No matter what you endeavor to do in life, it’s important that you have a good foundation to build on. If you want to play a sport that requires running or skating, you need to know how to run and skate and have coordination as a foundation to build on. If you want to be an accountant, learning basic math skills will be needed for the foundation of your profession. Jesus explained this concept to us in the parable of the wise and foolish men building a house. He told us we need to be sure our spiritual foundations are solid if we want our house of faith to survive the storms of life.

Although foundations are the most important part of a structure, they often go unchecked once we’ve laid them. We tend to forget about them. Taking them for granted we concentrate on the more attractive, thrilling aspects of the building. However, making sure those foundations remain firm and healthy is important to maintaining any structure. Periodic inspection for denigration is imperative. Is your foundation secure? Or does it have cracks. This article will help you discover a common foundational flaw.

Most Christians I’ve observed, build the foundations of their faith by adopting the beliefs they have been taught, rather than proving those beliefs through rigorous Bible study. Being a Christian demands that Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith, but a corner stone doesn’t form the full foundation. The very fact there is a cornerstone, means there must be intersecting foundation walls connected to it. Those spiritual footings include a wide array of differing beliefs that Christians will adhere to depending on their denomination.

Building from the cornerstone of Jesus, most Christians adopt their faith foundations from the denomination they feel most comfortable in. By not testing or proving their foundational beliefs against the word of God in the Bible, they take the doctrines from their chosen church as truth. They happily go along with the status quo until something changes and their foundational beliefs are challenged.

An example of this happened within my church. Our local church decided, through a congregational vote, to elect women onto our church’s board of Elders. This started a debate about complementarian and egalitarian values. Scriptures were brought forward by both sides to support their cases, both claiming to be following Bible scripture and intent. I wondered aloud why we had men as Elders who had been divorced and remarried or were single in apparent contradiction to scripture. As well, why are we holding ourselves to one Biblical standard when our model of governance was completely different from that of the first century church. I wondered when the first century congregations ever voted on any matter.

I further questioned, why are the women voting if indeed they aren’t fit to lead? Letting them vote would skew the results and change the direction of our church. In effect letting them lead. Democracy is government driven from the people giving the power of leadership to the people. A government of the people, by the people, is not Biblical.

Some members decided to stop attending after the vote, not wanting to support a local congregation that no longer supported their foundational beliefs. Our local church’s status quo had shifted off their personal foundations of faith.

More recently some of my friends have become concerned with the popular teachings of a church from northern California. This church is charismatic by nature and predominantly uses a nonliteral translation of the Bible to formulate their teachings. My friends are concerned about heretical viewpoints that may result within those who follow those teachings, ultimately taking those converts away from the truth of God. My friends’ foundational beliefs are being challenged and they refuse to sit by idly as they perceive others are being led astray through false teaching.

A lot of Christian teachings focus on non-essential customs that have been adopted by different denominations. These doctrines are not so much wrong as they are just different than what we may be accustomed to. However, we do need to make sure that our non-essential beliefs don’t contradict our essential beliefs. That would be like building a wing of our house out onto the grassy lawn, without any foundation at all.

It’s important that Christians challenge heresy when they come across it. The Bible instructs us all to be ready with an answer for the hope that lies within us. Defending our beliefs through Bible scripture is the only way to authenticate them as Godly truth. Having a firm footing through the word of God is essential to fully appreciate the love God has for us. I have come to believe there is a common false doctrine that has led secular and Christian alike away from God. Replacing this false belief with Bible truth is necessary to fully understand God’s plan for humanity and the salvation Jesus brought to the world. Understanding where this belief came from and how it misdirects us away from the gospel of Jesus is crucial when building our faith.

When asked, most Christians will tell you they want to follow the truth of God. You would be hard pressed to find a Christian denomination that states they could care less about what God, Jesus, or the Bible has to say. Christians who build their foundations of faith on unsound doctrines, or on denominational beliefs alone, will often look for a new church to attend when their beliefs are challenged, rather than test their beliefs against all of what the Bible has to say. Not many Christians prove their core foundations through a personal exhaustive search of what God has to say within the pages of his Bible. Getting core beliefs correct is important when setting our foundation of faith. Otherwise our house of faith will not stand against life’s trials and collapse.

It reminds me of a valley that was developed into suburbs in my hometown. This valley was good for farming, but it was geologically formed with strips of thick clay randomly running through its gravel base. When developed, many basements started to crack, and houses started to fall apart because of the differing expansion and contraction rates of the substrate soil. Sometimes only one part, or wing of a house would be affected depending on what type of soil that part of the foundation was supported by. For the entire house to be sound though, the entire foundation has to be strong. In the same way, all our beliefs, peripheral as well as essential, must be firmly based on Bible scripture.

