First Century Christianity

Death

So when I got to the end of the Bible back when I was trying to prove some stuff to my wife, it sure looked to me like hell didn’t exist.  I asked the wife and she said, “of course not”.  Again, I had just assumed that people go straight to heaven or hell when they die, but apparently, hell doesn’t exist.  Uh-oh.

Here are the words translated “hell” in the Bible:

Sheol - grave or pit

Gehana - valley used as garbage dump with fires burning all the time

Hades - grave

Tartarus - pit, deepest Hades

The next logical question was, “If hell doesn’t exist, then what happens when we die?”  It sure looks to me like death means sleep.

And there was a certain sick one, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (And it was that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) Then his sisters sent to Him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick. When Jesus heard, He said, This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God might be glorified by it.And Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Therefore, when He had heard that he was sick, then indeed He remained two days in the place where He was. Then after that He said to the disciples, Let us go into Judea again. The disciples said to Him, Rabbi, the Jews lately have sought to stone You, and do You go there again? Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble because he sees the light of the world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles because there is no light in him. He said these things; and after that He said to them, Our friend Lazarus sleeps. But I go so that I may awaken him out of sleep. Then His disciples said, Lord, if he sleeps, he will get well. But Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He had spoken of taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus said to them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, in order that you may believe. But let us go to him. 

(John 11:1-15)

Resurrection

The Resurrection is the absolute pinnacle of the Christian faith.  The Resurrection is the triumph of good over evil, sin over death.  Christ’s death was absolutely unwarranted.  He was sinless, and thus, He strolled out of that cave victorious.

Most professing Christians do believe in the Resurrection of the dead, but simultaneously believe that people go straight to heaven or hell when they die.  This baffles my mind.  Why would God allow someone to be born, live in this cesspool of sin and depravity, ascend into heaven for a few hundred or couple thousand years, then send them back down here to be resurrected and judged?  Then there is the problem that there is no sin or death in the New Jerusalem (heaven).  How can people be in heaven watching us sin and not have sin in heaven at the same time.  It simply doesn’t add up.

The idea of an immortal soul isn’t Biblical near as I can tell.  A great many pagan religions hold this doctrine, perhaps all of them, and it appears to have been blended into Christianity during the first couple hundred years.

But if Christ is proclaimed, that He was raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is worthless, and your faith is also worthless. And we are also found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified of God that He raised Christ; whom He did not raise if the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ is not raised. And if Christ is not raised, your faith is foolish; you are yet in your sins. Then also those that fell asleep in Christ were lost. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

(1 Corinthians 15:12-19)

The Christian and all mankind await one of two resurrections.  There will be one when Jesus returns on clouds in glory, and then there will be another one 1000 years later.  I pray that I can make it into the first one.

And I saw an angel come down from Heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. And he cast him into the abyss and shut him up and set a seal on him, that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years should be fulfilled. And after that he must be loosed a little time. And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast nor his image, nor had received his mark on their foreheads, nor in their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. The second death has no authority over these, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him a thousand years.

(Revelation 20:1-6)

It looks to me like what we consider “hell”, or the punishment for being wicked, is actually eternal death.  I understand “eternal death” to mean ceasing to exist.  I can’t imagine for a second that a just God would allow people to be tortured for eternity, presumably in the sight of the righteous saved.  I could be wrong, but this is not my idea of heaven nor does it sound like lions laying down with lambs.  I see God as just and righteous, and I believe that He will destroy those who refuse to repent for the sake of those who do.

Exhaustive end-time study on this here http://firstcenturychristianity.net/the-resurrection-of-the-dead