Paul makes this statement in Philippians 1:21. What is Paul referring to here? Is he saying that dying is gain for himself, because he would then go straight to heaven, or is he speaking of something else? Paul’s missionPaul writes… Lees verder
We have seen that in this parable the rich man is a representation of the nation of Israel, who are in the grave among the nations and are suffering a great deal there. But Lazarus, who represents “a foolish and… Lees verder
In the previous blog we saw why the parable of the rich man and Lazarus cannot be a representation of the state of the dead. To be complete, we also want to discuss the entire parable verse by verse. That… Lees verder
So far we have seen what Scripture, and especially the Old Testament, says about the state of the dead. Now that we have this basis, it is good to discuss a passage from the New Testament, where Jesus tells a… Lees verder
In the previous blog we saw how the Bible warns against what we now call ‘spiritism’. Seeking contact with the dead. We also know an example of this in Scripture. SaulIn 1 Samuel 28, King Saul is besieged by the… Lees verder
In spiritism, it is believed that there can be contact with the deceased. People strive to get in touch with the dead, using various methods to ‘summon’ the dead. We have seen in the previous blogs that the dead are… Lees verder
In the previous blog we saw that Peter says about Christ that He proclaimed His victory to the spirits in prison. One often reads here that He has announced His triumph to the dead who are now in the hereafter,… Lees verder
In the 1st letter of Peter we find a section in which it is stated that Christ preached to spirits who are in prison. Is this about people? Did Christ preach the gospel to the dead in the realm of… Lees verder
When Jesus is on his way to Lazarus to raise him from the dead, Martha first meets Him and later Mary. The Lord has a conversation with Martha and in it He says the words that are among His most… Lees verder
Anyone who believes that death is really death and not a transition to another place where one lifts one’s eyes, will invariably be objected to by the fact that the Lord told the murderer on the cross that he would… Lees verder
In the previous blog we saw what happened to Enoch. He also died, just like every human being. God transferred him to another place, where he was safe from his contemporaries. But we know another figure in the Bible, who… Lees verder
Now that we have seen what death is, we will discuss some issues that are much misunderstood. For example, Enoch, because it is taught that he never died. Genesis 5 speaks of him. In this chapter we find a succession… Lees verder
Almost every religion denies death, by teaching that death is a continuation of life. Sometimes a higher form of life, sometimes a lower form. Think of the doctrine of the immortal soul, but also that of reincarnation. Both are a… Lees verder
In death there is no communication, but only silence (Ps.31:17; 115:17). The dead that we read in the Bible are resurrected, such as Lazarus, the young man of Nain and the daughter of Jairus, are also silent about experiences they… Lees verder
If death is another form of life, the dead are currently in another place. People then say that the dead are in ’the hereafter’, heaven or hell, in any case in a spiritual world. The dead are then not really… Lees verder
The idea of the immortal soul is widely accepted within Christianity, but is generally the standard teaching in every religion. The origins of this theory can be found in Greek philosophy. But what does Scripture say about the soul? Genesis… Lees verder
If death were not really death and man has an immortal soul, all people are actually immortal. The dead then live on somewhere else and only lay down their earthly life when they die to open their eyes again ‘in… Lees verder
Answering the question of what death is, should not be difficult. If we look it up in various dictionaries, we get definitions such as: the state that occurs when life ends, deceased, no longer alive, etc. Wikipedia describes it a… Lees verder
This is an important parable, because it teaches us a fundamental truth. If this parable is recognized as such, it is usually explained that when we study the word, we learn new things, but also bring out the old. 52… Lees verder
We have discussed seven parables and the parable that follows is often not recognized as such. But it is indeed one, as is evident from the content. The number seven in Scripture stands for fullness and completeness. An eighth is… Lees verder
We saw that the parable of the treasure in the field speaks of Israel and that the parable of the pearl speaks of the ecclesia (>church). The parable of the fishing net is about the nations and so we see… Lees verder
In this group of three parables, which have a positive content, the first parable, of the treasure in the field, was about Israel. The parable of the pearl is about the ecclesia (>church). 45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is… Lees verder
We now come to the next three parables in the series of eight. As we saw earlier, these three parables have a positive meaning. They speak of what God does. The previous three parables spoke of what the adversary does.… Lees verder
We have now discussed four parables. Next comes the parable of the treasure in the field, which begins in verse 44. But first we get an appendix, which follows the parable of the leaven. 34 All these things Jesus spoke… Lees verder
In a secret way, leaven was introduced into that which was intended for YAHWEH. False teachers brought corrupt and unhealthy elements into the teaching that had been handed down by the apostles. This was already the case in Paul’s day… Lees verder