We shall all fall asleep:
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep
1 Thessalonians 4:13,14
Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:6
And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
Revelation 14:13
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Daniel 12:2
After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died.
John 11:11-14
The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.
Matthew 27:52
But in this ‘sleep’ we shall be in the bosom of Abraham:
Bosom of Abraham” refers to the place of comfort in the Biblical Sheol (or Hades in the Greek Septuagint version of the Hebrew scriptures from around 200 BC, and therefore so described in the New Testament) where the righteous dead await Judgment Day.
But, this is taught by Jesus to be ‘vastly seperate.’
The Gospel of Luke (Luke 16:19–31) tells of the relationship, during life and after death, between an unnamed rich man and a poor beggar named Lazarus. The traditional name, Dives, is not actually a name, but instead a word for “rich man”, dives, in the text of the Latin Bible, the Vulgate.
I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him.
That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past (our actions.)
And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
We were created for life on Earth much as beasts were created, but in the likeness of God, a Spirit. His Spirit lives within us. For an endless life, we were to eat of the tree of Life, and were cast out of the garden to prevent this.
The Tree of Life stood in the centre of the Garden of Eden which elsewhere is called ‘The Garden of the LORD’. It was a real tree, to be sure, but let me suggest that it was also symbolic of the fact that God was, and is, the source of eternal life and blessing. Adam and Eve were to have their life centred in Him, even as the Tree was in the centre of His Garden.
Other parts of the Bible also mention The Tree of Life. In Ezekiel 47:12 (NASB) we read of trees whose ‘fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing’. This image is taken up also in Revelation 22:2. It is clear particularly in Proverbs where a number of things are referred to as ‘a tree of life’ (wisdom (3:15), the fruit of the righteous (11:30), desire fulfilled (13:12), and a soothing tongue (15:4)) that the Tree of Life in these references symbolises that which brings joy and healing to people.
We were created, but in The likeness of God:
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,a and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:26,27
For Earth purposes, we were created Male/Female, God and the Heavenly host appear as ‘Man’ in form. This is a ‘complex’ topic, God is Spirit and not man, but in His form we are made. There was Creation before Man. Many aspects did lead up to Man. If we note, among the beasts the closest relatives are different by DNA (Apes and Humans.) Yet, they cannot speak, there thought is on how to ‘survive’; food, water, offspring.
We ‘create’ just as God did with the Heavenly host:
I think we all agree that angels can appear looking like human
beings “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” Hebrews 13:2
So the question comes, “Does God appear in various forms?” I’m not asking if He, for instance, is a tree but can He appear as a tree?
After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. Mark 16:12
Now when she [Mary Magdaline] had said this, she
turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not
know that it was Jesus. John 20:14
Here are some ways God chooses to appear in Scripture.
I. As The Angel of the Lord
A. To Hagar
Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” (Genesis 16:10) Also see Genesis 16:7–11, 21:17.
Although Islam is not mentioned directly in the Bible, the Bible does record an outline of the Arabic people as the Children of Abraham who inhabited the “eastern country.” The history of the Muslim peoples according to the Bible, therefore, begins with the prophet Abraham and his descendants through Ishmael, his firstborn son.
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Abraham’s first born son by Hagar the Egyptian was Ishmael. It’s in the Bible, the Torah, Genesis 16:15, RSV. “And Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.”
Abraham was given a special promise that the descendants of Ishmael would start and become a great nation. It’s in the Bible, the Torah, Genesis 17:20, RSV. “As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; he shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.”
B. To Jacob
Then the Angel of God spoke to me [Jacob] in a dream,
saying, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’
Genesis 31:11
C. To Moses
And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him [Moses] in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. (Exodus 3:2)
D. To the Camp of Israel
And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. Exodus 14:19
E. Other Examples
1. Balaam and the Donkey
Numbers 22:22–27, 31–3
2. All the Children of Israel. Judges 2:1, 4
3. Gideon Judges 6:11–12, 20–22
4. Manoah and his wife. Judges 13:3, 6, 9, 13, 15-18,
20-21
5. Zechariah. Zechariah 1:11–12; 3:1, 5–6
For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
Then the Lord God formed a man
from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
Genesis 2:7
Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, (our spirit is in His form, Amen.) and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
There are ‘forms’ in the Heavenlies. From God’s domain He created Earthly forms:
And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:17
and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
Ecclesiastes 3:14-22
Heaven and Hell, According to Various Religions
• 6 Versions of Heaven. Ah, heaven. …
• Heaven: Judaism. Gan Eden, the heavenly Garden of Eden, the final stage of. …
• Paradise: Zoroastrianism. …
• Heaven: Christianity. …
• Paradise: Islam. …
• Moksha: Hinduism. …
• Nirvana: Buddhism. …
• Hell: Judaism.
We stand now in knowledge of what is. As we exist at this point we are. I will state my oft asked question. Where are you headed?
I look at religions and realize the ‘differences’ but in them stand more similarities than differences. Above, we see the similarities between different religions.
In truth, all in essence teach the same thing. Focus in on a point, seeking peace. Yes, there aresquabbles, but more important are the similaritie.
