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DO NOT FEAR DEATH
Welcome to our Christianity Oasis Daily Bread study program. This is our Do Not Fear Death Bible study on Do Not Fear Death advice in the Bible and how it affects your be-YOU-tiful Christian walk.
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Click
the link below if you would like to read this study from the
beginning. |
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In Memory of T.O.D.
DO NOT
FEAR DEATH
STEP 2
THE LIGHT OF TRUTH
Welcome!
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Faith is
to believe what we do not see, and the
reward of faith is to see what we believe.
Saint Augustine |
Great to have you back again! In this Do Not Fear Death Step, we're going
to look at death from a more personal level.
One thing that may scare you about death is coming face
to face with God.
I know it's hard to admit, because being a Christian
adult you know that Jesus said ...
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Mark
12:30
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy mind, and with all thy
strength: this is the first commandment. |
... And when you love someone THAT much, it doesn't make
sense to be afraid of them. So probably at times,
whispers will try and CON-vince you that maybe you
really don't LOVE God the way He wants you to, but
you're just afraid of Him. NOT TRUTH! You really
DO LOVE God wholeheartedly ... Again, your fear is of
the unknown.
WHAT ELSE ARE THE WHISPERS SAYING?
When you start pondering about death, naturally you
think about all the things that the world has taught
people about it. Let's see if we can zero in on a major
concern that you might have, shall we?
There's a fear in many people that whispers, I'm not as
good as God wants me to be. He's going to sit me down in
a wooden chair two sizes too small to sit in, in front
of the entire host of Heaven with that infamous white
wall that stretches to infinity, and on it will be
written a never ending list of all the sins that I
committed throughout my life ... Maybe even a video of
the actual events, or a whole bunch of screens like the
television department at Sears with a different incident
on each screen that I must give explanation for. I'll be
so scared that you'll be able to SEE my heart thumping
in my chest. All the blood will drain from my face, as
my head will start to shrink, all except for my nose,
like when you get too close to a Christmas tree
ornament, and my mouth will turn to chalk as I stand up
and start stuttering like Porky Pig many ridiculous
excuses that I know can never justify what I've done.
If
that's what you presume it's going to be like ...
Friend, no wonder you're fearful. And the sad thing is
that many Pharisee preachers (and especially whispers)
love to teach gloom and doom and hell's fire and
brimstone ... EVEN about Heaven!
But wait just a minute ... You seem to have forgotten
something very important ...
GOD'S GRACE!
Do
you suppose Jesus suffered and died
FOR OUR SINS
to give us the opportunity to have everlasting life ...
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John
3:16
For God so loved the world, that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish, but have
everlasting life. |
... Because He thought it would be a good way to get us
up to Heaven to PUNISH US???
(Ummmmm, isn't that what Hell is for?)
Is
it all a trick???
No, the only trick is coming from the enemy of your soul
who wants you to believe such lies so that you'll just
give up hope and say, "What difference does it make
then, if I'm good or bad?"
It makes a big difference ... The difference is where
you'll spend eternity!
Now ... About all that sin that you're worried about ...
Let's take a look at what the Word says about how your
sin can NOT possibly outweigh God's Grace.
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Ezekiel 18:21-22, 27-28
But if the wicked will turn from all his
sins that he hath committed, and keep all my
statutes, and do that which is lawful and
right, he shall surely live, he shall not
die.
All his transgressions that he hath
committed, they shall not be mentioned unto
him:
in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. Again,
when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he
hath committed, and doeth that which is
lawful and right,
he shall save
his soul alive.
Because he considereth, and turneth away
from all his transgressions that he hath
committed, he shall surely live, he shall
not die. |
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Isaiah 1:16-18
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil
of your doings from before mine eyes; cease
to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment,
relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless,
plead for the widow. Come now, and let us
reason together, saith the LORD:
though your
sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white
as snow; though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool. |
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Micah
7:18-19
Who is a God like unto thee, that
pardoneth
iniquity, and passeth by the transgression
of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth
not His anger for ever, because
He delighteth
in mercy.
He will turn again,
He will have
compassion upon us; He will subdue our
iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their
sins into the depths of the sea. |
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Isaiah 43:25
I,
even I, am He that blotteth out thy
transgressions
for mine own sake,
and will not
remember thy sins. |
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Psalms 103:8-18
The
LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to
anger, and plenteous in mercy.
He will not always chide: neither will He
keep His anger for ever. He hath not dealt
with us after our sins; nor rewarded us
according to our iniquities.
