Anti-Suicide Scriptures | Under The Shadow of God

DEATH

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DIE?

This is a pretty common question. There are several different answers, depending on who you talk to. One school of thought says when you die you lay in the grave until the resurrection - Soul sleep. Another says, when you die you go to be with the Lord. Another says, that's all there is, there "ain't" no more.

I have combined two sets of scripture in this chapter. Those that deal with hell and those that deal with our eternal spirit. Through these scriptures, I hope to show that the spirit is eternal and is not quenched upon the death of our body. Our body is dust and upon death goes back into dust, where it awaits (in the grave) the resurrection and its being united with the spirit to form our new resurrection body.

ARE THE DEAD LIVING?

The question of Enoch and Elijah might be a little different but they still point to a truth that most Christians believe; there is life immediately after death. They both (Enoch and Elijah) were taken directly to heaven from the earth. It would seem a little strange for God to kill (take) these two servants off the earth because they have served Him faithfully. In the case of Enoch, in Genesis 5:24, we see that he walked with God and God took him. It would seem a little cruel to please God and then have Him take you off the earth and put you in an early grave until the resurrection. The same way with Elijah. Why go to all the trouble of sending a chariot of fire and a whirlwind just to have him lay in the grave until the resurrection? As I recall, Moses and Elijah were in the transfiguration in Matthew 17:1-13. They were in their resurrection bodies and not sleeping in the grave awaiting the resurrection.

Mark 12:26-27, says of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, (who were dead and in their graves) He is not the God of the dead but the living.

The rich man and Lazarus, in Luke 16:19-31, gives us a narrative that fits into the Ephesians 4:8-10 (He led captivity captive) type, in that, the people that were in paradise were taken to heaven upon Jesus' resurrection. John 8:56 says, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day:” and “He saw it and was glad." That's pretty hard for a soul sleeper to do.

Notice Revelation 6:11, “And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”

Someone in soul sleep would not need to be talked to in the first place, and would have no need for robes in the second place.

1 Corinthians 15:55, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

1 Peter 3:18-19, tells us that when Jesus was put to death in the flesh, he was quickened by the spirit and that He preached unto the spirits in prison. To be absent from the body is to be present with the LORD. (2 Cor. 5:8.)

WHAT ABOUT OUR ETERNAL ESTATE?

Genesis 4:14, really touches on the issue of hell. Hell is going to be separation from God. Cain suffered this separation after he killed Abel. Jesus, in the garden, is another example that God turns His back on the sin that Jesus had set upon Him (for our sake) and sinners as in the case of Cain.

I heard a sermon one Easter, on Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus prayed that if it were possible for God to remove this cup; but not my will but thine. The preacher put forth a theory that it was possible that Jesus was afraid to die, but soon dismissed that one. The one that he put forth and believed, was that Jesus' sinless nature was the cause. He said that for Jesus to have the sin of the world put on him would be like trying to put a cat into the mud. A dog will run right through a mud hole and not think much about it. A cat on the other hand will very carefully pick its path through and around the muddy mess. He said that Jesus was sinless and to have all the world's sin put on Him was more than he could bear.

I don't think either reason is the one. What we have here is the sinless Son of God. Jesus could never be afraid of dying because he knew to die was to go back to His Father. When you are the Word made flesh you don't fear death. I also don't think he was afraid to carry our sins to the tree. After all, that's why He came. He was sent by the Father to redeem the world. Sin was against His nature, but He also loved the people of the world.

I think the real reason is related to the question of sin, but only because God will not stand in the presence of sin. Jesus knew that when the sin of the world was put upon him, God would turn His back. The proof? “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” If God turns His back on you in the day of judgment that will be the worst day of your life. On that day you will find out what ALONE is. To be without God is more than one can take. That is separation from God. This is what hell is going to be all about.

God gives us every breath of life we breathe. Most of the people in the world don't know this fact, and if God would stop several heartbeats to clue them in, they would soon have an understanding of the panic to come.

