Will the Lake of Fire Ever Go Out?

He could, if He chose to do so. But He didn't and will not according to the Bible. I go by His Word, not yours.
DHK</font>[/QUOTE]That's all well and good but what do you do with what God's Word says?
</font>[/QUOTE]Think of the resurrection in terms of the resurrection of Christ. In fact it would be good to study 1Cor.15, where Paul presents a number of arguments based on the resurrection of Christ, why we also shall rise again.

When Christ died, where did His spirit go for three days and three nights? Did it just "float around," as you once suggested? Or would it be repulsive or Him to come and meet with that decrepit body of His that had been hanging on the cross, a mangled mess of scarred tissue and bones. Did His body meet His spirit or vice-versa? Did the body ascend to Heaven and meet His spirit there, or the spirit descend from Heaven to earth to meet His body, or did body and spirit meet half way in between? These are the type of questions that you are asking when you say that one must descend before he ascends, at the rapture. They are speculative and somewhat irrelevant. God is able to raise up every saved body that has ever lived and is living at that time. It will be joined with its spirit. I leave the how, the timing, the exact when, etc. in God's hands. I don't understand everything. But I do believe what God says on the matter. Christ is coming again for His own. When He does they will be raptured, caught up, as the Bible says. This is the first resurrection. The second one will involve all unbelievers and will take place just over a thousand years later at the Great White Throne Judgement.
DHK</font>[/QUOTE]If you believe God, WHAT do you do with HIS WORD?

That's all well and good but what do you do with what God's Word says?

1 Thessalonians 4:15. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16. 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:
17. 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.
18. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

BY the WORD of the LORD- NOT ME
SHALL NOT prevent them which are ASLEEP- our 'rapture' will not prevent those asleep
the DEAD in CHRIST shall RISE first- the DEAD RISE
to MEET the Lord in the air- If they were already in heaven wouldn't it say 'to go back to the Lord after reentering their bodies?

hmmm.

Do you not believe the WORD OF THE LORD?

 

1 Thessalonians 4:15. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16. 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:
17. 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.
18. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

Joh 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
Joh 5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
Joh 5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
Joh 5:27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
Joh 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Joh 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

Act 2:22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
Act 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
Act 2:24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
Act 2:25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
Act 2:26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
Act 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Act 2:28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
Act 2:29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
Act 2:30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
Act 2:31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
Act 2:32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Act 2:33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
Act 2:34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
Act 2:35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.
Act 2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

Act 26:8 Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?

That question is for you.

 

No you don't, you believe in reinsertion and translation.

What about the rest of the verses I posted?

God Bless.

 

DHK,

If you believe in 'separation' at death, then 'your opinion' (which you afore mentioned is meaningless) is that at the 'rapture' you will not be 'caught up' but rather your 'separated spirit' will be reinserted into your body and similtaneously translated into a glorified body, that will 'in the twinkling of an eye' be back up in the sky.

Does that sum it up?

Insertion and translation.

The Resurection of the Dead, is the INSTANT, translation of 'those who sleep' into IMMORTAL bodies who are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. (you know like what it says in 1 Thess 4:13-18).
The 'Rapture' is the INSTANT translation of the living who are in Christ at the time of Christ's 2nd coming, who are also given new immortal bodies.

God Bless

 

ANYWAY!

To be absent from your body is to be present with the Lord, which I already explained. Based on NUMEROUS scriptures that I have afore mentioned, when the body dies, it sleeps awaiting the resurrection. So since THE BIBLE says that there are NO thoughts that a dead person thinks, the VERY next thing they will percieve is the coming of Jesus. They will close their eyes in death, and 'in the twinkling' of an eye, open them, translated, seeing Jesus in the clouds, coming for the saved.

Sleeping in the presence of Jesus? I have never heard that one before.

The dead are in the graves.

The 'soul' is what YOU are, it is not something 'in' you. IT IS YOU.

You ARE a living soul. The 'soul' that sleeps is YOU. Your body, and brain preserved by the Holy Spirit, sleeping through time, until the resurrection. The 'moment' in 1Thess 4, is the moment when the old body will be changed into a new body and 'life' will come back to it.

