Friday, March 27, 2009

Part 3

In a world that is full of violence it's hard to fine peace unless you are behind closed doors or should I say locked doors in your home. That is the safest place or is it?

No you are not safe even in your own home. Doors have to be locked, children are checked on before you sleep. Windows are double checked just in case. This is the world we live in folks. We live in a world where we are made to suffer in one way or another. The rich are not immune to this. They also lose loved ones.

For Children - take a good look at your parents. Imagine if they were not there anymore. Imagine they are gone. How do you feel. Maybe close your eyes while you are thinking about it. It hurts doesn't it.

Parents - close your eyes are well. Think if you lost one of your children. It hurts doesn't it?

Do you still honestly believe that God wanted this for us? Do you think that he wants us to die and have our family hurt because he wants us with him? If that was the case then he would have created us all as angels in the first place. He created us to live not to die. The lie is we die and then we go to Heaven or hell.

What is the condition of those who die? Really, what happens at death? Much of the uncertainty about the condition of the dead revolves around the understanding of the word “soul” and the word “spirit.” To arrive at the truth concerning the above questions, it is necessary to distinguish between the original meaning of these two words.

To know the truth of these subjects, one must guard against preconceived notions based on the speculations of mere human interpreters. Often, human religious teachers make interpretations that differ from those of others. Therefore some interpretations are bound to differ from the very first meanings of the words “soul” and “spirit.”

At Genesis 2:7 in the Bible we read the statement: “The man came to be a living soul.” Here the word “soul” appears, and it is translated from the Hebrew word ne′phesh. This Hebrew word comes from a root meaning “to breathe.” However, it signifies “a living being, an individual, a person.” When this verse was translated into Sanskrit, the phrase “living soul” was translated “sa sātmaprāni babhuva.” Sātmaprāni contains three words: sa-ātma-prāni. Sa means “with”; ātma is “spirit”; and prāna signifies “vitality, life, vital breath.”The Sanskrit prānin means “a living or sentient being, an individual, a person,” similar to the Hebrew ne′phesh.

To learn the truth about “soul” and “spirit” we must distinguish between their two different meanings and distinctive applications. That there is a difference is clearly seen in the Bible at Hebrews 4:12, where it says: “For the word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul [prān, Skt.] and spirit [ātma, Skt.].” The distinction is also shown at 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

Most people, however, have taken survival of a person after death for granted. But reasoning persons are not interested in mere assertions. They want convincing proof. There are some people who rebel at the shortness of life. Some even believe that religious people have simply invented survival after death as a way to overcome their sense of insecurity. For some, the heart resents the idea of death as cutting life short, and yet the mind is not satisfied with the explanations given. What exactly does happen at death?

The Bible gives much enlightenment on the soul. It also contains comforting and cheering information on the condition of the dead, and it provides hope for our dead loved ones. The Bible’s description of the human soul is found again at Genesis 2:7, “Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of the dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul. Please note, man did not receive a soul, rather, he came to be a living soul. Hence man is a soul. Therefore, you do not possess a soul, but you yourself are a soul. A living human soul has two vital constituents: fleshly body plus life-force.

Separate the life-force from the body, and there is no living soul. The soul becomes nonexistent. Man is no longer “a breather,” and therefore, is no longer a soul. It is like water made of two gases, hydrogen and oxygen. By combining these two gases in correct proportions, water is formed. Extract one of the gases from the compound, and the water ceases to exist.

Accordingly, at death you do not become a disembodied soul. No, for the simple reason that your fleshly body is a part of your soul. When the body dies, the soul is dead, it ceases to exist. Neither do you become a disembodied spirit. Why not? Because the ātma is the impersonal life-force, or spirit, which animates the living soul, and which empowers the soul to think, move, and live. When the life-force, or ātma, is extinguished within the living soul, the effect is similar to what happens when electricity is withdrawn from a light bulb. The light is extinguished. Where does the light go? It simply becomes nonexistent. It is for this reason that death is the very opposite of life. And that is why death came to mankind as a punishment for disobedience to the Creator of life

The human soul is, therefore, not immortal, but mortal—subject to death and extinction. In confirmation of this, the Bible states: “Look! All the souls—to me they belong. As the soul of the father so likewise the soul of the son—to me they belong. The soul that is sinning—it itself will die.” (Ezekiel 18:4) Consequently, the condition of the dead is far different from what human rishis, or religious sages and gurus, have speculated it to be.

The Bible, as God’s Word, authoritatively states: “Do not put your trust in nobles, nor in the son of earthling man, to whom no salvation belongs. His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish.” “The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they anymore have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten. All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol, the place to which you are going.”—Psalm 146:3, 4; Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10.

Interesting isn't it? I will continue this Monday. Have a great weekend.

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