Of the World vs Of the Spirit

John 3:5 ~ יהושע (Y'shua) answered, “Truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he is unable to enter into the Kingdom of Elohim. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. 12 ~ I have explained earthly things and you do  not believe. How then will I explain heavenly things?

Romans 8:7 ~ Because minding the things of the flesh is hatred towards Elohim: for it does not subject itself to the Torah of Elohim, because it is not possible. And they who are in the flesh cannot please Elohim

1 John 2:15 ~ Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world — the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life —is not from the Father but from the world. The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of YHWH remains forever.…

From Ephesians 2 ~ And also you who were dead in your sins and in your offenses in which you before walked, according to the worldliness of this world and according to the will of the prince and power of the air (Satan), that spirit which is active in the children of disobedience: In which deeds we formerly spoke of in the cravings of our flesh; and we did the pleasure of our flesh and of our thoughts and imagination, and were altogether the children of wrath, like the rest.... Therefore, be mindful that you were formerly carnal Gentiles, without Y'shua and alienated from the Word of Elohim, not knowing His Instructions for Israel... without hope and without Yahweh... Because of His Son there is access for us, by His Spirit, to the Father... we become fellow citizens with the Set Apart believers and the household of YHWH Elohim.

Galatians 5:19 ~ For you know the works of the flesh, which are these: adultery, impurity and lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, stubbornness, treacheries, heresies, envy, murder, drunkenness, revelry and all like things. Those who do things like these, they will not inherit the Kingdom of Elohim.

Matthew 22:30 ~ For in the resurrection, neither do they marry, nor are given in marriage, but they are like angels in heaven.

1 Corinthians 15:40 ~ And there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the esteem of the heavenly is truly one, and the esteem of the earthly is another....

We were once 'carnal gentiles' blind to the Truth of His Word, spiritually dead because of our sinful behaviors, living according to the ways of the world. Our rebellious disobedient ways made us feel good and free from any authority... we did not know we were only really pleasing Satan... Galatians 5:19 ~ For you know the works of the flesh, which are these: adultery, impurity and lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, enmity (hatred), strife, jealousy, anger, stubbornness, treacheries, heresies, envy, murder, drunkenness, revelry and all like things. Those who do things like these, they will not inherit the Kingdom of Elohim."" 

In reading Ephesians 2 we see another way of looking at ourselves and our journey along His Path of Righteousness: We were 'dead in our sins' because we didn't know right from wrong. We were ignorant of the rules that our Creator provided for His creation.  We let the world dictate our choices (fads etc...) and did as we pleased, according to the way of this world which is strongly influenced by 'the prince and power of the air' (Satan). This spirit is what tempts the children of disobedience. Most of us have experienced that phase in our journey: cravings of the flesh; of our thoughts and imagination, and were altogether the children of wrath, like the rest.... We see no difference until we return to our Creator.

Therefore, we acknowledge that we were formerly carnal Gentiles, without Y'shua and alienated from the Word of Elohim, not knowing His Instructions for His people. We were without hope and without YHWH.  Since we have learned of His Son and his shed blood of atonement, by his Spirit which makes us one with the Father, we become fellow citizens with the Set Apart believers and the household of YHWH Elohim.

In the end our bodies will be changed from corruptible to incorruptible, like the bodies of those living in the spiritual realm of our Father.  

Rest in Peace

We don't Die and go to Heaven

Once again Scriptures, the Word of God, answers our question about what happens when we physically die.

Quote from Life Hope and Truth:
While it may be comforting to those struggling to cope with the death of loved ones to think of them as 'looking down from heaven, this belief is false. Instead, God’s Word comforts us with the fact that there is no suffering in the grave. And since there is no thought for those in the grave, there can be no awareness on their part of the passage of time. When they are resurrected, it will be as though they have awakened from sleep.
End Quote

Psalm 146:3 Put not your trust... in mortal man who cannot save. His breath departs (physical death) he returns to the dust (in the grave) on that day his plans come to nothing
Ecclesiastes 9:5 ... the living know they will die but the dead know nothing, they have no more recompense, for even the memory of them has died. Their loves, hates, jealousies have long since perished and they have no more share till the end of time (when Y'shua returns) in all that goes on under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever is in your power to do,do with all your might. For there is no action, no reasoning, no learning, no wisdom in Sheol (the grave) where you are going.

John 6:39-40: (Y'shua is speaking) “This is the will of the Father who sent me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

It is appointed for all of us to die, but when Y'shua returns to the earth at the last day, his followers who have died will be raised from their graves and given eternal life.

1 Thessalonians 4:13 ... you should not mourn over them who have fallen asleep (died), like other people who have no hope... :14 For if we believe that Y'shua died and rose again, even those who sleep, will Elohim, by Y'shua bring with him. :15 and this we say to you by the word of Messiah, that we who may survive and be alive at the coming of Messiah, will not precede them who have slept. :16 Because our Master Y'shua will himself descend from heaven with a mandate and with the voice of the chief Messenger (angel) and with the trumpet of God; and the dead who are in Messiah will rise first and then we who survive and are alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet our Messiah... And so comfort yourselves one another with these words...

We cannot 'rise' to meet Messiah when he returns If we are already in heaven... The dead rise first and the living witness this before they are gathered up as well.

Job 3 (he's about had enough and curses the day he was born and asks why he did not die at birth) ... :13 for now I would be lying in repose, asleep and at rest (dead and buried with those who have died before me)

Y'shua, Son of God, says in John 3:12 - I have explained earthly things and you do not believe. How then will I explain heavenly things? And no man has ascended into Heaven except he who descended from Heaven.

Quote from Bible Info: The Bible compares death to sleep more than fifty times. After death we are asleep, we are unconscious; we are not aware of the passing of time or of what is going on around us. That is what death is like as well. The Bible says, “for the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing… their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, NKJV, see also Psalm 146:4; 115:17). It makes sense that after Lazarus was raised from the dead, he doesn’t share what he saw or experienced. He didn’t have anything to tell, except that once he was dead, and now he is alive! He didn’t experience hell or heaven. He was simply “sleeping” in his tomb. Peter on the Day of Pentecost said the same of King David. “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day…For David did not ascend into the heavens…(Acts 2:29, 34).

John 5:28 Do not marvel at this for the hour is coming when all those who are in the grave will hear his voice!

Once you realize we don't die and go to heaven but we Rest in Peace here in the earth for a time, some questions on other topics may arise. Let me know and we can do another study.