Everyone that does not know God will be cast into outer darkness. On the day of Jesus' death he had a small taste of eternal separation from God, and His reaction to it should teach us that we don't want any part of it. It would be better if a millstone were tied around your neck and you were cast into the sea. Mark 9:42.

I believe when you die, (if you're a Christian) your body goes into the grave and your spirit goes to be with the Lord - wherever He has set aside for it to go. Come the time of the resurrection, the body and the spirit are brought together to form the resurrection body when we meet the Lord in the air. In the case of non-believers, I believe they will be reunited with their bodies after the thousand-year reign, and we all are to be judged. The saved will join the Lord in eternity and the lost will be thrown into the lake of fire, where the body will be consumed, never to be reunited with the spirit again, and the spirit will be cast into outer darkness (separated from God) forever and ever. (See: Habakkuk 2:5 note, by C.I. Scofield (below).

When you read the following scriptures, it sure seems to say that when we die there is more than just a grave to look forward to. I think Ecclesiastes 12:7, is the key verse to study. "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." What God does with the spirit, is what I think these scriptures show and teach. Since there are many schools of thought, the Holy Spirit will have to reveal to each of us what the scriptures are really trying to say.

OLD TESTAMENT

Genesis 2:7 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.

Genesis 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Genesis 4:14 Behold, thou has driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

Genesis 6:17 And behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.
Without our spirit we are but dust. The spirit of man and the breath of life could be the same thing.

Genesis 7:15, 22

15. And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh, wherein is the breath of life. 22. All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.
That breath of life was from God.

Genesis 25:8 Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.
(See: Luke 20:27-38 and Luke 23:39-43).

Genesis 35:18,29

18. And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin. 29. And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Genesis 49:33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the Ghost, and was gathered unto his people.
Notice once again how he was going to the grave but he was also going to be gathered to his people. This is a spiritual gathering until the resurrection.

Numbers 11:17 And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
The spirit is transferable to other people. Compare the spirit, which was upon him to the spirit upon Jesus, which was God's.

Numbers 16:22 And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?

Numbers 20:26 And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there.
If the spirit dies how could it be gathered unto its people. Compare with the thief on the cross.

Numbers 27:16 Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, (See: Matthew Henry pg. 641).

Matthew Henry's Commentary has an interesting note: "The God of the spirits of all flesh. See what man is; he is a spirit in the flesh, a soul embodied, a creature wonderfully compounded of heaven and earth. See what God is; he is the God of the spirits of all mankind. He forms the spirit, Zech. 12:1. He fathers it, Heb. 12:9. He has an ability to fashion it (Ps. 33:15), and has authority to dispose of it, for he has said, All souls are mine, Ezk. 18:4."

1 Samuel 28:13-19

13. And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. 14. And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. 15. And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. 16. Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? 17. And the Lord hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the Lord hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: 18. Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the Lord, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day. 19. Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.
There are some Bible scholars that don't think this conversation really took place. Personally I think it did, but the important thing is that it points to the truth of life after death, just like when Jesus was talking to the repentant thief in Luke 23:39-43. "Today you will be with me in paradise."
This also ties in quite well to the scripture that says, God forms the spirit of man within him, Zech 12:1. I think our spirit looks like us and this is confirmed by all three of these scriptures.
I count this spiritual intervention and subsequent dialog (even to the wearing of the mantel) as a full-blown miracle. God has forbid the disquieting of this spirit world and there will be major negative consequences paid to anyone breaking the prohibition. God allowed the breaking of the prohibition in this case because it teaches the truth of (as mentioned earlier) life (of the spirit - not the body) after death.

2 Samuel 4:11 How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? Shall I not therefore now require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?
The body, when slain, usually goes into the ground and the spirit will go back to God.

2 Samuel 14:14 For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.
I think this further proves that our spirit is the enduring entity here. The wise woman from Tekoa knew this fact many years ago. Our spirits are always with God.

2 Samuel 22:6-7

6. The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me; 7. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.

1 Chronicles 29:15 For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.

Nehemiah 9:6 Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
Preservest-Heb. (2421-Strong’s Concordance), to live. The whole world is in His hands.

