In Coronatime thinking about death

None of us likes thinking about death, but there are times when we have little choice. For weeks now we did not hear anything else that so many died. Everywhere in the world lives are lost.

The unseen enemy has reached every corner of society, being rich does not help you to avoid the death toll. The so-called most rich, developed and greatest nation in the world shows its very weak position and how capital gain has become more important there than human lives of ethical values.

We could notice an increase at certain websites and received more letters and phone calls from worried people, asking why God allows this to happen or what mankind has done wrong. The corona crisis has unexpectedly raised the specter of death itself, our constant companion even if, most of the time, we do our best to ignore it.

This month Time Magazine has taken the opportunity to write about death, heaven and hell.

There are over two billion Christians in the world, the vast majority of whom believe in heaven and hell. According to many Christian when people die they would have one part, which they call the soul going either to everlasting bliss or torment (or purgatory en route). Strangely enough, most Christians believe in a loving heavenly Father, but do not ask a question about such a father when he would have his children being tortured for ages and ages in a fire! Can you imagine yourself doing that to your children, even when they would have hurt yourself a lot?

Americans continue to anticipate a version of the alternatives portrayed in The Good Place: regardless of religious persuasion, 72% believe in a literal heaven, 58% in a literal hell.

Do they never went or go looking in the Bible to see what the Word of God really says?

The vast majority of these people assume also Jesus himself taught such read. But that is not true. Neither Jesus, nor the Hebrew Bible he interpreted, endorsed the view that departed souls go to paradise or everlasting pain. Though there were Roman and Greek philosophers who talked about split personalities or two or more elements in a human being that could separate from the physical human being. Only many centuries later those who agreed with the Roman rulers to go for a three-headed god, also were eager to integrate the thought of separate units in the human body with a soul going to one or another place.

Unlike most Greeks, ancient Jews traditionally did not believe the soul could exist at all apart from the body. On the contrary, for them, the soul was more like the “breath.” In particular for them it was the Breath of God Which brought the breath in man, making him able to breathe and to live. Without breathing or without breath there would be no life in man.

It is good that Time magazine in these times when so many are confronted with death, brings an article to clarify the misreading of so many books and in particular the reading of the Book of books, the Bible.
Bart D. Ehrman in his article of 2020 May the 8th is willing to look at the first human God created, Adam, who began as a lump of clay; then God “breathed” life into him (Genesis 2: 7). Adam remained alive until he stopped breathing. Then it was dust to dust, ashes to ashes.

Ancient Jews thought that was true of us all. When we stop breathing, our breath doesn’t go anywhere. It just stops. So too the “soul” doesn’t continue on outside the body, subject to postmortem pleasure or pain. It doesn’t exist any longer.

In the article, you shall be able to read that it was not only by the Christians that opinions changed. In several Jewish communities infiltrated the false teachings. Problem with lots of human beings is that it is very difficult to cope with the idea that we just can die and that everything would be finished with us. Not many people love the idea that when we die we can not do anything any more. Though the scriptures are very clear about it.

 “For the living know they will die; but the dead do not know anything, nor have they any longer a reward, for their memory is forgotten.” (Ec 9:5 NAS)

 “Whatever your hand finds to do, verily, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.” (Ec 9:10 NAS)

For many it is unacceptable that we would just be like plants and animals and not having something better after this life. But the Bible tells us:

 “19  For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. 20  All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust.” (Ec 3:19-20 NAS)

It must be said also God’s own people Israel continually were by their confrontation of difficulties in life oblidged to think about life and death.

The article writer questions

 If God loves his people and is sovereign over all the world why do his people experience so much tragedy?

And remarks

Contrary to what other Jewish leaders taught, Jesus preached that no one will inherit the glorious future kingdom by stringently observing all the Jewish laws in their most intimate details; or by meticulously following the rules of worship involving sacrifice, prayer, and observance of holy days; or by pursuing one’s own purity through escaping the vile world and the tainting influence of sinful others. Instead, for Jesus, the earthly utopia will come to those who are fully dedicated to the most pervasive and dominant teachings of God’s law. Put most simply, that involves loving God above all things despite personal hardship, and working diligently for the welfare of others, even when it is exceedingly difficult. People who have not been living lives of complete unselfish love need to repent and return to the two “greatest commandments” of Jewish Scripture: deep love of God (Deuteronomy 6:4-6) and committed love of neighbor (Leviticus 19:18).