I attend a church that bills itself as a church that encourages freedom of thought, encouraging its congregants to agree on the essentials but have freedom on the peripherals. This tends to leave us welcoming to those who don’t share the same perspectives on issues as the majority. I have found most members will agree to disagree, rather than deeply study into a point of contention and resolve it. Believing the Bible to be non-contradictory and the authoritative word of God, I don’t favor this approach.

I personally don’t want to be out of tune with the word of God. If I’m wrong, I want to change and believe the truth supported in the Bible, as it can potentially influence other aspects of my biblical understanding. Unfortunately for me, it’s hard to engage my church brethren into deep discussions on our differing beliefs of faith. They would rather discuss peripheral topics superficially, ultimately leaving most subjects open to personal preference, rather than biblical fact.

The issues of improper teaching and leadership roles are important to any church body and not ones to be taken lightly. They should be dealt with through extensive Bible study and prayer within the church. There is one essential false doctrine that has flourished throughout history. One that most of mankind mistakenly shares. More than any other belief or teaching, it is responsible for leading religious and secular society away from God and his plans of salvation. I believe Christians concerned about false doctrine flourishing in their local church should deal with this belief before they set out to rectify more peripheral issues. Getting this foundational doctrine wrong will affect the understanding of most other Christian beliefs. Like all Christian truth, this one can be proved from within Bible scripture.

The false belief I’m talking about was given to humanity at its very inception. It was believed and passed on through the following generations until virtually all humanity has accepted it as fact. That’s how the same, one false belief has come to infect the entire world. The Bible account of this event is recorded for us in Genesis 3 (KJV)

1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

This encounter occurs during the event that has come to be known as, the original sin. This event also contains the original lie. The lie is delivered by the father of lies, who cunningly makes his first lie to humanity. It sets as many who believe it on a path away from their maker. Satan is described as the most subtle of all the creatures. He’s called not only wicked but also a murderer, schemer and the deceiver of the whole world. Mixing truth with lies, he has misled mankind about their most basic nature. He told mankind they possess a soul that will not die. Leaving humanity in no need of Jesus to provide them with immortal, eternal life.

However, as John 3:16 tells us, we must rely completely upon our belief in Jesus to gain eternal life, as only those who do will receive it. Those who don’t believe in Jesus will perish, as 3: 

They will not receive eternal life.

John 3:16 (NIV)
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Many Christians are so beguiled by an immortal soul belief, they unwittingly imagine scenarios that nullify the explicit words of God. Most Christians teach that humans are immortal at either birth or conception. This belief contradicts the Bible when it quotes God as he personally tells us mankind is mortal.

Genesis 6:3 (NIV)
3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with[a] humans forever, for they are mortal[b]; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

Many people believe I’m exaggerating when I say that believing we have an immortal soul can lead us away from God and his plans for mankind. Let me provide a few examples of how it does. Most Christians believe when they die their immortal soul will go directly to heaven. After all, their immortal soul would need someplace to reside after the death of their physical bodies. This idea does not square with biblical scripture that explains believers are all resurrected at the same event, at the return of Jesus. We tend to forget that for a person to be resurrected back to life, they must first be dead. We are told they are asleep, waiting for their resurrection to occur. Those believers who are dead rise first, then those who are left alive join with them as Jesus returns.

1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 New King James Version (NKJV)
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who [a]sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are [b]asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Referring to the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, many believe Jesus gave his followers an example of heaven and hell. When reading the parable from the beginning we find Jesus addressing the Jewish and temple leaders, not his followers. By addressing the Jewish leaders, Jesus was predicting how those very leaders would reject him. Even after fulfilling their last messianic miracle of bringing a dead person back to life after three days in the grave, those leaders still rejected Jesus as their messiah.

The Bible is revered by Christians to be the uncontradictory word of God. For the parable of Lazarus and the rich man to be literally describing heaven and hell, Abraham would have to be there in charge as the parable describes. However, the Bible explains Abraham is dead as he still hasn’t received the promise of eternal life. It describes him as waiting so that all believers can be made perfect at the same event, at the return of Jesus.

Hebrews 11:39-40 (NKJV)
39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

Centuries after Abraham died and months before Jesus was crucified he gave us the exact number of people that were in heaven. It is recorded in John.

John 3:13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.
The parable cannot be a literal description of heaven and hell as many believe. Abraham and Lazarus cannot be in heaven, as John 3:13 says, ‘No one has ever gone into heaven’.

