Well Primarily we were created to worship and have a relationship with God.

Aside from that, the Bible tells us that we all have different gifts and talents and God is pleased when we use those gifts and talents to the best of our ability. (I guess you could liken it to a project you have worked on and it is great to see that it functions as it what you intended)

I guess something that most people would take from the Bible is that we are to treat others as we would like to be treated (Love your neighbor as yourself)

As for when we die there are a number of possibilities which I will get to, but first a bit of background.

The Bible tells us that when God created the universe, earth, people etc... He looked at it all and said it is good. Unfortunately we became separated from God when sin came into the world. sin cannot be in the presence of God and as such if we don't make atonement for our sins we eventually can be separated from God forever. Throughout the old testament in the Bible, people would sacrifice an animal (normally a lamb) to make atonement for their sins.

Jesus then came to earth to teach us how to live and that the only way to God was now through Him. Jesus then died on the cross (to make atonement for all of our sins) and then rose again three days later. (This is why Jesus is often called the lamb of God). We now have a path to God through believing in Jesus and accepting that He died in our place.

This does not mean that we can go out and sin all we like, then just ask forgiveness. It means that we can now live free from the bondage of sin and live a life of righteousness. We cannot prevent from sinning altogether because it is in our nature. We can however work on different aspects of our lives - perhaps we struggled with a certain sin a couple of years ago but today we have overcome that sin. Before Jesus left, He gave those who believe in Him, His Holy Spirit which helps us through life.

If we do receive Jesus and lead a life that mirrors his teachings then we have an eternal home with Him when we die. If not then we are separated from him forever which is eternity in hell.

A misconception is that as soon as we die, people believe that we either go to heaven or hell. This is not the case however. When we die, the bible teaches that we all will go to hades (which is quite often misinterpreted as hell) Saved and non-saved people alike will be in hades when they die. The book of revelation in the Bible tells us of events yet to come (some have happened since the books writing) This book tells us of the end times and that when this world is eventually destroyed, and everyone is dead - judgement will come. God will judge everyone in hades and if our names are not found written in the book of life (by accepting Jesus) we will then be sent to hell for eternity. Those who did receive Jesus, will then be taken to heaven for eternity.

Quite a story you might say!

I have been doing a bit of research on the book of revelation and it is quite fascinating. It is all about events that are yet to come (as at the date of their writing nearly 2,000 years ago)

Something very fascinating is how it talks about the antichrist and how we can recognize him. It tells us of a man who is a deceiver and looks to be quite harmless but underneath is terribly evil. I found this video clip quite intriguing. You can take it with a grain of salt of course - but it is remarkable how much of the content here lines up with nearly 2,000 year old prophesies.

(If you do watch it, you will probably need to pause to read the text unless you are a super fast reader!)

Now this is certainly something different! Who is running the simulation though?

That video made me laugh

'Prince Charles of Whales'

Is that a slur on Camilla ?

Hi Brad,

I've never heard that interpretation of the Bible before. What Church do you belong too ?
That differs quite a lot from the mainstream religions I know of. I'm talking about the Hades bit, most mainstream religion teach that when you die you go to heaven or hell or 'limbo'

I have a question too. What would have happened if Adam and Eve had not eaten the fruit of the tree of Knowledge ?

As they were told :



Wouldn't that mean that if they didn't eat it they would never have died, as that was the means that sin entered the world and that sin lead to death so if they hadn't of eaten the fruit they wouldn't have sinned and never have died

So how would they have got to heaven ?



Jay

It was a rehash on the simulated reality theory I talked about earlier

Ha! I didn't notice that - perhaps someone needs a spell checker

The church I go to comes under ACC which is Australian Christian Churches. Although having said that, each church under that banner has their own unique differences.
Something that you may be aware of is that there are many different translations of the Bible from the original text. This unfortunately means that there has been misinterpretations of the text as it was intended. hades / hell is a big one.

Alot of translations say that hades and hell are the same place, but if you careful study of the scriptures (and listen to some great Bible teachers) you will realize that they are in fact two separate places. The book of revelation talks of those who will be cast into the lake of fire (hell) after judgement if their name has not been found written in the book of life (your name is in the book if you accept Jesus sacrifice and live by His teachings) Everyone who has died (saved and unsaved) are in hades at the moment (apart from a select few where the Bible teaches that they have been taken straight to Heaven)

These people (including us when we die) will remain in hades until judgement.



