DEATH AND HELL

Grace be to you all, and peace, from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ. We are inspired by the Holy Spirit to write to you all concerning Death and Hell. We write to you from the scriptures and by the Spirit of God in us, the Holy Spirit, that He himself through us may cause your eyes of understanding to be enlightened. Fear not as children of light, for our Lord Jesus Christ NOW HAS THE KEYS of death and hell, for he conquered them both (Rev. 1:18) and He has given us the authority to make these things known to His church that all His children may remain steadfast while awaiting His coming, holding fast to that which is good and abstaining from ALL appearances of evil. We make known the manifold wisdom of our Lord, revealed through His Word alone. By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we interpret scriptures with scriptures, thereby subjecting NOTHING to the wisdom of any man but to that which is in Christ.

What is Death? The word death as applied to man in scripture means separation or a cutting off from realizing God’s purpose for which he was created. It never means annihilation or extinction of a human being. There are three kinds of death in the scriptures namely physical, spiritual, and eternal death. What is Physical Death? This is the separation of the inner man (soul and spirit) from the outer man (body). The body only dies at this time and goes back to dust (Gen 3:19). The spirit and soul are immortal and are either dead in sins or in possession of eternal life in Christ at the time of physical death. In either case, they continue in consciousness in Heaven or Hell. Apostle Peter also proved to us believers in 1Peter 3:4 that the inner man is incorruptible and immortal as God Himself. Luke 12:5 and Luke 16:23 establish this doctrine. What is Spiritual Death? This is the separation of man from God because of sin. Someone that is spiritually dead can be alive physically. Eph 2:1, 5, Isa 59:2, Matt 8:22, Col 2:13, 1 Tim 5:6 establish this teaching. This is anyone, either alive or dead, that is not born again or did not get born again before physical death. What is Eternal Death? This is eternal separation from God because man chooses to remain separated from God in sin. It is also known as the second death as described by Apostle John in Rev 20:14 and 21:8. It is also established from Matt 10:28, 25:41 & 46, and Isa 66:22-24.

What is the penalty for sin? The penalty for sin is eternal death or eternal separation from God in Hell and subsequently The Lake of Fire. Had it been physical death, every man would be automatically justified in the sight of God when he died physically and as a result, God could not punish the sinner any further than physical death because the penalty has been paid. Such death would be the door to Heaven; but we know this is not true. Some who die physically will be saved and others will be lost; so the penalty could not be physical death. Neither could it be spiritual death, which is the state of man in sin. If so, then all who commit sin would automatically be justified in the sight of God. This would make committing sin the penalty for committing sin which is very ridiculous. It would mean all who commit sin would be saved and go to heaven. This would guarantee eternal life for all men, for Rom 6:23 declare all to be sinners before Christ came. It would make salvation of souls foolish and the death of Christ unnecessary which we know is absurd. The real penalty for sin therefore could not be physical or spiritual death, but eternal death or eternal separation from God in Hell. Physical death is the result of spiritual and eternal death. ETERNAL DEATH IS THE PENALTY FOR SPIRITUAL DEATH OR COMMITING SIN for it is written, the soul that commits sin, it shall surely die. This is “death of a soul,” not a body. So this has to be eternal death and not physical death.

What is the way of escape for eternal death? The resurrection of man from spiritual death and escape from eternal death takes place when one is saved from death in trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1-10) when he is born again (John 3:1-8) and made a new creature in our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinth 5:17-18) and is fully reconciled to God through our Lord (Eph 2:12-16, Col 1:20-22, 2:6-13, and 2 Corinth 5:14-21). If any man does not go through this process before he suffers physical death, he goes to Hell immediately at death and suffers great torment. Escape from eternal death takes place ONLY in this world, before a man dies.

Therefore as children of light, it has been given to us to understand these sayings and to abstain from EVERYTHING that gender unto sin and death. The scriptures declare in Gal 5:9 that a little sin makes you sinful and therefore unholy. This means all three kinds of death we mentioned above have power over you in this state for you do not belong to our Lord while you are in sin (1John 3:8-9). We challenge the faith of you all to live above sin and shun all unrighteousness from this day in all things. Be led by the Holy Spirit in all you do. This way, even physical death, that many are afraid of, will not come near you now or suddenly, except our Lord decides you have fulfilled the purpose for which He made you and it’s time to come and be with him forever. See brethren, our Lord Jesus Christ has the keys of death and hell and He finally decides who leaves this world and who remains. Even if a young person in our Lord suffers physical death, it is still to the shame of the devil, for it is written “for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain”. And perhaps if there be anyone of you that has lost a close friend or relative, young or old, while in the Lord, we beseech you not to be overly sorrowful if the Spirit of God in you testifies that they died in our Lord Jesus Christ. For you know that they have gone to a place of eternal pleasure and they are with our Lord. They themselves would rather remain with our Lord than to come back to this troubled and accursed world of sin. We pray for you all that our Lord Jesus Christ will keep you all from the evil one, that in times of trouble He will hide you in His pavilion, under His shadow, that no evil shall befall you, neither shall any plague come near your dwellings. That He will give His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways. That He will count you all worthy to escape the evil and tribulation coming upon the whole world in the days to come, and to stand before the Son of Man, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.