Hebrews further tells us the faithful not only had their dead loved ones resurrected back to a physical life, but when being tortured to death they would refuse freedom because they desired an even better resurrection.

Hebrews 11:35 New International Version (NIV)
35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.

The timing of when Christians arrive in heaven may be deemed as a peripheral belief and not essential to the Christian faith. Beliefs the Bible does describe as essential are the Bible facts surrounding the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The Christian pillars of Jesus’ crucifixion, death, resurrection and proof of life are covered in 1 Corinthians 15:3-5. KJV.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

Later on, in chapter 15 Paul describes these facts as essential and the foundations for the Christian faith.

12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Resurrection back to life is central to the beliefs the disciples clung too. Knowing they had to die before they could be resurrected, they asked Jesus when they would be resurrected from the dead. Jesus told them four times in one conversation when their resurrection would take place. Their resurrection, as well as ours, will take place when Christ returns at the last day.

John 6:39-40 New International Version (NIV)
39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”
John 6:44 New International Version (NIV)
44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.
John 6:54 New International Version (NIV)
54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.

Christians justifiably make a lot of the fact that Jesus died for our sins and go on to explain that unless we accept his life’s sacrifice for ourselves, we are lost to our sin. The truth that Jesus died, leaves a Christian having to define what death is. For if it’s only through the death of Jesus that we can be saved, we need to understand what death is.

Physical death can be defined as the point when a person’s body no longer functions on any level, then rots back into the dirt it was formed out of. Most Christians and people of other faiths will tell us humans have a soul, spirit or some other ethereal aspect that lives within us all. It is often described as our immortal soul and that it lives on after our physical body dies. They explain although our mortal body is dead our immortal soul lives on independently conscious somewhere else.

To know what God has to say, we need to consult the Bible, for that is where God has provided the answer. Rather than agreeing that immortal souls of the physically dead are alive watching over us, the Bible tells us the dead know nothing and their emotions have ceased, leaving them unable to even praise God.

Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 King James Version (KJV)
5 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.
6 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.

Psalm 115:17 King James Version (KJV)
17 The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.
Genesis is often used to support the immortal soul belief, believing mankind was created with one.

Genesis 2:7 King James Version (KJV)
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.

It is true we were created a living soul, but our soul is mortal, the same as any animal. Soul refers to our bodies and psyche. This can be verified by looking at the Hebrew word that was translated as soul. The word Nephesh was used by God to describe all living fleshy animals. It was translated as soul when referring to humans, probably because man is sentient and other animals are not. In the terms of usage, Strong’s tells us Nephesh is to be used to describe mortal.

Strong’s Definitions [?](Strong’s Definitions Legend)
נֶפֶשׁ nephesh, neh’-fesh; from H5314; properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental):—any, appetite, beast, body, breath, creature, × dead(-ly), desire, × (dis-) contented, × fish, ghost, greedy, he, heart(-y), (hath, × jeopardy of) life (× in jeopardy), lust, man, me, mind, mortally, one, own, person, pleasure, (her-, him-, my-, thy-) self, them (your) -selves, slay, soul, tablet, they, thing, (× she) will, × would have it.

This discussion might be considered by some to also be peripheral in nature. I disagree. To be on sure footings, our peripheral beliefs can’t contradict our essential ones. The foundational belief that Jesus died for our sins is essential. He couldn’t have been dead if he had a conscious, immortal soul that was alive somewhere else, independent from his body. At best, Jesus would have only been extremely physically handicapped.

Logic dictates you can’t be pregnant and not pregnant at the same time. Opposites are like that. Evolutionists illogically believe there could have been gravity, particles or magnetic fields before anything existed. Good logic demands that you can’t be mortal if you possess immortality. Not letting our essential and peripheral beliefs contradict themselves is necessary when building our Christian foundations. If they do, our peripheral beliefs will not be supported by our Christian foundations. Leaving our house of faith to crumble as Jesus predicted they would during the storms of life.

I could give more examples but my intent here is to provide a small glimpse of how the immortal soul doctrine leads Christians away from the truths of God. I hope your interest is perked enough to look deeply into the subject yourself. Building our foundations of faith on the words of the Bible is important for all Christians. Let’s make sure our essential beliefs are correct as we construct a strong house of peripheral beliefs on top of a solid foundation.

A good friend and I have been discussing how Christians will have an eternal, active life with Jesus and how there is an eternal hell, or punishment for those who reject him. We share these beliefs although we differ on the mechanics of how it plays out. She sent me three scriptures to check out.