Job 3:11,13-19

11. Why died I not from the womb? Why did I not give up the Ghost when I came out of the belly? 13. For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest, 14. With kings and counsellers of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves; 15. Or with princes that had gold, who filled their houses with silver: 16. Or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light. 17. There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest. 18. There the prisoners rest together; they hear not the voice of the oppressor. 19. The small and great are there; and the servant is free from his master.
I think there is a lot more to these verses than the eye can read. We know about giving up the ghost, but what about Vss. 13-19. Does this say that if he had died in the womb, those people mentioned in vss. 14-19 would have joined him in that rest? Or would they be on the other side of the great fixed gulf mentioned in Luke 16:26?

Job 8:9 (For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:)
This ties in with Job 3:11,13-19.
I think it was Robert Orbin that said, "When God sends you tribulation, He expects you to tribulate.”

Job 9:18 He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness. God is the only one that should take our breath from us. (See: Anti-Suicide).

Job 10:12 Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.

Job 10:18-22

18. Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me! 19. I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave. 20. Are not my days few? cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, 21. Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; 22. A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.
This is a good description of hell. Separation and outer darkness.

Job 12:10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
God gives us every breath we breathe. Every heart beat. How much do we thank Him or even think about Him in return?

Job 13:19 Who is he that will plead with me? For now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost.

Job 14:5 Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;

Job 14:10 But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the Ghost, and where is he?
As we have, and will further see, his body goes to the grave and his spirit goes back to God who gave it.

Job 26:4-5

4. To whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee? 5. Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof.
I refer to other versions of the Bible concerning vs. 5. NIV, The dead are in deep anguish, those beneath the waters and all that live in them. If there is no life after death, this would be impossible. From the scriptures presented in this work, I hope to show that the spirit is eternal, whereas the body is temporary. NAS, The departed spirits tremble under the waters and their inhabitants. Once again, quite impossible if the spirits are dead with the body. Where does that spirit go upon the death of the body? Stay tuned.

Job 27:3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;

Job 32:8 But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
God puts the spirit in man and the Holy Spirit teaches him.

Job 33:4 The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.

Job 34:14-15

14. If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath; 15. All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.
If God removes His breath (our spirit) we turn to dust again.

Job 38:36  Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts? or who hath given understanding to the heart?
This wisdom, is a function of the spirit. The body, that is the flesh, even while it is alive, knows nothing.

Psalms 16:9-10

9. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. 10. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
I'm sure this is speaking of the resurrection.

Psalms 22:29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.
Our very lives are in God's hands.

Psalms 63:9  But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
How is that possible when the body is only six feet under? This is obviously speaking of the spirit. Vs. 10 is speaking of the body. Let's also remember Luke 23:43, "Today you shall be with me in paradise."

Psalms 78:39 For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again.
Like it says in Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”

Psalms 86:13 For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

Psalms 88:3-18

3. For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave. 4. I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength: 5. Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand. 6. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. 7. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah. 8. Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth. 9. Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: Lord, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee. 10. Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah. 11. Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction? 12. Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 13. But unto thee have I cried, O Lord; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee. 14. Lord, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me? 15. I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted. 16. Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off. 17. They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together. 18. Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.
The answers to verses 10, 11, and 12 are yes, thanks to Jesus. All this pertains to the living soul while the living soul is alive. The body knows nothing after death, but the spirit does. For a back ground on what awaits us after death, please take the time to read: Psalms 69:28,33; Ezekiel 37:1-14; Matthew 12:40 as tied to Jonah 1:17; Ephesians 4:8-10; 1 Peter 3:18-20; Revelation 14:6-7.
Psalms 88 was written, “under the sun,” (as it were). There is life after death; before the resurrection. Our spirits go back to God. They are in whatever place he puts them, waiting for the resurrection.

Psalms 90:1-2

1.LORD, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. 2. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
I believe this could be indicating our spirit was with God long before we (our bodies) were. See: Zech. 12:1. This on the outside would seem to support reincarnation, but there is a big difference. At the least it’s God’s working foreknowledge of us and at the most is that we are in Him as is everything that was ever created.

