. People who in most circumstances are lucid and rational can sometimes become most irrational when confronted with their, or someone who is close to them, departure from this life. They want to know if they cease to exist as an individual, or if they cease to exist altogether. Many people fear physical death because of these unknowns. These unknowns are the result of ignorance of the word of our Eloah, whose name is Yahuwah, for the information is there.
When someone dies, do they really die?
This is the question that they have all asked, and few have found the answer.
Is this a question that needs an answer?
Is this a question that has an answer?
This is also the age-old question, which some orthodox religions have been trying to answer for millennia. Others have been doing their best to avoid this question, because they don't know or won't believe the information that gives them the answer, and they are teaching their members everything about the subject except how to find the correct answer.
Does this question need an answer?
Yes!
Does this question have an answer?
Yes!
The answer to this question of death is, as is the answer to all questions concerning life, to be found in the living word of the only living and true Elohiym, Yahuwah.
When a person dies, the soul, which is the essence of the living physical body (Ibriy = nephesh, Greek = psuche), returns to the dust of the earth from which it came. The spirit (Ibriy = ruwach, Greek = pneuma), which is the essence of life from Yahuwah, returns to the One who gave it. (Ecc. 3:18-21, 12:5-7) The physical body corrupts and decays into the component compounds of which it is made. What happens to the spirit after it returns to Yahuwah is determined by what that spirit did while it inhabited its physical body. (Gal. 6:7-8)
Physical death is the natural result of physical life. As soon as we begin to live, physically, we begin to die, physically. Few have escaped physical death. To mention three, Chanowk (Enoch), Melekiy-Tsedeq (Melchisedec), and EliYahuw (Elijah) are recorded as not dying a physical death. Even Yahushua, who is the Anointed (Mashiach or Christ), did not escape physical death. Being the Master, He could have, but He endured it voluntarily for our sakes so that we might have an opportunity for eternal life. And without His physical and sacrificial death, we could never live spiritually.
If we physically live on this earth, we will physically die on this earth, unless we are alive at the return of Yahushua. If we are physically alive at His coming, and spiritually in His body, we are most joyous, for eternal life is ours without tasting physical death in the current life. (1 Thessalonians 4:17) This physical death, for someone who is in His body, is not something to be feared, but an event to be looked forward to with eager anticipation and joy (Psalms 116:14), because whether we live until He comes, or die an early death, we will be with Him forever.
For a person who is not in His body, physical death should be something greatly feared. Life should be prolonged through whatever means necessary to delay the awful punishment that awaits. For those in sin when they die, without repentance, the second death awaits them (Romans 6:23). People who are not in the body of YAHUSHUA are those who by definition have not obeyed the words of our Master as He said we must.
If you have not obeyed the words of our Master, you have rejected Him. No matter how good a person you are, or have been. No matter how much you have given to the poor, or ministered to others, or any other good thing that you may have done, you are still considered by Yahuwah to be a wicked person, without light in your life, because of your disobedience to His will. Yahuwah states His position on this subject in His own words in Yechezq'el (Ezekiel) 33:11.
If you are not in the body of Yahushua, and want to be, or if you don't know whether or not you are and would like to find out, contact me, and I'll show you in Yahuwah's word how to get all of the answers you need to answer the questions you have.
If you decide that being in the body of Yahushua is the right place for you to be, we can make arrangements to get you there, too. A word of caution! Being in His body is not only a great joy and relief; it is also a great responsibility. It requires a complete change of attitude and sometimes lifestyle too. This is not a step to be undertaken lightly. If you are not prepared to give yourself completely and without reservation to Yahuwah, forget it. You'll be wasting your time and His, and He does not look favorably on people who do that. Then again, He doesn't look favorably on people who do not obey Him from the heart, either. So the choice is yours. Obey Him from the heart and live. Or disobey Him and die.
C.F. Castleberry
http://www.considerthis.net
buck@considerthis.net