Man’s State in Death

For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun. Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6.
The theory of the immortality of the soul was one of those false doctrines that Rome, borrowing from paganism, incorporated into the religion of Christendom. Martin Luther classed it with the “monstrous fables that form part of the Roman dunghill of decretals.” Commenting on the words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes, that the dead know not anything, the Reformer says: “ … Solomon judgeth that the dead are asleep, and feel nothing at all. For the dead lie there, accounting neither days nor years, but when they are awakened, they shall seem to have slept scarce one minute.”
The martyr Tyndale, referring to the state of the dead, declared: “I confess openly, that I am not persuaded that they be already in the full glory that Christ is in, or the elect angels of God are in. Neither is it any article of my faith; for if it were so, I see not but then the preaching of the resurrection of the flesh were a thing in vain.”
According to the popular belief, the redeemed in heaven are acquainted with all that takes place on the earth, and especially with the lives of the friends whom they have left behind. But how could it be a source of happiness to the dead to know the troubles of the living, … to see them enduring all the sorrows, disappointments, and anguish of life? … And how utterly revolting is the belief that as soon as the breath leaves the body, the soul of the impenitent is consigned to the flames of hell! To what depths of anguish must those be plunged who see their friends passing to the grave unprepared, to enter upon an eternity of woe and sin!
Christ represents death as a sleep to His believing children. Their life is hid with Christ in God, and until the last trump shall sound those who die will sleep in Him.
The Faith I Live By p. 175
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Martha whose insurance will not allow her to stay in rehab any longer even though she is not able to care for herself at home. Please pray that something can be worked out for her benefit. Rose
—-This is a PRAISE REPORT concerning my dear mother. Since all of you who have been PRAYING for my mom and she was ANNOINTED with oil up in front of the church these are the things that have happened. The MRSA that has been plaguing her for years in her body is GONE! Nothing the Drs. gave her worked! She now has 20/20 vision! Her eyes were full of MRSA for years and she was basically legally blind! Nothing the Drs. gave her worked! They said she would have to have a surgery in her head to remove MRSA that was colonizing in her tear duct and was going deep inside her head…..now GONE! Surgery was cancelled! The DRS. were sure she needed a heart valve replacement surgery………operation cancelled…NOT NEEDED! She had pneumonia and a lung infection and dehydration….now GONE! She has had skin cancer on her face for years and many surgeries to remove it….NOW GONE!! It is drying up and rolling into little balls off her face! She has had a gurgling sound going on on the left side of her head for a year now…..NOW GONE! Her hearing is much IMPROVED! She was unable to walk a couple of weeks ago but she is now able to slowly walk around her living room with help! Her severe bouts of shortness of breath are now GONE! I CAN ONLY PRAISE THE LORD AND THANK HIM WITH ALL MY HEART!! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS!! Connie
—-Please keep my sister in Christ Carrie in prayer. She’s back in the ER suffering from numbness and pain from head to toes, severe headaches too. Asking for a complete healing. Connie T.
—-Please pray for the young girls who are being taken for sex rings in our country. Cynthia
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Dear Friends,
Some years ago, I had to go to the tag office to get a license plate for the car we had recently purchased. We had been having unusually cold weather, and that morning was no exception. The wind chill was -16F because of the cold wind that was blowing. Several of us arrived about fifteen minutes early so we would not have to wait long once the office opened. A couple of women were standing outside. The rest of us stayed in our cars. Soon several of the men decided to stand in the line. About five minutes before the place opened, I joined them.
How thankful I was for the warm coat Ron had bought me a few months before. Despite the frigid temperature, I was comfortable. The man in front of me was not prepared for the cold. He was dressed in a thin jacket and was shivering uncontrollably: so was the teenager in front of him who had worn only a sweatshirt.
The rest of the way home, I was thinking of the various people in that line and their choice of attire. What they wore that day determined how they were able to stand against the cold. Just so, there is a garment that we all must have in order to stand against the enemy of souls. So many are without this garment even though it is freely offered by our Dear Saviour. Some think they can wear garments of their own making, but when the icy winds of trouble, that is coming upon the world as an overwhelming surprise, blow, it is too late. Now is the time to be prepared for that dreadful day.
The True Witness yearns to clothe us with the garment we so much need. He pleads, “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Rev 3:18-21
To Zechariah was given a vision of this Heavenly raiment that we can receive only at our Redeemer’s hand. “And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments.” Zech 3:1-5
Without this Heavenly garment, this white raiment, we cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Jesus illustrated this point in the story of the man without a wedding garment. “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matt 22:2-13 God’s Great Heart of Love longs to place upon us that wedding garment so that we will not suffer the same consequence.
May we each day make the needed preparation against the time of the blowing of the four winds by receiving from our Lord Jesus Christ the robe of His Righteousness that He so freely offers. May we allow Him to take our filthy garments completely from us for “No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse.” Mark 2:21 May we live so close to Jesus here, that soon we will be bowing “before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; [proclaiming] with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.” Rev 7:9,10
Rose