Psalms 90:10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
That does not describe being buried in the ground. We, the real us, the spirit, does not go into the ground.

Psalms 103:14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
This should not give us an excuse for sinning, but to be very humble.

Psalms 104:29-30

29. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. 30. Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
When God turns His back on us we are in anguish. He creates us and when He removes our spirit we die. We are truly in His hands. Like the song says, "He's got the whole world in His hands."

Psalms 115:17 The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.
This is speaking of the body. See Eccl. 9:5.

Psalms 116:3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
If the body dies and knows nothing at all, which is true, then this verse contains a knowledge possessed by the spirit.

Psalms 119:109 My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not forget thy law.
Our living soul is in our hand. If we seek to escape the troubles of this life through suicide, the reality and knowledge of His law, which forbids suicide, should keep us from doing it. See: Anti-Suicide Scriptures.

Psalms 139:7-16

7. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8. If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10. Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. 11. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. 12. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. 13. For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. 14. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. 15. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
Vss. 7-13, As news commentator, Paul Harvey is always saying, “You can run but you can't hide.” Our acts are known to God before we do them. See Jer. 1:5, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."
I find myself wondering, (in reference to vs. 16) if through the use of computers, and an acquired knowledge of the brains own language, we would ever have an ability to reprogram the body out of various undesirable conditions. These conditions could be health and/or physical conditions given to us by God. (See: A return to Babel).
Also in verse 16, it seems to be saying that our bodies were designed before we were ever conceived. If this is true then my comment on Ps. 90:1-2, comes more into focus.

Psalms 144:3,4

3. Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him! 4. Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away.
Even though we are sinners, we are special to God. Our fleshly days on this earth are numbered, and what we do with the knowledge of God directly affects what we will be doing and where we will spend eternity.

Psalms 146:4 His (mans) breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
That is, his plans and the polishing of his earthly plans, perish. If our spirit is alive after our body dies, I can pretty much guarantee we won’t be preoccupied with ways to get rich and acquire more wealth. We will be focused mostly on God like we should have been while we walked this earth.

Proverbs 9:18 But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

Proverbs 15:24 The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.

Proverbs 20:27 The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

Proverbs 23:13-14

13. Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. 14. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.
Ecclesiastes 3:21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
God does.

Ecclesiastes 4:3 Yea, better is he than both they, which hath not yet been, who hath not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
This to me, speaks of those in God's treasury of people yet to be born. Any lament expressed by Solomon (for the unborn) is as a result of the life he lived, and not the life that can be uncomplicated, by living for God. There will still be sorrow but it doesn't have to be as bitter as Solomon’s.
I think this also tells me that abortion is wrong, in that God knows the spirits of all them "which hath not yet been." (See: Anti-Abortion).

Ecclesiastes 6:12 For who knoweth what is good for man in this life, all the days of his vain life which he spendeth as a shadow? For who can tell a man what shall be after him under the sun?
"After him under the sun," comes the grave.

Ecclesiastes 8:8 There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.
In Matthew 27:50, when Jesus yielded up the ghost, He literally "dismissed" His spirit. When He declared, "It is finished," He was referring to His work on earth, which was to give us eternal life, and when He died, it was of Himself, and that no man took it from Him, John 10:18. Jesus was God's sacrifice and Jesus willingly laid down His life for us. No one but Jesus could have done it. By the same token, you can do nothing to stay alive when God sends the angel of death. If we, on the other hand, want out of this life we have to kill ourselves - but be warned, I think this scripture also goes to prove that suicide is an impossibility. It's true, you can kill the body, but the spirit suffers on. There is no relief from whatever burden God places you under, until that sentence is finished. (See: Anti-Suicide)

Ecclesiastes 9:5 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.
Remember, this is for those alive in the body or “under the sun,” as it has been termed.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
Being in the spirit will be like being in prison if we are not in the will of God when we die. Our works will be done, and we will be awaiting judgment day. That's why suicide is not the answer. If you are miserable now, you will be miserable then, with no hope of curing the problem that caused you to kill yourself. God did not put us on this planet to be miserable, but if we are, then we must be doing something wrong. The Bible has the answer.