For as the
Heaven is high above the Earth, so great is
His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far
as the east is from the west, so far hath He
removed our transgressions from us.
Like as a father pitieth his children, so
the LORD pitieth them that fear Him. For He
knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we
are dust. As for man, his days are as grass:
as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
For the wind passeth over it, and it is
gone; and the place thereof shall know it no
more.
But the mercy of the LORD is from
everlasting to everlasting upon them that
fear Him, and His righteousness unto
children's children;
To such as keep His covenant, and to those that remember His
commandments to do them. |
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Acts
3:19
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that
your
sins may be blotted out,
when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of
the Lord. |
There are also several scriptures that tell us
that charity, love, and bringing back a sinner
that has gone astray, will cover or hide a
MULTITUDE of sins!
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1 Peter 4:8
And above all things have fervent
charity among yourselves: for
charity
shall cover the multitude of sins. |
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Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirreth up strifes: but
love
covereth all sins. |
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James 5:20
Let him know, that
he which
converteth the sinner
from the error of his way shall save a
soul from death, and
shall
hide a multitude of sins. |
Does that sound
like God wants to hold your sins against you
forever? Your Father doesn't want you to be
frightened of Him, He wants you to respect Him
and be comforted by Him. He gives you
avenues by which to erase your sins.
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Psalms 136:1
O give thanks unto the LORD; for He
is good: for
His
mercy endureth for ever. |
There's more TRUTH that will further calm your fears
about this subject, and that is ...
Learning more about God, just like learning more
about death will take away your fears. Ironically
enough, there is something called ...
FEAR OF THE LORD
... And if you gain this fear, it may eliminate your
fear of death. Fear of the Lord doesn't mean being
afraid of Him, it means that you have the utmost respect
and love for Him. As you can see from scripture, if you
fear the Lord, not only will He take away your fears ...
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Psalms 34:4
I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and
delivered me from all my fears. |
And keep evil away ...
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Proverbs 19:23
The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he
that hath it shall abide satisfied; he
shall not be visited with evil. |
But, He will also save
you from death.
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Psalms 33:18-19
Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them
that fear Him, upon them that hope in His
mercy; To
deliver their soul from death,
and to keep them alive in famine. |
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Proverbs 14:26-27
In the fear of the LORD is strong
confidence: and His children shall have a
place of refuge. The fear of the LORD is a
fountain of life,
to depart from the snares of death. |
So, we've learned that you need not be frightened
of God, but reverent and respectful of Him and that your
Father doesn't want you to fear Him (in the frightened
sense) any more than you would want your own children to
be frightened of you. He's not out to get you, He's out
to save you.
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Ezekiel 33:11
... As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no
pleasure in the death of the wicked; but
that the wicked turn from his way and live:
turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways ... |
FOR WHITE WALL WORRIERS
I've waited until now to give you this good news because
God's Grace is so precious and valuable and if you
didn't know some of the things you just read, it may be
easy to take some things for granted. That, my dear
friend, is something you NEVER want to do.
The good news that I just mentioned is this ... If you
go to Abraham's Bosom (Paradise) when you die, or if you
are raptured, you will be in the 1st resurrection, which
is when you are taken to Heaven ... In case you'd like
to review what you learned about this, it's at the last
part of the
ABRAHAM'S BOSOM Study. Those souls that are in the
1st resurrection are NOT called before God at the Great
White Throne Judgment! I can almost hear your sigh of
relief. This study will explain it all:
NOW, ABOUT THAT PERSONAL STUFF
Remember we learned in the first do not fear death Step that most fear
comes from not knowing about something. It's a natural
thing that you go through many times in your life. A new
job, the first day of school, taking a test, nightmares
... The list of fearful things in life is endless. Most
every time, we have learned that there was
nothing to be afraid of at all. The logical answer is to
learn about what happens during and after death.
And on a personal level ...
What you REALLY want to know is ...
What happens to YOU when YOU die.
Let's start with ... YOU! Who are YOU, anyway? No,
no, not what name you were given when you were born. No,
not what is your job or career or even what your
ambitions are in life. Who are YOU? To make this a
little bit easier to understand, think about this: God
created YOU in HIS image.
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Genesis 1:26
And God said, Let us make man in our
image, after our likeness ... |
What's this "OUR" image and "OUR" likeness all
about? Let's take a look at God.
God the Father
God the Son
God the Holy Spirit
This is called the Holy Trinity. He is one God, in
three divine persons.