Revelation 20:14-15 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁴ And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

¹⁵ And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Daniel 12:2 New International Version (NIV)

² Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.

Matthew 25:46 New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

When it comes to the after-life, my friend and I don’t share all the same beliefs. She sides with a traditional Christian belief where the dead have an immortal soul that goes on to heaven or hell immediately after death, depending on how they lived their present physical lives. My understanding is less popular, I believe mankind is completely mortal and the dead are dead. Not having anything immortal about them, they must wait for God to resurrect them back to life when he’s ready. An important part of my belief is that through a resurrection back to physical life, God will give everyone who has ever lived an opportunity to accept Jesus and the salvation he alone brought to mankind.

To effectively comment on the scriptures my friend sent me to look at, I thought it would be helpful to explain how I believe the Bible describes these resurrections take place. Since most people aren’t familiar with the resurrections, it would mean nothing to most if I said one verse was an overview of all three resurrections and the other verses were about the third.

*A founding truth of Christianity is, we can only gain salvation by accepting Jesus as your savior. There is only one way.

Romans 10:9-10 New King James Version (NKJV)

⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Acts 4:12 Good News Translation (GNT)

¹² Salvation is to be found through him alone; in all the world there is no one else whom God has given who can save us.”

*Those who are called by God have their opportunity now during this life.

2 Timothy 1:9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,

*Not everyone in the world is meant to hear about Jesus during this present life.

Mark 4:11-12 New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables ¹² so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’^[a]”

*God has purposefully chosen the foolish of the world.

1 Corinthians 1:27 English Standard Version (ESV)

²⁷ But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;

*Only those God draws to Jesus can come to him for salvation.

John 6:44 New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁴ “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.

*Those who come to Jesus during this life will be resurrected into their new bodies at the return of Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

*All the faithful believers will be resurrected into spiritual bodies like Jesus has. We get our new bodies together at the same event when Jesus returns to the earth.

Hebrews 11:39-40 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

³⁹ God was pleased with all of them because of their faith. But not one of them received God’s great promise. ⁴⁰ God planned something better for us. He wanted to make us perfect. Of course, he wanted those great people to be made perfect too, but not before we could all enjoy that blessing together.

*When teaching a crowd about eternal life, Jesus told them 4 times in John 6 when he would raise up his disciples.

³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me,but raise them up at the last day.

⁴⁰ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

⁴⁴ “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.

⁵⁴ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.

*This is the first mass resurrection of humanity by God. It’s referred to as the first resurrection, although it isn’t technically the first resurrection of a person. Those who answer the call of God during this life will rein with Jesus. For the first thousand years after Jesus returns, they’ll be teaching the inhabitants of the world how to live a Godly life as the earth is being rejuvenated.

Revelation 20:6 King James Version (KJV)

⁶ Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

*When Jesus returns to the earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, he defeats the armies of the world who oppose him. We will be with him as kings and priests, ruling over those who survive this war and their offspring.

Revelation 5:10 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁰ And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

*Satan is then bound for a thousand years.

Revelation 20:1-3 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

20 I saw an angel coming down out of heaven. The angel had the key to the bottomless pit. The angel also held a large chain in his hand. ² The angel grabbed the dragon, that old snake, also known as the devil or Satan. The angel tied the dragon with the chain for 1000 years. ³ Then the angel threw the dragon into the bottomless pit and closed it. The angel locked it over the dragon. The angel did this so that the dragon could not trick the people of the earth until the 1000 years were ended. After 1000 years the dragon must be made free for a short time.

*The earth will be in shambles, in need of healing, barely able to sustain life.

Matthew 24:22 New King James Version (NKJV)

²² And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the ^[a]elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

*Healing waters will flow out into the world, renewing it for that first thousand years.

Zechariah 14:8 New International Version (NIV)

⁸ On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.

*The first resurrection is for the followers of Jesus who come through the tribulation and are given new bodies at his return but there are more resurrections to come for humanity.

Revelation 20:4-6 New International Version (NIV)

⁴ I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheadedbecause of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God.They^[a] had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reignedwith Christ a thousand years. ⁵ (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.⁶ Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

*At the end of the thousand years, before Satan is released, there is another mass resurrection of humanity. The rest of the dead come to life at the end of the thousand years, in a second resurrection. It’s in this resurrection to physical life that all people who never had an opportunity to know Jesus will get their chance. Those who died young, or lived at the wrong time or place, those who lived a life free from the call of God, they will finally get their chance to hear that call. They will be resurrected onto a freshly renovated earth where they will be taught, free of any Satanic influence, by Jesus and his kings and priests. They will have a lifetime to decide if they want to follow Jesus. Not all will choose to follow Jesus, but it will be their free choice. God will not force anyone to follow his ways, we all must follow willingly.