Very good question (and one that I cannot answer completely at the moment)

Sickness and disease came into the world as a result of sin. If they had not sinned in the first place, they would have lived forever in a world free of sickness and disease - a perfect world if you will. Having said all of that, they would not have gone to heaven at all, but rather would have remained on earth. Now as for what would have happened to the world population if there was no death, that I cannot answer unfortunately.

My apologies Mitchy! I didn't reply to your post.



I agree with you that technology could get to that point, just look around us - it is incredible what we are capable of (or scary perhaps?)

Is this what you believe Mitchy?

Which word is mistranslated? Which dictionaries or lexicons should we go by? Should we go by word analysis instead? All translations are an interpretation.

The people who accept the mistranslation say that Romans 14:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:10 talk about believers before a different judgment which is where Olympic medalists stand and receive a crown and their medals and it is a bema seat and not a white throne (Rev. 20:11).

If we think of people being seperated at only the end then how would Abraham be able to bring cold water to the rich man (Luke 16:24) if judgment is future?

Sheol, Hades, Tartarus and Gehenna



For myself, I simply get from these two scriptures that there is a judgment that is yet to come.



Hades is separated by a chasm (described by Jesus) This effectively gives you two sections in Hades. The unsaved are on one side and the saved are on the other. After judgement, Revelation 20:14 tells us that "death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire"

Where are these mistranslated? There are more literal translations where the translators didn't want to make a mistake so they translated words very literally (without giving an interpretation) and scholars I know have made their own translation and have made their own translation almost word for word with one or more of the Bibles we have today.

"For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption."
(Psalm 16:10)

The same verse is quoted by Peter so sheol and hades are used interchangeably:

"For You will not leave my soul in Hades,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption."
(Acts 2:27)

There are two problems with the idea that we stay in the grave when we die. The first one is (1):

'Therefore He says:
"When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men."
(Now this, "He ascended"-what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?"
(Ephesians 4:8-9)

The second one is:

"...absent from the body...present with the Lord."
(2 Corinthians 5:8)

The previous verse in Ephesians 4:8-9 says that He (Jesus) ascended.

We can't be in the grave if Jesus ascended because we're supposed to be absent from the body which is asleep in the grave and we're supposed to be present with the Lord who ascended. Some have tried to accomodoate the idea that the compartment called Abraham's bosom was God's throne room.

A-2 Noun Strong's Number: g161 Greek: aichmalosia

Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words

Heh, no - as I said earlier it was something I stumbled upon and took interest to. I certainly believe it is possible, although I lean to the side of reason and believe it's not the case right now.

Mitchy,

Reason isn't the same as knowing.

In the case of some of my relatives, reason is nothing more than whims and imagination. People make decisions based on what they think instead of what is. Reason is based on what people want things to be rather than what is.

My son doesn't like the taste of spring water or so he says. I had went out and bought several cases of spring water because of the crisis in Japan (problems with several reactors). I knew the fallout from Chernobyl took ten days to circle the globe so I had time to buy spring water that was already bottled. Even though the crisis wasn't that bad, I didn't know what would be because we haven't faced this problem before. Though I probably didn't need to buy spring water, it isn't bad to be prepared. Had the situation been worse, I still might not have gotten my son to drink spring water because decisions at that age are based on convenience instead of fact.

Chuck

I agree with basically everything you said, but to address the first question above:

Sheol and Hades are the same place - so it correct that you say "sheol and hades are used interchangeably:"

The problem (as I see it) is that sheol and hades are often mistranslated to mean hell.

Here is a handy comparison of various translations that I found of Revelation 20v14:

New International Version (©1984)
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.

New Living Translation (©2007)
Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death.

English Standard Version (©2001)
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

International Standard Version (©2008)
Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. (This is the second death-the lake of fire.)

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
Death and hell were thrown into the fiery lake. (The fiery lake is the second death.)

King James Bible
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

American King James Version
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

American Standard Version
And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire.

Bible in Basic English
And death and Hell were put into the sea of fire. This is the second death, even the sea of fire.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And hell and death were cast into the pool of fire. This is the second death.

Darby Bible Translation
and death and hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire.

English Revised Version
And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire.

Webster's Bible Translation
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Weymouth New Testament
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the Lake of fire; this is the Second Death--the Lake of fire.

World English Bible
Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

Young's Literal Translation
and the death and the hades were cast to the lake of the fire -- this is the second death;

If hades and hell are the same place, how can hell be cast into itself?

The fact that we have the ability to reason is quite a debate in itself