This study will help you to understand the Holy Trinity
better and when you're finished, we'll take an even
closer look at how it relates to YOU and the fear of
death.
Now, a tiny bit of review, if YOU are created in God's
image, there must be three parts of YOU.
Your soul
Your body
Your spirit
Look at the three parts of the Holy Trinity
again, but this time. compare and identify them with the
three parts of you.
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God |
Trinity |
You |
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God |
Father |
Mind/Soul |
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Word/Jesus |
Son |
Flesh/Body |
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Comforter/TRUTH |
Holy Spirit |
Feelings/Emotions |
YOUR BODY
First, let's talk about the body ... The flesh. Perhaps
along with gravity, it keeps our souls and spirits
anchored to the Earth. The body is from the Earth ...
made from dust, and when you die, the body, that heavy,
cumbersome, burdensome, bulky, high maintenance carton
that your soul and spirit have towed around for a
lifetime ... Goes back where it came from ... The Earth.
Check out these two verses from the book of Genesis to
see how the Word describes where the body came from and
what happens to IT when IT dies.
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Genesis 2:7
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of
the ground, and breathed into his nostrils
the breath of life; and man became a living
soul. |
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Genesis 3:19
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat
bread, till thou return unto the ground; for
out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou
art, and unto dust shalt thou return. |
So, you know where the body came from and where it goes
when it dies, but don't misunderstand, though many times
we detest our flesh because of Original Sin, it is still
very important, don't neglect to give it the care it
deserves.
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1 Corinthians 6:19-20
What? know ye not that your body is the
temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you,
which ye have of God, and ye are not your
own? For ye are bought with a price:
therefore glorify God in your body, and in
your spirit, which are God's. |
YOUR SPIRIT
Next, take a look at the spirit. What is your
spirit? Keep in mind that we are made in God's image,
and He sent the Holy Spirit to teach us TRUTH.
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John 14:26
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,
whom the Father will send in my name, He
shall teach you all things, and bring all
things to your remembrance, whatsoever I
have said unto you. |
Your spirit is the part of you that obeys the things
that your soul tells it to feel. Many people think that
the spirit and the soul are the same thing, but, your
mind (soul) controls your spirit. Your mind tells your
spirit (your feelings and emotions) to act and/or to
react to things.
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Job 33:4
The spirit of God hath made me, and the
breath of the Almighty hath given me life. |
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Isaiah 42:5
Thus saith God the LORD, He that created the
Heavens, and stretched them out; He that
spread forth the Earth, and that which
cometh out of it; He that giveth breath unto
the people upon it, and spirit to them that
walk therein ... |
What happens to your spirit when your body dies? Your
spirit, the breath of God in you, goes back to God when
your mortal body dies, because it belongs to Him.
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Ecclesiastes 12:7
Then
shall the dust return to the Earth as it
was: and the spirit shall return unto God
who gave it. |
Here's the answer to the question asked earlier ...
Who are YOU, anyway?
YOUR SOUL
You are your soul. Your soul is your being. It is your
existence. When you think of your virtues, not your
physical self, but the things that make you WHO you are
and different from everyone else that ever existed ...
THAT ... Is WHO YOU ARE.
Finally, the answer to that fearful question ... What
happens to YOU ... Your soul ... When your body dies and
your spirit returns to God? If you're a believer in
Jesus Christ, it's a journey to look forward to. Just a
couple of hints about where your soul will be going ...
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John 14:2
In my Father's house are many mansions: if
it were not so, I would have told you. I go
to prepare a place for you. |
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1 Corinthians 2:9
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor
ear heard, neither have entered into the
heart of man, the things which God hath
prepared for them that love Him. |
Did you read that? That means that even if you could
imagine your life after this one, being the most
wonderful thing you could ever think of ... You STILL
haven't imagined anything as wonderful as it truly is,
because you can't. It's just too awesome ... Beyond
human comprehension.
Now, that's a bit vague, and you're probably wanting a
little more detail about things. So we're going to back
up just a bit and start from the beginning and learn
step by step what happens to you when you die.
WHEN
THE DEATH OF A CHRISTIAN OCCURS ...
This is known as the 1st death ... The spirit returns to
God:
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Ecclesiastes 12:7
Then shall
the dust return to the Earth as it was: and
the
spirit shall return unto God who gave it. |
The Soul is carried away by Angels to Abraham's Bosom
also known as Paradise.