Ecclesiastes 11:5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all.
Science is trying hard to find out where we came from. If they would listen to the Word of God it would give them a boost into the seat of knowledge. There however, comes a time and place that we should not seek beyond what we can know through simple observation. Hitler found out a lot of interesting physiological facts about the human body because of his brutal experiments on live human subjects. Those in leadership without the spirit of God upon them have no business making those kinds of research decisions. But since they are in power we have to have faith that we get the government we deserve.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
This says it all. Exactly what will happen to it, only God knows; but the scriptures do give us a hint. When the Bible says, “The spirit goes back to God who gave it,” it in no way describes an electrical force being cut off like a light switch. If that were the case, it would in fact, not be going back to God who gave it. It would be just cut off. Please reread Ecclesiastes 12:7 “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Look up in the Strong’s Concordance the Hebrew words for return (7725 and 7619) and gave (5414). In no way do they describe an instant on/off effect. As a matter of fact, Zechariah 12:1, “The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.” This doesn’t sound to me like the haphazard flipping on of a light switch anymore than the “spirit going back to God,” describes flipping off the switch.

Isaiah 2:22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of? Genesis 2:7, "...and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
God gives every breath we breathe.

Isaiah 14:9-11

9. Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. 10. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? 11. Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

Isaiah 38:16,18

16. O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live. 18. For the grave cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
This is an "under the sun" scripture. The body in the grave truly knows nothing. The spirit is a whole other matter. God does not apologize for sending sickness upon us because it is what we deserve. But He is also willing to forgive and to heal us if He be so persuaded by our prayers.

Isaiah 42:5 Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
God gives us every breath of life we breathe. He gives us our food and water. If He gives it He can also take it away; and in whatever form He chooses to take it away; war, famine, pestilence, political greed, etc. (See: God of Wrath and The Bible and the Badge: God and State).

Isaiah 57:15-17

15. For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. 16. For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made. 17. For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.
We are special to God, but if we don't follow his ways, wrath will come.

Isaiah 63:11 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he that put his Holy Spirit within him?
Notice there is a difference between the Holy Spirit and the spirit.

Jeremiah 38:16 So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the Lord liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.
We become a living soul when our spirit and body are joined together. Only God can do that. If He recalls the spirit, the body drops like a wet rag.

Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Physically speaking, killing mankind isn't a very hard thing for God to do. I think it pains God very much to destroy the people He created and as you can see, it is based on our following Him or not.

Ezekiel 31:15-18

15. Thus saith the Lord God; In the day when he went down to the grave I caused a mourning: I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof, and the great waters were stayed: and I caused Lebanon to mourn for him, and all the trees of the field fainted for him. 16. I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth. 17. They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen. 18. To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? Yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: Thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord God.

Ezekiel 32:17-32

17. It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 18. Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, unto the nether parts of the earth, with them that go down into the pit. 19. Whom dost thou pass in beauty? Go down, and be thou laid with the uncircumcised. 20. They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes. 21. The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword. 22. Asshur is there and all her company: his graves are about him: all of them slain, fallen by the sword: 23. Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living. 24. There is Elam and all her multitude round about her grave, all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth, which caused their terror in the land of the living; yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit. 25. They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword: though their terror was caused in the land of the living, yet have they borne their shame with them that go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of them that be slain. 26. There is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the land of the living. 27. And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living. 28. Yea, thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword. 29. There is Edom, her kings, and all her princes, which with their might are laid by them that were slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit. 30. There be the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Zidonians, which are gone down with the slain; with their terror they are ashamed of their might; and they lie uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit. 31. Pharaoh shall see them, and shall be comforted over all his multitude, even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord God. 32. For I have caused my terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord God.

Ezekiel 37:5-6,8-10

5. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 6. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 8. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. 9. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 10. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

Daniel 5:23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:

Daniel 7:11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.