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Please find the Time magazine to read: What Jesus Really Said About Heaven and Hell

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Find more articles about the "soul" 

1. How much does man wants to be dependent on a Divine Creator?
2. Why is the Holy Spirit sometimes called the Holy Ghost? 
3. Finding and Understanding Words and Meanings
4. Preexistence in the Divine purpose and Trinity
5. Looking at three “I am” s
6. Non-practicing Christians widely believing in a god or higher power
7. What is life?
8. Concerning Man
9. Realities concerning Human Life and Death
10. Dying or not
11. What happens when we die?
12. Immortality, eternality - onsterfelijkheid, eeuwigheid
13. Is there an Immortal soul
14. The Soul not a ghost
15. Are we taken up into heaven straight after we die?
16. The Soul confronted with Death
17. Consciously or unconsciously forming a world-view and choosing to believe or not to believe in God
18. From dust and breath into living beings
19. Bereshith 1-2 The Creation of the World – The Seven Days
20. Bereshith 2 Man and Woman placed in a Royal Garden
21. The figure of Eve
22. Ezekiel 18:4 – What the Bible teaches about Soul and Spirit
23. Matthew 6:1-34 – The Nazarene’s Commentary on Leviticus 19:18 Continued 5 Matthew 6: 24-34: e) Anxiety and neighbor love
24. Matthew 16:5-12 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Watch Out for the Leaven of False Teaching
25. Matthew 16:24-28 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: A Disciple Must Disown Self
26. Calvin’s view on trying to save your life
27. Spurgeon’s view on trying to save your life
28. False teachers and false prophets still around
29. We all have to have dreams
30. Departed Souls Await Judgment
31. Mortal Soul and Mortal Psyche #1 Intro
32. Mortal Soul and Mortal Psyche #2 Psyche, the word
33. Mortal Soul and Mortal Psyche #3 Historical background
34. Mortal Soul and Mortal Psyche #4 Psyche, According to the Holy Scriptures
35. Mortal Soul and Mortal Psyche #5 Mortality of man and mortality of the spirit
36. Mortal Soul and Mortal Psyche #6 Summary
37. Souls and Religions with Nirvana and light
38. The resurrected Lord
39. Who Through Jesus Sleep
40. All Souls’ Day
41. I Can’t Believe That (1) … God would send anyone to hell
42. The 1st Adam in the Hebrew Scriptures #1 Beginning of everything
43. The 1st Adam in the Hebrew Scriptures #4 The Fall
44. Self-development, self-control, meditation, beliefs and spirituality
45. According the vatican ashes and bone fragments cannot be kept at home
46. Are you religious, spiritual, or do you belong to a religion, having a faith or interfaith
47. The Development of Differences
48. 19° Century London Christadelphians
49. Today’s thought “A Perfect World” (January 02)
50. Today’s Thought “Proclaiming the kingdom” (May 13)
51. To be prepared for the Day of Judgment
52. A Word and helping sites to give answers
53. Two new encyclopaedic articles

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 Articles about hell

1. Hellfire 
2. Looking for answers on the question Is there a God #3 Transcendence or Surpassing other gods and man
3. Is God behind all suffering here on earth
4. God’s wrath and sanctification
5. Al-Fatiha [The Opening] Süra 1: 4-7 Merciful Lord of the Creation to show us the right path
6. Old and newer King James Versions and other translations #5 Further steps to women’s bibles
7. Old and newer King James Versions and other translations #9 Restored names and Sacred Name Bibles
8. I Can’t Believe That (1) … God would send anyone to hell
9. When there is secrecy involved
10. Being Religious and Spiritual 5 Gnostic influences
11. Need to reject an archaic, racist inspired interpretation of the Bible and animosity against other believers
12. Realities concerning Human Life and Death
13. Is there an Immortal soul
14. Grave, tomb, sepulchre - graf, begraafplaats, rustplaats, sepulcrum
15. This month's survey question: Heaven and Hell
16. Nazarene Commentary Matthew 5:21-26 – 1. The Nazarene’s Commentary on Exodus 20:13
17. A fact of History or just a fancy Story
18. Jesus three days in hell
19. We are redeemed; we are “bought with a price”
20. Jewish and Christian traditions of elders
21. Are we taken up into heaven straight after we die?
22. Darkness, light, burning fire, Truth and people in it
23. Is Hell-fire something to fear
24. Fear and protection
25. Fear of God reason to return to Holy Scriptures
26. Sheol, Sheool, Sjeool, Hades, Hell, Grave, Tomb, Sepulchre
27. Another way looking at a language #3 Abraham
28. Fragments from the Book of Job #1: chapters 1-12
29. From nothingness to a growing group of followers of Jeshua 3 Korban for God or gods
30. Sources of evil
31. Edward Wightman
32. Dave Norris and his writings on the Belgian Bible Students
33. Autumn traditions for 2014 – 2 Summersend and mansend
34. Heaven and hell still high on the believers list showing a religion gender gap
35. Indulgence still offered by roman Catholic Church
36. Today’s thought “Whoever is not with me …” (March 19)
37. Today’s thought “Ability to circumcise your heart” (May 13)
38. Salvation, Baptism and Re-baptism
39. Why we do not have our worship-services in a church building

