Many of us were stunned to hear of the sudden and unexpected death of Whitney Houston this past weekend. Crowned as one of the greatest female pop singers of our time, Ms. Houston dazzled and enthralled many of us over a three decade period with vocal performances that effortlessly powered through some of the most technically demanding but goose-bump inducing pieces of music. Regardless where one stands with their taste in modern music, her talent was simply undeniable.
She was only 48-years old. Far too young by today’s standards of longevity; far too young for such a bright pleasure-giving flame to be extinguished. Then of course just a few years ago the music industry’s so-called “King of Pop”—Michael Jackson—died in his early 50’s and the world was equally shocked and dismayed. In every case the 24-hour news companies abruptly set out to provide the most comprehensive coverage of the event possible and in a feverish frenzy they gather experts in the fields of entertainment, forensics, and those claiming to possess firsthand knowledge of the celebrity to speculate and provide the first answers as to why these celebrities died. By the time these pop-icons are laid to rest, the news viewing public is left empty, confused, and often with a joint industry—family fashioned, god-like perspective of the dearly departed’s life and legacy.
Many of you reading this post will have likely, at some point in your lives, experienced the loss of someone near and dear. A spouse? A child? A sibling maybe? A parent or even a grandparent? How about a dear friend? Regardless the relationship, their death no doubt had a powerful impact on you. You likely found yourself dealing with some of the oldest questions facing humankind for thousands of years: mortality versus immortality; hell versus heaven; or simply, why? When all is said and done, death stings! It hurts. It changes one’s life in ways that often we as the mourning, grieving ones left behind, have little to no control over. Some garner financial gain while others suffer severe financial setbacks or devastations. Some grow positively from the experience while others never quite get over their loss. The sad part of it all is: we all have an appointment with death. No one in human history…no one…with the sole exception of Yehashua–Jesus–has defeated death. It is an inevitability for everyone soul. The writer of Hebrews poignantly stated about man’s ultimate fate: “…it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this, the judgment…” (Heb. 9:27)
Of course I am not telling you anything new. In fact I am absurdly stating a profound obviousness that only serves to set the stage for a discussion that will likely cause many of you reading this post to be challenged and hopefully incensed over a central so-called Christian doctrine that has led millions of unwary, well-meaning christian adherents astray. Without belaboring the point any longer, it is the well established knowledge of most self-professing Christians that when one dies their soul—fully immortal in substance—departs from it’s earthen body, transitions from this earthly plane to that of a spiritual plane; mainly to an abode of either eternal bliss or eternal suffering and damnation. When addressing the issue of the dead, how much of our modern parlance is filled with statements like: “oh, I’m sure he/she is in heaven right now looking down upon us”; or, “he’s going to hell”. And certainly not to profane the name of Ms. Houston, one can only assume that thoughts of her current spiritual abode are being mulled over by millions who will at some point come to a personal conclusion that she is either in heaven looking down upon us and possibly singing in the angelic choir, while others look at the hiccups in her life and judgmentally assume that she is unfortunately in hell, obviously not having met and lived according to the expectations of one who is redeemed of the Lord. Still those on the outer fringes of spirituality believe that her soul or spirit is simply in “purgatory” or waiting to be reincarnated or absorbed into a “greater cosmic consciousness”. Would you be surprised to learn that everyone one of these stated beliefs are Biblically flawed?
I am happy to tell you that “IT IS NOT AS YOU PERCEIVE”. Allow your very own Bible to explain without any wavering or bias what happens to all who have died and ultimately what will happen to each and everyone one of us if the Lord tarries. Consider that our God, Yahweh, Jehovah, the Eternal, has not left us without a CLEAR understanding of what TRULY happens to humans when they die. In fact, I have tremendously good news for everyone who has been preyed upon by the satan-inspired work of pagan-based christianity. I must confess, I have NO unique understanding of Scripture nor some extra-Biblical revelation from Yahweh–God. All that I have is based on the written–inspired–Word of the Most-High that has existed for thousands of years, but has been suppressed by the universal catholic church and catholic-pagan influenced protestant christianity.
I will say with great certainty that this topic is in no way a “salvation issue” and whether you choose to believe what I plan to discuss with you about death is derived in full from your Bible and highly regarded writings of the christian church fathers. However, it should become crystal clear to all of us that if christianity is willing and able to put forth such an erroneous doctrine regarding death and the immortality of the human soul, much of what makes up the present day christian faith should be highly suspect and regarded as such until you can vetted it through your Bible and the revelation of God’s Holy Spirit. The good news is that the truth, once realized and accepted, is the most freeing experience any true believer can have (John 8:32).
So please return to read my next post that addresses the Biblical answers to what really happens to us when we die; all without doctrinal spin, personal leanings, or cultic influence. We will examine, using your Bible as the primary source, what has really happened to Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Etta James, as well as everyone else in human history that has died.
Warmest Blessing and Peace to you and your family.
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