FEEDBACK: DEATH AND DESTRUCTION OF THE UNSAVED #6
12/9/09
We
appreciate feedback on the studies posted on this website. It helps us to see
if there is anything on this website that does not agree with the Bible.
Below is THE sixth ROUND OF DISCUSSION ON THE SUBJECT
OF THE “THE DEATH AND DESTRUCTION
OF THE UNSAVED”.
The viewer’s email is in “italics”. Our
response is in regular text.
VIEWER’S
EMAIL:
***Re: You believe that “life = existence” and “death = a
cessation existence”.
I do NOT believe death equals a cessation of existence with regards to Adam
losing eternal life. We must think of Adam as a criminal who was found
guilty of the breaking God's laws. As a result, Adam was lost all rights
to his Father's inheritance--he was completely disowned by God (e.g. cast out
of the Garden of Eden). Moreover, Adam was sentenced to eternal damnation
on the very day that he ate of the tree. At that time, God appointed a
day wherein all men must physically die because their bodies have been infected
with sin. And, when the unsaved die, they will be treated like criminals
(son of Satan) not sons of God. This contempt of God brings
eternal damnation--meaning the unsaved will never live again after they are
destroyed.
***Re: If you think about this statement, it is really saying that Adam would
die in the future.
I want to stress again that Adam's loss of eternal life occurred on the day he
ate of the tree (not some future time). Theologically speaking, we define
the loss of eternal life as spiritual death. From the foundation of the
world, God decided that unsaved men would never receive eternal life. As
a result, men are born spiritually death (i.e., without eternal life).
Hope this clears up my statements.
BELOW
IS OUR RESPONSE TO THE ABOVE EMAIL
In
Genesis 2:17 God tells us that Adam died the day he sinned. Adam truly did die
the day he sinned. God doubles up the verb “to die” so that we know Adam
really did die the day he sinned (Genesis 41:32).
People
say a lot of different things about Genesis 2:17, but God simply says “in
the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die”.
Adam
did not cease to exist in anyway the day that he sinned. Therefore, by Genesis
2:17 God is teaching us that for mankind death is not a cessation of existence.
God
defines words and phrases by how He uses them in the Bible.
In
the study of the Biblical definition of “life” and “death” for mankind, there
are more than 50 verses that show that the Bible teaches that God Himself is
“life”, and that for mankind, “life” has to do with his relationship to God,
and “death” is separation from God.
The
corpse is a body sleeping in the dust.
These
verses will not fit the definitions, “life = existence” and “death = cessation
of existence or a corpse”.
I
won’t include the verses here because I don’t want to write another long email.
They
are available at the link:
http://www.isannihilationtrue.com/life1.htm
Another
study that helps with these questions is at:
http://www.isannihilationtrue.com/dust1.htm
One
thing that confuses the issue is that when man leaves this world, two distinct
things happen. We normally do not see the distinction but combine them together
in our minds:
1.
His body fails and there is no consciousness in his body. The Bible talks about
that as a body sleeping in the dust.
2.
He is separated from God, that is he dies.
In
Acts 17:28 we read:
For
in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets
have said, For we are also his offspring.
This
verse is talking about all mankind; both saved and unsaved. The “him” is
God.
Acts
17:28 teaches that in this world, all mankind, including the unsaved, have God
to some degree. They are “in him”. They “move” in Him and they “have
their being” in Him.
Unsaved
man is not completely separated from God. He still has God according to Acts
17:28.
However,
when unsaved man’s body fails, it sleeps in the dust. There is no consciousness
in his body. At that point, unsaved man no longer “moves” in God.
Corpses do not move.
Acts
17:28 no longer applies to him. He no longer “moves” in God and no
longer has his being in God and is no longer “in him”.
He
is separated from God, who is “life”. That is, he dies.
These
are two different things that happen to man when he leaves this world, but
normally we blend them together. We do not see the distinction.
Another
problem is that man focuses upon what he sees, which is the corpse, a body
sleeping in the dust.
God
focuses upon what is important, which is man’s relationship to God. That is, God
focuses upon man’s separation from God, which is death.
We
confuse these two things. The corpse is a body sleeping in the dust. Death is
the separation from God who is “life”.
When
we follow the rule of 1 Corinthians 2:13, then we learn that God is teaching
that for the unsaved, the fact that they are dead means that they are separated
from God, who is “life”.