Heaven and hell still high on the believers list showing a religion gender gap

Typological groups according to the Pew Research Center. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A new Pew Research Center analysis of international census and survey data finds that there is a religion gender gap: Women generally are more religious than men by several key measures of religious commitment, although this pattern is not universal and can vary by religious tradition.

In some countries and faiths, men are more religious than women, at least by some measures. For instance, among Muslims and Orthodox Jews, men are more likely than women to attend worship services at least weekly, the new study finds.

Religiousness also can be measured by asking people how important religion is to them personally. In more than half of the 84 countries surveyed (46), roughly equal shares of men and women say that religion is “very important” to them. However, in 36 other countries, more women than men say religion is important in their lives – and usually by wide margins. As a result, across all 84 countries, women surpass men in this aspect of religious commitment by an average of 5 percentage points (65% vs. 60%). Only in Mozambique and Israel do men say that religion is very important to them more often than women do.

The biggest exception to the general pattern of women being more religious than men occurs in weekly attendance at worship services. Across the 81 countries where Pew Research Center data are available for this measure, more men than women attend worship at least once a week (48% vs. 42%).

This attendance gap is largely driven by 27 countries in the survey with large Muslim populations. In many Islamic societies, men are expected to attend communal Friday worship services in the mosque, while women can fulfill this obligation either inside or outside the mosque. There are similar religious norms regarding worship attendance among Orthodox Jews in Israel. As a result, men in these 28 countries report far greater rates of attendance than women, often by margins of at least 20 percentage points.

By contrast, in countries that have large Christian populations (30 of the 81 studied on this measure), women are more likely to report attending services weekly. And in 23 other countries, men and women report attending about equally.

According to an other Pew Research Center published last month, surveys in 63 countries have asked Muslims and Christians about belief in heaven, hell and angels and showed that lots of people are still convinced that they might be tortured for ever after they die or that they go to heaven when they are finished here on earth.

In 47 of the 63 countries (75%), men and women are about equally likely to profess a belief in heaven. Women are more likely to believe in heaven in 15 countries, often by margins of 5 percentage points or more. 

Men and women in 52 of 63 countries (83%) are about equally likely to say they believe in hell. Women hold this belief more than men in 10 countries, while men surpass women in this belief in Lebanon. Overall, when the 63 countries are taken together, an average of 81% of women and 80% of men believe in hell.

Across all 63 countries, a greater share of women than men believe in angels by an average gap of 3 percentage points.

Looking at Christians only, there are just a handful of countries where the genders differ significantly in their beliefs in these concepts. A larger share of Christian men believe in heaven in only one country (Lebanon); Christian men are more likely than Christian women to believe in hell in two countries (the United States and Lebanon) and to believe in angels in one country (Zambia). On the other hand, more Christian women than Christian men profess belief in heaven in five countries (Russia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chile, Botswana and the United States), in hell in four countries (Kazakhstan, Russia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Chile) and in angels in nine countries (Kazakhstan, Russia, Uruguay, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Uganda and Guatemala).

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• Pew Research Center at PAA
• Older Generations Flip-Flopped on Big Government, Will Millennials Do the Same?
• Women More Devout Than Men: Study
• Women generally are more religious than men, but not everywhere
• New Survey Finds the Religiously Unaffiliated Have a Wider Gender Gap Than Any Faith Group
• The Gender Gap in Religion Around the World
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• 5. Women and men about equally likely to believe in heaven, hell and angels

This month's survey question: Heaven and Hell

Heaven and Hell: What does the Bible REALLY teach?


For centuries preachers went around bringing frightful ideas about places were people would be tortured for the sins they had done here on earth.  It has been commonly believed by most professing Christians that heaven is the abode of the righteous dead where they experience everlasting joy and happiness, and that hell is the eternal abiding place of the wicked who are subject to never-ending torment in its unquenchable fires.

This month's survey question:
Is the Bible's Hell a flaming torture chamber?

