Revelation 20:10 – Kanisa la Christadelphian huko Anderlecht

Essential Knowledge for the Baptismal Candidate #3 About Life and Death

avril 5, 2024 par Christadelphians, publié dans Almighty God, Bible text quotes, Jesus Christ - son of God, World events & environment

Thought - Gedachte - Pensée - Mawazo (man kijkend naar de bergen in landschap - zonder opschrift)

Jehovah God Source and Giver of Life

We expect baptismal candidates to be aware that we are being given life because the Only True God gives us the opportunity to be here on earth. It is through Him that we live and move and can realize things.

“I have made the earth, man and beast that are upon the face of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I give them unto whom it seemeth right in mine eyes.” (Jeremiah 27:5 Darby)

“For of him, and through him, and for him [are] all things: to him be glory for ever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36 Darby)

“24 The God who has made the world and all things which are in it, *he*, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands, 25 nor is served by men’s hands as needing something, himself giving to all life and breath and all things;” (Acts 17:24-25 Darby)

“for in him we live and move and exist; as also some of the poets amongst you have said, For we are also his offspring.” (Acts 17:28 Darby)

“And Jehovah Elohim formed Man, dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and Man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7 Darby)

“7 How precious is thy loving-kindness, O God! So the sons of men take refuge under the shadow of thy wings. 8 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou wilt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. 9 For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” (Psalms 36:7-9 Darby)

“9 Who knoweth not in all these, that the hand of Jehovah hath wrought this? 10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the spirit of all flesh of man.” (Job 12:9-10 Darby)

Assignments for humans

The first man was created by Jehovah God, who expected them to name and care for all things, and to reproduce, so that the entire earth would be populated.

But God, who had given almost all the trees for the saturation of man, forbade the first man from eating the tree of knowledge of good and evil, otherwise they would know knowledge of good and evil, but also of death, and would definitely die.

“10 And God called the dry [land] Earth, and the gathering together of the waters he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, Let the earth cause grass to spring up, herb producing seed, fruit-trees yielding fruit after their kind, the seed of which is in them, on the earth. And it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, herb producing seed after its kind, and trees yielding fruit, the seed of which is in them, after their kind. And God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:10-12 Darby)

“And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply on the earth.” (Genesis 1:22 Darby)

“26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over the whole earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth on the earth. 27 And God created Man in his image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over every animal that moveth on the earth. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb producing seed that is on the whole earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree producing seed: it shall be food for you; 30 and to every animal of the earth, and to every fowl of the heavens, and to everything that creepeth on the earth, in which is a living soul, every green herb for food. And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning — the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:26-31 Darby)

“7 And Jehovah Elohim formed Man, dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and Man became a living soul. 8 And Jehovah Elohim planted a garden in Eden eastward, and there put Man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground Jehovah Elohim made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; and the tree of life, in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Genesis 2:7-9 Darby)

“15 And Jehovah Elohim took Man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to till it and to guard it. 16 And Jehovah Elohim commanded Man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou shalt freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest of it thou shalt certainly die. 18 And Jehovah Elohim said, It is not good that Man should be alone; I will make him a helpmate, his like. 19 And out of the ground Jehovah Elohim had formed every animal of the field and all fowl of the heavens, and brought [them] to Man, to see what he would call them; and whatever Man called each living soul, that was its name. 20 And Man gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the heavens, and to every beast of the field; but as for Adam, he found no helpmate, his like.” (Genesis 2:15-20 Darby)

Limited life

As a result of Adam and Eve (their sinning) going wrong, the curse of death has come upon humanity and all people including Jesus have a limited life and must all face pain and death.

No one can be sure of his or her life. Life is actually short or limited in duration, with pleasant moments alternating with less pleasant periods.

