A Resurrection To Immortality

Http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/books/immortality_resurrection/ What Christians believe about the make-up of their human nature largely determines what they believe about their ultimate destiny. Historically, most Christians have believed that human nature consists of a material, mortal body and a spiritual, immortal soul. This belief, known as dualism, is largely derived from Greek philosophers who regarded the body as temporary and evil but the soul as eternal and good. Dualism has led Christians to envision a destiny where immortal souls survive the death of the body and spend eternity either in the bliss of paradise or in the torment of a fiery hell. During the Middle Ages the belief in the afterlife was promoted through literary and artistic representations of hell as a place of absolute terror where the damned writhe and scream forever, and of paradise as a beatific place where the saints bask in eternal glory. Today, the belief in conscious existence after death is propagated through the polished image of mediums and psychics, the sophisticated "scientific" research into near-death experiences, and the popular New Age channeling with the alleged spirits of the past. These various methods are very successful in making people believe Satan's lie that no matter what they do, they "shall not die" (Gen 3:4) but become like gods by living for ever. The outcome is that according to a recent Gallup Poll 71 per cent of Americans believe in some forms of conscious life after death. In recent years the traditional dualistic view of human nature and destiny has come under massive attack by Biblical scholars, philosophers, and scientists who find such a view contrary to Scripture, reason, and science. In Immortality or Resurrection? Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi builds upon recent research and challenges Christians to recover the Biblical wholistic teaching that the body and soul are an indissoluble unit, created, redeemed, and ultimately restored by God. Immortality or Resurrection? is a most important book for today. With compelling Biblical reasoning, it unmasks the oldest and possibly the greatest deception of all time, namely, that human beings possess immortal souls that live on forever. It will help you understand how this deceptive teaching of innate immortality has fostered a whole spectrum of erroneous beliefs that have affected adversely Christian thought and practice. Most important of all, this book will increase your appreciation for God's glorious plan for your present life and future destiny.

Life is the most important possession we have. Without it, there is nothing. Only by the resurrection at the second coming of Christ will anyone have life after death. After the resurrection, the fate of those who are in Christ: [1] Eternal life [Romans 6:23] [2]"Shall inherit eternal life" [Matthew 19:29] [3] After the judgment they "shall go away into eternal life" [Matthew 25:46] [4] Will "have eternal life" [John 3:5] [5] Christ will raise them up on the last day [John 6:40] [6] Will be immortal after the resurrection [1 Corinthians 15:51 56] [7] Will have incorruption [1 Corinthians 15:42] [8] Will have glory [1 Corinthians 15:43] [9] Will be like Christ "We shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is" [1 John 3:2] [10] Are "heirs according to the hope of eternal life" [Titus 3:7] [11] Will have a spiritual body [1 Corinthians 15:44] [12] "And as we have borne the image of the earthly (The earthly flesh and blood body of Adam was made to live on this earth but it "cannot inherit the kingdom of God" 1 Corinthians 15:50), we shall also bear the image of the heavenly" (Shall be like the spiritual body of Christ for life in Heaven) [1 Corinthians 15:47 56] [13] "Will never perish" [John 10:28] [14] Forever with the Lord [1 Thessalonians 4:17] [15] Many mansions in my father's house: "In my Father's house (Who is in Heaven, Matthew 5:16; 5:45; 5:48; 6:1; 6:9; 7:21; 10:32 33) are many mansions...I go to prepare a place for you."

What do you believe about souls? There are many very different doctrines taught in the world today concerning souls that are believed to be in all humans. By most a soul is believed to be something that is wholly apart from the person a soul is in; that a soul is something that is that is believed to be complete in its self without the person; it will live after the person it is in is dead; it is believed that a soul will exist forever without the person; it will never be dead; therefore, a soul cannot be resurrected from the dead. It is believed that a soul must live someplace forever, and it will live either in Heaven or Hell even if there is no resurrection. The doctrine of unconditional immortality of a deathless soul being in a person, and that soul leaving that person at the death of the person makes it impossible for Christ to have give His life to save that soul from death; if a soul had immortality it would already have life and could never not have life; all Christ could do is give it a reward or punish it.

THE RESURRECTION AND IMMORTALITY Is man born with an immortal soul, or do the saved put on immortality at the resurrection? This is one of the most important questions of all times. It has more influence on our conception of our nature, our view of life in this world, and life after death, the nature of God, than any other question. The resurrection and an undying immortal soul are not compatible. If one is true, then the other one cannot be. YOUR WHOLE THEOLOGY [what you believe] IS DETERMINED BY YOUR VIEW OF THE SOUL. Not only does man now having an immortal soul make the resurrection impossible, it makes the judgment be passed; and the second coming of Christ pointless for there could not be a resurrection or a judgment at His coming. The resurrection doctrine of unconditional immortality are contradictory to each other. You must choose one or the other. You cannot believe both. Christ taught the resurrection. It is our only hope of life after death, not now having immortality and never dying. The undead cannot be raised. If the soul is immortal and never dies ----- there cannot be a resurrection of those not dead If there is to be a resurrection of the dead the dead cannot be alive, cannot be living immortal souls The doctrine of unconditional immortality: Changes the nature of God, makes Him cruel and sadistic Changes the message we preach to the lost and their fate, whether they will have an eternal life with torment or a second death form which there will never be a resurrection Changes the nature of man, whether he is now mortal or immortal Changes the nature of the resurrection of Christ, whether He was dead and raised by God or only His earthly body was dead and He justcame back from Heaven to it Changes the nature of our resurrection, whether we are dead and resurrected or just come back from somewhere The resurrection an immortal soul. The wages of sin is death the wages of sin is an eternal life of torment.

If humans are not capable of immortality, then eschatological doctrines of heaven and hell make little sense. On that Christians agree. But not all Christians agree on whether humans are essentially immortal. Some hold that the early church was right to borrow from the ancient Greek philosophers and to bring their sense of immortality to bear on the interpretation of biblical passages about the afterlife. Others, however, suggest that we are inherently mortal, and only conditionally immortal. This latter view is usually associated with an annihilationist interpretation of the doctrine of hell and a rejection of eternal torment. In a philosophical analysis and argument, McLeod-Harrison proposes that humans are, indeed, immortal, but not essentially so. But neither are we immortal accidentally or conditionally. Instead, immortality is an enduring property--a property we cannot lose once created. McLeod-Harrison carefully delineates the sense of immortality he defends and provides a broadly Christian philosophical argument for it. The argument, if correct, leaves the recent suggestion that the unredeemed are annihilated on unsteady metaphysical feet. However, McLeod-Harrison does not defend eternal conscious punishment for the unredeemed, but suggests some ways to think about the possibility of a universal salvation.

Does death end life, or is it the passage from one stage of life to another? In The Death of Death, noted theologian Neil Gillman offers readers an original and compelling argument that Judaism, a religion often thought to pay little attention to the afterlife, not only presents us with rich ideas on this subject—but delivers a deathblow to death itself. Combining astute scholarship with keen historical, theological and liturgical insights, Gillman outlines the evolution of Jewish thought about bodily resurrection and spiritual immortality. Beginning with the near-silence of the Bible on the afterlife, he traces the development of these two doctrines through Jewish history. He also describes why today, somewhat surprisingly, more contemporary Jewish scholars—including Gillman—have unabashedly reaffirmed the notion of bodily resurrection. In this innovative and personal synthesis, Gillman creates a strikingly modern statement on resurrection and immortality. The Death of Death gives new and fascinating life to an ancient debate. This new work is an intellectual and spiritual milestone for all of us interested in the meaning of life, as well as the meaning of death.