• Yes.  Unrepentant sinners deserve what they get!
• No.  The word translated hell simply means the grave.
• The notion of a fiery hell is nothing but empty superstition.
• Hell is conscious eternal separation from God, not torture in flames.
• Don't know.

Go to > http://www.thisisyourbible.com/

A remaining name

"My name from the palms of His hands
Eternity will not erase;
Impress'd on His heart it remains,
In marks of indelible grace."

"He shall present my soul,
Unblemish'd and complete,
Before the glory of His face,
With joys divinely great"

"I, among the blood-wash'd throng,
Shall wave the palm, and wear the crown,
And shout loud victory"

"Grace all the work shall crown
Through everlasting days;
It lays in Heaven the topmost stone,
And well deserves the praise"

- C. H. Spurgeon

C. H. Spurgeon, "The Prince of Preachers" (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Related articles

• "Glory to crown it all" by Charles Spurgeon
• "Loved unto the End" (Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook)
• A Man Without Fear (Spurgeon's Faith's Checkbook)
• Voices from the Past: The Conversion of Charles Spurgeon
• "The Prince of Preachers"
• What Made Spurgeon a Great Preacher

The World framed by the Word of God

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Genesis 1:1

"Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee." Nehemiah 9:6

"He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing." Job 26:7

"By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent." Job 26:13

"A Psalm of David. The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods." Psalm 24:1-2

"By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." Psalm 33:6

"The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land." Psalm 95:5

"Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands." Psalm 102:25

"To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever." Psalm 136:5-6

"He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion." Jeremiah 10:12

"Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding." Isaiah 40:28

"I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things." Isaiah 45:7

"Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together." Isaiah 48:13

"And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?" Isaiah 51:13

"All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." John 1:3

"And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:" Acts 4:24

"Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?" Acts 7:49-50

"And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:" Acts 14:15

"God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;" Acts 17:24

"And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:" Ephesians 3:9

"Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;" Hebrews 1:2

"And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:" Hebrews 1:10

"Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." Hebrews 11:3
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The Bible

Dutch version / Nederlandse versie > De Wereld tot stand gekomen door het Woord van God

We all are changed into the same image from glory to glory

“For our citizenship is in Heaven, from where we also wait for a Savior, [the] Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our body of humiliation, for it to be conformed to His body of glory, according to the working of His power, even to put all things under Himself.” (Php 3:20-21 LIT)

 “And from above the expanse that [was] over their heads [was] an appearance like a sapphire stone, the likeness of a throne. And on the likeness of the throne [was] a likeness in appearance like a man on it from above. And I saw [Him], like the color of polished bronze, looking like fire within it all around. From the appearance of His loins and upward, and from the appearance of His loins and downward, I saw [Him] looking like fire; and brightness to it all around. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of the rain, so appeared the brightness all around. This [was] the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah. And I saw, and I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.” (Eze 1:26-28 LIT)

 “But we all with [our] face having been unveiled, having beheld the glory of [the] Lord in a mirror, are being changed [into] the same image from glory to glory, as from [the] Lord Spirit.” (2Co 3:18 LIT)

 “Beloved, now we are the children of God, and it was not yet revealed what we shall be. But we know that if He is revealed, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.” (1Jo 3:2 LIT)

 “And they will not hunger still, nor will they thirst still, nor at all shall fall on them the sun, nor any kind of heat.” (Re 7:16 LIT)

 “And they sing the song of Moses the slave of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous [are] Your works, Lord God Almighty, righteous and true [are] Your ways, King of the saints.” (Re 15:3 LIT)

Dutch version / Nederlands > Omgevormd van de ene heerlijkheid tot de andere

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 2013 update:

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• ALL Glory to God! * Jude 1:20 - 25 [Moffat] | Bible Resources
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With the gift of Jesus comes an awesome responsibility

See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?

Hebrews 12:25, New International Version

Dutch version / Nederlandss versie > Met het geschenk van Jezus komt een geweldige verantwoordelijkheid

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    With the gift of Jesus comes an awesome responsibility: we must listen, follow, and honor him! If God demanded that his people obey his lesser messengers who were prophets or kings, what do you think the responsibility is for us to listen when he has given his Son's glory so that it might shine on us?

    Thank you, dear Father, for sending your Son and my Savior, Jesus. Please, dear LORD, I do not want to ever take that gift for granted. Please empower me and give me wisdom so that I can faithfully listen and serve Jesus, in whose name I pray. Amen.

Heart of Jesus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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