Daily Devotional, Year 3 – March 24 (The Straw-Man Ploy, Part 7: “Sleep In Death”)

By admin On February 10th, 2021

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Daily Devotional, Year 3 – March 24

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The Straw-Man Ploy,

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Part 7:

“Sleep In Death”

To read Part 1, go here…March 5th (The Straw-Man, Part 1)

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The Bible says concerning Satan… “we are not ignorant of his devices” 2nd Corinthians 2:11.https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Garby_-_Do%C5%BCynki_01.jpg

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And it is not hard to see that Satan works through his so-called, “ministers of righteousness”, to employ this strategy which is commonly named, “The Straw Man Ploy”.

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Simply put, a Bible teacher creates an obviously false standard, a “straw-man”, which then gives credence to whatever wrong doctrine he is wanting to thrust into Christianity.

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Straw Man -attributed to Larch – Wikimedia

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WRESTLING WITH SCRIPTURE

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So just what kind of false standards are being used as a straw-man, to make another false doctrine appear to be real?

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For instance, there has been a long-held church doctrine which dictates that whenever a Christian dies, he or she immediately is transferred to a conscious existence in Heaven.

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One of the problems with this idea is that in order to harmonize with the whole Bible, there must be somewhat of a wrestling match with many other passages which seemingly contradict this traditional belief.

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THE “SOUL-SLEEP” STRAW-MAN

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Well, one talk show host always defends this traditional belief by setting up a straw-man to refute those who believe otherwise.

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In other words, this talk-show host always mercilessly ridicules those who believe in “soul-sleep”. And this is the straw-man ploy, since the Bible never uses the exact expression, “soul-sleep”.

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And while it is true that people should not invent their own non-biblical terminology, such as “soul-sleep”, nor any other non-biblical name, we should not “throw the baby out with the bath-water” as the saying goes.

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In other words, the Bible does indeed refer to God’s people as those who “sleep in the dust of the earth”. (See Daniel 12:1, 2)

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announcer with microphone – svg – Wikimedia – Public-Domain 

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“MANY…SLEEP IN THE DUST OF THE EARTH”

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But many times, the Bible makes statements such as Daniel 12:1, 2…“And at that time (the time of the end)…many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

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Now it says here that the dead are sleeping in the dust of the earth. And at the time of the end, they will awake, some to Salvation, and the rest to damnation.

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Straw-Man-attributed-to-Larch – Wikimedia

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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Potting_soil.jpgBODY SLEEP?!

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Now one ridiculous explanation which is popular in the apostate church-community is to say that those that “sleep in the dust” refers to the dead body that “sleeps” in the dust, and not to the soul. But as we all know, just a few years of being in the grave and the physical body turns back into dust. So, this makes such an argument seem foolish!

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Potting soil – Wikimedia – CC Share-alike License

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“THE SPIRIT SHALL RETURN TO GOD”https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Creator:Frederick_Cayley_Robinson&action=edit&redlink=1

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Now such talk-show hosts will discount these kinds of statements about the dead sleeping in the dust, as not actually being true.

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And one of their major arguments against the dead sleeping in their graves is because of the following Bible statement…“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:7

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But while this above verse clearly teaches that the spirit returns to God when a person dies, this does not necessarily say that it leaves the place of the grave.

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Orphan on Mother’s Grave – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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HOW CAN THE SPIRIT RETURN TO GOD, BUT STILL REMAIN IN THE GRAVE?

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So how could it be true, that the spirit remains in the place of the grave, but also returns to God?

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Well, the obvious answer to this question can be found in Isaiah 66:1, and also in Psalm http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Argentinegraveseastfalkland.jpg139:7-9…

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First, listen to Isaiah 66:1…“Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool: where is the house that ye build unto Me? and where is the place of My rest?”

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Here is seen that God is telling His people not to put Him (God) in a little box! His people erroneously thought that God was a little person like they were. But God is infinite in size. His Spirit fills the entire universe and beyond!

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Argentine graves east falkland by Chris Pearson – cropped image – Wikimedia – share-alike license

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GOD IS IN HELL!?!

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Now listen to Psalm 139:7-10…“Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into Heaven, Thou art there: if I make my bed in Hell, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wreaths_at_Arlington_National_Cemetery.jpg

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Now this passage expands God’s presence even to the grave (“Hell”, or “Sheol”). Here, David is revealing that God is literally everywhere, even in “Hell”, or “Sheol”, which is also translated “grave” in many Old Testament passages.

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Wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery – Wikipedia – Public Dom.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:OldJewishCemeteryPragueCzechRepublic.jpgGOD IS IN HELL (SHEOL, THE GRAVE)

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And so, when Ecclesiastes 12:7 reveals that death causes the human’s spirit to return to God who gave it, it does not necessarily leave the grave where that human was laid to rest.