“For this [cause], even as by one man sin entered into the world, and by sin death; and thus death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” (Romans 5:12 Darby)

“For if by the offence of the one death reigned by the one, much rather shall those who receive the abundance of grace, and of the free gift of righteousness, reign in life by the one Jesus Christ:)” (Romans 5:17 Darby)

“but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest of it thou shalt certainly die.” (Genesis 2:17 Darby)

“And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a pleasure for the eyes, and the tree was to be desired to give intelligence; and she took of its fruit, and ate, and gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:6 Darby)

“And to Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed be the ground on thy account; with toil shalt thou eat [of] it all the days of thy life;” (Genesis 3:17 Darby)

“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until thou return to the ground: for out of it wast thou taken. For dust thou art; and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Genesis 3:19 Darby)

“1 Man, born of woman, is of few days, and full of trouble. 2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down; and he fleeth as a shadow, and continueth not.” (Job 14:1-2 Darby)

“15 As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth: 16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone, and the place thereof knoweth it no more.” (Psalms 103:15-16 Darby)

Condition of the dead

By eating the forbidden fruit, man received the death penalty over him. After a life limited in time, man would die and the breath given by God would go out of the body and man, no longer aware of anything, would turn into dust and ashes. So at the end of our lives it is like the animals. Everything is over for us. We can then do nothing more, no longer think, and take nothing with us in our deaths. Everything, our thoughts, having and keeping us, will perish.

For everything we wanted to do it will be too late when we die. It is now, when we are on earth as living beings, that we must make it happen. Once we die, it’s too late. For us, there is the same outcome as for the animals.

“5 For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love also, and their hatred, and their envy is already perished; neither have they any more for ever a portion in all that is done under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 Darby)

“Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, whither thou goest.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10 Darby)

“His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his purposes perish.” (Psalms 146:4 Darby)

“For in death there is no remembrance of thee; in Sheol who shall give thanks unto thee?” (Psalms 6:5 Darby)

“And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto the necromancers and unto the soothsayers, who chirp and who mutter, [say,] Shall not a people seek unto their God? [Will they go] for the living unto the dead?” (Isaiah 8:19 Darby)

“[They are] dead, they shall not live; deceased, they shall not rise: for thou hast visited and destroyed them, and made all memory of them to perish.” (Isaiah 26:14 Darby)

“For not Sheol shall praise thee, nor death celebrate thee; they that go down into the pit do not hope for thy truth.” (Isaiah 38:18 Darby)

“19 For what befalleth the children of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other, and they have all one breath; and man hath no pre-eminence above the beast: for all is vanity. 20 All go unto one place: all are of the dust, and all return to dust.” (Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 Darby)

“All the fat ones of the earth shall eat and worship; all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him, and he that cannot keep alive his own soul.” (Psalms 22:29 Darby)

Life after death

Those who follow the Nazarene Jewish teacher Jeshua ben Josef or Jesus Christ have full confidence that that man of flesh and blood has given himself as a ransom to God so that humanity has been delivered from the curse of death. The followers of Jesus Christ can live with the hope of a similar resurrection as Jesus has already risen from the tomb.

After the last and greatest war, Armageddon, Jesus will call the dead from the memory graves to himself to judge them with the living. The resurrection of Christ Jesus is a guarantee and a testimony of victory over death.

“but we see Jesus, who [was] made some little inferior to angels on account of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; so that by the grace of God he should taste death for every thing.” (Hebrews 2:9 Darby)

“5 For God is one, and [the] mediator of God and men one, [the] man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself a ransom for all, the testimony [to be rendered] in its own times;” (1 Timothy 2:5-6 Darby)

“as indeed the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28 Darby)

“28 Wonder not at this, for an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs shall hear his voice, 29 and shall go forth; those that have practised good, to resurrection of life, and those that have done evil, to resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:28-29 Darby)

“having hope towards God, which they themselves also receive, that there is to be a resurrection both of just and unjust.” (Acts 24:15 Darby)

“And the sea gave up the dead which [were] in it, and death and hades gave up the dead which [were] in them; and they were judged each according to their works:” (Revelation 20:13 Darby)

“Thy dead shall live, my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing in triumph, ye that dwell in dust; for thy dew is the dew of the morning, and the earth shall cast forth the dead.” (Isaiah 26:19 Darby)