Daniel 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Jonah 2:2,5

2. And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. 5. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.

Habakkuk 2:5 Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:
Scofield has a note I would like to pass along. "Sheol is, in the O.T., the place to which the dead go. (1) Often, therefore, it is spoken of as the equivalent of the grave, merely, where all human activities cease; the terminus toward which all human life moves (e.g. Gen. 42:38, grave; Job 14:13, grave; Psa. 88:3, grave). (2) To the man "under the sun," the natural man, who of necessity judges from appearances, sheol seems no more than the grave - the end and total cessation, not only of the activities of life, but of life itself (Eccl. 9:5,10). (3) But scripture reveals sheol as a place of sorrow (2 Sam. 22:6; Psa. 18:5; 116:3), into which the wicked are turned (Psa 9:17), and where they are fully conscious (Isa. 14:9-17; Ezk. 32:21; see, especially, Jonah 2:2; what the belly of the great fish was to Jonah that sheol is to those who are therein). The sheol of the O.T. and hades of the N.T. (Lk. 16:23 note) are identical."

Zechariah 12:1 The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
I think this is another one that has to speak to the abortion issue. I believe the process of forming (yatsar- through the squeezing into shape) starts at the moment of conception if not before (Psa. 139:16).

NEW TESTAMENT

Matthew 3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Matthew 5:22,29-30

22. But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say, Raca, shall be in danger of council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 29. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee, for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

Matthew 8:11-12

11. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Many people say that this is speaking of the Jewish Christians (the children of the kingdom). I think it could be unbelievers and carnal Christians that didn’t use 1 John 1:9.
Then comes the issue of outer darkness. I hear astronomy experts talking about black holes. What they are saying about them seems to defy logic. If what they say about them is true, you’re looking at a living ongoing miracle. I found myself wondering what the purpose of them is, and they best fit into the outer darkness theme.

Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both the soul and the body in hell.
Man can kill the body and that's all. God can destroy both and/or put them where ever He wants. It should also be noted that the spirit is noticeably missing from this list. Even if there is no difference between the soul and the spirit, (make a word study on soul and spirit and you’ll see what I mean) it is only God which is able to destroy both the body and soul in hell. The word destroy, denotes a separation or departure.

Matthew 13:30,40-42,50

30. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. 40. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41. The Son of man shall send forth his angles, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42. And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 50. And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Notice vs. 42 and 50 repeat the warning.

Matthew 18:6-10

6. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh! 8. Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee, it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. 10. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

Matthew 22:31-32

31. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32. I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
Moses (who died) was standing with Elijah (who was translated that he should not see death) and both of them were standing with Jesus (who was alive) apparently talking in the transfiguration in the sight of the much perplexed, Peter. If this complicated paragraph tells us anything, it tells us that they're in a spiritual world out there that we can't see and certainly don't understand. But the very fact that it is mentioned in the scriptures should tell us (along with all the others) that when we die, that is not the end until the resurrection. Our spirit goes back to God who gave it.
If Moses and Elijah were called back from the unconscious dead (according to some) for this appearance, it must have been very confusing for them. They were alive, and then dead, brought back to life again to speak with a total stranger and then taken back to the unconscious dead where they will wait for the resurrection when they will be brought back to life once again.

Matthew 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

Matthew 25:30-46

30. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 31. When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32. And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33. And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35. For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36. Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38. When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39. Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40. And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42. For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43. I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45. Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Mark 9:42-50

42. And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. 43. And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 44. Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 45. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 46. Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 47. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: 48. Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 49. For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. 50. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.

Mark 12:26-27

26. And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? 27. He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.

Mark 14:21 The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born.
If a man had never been born, he would not have to spend eternity in his spirit floating around in outer darkness separated from God and the others serving Him. “Never been born” is a non-existent state. Once we are, however, we can never go back to it because our spirit is eternal. I have to refer back to Zechariah 12:1,…”and formeth the spirit of man within him.” Our spirit isn’t just something that happens to us at conception.

Luke 3:17 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.

Mark 8:55 And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.

Mark 12:4-5

4. And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you fear him.
Hell, here, has to mean more than just the grave. When someone kills you, they in effect are putting you in the grave. In this case the word means gehenna. Denoting everlasting punishment, by the context of the scripture as it differentiates between the power of the two that could do you harm.