NO WHERE in the Bible does it say that the wicked receive immortality.

I will admit that the phrase 'soul sleep' or any combination of those words are not in the Bible, that is just the title given for this truth.

The Bible supports it overwhelmingly in over 50 different places when the state of the dead is called 'sleep'.

If you don't want to accept that, it is between you and God. I leave it to you.

 

Phil.1:23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
2Cor.5: 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Death will strip us of the clothing of flesh, and all the comforts of life, as well as end all our troubles here below. But believing souls shall be clothed with garments of praise, with robes of righteousness and glory. The present graces and comforts of the Spirit are earnests of everlasting grace and comfort. And though God is with us here, by his Spirit, and in his ordinances, yet we are not with him as we hope to be. Faith is for this world, and sight is for the other world. It is our duty, and it will be our interest, to walk by faith, till we live by sight. This shows clearly the happiness to be enjoyed by the souls of believers when absent from the body, and where Jesus makes known his glorious presence. We are related to the body and to the Lord; each claims a part in us. But how much more powerfully the Lord pleads for having the soul of the believer closely united with himself! Thou art one of the souls I have loved and chosen; one of those given to me. What is death, as an object of fear, compared with being absent from the Lord! (Matthew Henry)

Translate also, "To go (literally, migrate) from our home in the body, and to come to our home with the Lord." We should prefer to be found alive at the Lord's coming, and to be clothed upon with our heavenly body (2Co_5:2-4). But feeling, as we do, the sojourn in the body to be a separation from our true home "with the Lord," we prefer even dissolution by death, so that in the intermediate disembodied state we may go to be "with the Lord" (Phi_1:23). "To be with Christ" (the disembodied state) is distinguished from Christ's coming to take us to be with Him in soul and body (1Th_4:14-17, "with the Lord"). Perhaps the disembodied spirits of believers have fulness of communion with Christ unseen; but not the mutual recognition of one another, until clothed with their visible bodies at the resurrection (compare 1Th_4:13-17), when they shall with joy recognize Christ's image in each other perfect. (Jamieson, Faucett, and Brown)

2Co 5:8 - Present with the Lord - This demonstrates that the happiness of the saints is not deferred till the resurrection. (Wesley)

And willing rather to be absent from the body. We would prefer to die. The same idea occurs in Php 1:23: "Having a desire to depart and to be with Christ; which is far better." The sense is, that Paul would have preferred to die, and to go to heaven, rather than to remain in a world of sin and trial.To be present with the Lord. The Lord Jesus. Cmt. on Ac 1:24. Comp. Php 1:23. The idea of Paul is, that the Lord Jesus would constitute the main glory of heaven, and that to be with him was equivalent to being in a place of perfect bliss. He had no idea of any heaven where the Lord Jesus was not; and to be with him was to be in heaven. That world where the Redeemer is, is heaven. This also proves that the spirits of the saints, when they depart, are with the Redeemer; that is, are at once taken to heaven. It demonstrates
(1.) that they are not annihilated.
(2.) That they do not sleep, and remain in an unconscious state, as Dr. Priestly supposes.
(3.) That they are not in some intermediate state--either in a state of purgatory, as the Papists suppose, or a state where all the souls of the just and the unjust are assembled in a common abode, as many Protestants have supposed--but
(4.) that they dwell WITH Christ; they are WITH the Lord, (proV ton kurion.) They abide in his presence; they partake of his joy and his glory; they are permitted to sit with him in his throne, Re 3:21. The same idea the Saviour expressed to the dying thief, when he said, "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise," Lu 23:43. (Albert Barnes)
DHK</font>[/QUOTE]First of all, I have a problem with this, because it is not YOUR words, NOR the Word of God, but the words of 'learned' men.

This doctrine that you propigate is what Jesus was talking about when He said:
Mat 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
Mat 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

While denying the scriptures that teach quite clearly that the state of the dead is that of sleep, you open yourself up to the deception of false doctrine. This is a very dangerous place to allow yourself to go. BEHOLD it is written:

2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
2Th 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
2Th 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
2Th 2:14 Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I cannot but speak the things of which I have seen and heard.

God Bless.