“because he has set a day in which he is going to judge the habitable earth in righteousness by [the] man whom he has appointed, giving the proof [of it] to all [in] having raised him from among [the] dead.” (Acts 17:31 Darby)

“20 (But now Christ is raised from among [the] dead, first-fruits of those fallen asleep. 21 For since by man [came] death, by man also resurrection of [those that are] dead.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-21 Darby)

Destruction of death makes an endless life possible

In our time, death is an inevitable thing. Unless the end of time in our system of life takes place, most around us will die. But because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ that Jehovah God accepted as a sacrifice of guilt, a lifting of death is now possible for man. Under Christ’s Kingship government, people will be able to live together in peace and no longer fear death, for every tear will be erased from their lives and they will see no more death.

We should not be surprised if the end times are on our doorstep and people will rise from their memory graves, while others will be allowed to enjoy a life without end. All who are in the Book of life will be allowed as righteous to enjoy an endlessly peaceful life in the Kingdom of God in a renewed earthly paradise.

“28 Wonder not at this, for an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs shall hear his voice, 29 and shall go forth; those that have practised good, to resurrection of life, and those that have done evil, to resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:28-29 Darby)

“5 For God is one, and [the] mediator of God and men one, [the] man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself a ransom for all, the testimony [to be rendered] in its own times;” (1 Timothy 2:5-6 Darby)

“as indeed the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28 Darby)

“[The] last enemy [that] is annulled [is] death.” (1 Corinthians 15:26 Darby)

“12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is [that] of life. And the dead were judged out of the things written in the books according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which [were] in it, and death and hades gave up the dead which [were] in them; and they were judged each according to their works: 14 and death and hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, [even] the lake of fire. 15 And if any one was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:12-15 Darby)

“He will swallow up death in victory. And the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people will he take away from off all the earth: for Jehovah hath spoken.” (Isaiah 25:8 Darby)

“I will ransom them from the power of Sheol. I will redeem them from death: where, O death, are thy plagues? where, O Sheol, is thy destruction? Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.” (Hosea 13:14 Darby)

“54 But when this corruptible shall have put on incorruptibility, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the word written: Death has been swallowed up in victory. 55 Where, O death, [is] thy sting? where, O death, thy victory? 56 Now the sting of death [is] sin, and the power of sin the law; 57 but thanks to God, who gives us the victory by our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:54-57 Darby)

“but has been made manifest now by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who has annulled death, and brought to light life and incorruptibility by the glad tidings;” (2 Timothy 1:10 Darby)

“but we see Jesus, who [was] made some little inferior to angels on account of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; so that by the grace of God he should taste death for every thing.” (Hebrews 2:9 Darby)

“14 Since therefore the children partake of blood and flesh, he also, in like manner, took part in the same, that through death he might annul him who has the might of death, that is, the devil; 15 and might set free all those who through fear of death through the whole of their life were subject to bondage.” (Hebrews 2:14-15 Darby)

“And the devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where [are] both the beast and the false prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night for the ages of ages.” (Revelation 20:10 Darby)

“13 And the sea gave up the dead which [were] in it, and death and hades gave up the dead which [were] in them; and they were judged each according to their works: 14 and death and hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, [even] the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:13-14 Darby)

“9 After these things I saw, and lo, a great crowd, which no one could number, out of every nation and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cry with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:9-10 Darby)

“But to the fearful and unbelieving, [and sinners], and those who make themselves abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part [is] in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8 Darby)

“The righteous shall possess the land, and dwell therein for ever.” (Psalms 37:29 Darby)

“But the meek shall possess the land, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of prosperity.” (Psalms 37:11 Darby)

An endless life for the righteous

For those who prove that they love the One True God and are obedient to Him, there is the beautiful prospect of an endless life after the return of Jesus Christ and the realisation of his kingdom. Then all uncertainty, pain and suffering, will be brought to an end and there will be plenty again for everyone, while there will be peace and security everywhere on earth.