JESUS SHARED THIS TRUTH:
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Luke 16:19-31
There was
a certain rich man, which was clothed in
purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously
every day: And there was a certain beggar
named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate,
full of sores, And desiring to be fed with
the crumbs which fell from the rich man's
table: moreover the dogs came and licked his
sores. And it came to pass, that
the beggar
died, and was carried by the angels into
Abraham's bosom:
the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift
up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and
Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said,
Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send
Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his
finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I
am tormented in this flame. But Abraham
said, Son, remember that thou in thy
lifetime receivedst thy good things, and
likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is
comforted, and thou art tormented. And
beside all this, between us and you there is
a great gulf fixed: so that they which would
pass from hence to you cannot; neither can
they pass to us, that would come from
thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore,
father, that thou wouldest send him to my
father's house: For I have five brethren;
that he may testify unto them, lest they
also come into this place of torment.
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and
the Prophets; let them hear them. And he
said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went
unto them from the dead, they will repent.
And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses
and the Prophets, neither will they be
persuaded, though one rose from the dead. |
The body returns to dust:
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Genesis 3:19
In the
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,
till
thou return unto the ground; for out of it
wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto
dust shalt thou return. |
Of
course the body doesn't instantly dissolve into dust,
but after the death of the body and until it does
decompose, it does not contain your soul and spirit any
longer.
This is a great time to learn more about what happens to
your soul in Paradise!
Interesting, huh? Okay, back to the order of things that
happen when a Christian dies. The body dies, the spirit
returns to God, the soul goes to Abraham's Bosom also
known as Paradise, then the body turns back into dust.
At this point, you rest in peace until the 7th Trumpet
of the End Times. This is the 1st resurrection, and at
this time, you receive a spiritual body when you are
raised and meet those who are raptured in the air, and
THEN you go to Heaven.
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1 Corinthians 15:42-44
So also is the resurrection of the dead. It
is sown in corruption; it is raised in
incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is
raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it
is raised in power: It is sown a natural
body; it is raised a spiritual body. There
is a natural body, and there is a spiritual
body. |
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1 Corinthians 15:51-52
Behold, I
shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in
the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump:
for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead
shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall
be changed. |
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1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
For the Lord Himself shall descend from
Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
Archangel, and with the trump of God: and
the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we
which are alive and remain shall be caught
up together with them in the clouds, to meet
the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be
with the Lord. |
So, what happens after your soul is in Heaven? There
will be a celebration called the Marriage Supper of the
Lamb, and those who have prepared, will become as
Angels. This study will explain:
At
this time begins the Millennium which is 1,000 years of
peace on Earth. Those who have been raptured and those
who were part of the 1st resurrection, live and reign
with Christ in Heaven for 1,000 years.
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Revelation 20:4
And I saw
thrones, and they sat upon them, and
judgment was given unto them: and I saw the
souls of them that were beheaded for the
witness of Jesus, and for the word of God,
and which had not worshipped the beast,
neither his image, neither had received his
mark upon their foreheads, or in their
hands; and they lived and reigned with
Christ a thousand years. |
At
the End of the Millennium, Satan is released from the
bottomless pit.
WHAT?!
WHY?!
Because he gets a second chance too, just like everyone
else. Of course, he will fail miserably and he gets
thrown into the Lake of Fire to be tormented for
eternity.
Now, on with what happens to your soul after the
Millennium. God creates a new Heaven and a new Earth and
you live FOREVER with God and Jesus!
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Revelation 21:1-4
And I saw
a new Heaven and a new Earth: for the first
Heaven and the first Earth were passed away;
and there was no more sea. And I John saw
the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down
from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband. And I heard a great
voice out of Heaven saying, Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and He will
dwell with them, and they shall be His
people, and God Himself shall be with them,
and be their God. And God shall wipe away
all tears from their eyes; and there shall
be no more death, neither sorrow, nor
crying, neither shall there be any more
pain: for the former things are passed away. |
To
summarize, you can follow the stairway below. Please
begin at the bottom of the stairs 😇
THE STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN
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Millennium ... 1,000 years of peace ...
Live and reign with Christ |
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The Marriage Supper of the Lamb |
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At 7th trumpet, dead arise and meet Jesus in
the air ... We shall be changed. |
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Body returns to dust ... Soul carried away
by angels to Abraham's Bosom |
We sure learned a lot together today ... Can't wait
to share more with you tomorrow about the fear of
death, and how to conquer it!
DO NOT FEAR DEATH !!!
To continue our program, select:
STEP # 3
I’ll meet you there!
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