THE LIVING DEAD

Recently I was having a discussion with a couple of "Kingdom Hall" followers, commonly but falsely called, "Jehovah's Witnesses." There aren't Jehovah's witnesses because they don't believe that Jesus is Jehovah though the Bible clearly teaches that He is. One of the most frustrating things about our conversation was the main talker constantly referring to death as a cessation of being (annihilation) even though the Bible (once again) clearly teaches otherwise. Even after I showed her in the Bible that death could not mean annihilation she would fall back into that 1 minute later. These people are not the only ones to misunderstand death. Some people will say something to the effect, "I just want to kill myself and end it all!" Or, "Well, at least for them it's all over now." "At least they're better off." Wishful thinking unless they know Jesus personally.

According to the Bible there are three* basic kinds of death. In none of these three cases is death a cessation of being. In all of the cases you could refer to the individuals involved as "the living dead." Everyone experiences 1 type, whether or not you experience another type is completely up to you, and the 3rd type is related to your previous decision as we shall see.

I. DEFINITIONS

Death is not cessation but is separation. You can be separated from someone or something without ceasing to exist and this is exactly what the Bible teaches. Let's see as we examine the 3 basic kinds of death.

1. Physical death-separation of the soul (the immaterial) from the body (the material) as seen in Lk. 16:22-23. It began to be possible with the sin of Adam & Eve and is the basic due of all living [Gen. 3:21-24, Rm. 5:12). Since they dead continue to exist they could be called a type of living dead.

2. Spiritual death-separation of the soul from God because of sin. Since we are born sinners we are born spiritually dead [Ps. 51:5, Is. 59:2, Eph. 2:1]. This explains Adam's situation- he was spiritually dead though he lived physically for many more years [Gn. 2:17, 3:4, 8, 22-24]. This is the natural condion of all people born of man and woman but can be changed. In the meantime, alive physically, dead spiritually, they too can be classified as the living dead.

3. The Second death-separation of the soul from God eternally in the lake of fire as taught in Rev. 20:11-15. The lake of fire was prepared for Satan and the fallen angels (Mt. 25:41) but men choose to go there by rejecting Christ's righteousness [v. 46, II Cor. 5:21]. Living in the sense of existing but spirituall dead and undergoing the second death forever- the eternal living dead.

II. SOLUTIONS-REALLY ONLY 1 BUT IT COVERS ALL THREE!

1. Spiritual death can be changed to spiritual life by the new birth according to the Bible [Jn. 1:12, 3:3-8; Eph. 2:1]!

2. Physical death is only temporary then to a Christian and can even be avoided if the rapture hits before you die physically [I Th. 4:13-17].

3. The second death is completely avoided by trusting Christ while still alive physically [Jn. 11:25-26; Rev. 20:4-6, 15]

III. SUMMATIONS

1. Born once you'll die twice (already spiritually dead).

2. Born twice you'll only have the possibility of dying once.

3. There are no chances after physical death to get saved- Heb. 9:22-28].





*Others include- dying to self, dying daily