Isaiah 65:20 New King James Version (NKJV)

²⁰ “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days,
Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days;
For the child shall die one hundred years old,
But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.

Ezekiel 37:11-14 New King James Version (NKJV)

¹¹ Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. ¹⁴ I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’

*At the end of their lifetime Satan will be released from his chains. He goes out to deceive mankind.

Revelation 20:3 New King James Version (NKJV)

³ and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

*Again, the wicked follow Satan and fight against God.

Revelation 20:7-9 New King James Version (NKJV)

⁷ Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison ⁸ and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. ⁹ They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.

*Now God deals with Satan and the demons. Being immortal spirit beings, they cannot die and will be tormented eternally.

Revelation 20:10 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁰ And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

*Everyone who has ever lived has now had an opportunity to freely come to Jesus. Called by God during their first life, some were blessed by successfully struggling against Satan to become kings and priests of God. Others were resurrected to a second physical life where they decided if they would follow Jesus or not. Those who followed Satan into rebellion against God were killed by fire. Everyone who has ever lived have now had their call to follow Jesus, either during their first or second life.

It’s at this point where the verses my friend pointed out to me come into play. This is when God puts an end to all evil forever, as all those alive have chosen to follow Jesus in the ways of love, death and hell are cast into the lake of fire as they will never be used by mankind again.

Revelation 20:14-15 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁴ And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

*Some scoff at my beliefs of a second life for mankind. I think it’s important to remember that before we can have a second death, we would need to have a second life. That’s why those who are in the first resurrection at the return of Jesus cannot be hurt by the second death, they are resurrected into immortal bodies like Jesus has, not a mortal one that can die.

Revelation 20:6 King James Version (KJV)

⁶ Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

*However, there are still people to deal with. Those who were called by God but didn’t effectively put their talents to use in following Jesus during this first life, will now be resurrected back into a mortal body to give an accounting to God for their decisions, in what I call, the third and final resurrection. Not being found in the book of life they will be cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:15 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁵ And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

*Like in the teaching of the sheep and the goats or the wheat and the tares, those who believe in Jesus are separated into two groups. The good ones have already been resurrected into glorious bodies at the return of Jesus. When the others, who are resurrected into physical bodies are thrown into the lake of fire, they will die for the last time, their second death. Having only received a physical life from God, this last death will last for all eternity.

Luke 9:62 J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

⁶² But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts his hand to the plough and then looks behind him is useless for the kingdom of God.”

*There will be no one left for God to resurrect back to life, as all of humanity will have now had their one opportunity to accept Jesus as their savior. This is also when a second verse from my friend takes place. Those who die in the lake of fire will be dead for all eternity. Being dead they will know nothing, feel nothing, think nothing. They will be nothing for ever. Their punishment will be eternal; not eternal punishing. Those who decide to follow Jesus will have eternal life, the opposite experience.

Matthew 25:46 New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

*The last scripture is an overview of the end time. Some who are asleep will awaken when Jesus returns, others at the second resurrection where they will be called to Jesus for the first time. In the third resurrection others will be resurrected only to give an accounting for themselves. Everyone will be resurrected back to life, some to everlasting life, others to everlasting contempt.

Daniel 12:2 New International Version (NIV)

² Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.

*I believe the Bible is the true word of God. If it appears to be contradictory, then we are misunderstanding the scripture. Therefore, all scripture must be accounted for and understood so all scripture can be understood in harmony. I believe the only way to seamlessly fit verses like Romans 6:23 or John 3:15-17 into end time events, is to understand how the resurrections take place.

Romans 6:23 King James Version (KJV)

²³ For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

John 3:15-17 King James Version (KJV)

¹⁵ That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

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.

¹⁷ For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

*My friend and I both agree that those who love Jesus will be with him for all eternity, while those who choose not to follow Jesus will be eternally punished. We both believe God will not, nor cannot, force sentient, free thinking humans to love and obey him. That’s something we must decide to do for ourselves.

This series of resurrections is the only Bible based process I’ve found, where everyone who has ever lived gets to come to know and freely choose Jesus for themselves. Christians have a great opportunity ahead of them in the kingdom of God as they teach the bulk of humanity about the love of Jesus, ultimately sharing it with all the children of God forever.

Luke 1:33 King James Version (KJV)

³³ And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Isaiah 9:7 King James Version (KJV)

⁷ Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.