“For the wages of sin [is] death; but the act of favour of God, eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 Darby)

“and having been perfected, became to all them that obey him, author of eternal salvation;” (Hebrews 5:9 Darby)

“He will swallow up death in victory. And the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people will he take away from off all the earth: for Jehovah hath spoken.” (Isaiah 25:8 Darby)

“37 But as the days of Noe, so also shall be the coming of the Son of man. 38 For as they were in the days which were before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day on which Noe entered into the ark, 39 and they knew not till the flood came and took all away; thus also shall be the coming of the Son of man.” (Matthew 24:37-39 Darby)

“Jehovah keepeth all that love him, and all the wicked will he destroy.” (Psalms 145:20 Darby)

“The righteous [man] shall never be moved; but the wicked shall not inhabit the land.” (Proverbs 10:30 Darby)

“Overthrow the wicked, and they are no [more]; but the house of the righteous shall stand.” (Proverbs 12:7 Darby)

“In the path of righteousness is life, and in the pathway thereof there is no death.” (Proverbs 12:28 Darby)

“13 I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of heaven [one] like a son of man, and he came up even to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom [that] which shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14 Darby)

“And in the days of these kings shall the God of the heavens set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the sovereignty thereof shall not be left to another people: it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, but itself shall stand for ever.” (Daniel 2:44 Darby)

“But, according to his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness.” (2 Peter 3:13 Darby)

“3 And his delight will be in the fear of Jehovah; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears; 4 but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his reins, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.” (Isaiah 11:3-5 Darby)

“12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is [that] of life. And the dead were judged out of the things written in the books according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which [were] in it, and death and hades gave up the dead which [were] in them; and they were judged each according to their works:” (Revelation 20:12-13 Darby)

“1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea exists no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice out of the heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he shall tabernacle with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, their God. 4 And he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall not exist any more, nor grief, nor cry, nor distress shall exist any more, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4 Darby)

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” (Isaiah 65:17 Darby)

“21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof: 22 they shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” (Isaiah 65:21-22 Darby)

“They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for terror; for they are the seed of the blessed of Jehovah, and their offspring with them.” (Isaiah 65:23 Darby)

“28 Wonder not at this, for an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs shall hear his voice, 29 and shall go forth; those that have practised good, to resurrection of life, and those that have done evil, to resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:28-29 Darby)

“There shall be abundance of corn in the earth, upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon; and they of the city shall bloom like the herb of the earth.” (Psalms 72:16 Darby)

“The earth will yield her increase; God, our God, will bless us:” (Psalms 67:6 Darby)

“And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase; and they shall be in safety in their land, and shall know that I [am] Jehovah, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them out of the hand of those that kept them in servitude.” (Ezekiel 34:27 Darby)

“6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name is called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty *God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with judgment and with righteousness, from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7 Darby)

“And many nations shall go and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and Jehovah’s word from Jerusalem.” (Micah 4:2 Darby)

“And they shall sit every one under his vine, and under his fig-tree; and there shall be none to make [them] afraid: for the mouth of Jehovah of hosts hath spoken [it].” (Micah 4:4 Darby)

“8 Come, behold the works of Jehovah, what desolations he hath made in the earth: 9 He hath made wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariots in the fire. 10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. 11 Jehovah of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our high fortress. Selah.” (Psalms 46:8-11 Darby)

“25 And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil beasts to cease out of the land; and they shall dwell in safety in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. 26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in its season: there shall be showers of blessing. 27 And the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase; and they shall be in safety in their land, and shall know that I [am] Jehovah, when I have broken the bands of their yoke and delivered them out of the hand of those that kept them in servitude.” (Ezekiel 34:25-27 Darby)

“6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatted beast together, and a little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the she-bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the adder, and the weaned child shall put forth its hand to the viper’s den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:6-9 Darby)

“And I will make a covenant for them in that day with the beasts of the field, and with the fowl of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground; and I will break bow and sword and battle out of the land; and I will make them to lie down safely.” (Hosea 2:18 Darby)