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Because as Psalm 139:8 reveals, God is present in Hell (“Sheol” or “the grave”).

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Old Jewish Cemetery – Prague Czech Republic – cropped image – Wikipedia – Share-alike License

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THE POWER OF TRADITION

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So the question to be asked is, “Why can’t these modern-day Bible http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_147-0510,_Berlin,_Lustgarten,_Kundgebung_der_HJ.jpgteachers and theologians see this truth?”

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As one Nazi leader always used to say to the effect, “If you constantly affirm a lie to a person, he will begin to believe it”. And Satan knows very well that that Nazi leader was correct!

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And Satan now uses the pulpits and TV and radio to hammer such lies into the consciousness of Christians, on a 24/7/365 basis!

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Nazi Youth – cropped image – Wikimedia – Commons – Share-alike License

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COMPARING SCRIPTURE WITH SCRIPTURE

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And thus it is with the nature of death and Hell.http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USMC-06831.jpg

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But God has purposely made this doctrine difficult because it requires doing a lot of homework, by searching out everything concerned with this particular subject. We cannot just use the passages we like and ignore the rest. And that is exactly what so many Bible teachers do, quite often.

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And to be honest, we are probably all guilty of doing this kind of poor Bible interpretation at times!

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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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SLEEPING IN THEIR GRAVES 

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So, the bottom line is, the spirit of a man absolutely returns to God who gave it. But this does not necessitate for that spirit to leave the place of its sleep in the grave (“Hell”, or “Sheol”, or “The Grave”).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CalvaryCemeteryQueens_edit.jpg

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And as for this idea that the dead are sleeping, as they wait for Judgment Day, to stand before God, our tiny little brains cannot comprehend what God does or does not do. If God causes the dead to sleep in their graves, who are we to try to limit what God can do?

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He’s infinite!

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Calvary Cemetery Queens – cropped image – Wikipedia – Public Domain

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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Teachings_of_Jesus_38_of_40._the_rapture._one_in_the_field._Jan_Luyken_etching._Bowyer_Bible.gifTHE DEAD IN CHRIST SHALL RISE

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But one thing we do know for sure…“For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout…and the dead in Christ shall rise first:  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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1st Corinthians 4:16-18

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This passage only further confirms that the dead (in Christ) are indeed sleeping in their graves, but will one day soon, rise up, “to meet the Lord in the air!” 

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Yes, Jesus is coming back for His sleeping saints. Think of it as a harvest at the end of the world.

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Second Coming – Resurrection Morning – Jan Luyken – Bible – Wikipedia – US Public Domain (2)

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aleister_Crowley,_Golden_Dawn.jpg.

TO READ PART 8, CLICK HERE…

May 9 (The Straw-Man! Part 8: “Aleister Crowley: Satan’s Wing-man or Just His Straw-man?”)

Aleister Crowley, Golden Dawn – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Otto_Greiner_Betende_H%C3%A4nde.jpg

TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Help me to search out these somewhat confusing doctrines for my own self, and not depend on others to tell me what I should and should not believe…

Praying Hands – Otto Greiner – Wikimedia – .bassenge.com – Cropped image – Public Domain

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Question_book_magnify2.svg

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Fleeing to the Mountains: The Abomination in the Church, Part 1” or you can also read… “Fleeing to the Mountains, Part 3: The Abomination in My Heart”

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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THE END

.Orion Constellation at Eagle Ridge

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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

Info & pics of constellations on this site from Wikipedia & International Astronomical Union (click here)

 

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7 HEADS, 10 HORNS, & 7 CROWNS OF THE DRAGON

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“And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.” Revelation 12:3 

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In Revelation, the Dragon of Revelation 12 is described as having seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns. However, the Dragon Constellation up in the night sky does not.

Dragon of Revelation 12 Constellation

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But God has faithfully created the wave of water, in such a way, as to illustrate this same concept of the seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns. Because this wave of water is basically composed of ten stars.

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The main body of the wave has seven stars (#‘s, 1 thru 7). And the tip of the crest of the wave has the other three stars (#’s, 8, 9 & 10). So we have this 7 and 10 numbering. And this gives us a great clue, as to where in the Bible we should look, to find out the riddle as to just what or who do these 7 heads, 10 crowns, and 7 horns represent. Because, the Bible speaks very much about floods and waters as being associated with Satan (the Dragon).

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But before we explore the floods, let’s look at one more number from that same passage in Revelation…

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Question_book_magnify2.svg

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… Flood Waters of Satan-Introduction

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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http://christianimagesource.com/prophet_jeremiah_g341-prophet_jeremiah__image_2_p2281.html.

TOMORROW:

March 25 (Shouting Good Words! Part 3: “Forceful Bible Teachers!”)

Sunday preaching – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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