Mark 16:22-23

22. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23. And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
This is a whole different presence from that of Luke 24:39. The rich man and Lazarus were both in the spirit and Jesus was in His resurrection body.
This verse is not only here to teach us to be better people to our fellow man, but it teaches what will happen to us when we refuse to do so.

Mark 23:42-43

42. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 43. And Jesus said unto him, Verly I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Critics today say that the comma behind “thee,” was put there at a much later date. The only trouble is, when you put the comma behind “today” instead of “thee” (as it is the KJV), you had better eliminate, 1 Peter 3:18-20, and Matthew 12:40 as it ties to Jonah 1:17 from the Bible. All these scriptures put together complete what God is trying to tell us about our eternal spirit.

Mark 24:3-4,36-39

3. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. 4. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 36. And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. 37. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. 38. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? 39. Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
See: 1 John 3:2.

John 3:36 He that believeth on the son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

John 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.

John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

John 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
From the moment we truly believe we have eternal life, even if our body dies. What does that tell us about the spirit that drives the body?

John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
This verse illustrates my comment from 11:26. Giving up the ghost is something we can't do. Only God can do that.

Acts 17:25 Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;

Romans 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
This is not teaching universalism.

1 Corinthians 2:10-12

10. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
Our flesh is flesh and our spirit is spirit. When we live only in and for the flesh, our spirit suffers from that neglect, and our bodies of flesh will suffer loss from the future life with God, who is a spirit.

1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

1 Corinthians 15:50-55

50. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 12:4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which is not lawful for a man to utter.
To be caught into the third heaven and not be in the spirit or in the resurrection body at least would be unthinkable. I believe this person was in the spirit just as John was, in the book of Revelation.

Philippians 3:19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.
This destruction is speaking of the body.

2 Thessalonians 1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

1 Timothy 6:13 I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;

Hebrews 4:3,12

3. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 12. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
(3) Here is a good example of the foreknowledge of God. Let's not suppose that our every move was programmed, but let's suppose that God knew every move we were going to make. (12) The spirit is spirit. The living soul is a combination of the spirit (from God) and the body (from the dust). I believe the everyday activity of life is imprinted on the brain much like it would be on a computer and imprinted in the spirit that communicates with God.
Piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit.” I think there is an important difference between the soul and the spirit as mentioned in the Hebrews reference above, yet as you can see they’re closely related.

Hebrews 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
I think those spirits pertain to angels and humans as well as the whole variety of spirits. He has to do His bidding in activities on earth and in the heavens.

James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the spirit:
That spirit went back into the body of flesh and bones it once inhabited. Luke 24:39. It was Jesus telling them that it (the body) was Jesus - the same Jesus that they already knew. The only difference is, He went back to His pre-incarnate body. We shall receive a body just like His after we are raptured. Our mortal body must put on immortality.

1 Peter 4:6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
I'm not really sure what this means beyond what it says, but I can see that there is some real power here. I think 1 Peter 3:18-20 (Jesus preaching to the spirits in prison) enters the picture at any rate. None-the-less, we are talking a spiritual reality, both in life and death. (See: Second Chance)

2 Peter 2:4,17

4. If God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 17. These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
This does not sound good. And it does not sound like obliteration either.

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
We who overcome will be just like Jesus. We will be in our resurrection bodies ready to serve Him for one thousand years and beyond.

Jude 1:6,13,23

6. The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. 13. Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. 23. And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.

Revelation 11:11 And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.

Revelation 14:9-11

9. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10. The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they shall have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Revelation 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

Revelation 20:10,12-15

10. 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. 12. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 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.
I think these scriptures clearly show our spiritual nature, and that when we die there is something beyond for our spirit. In this life the body goes into the grave and awaits the resurrection and judgment, but the spirit goes back to God who gave it. Eccl. 12:7. If you are thrown into the lake of fire your resurrected body will be consumed in that fire, never to be brought back again. Your disembodied spirit will then be in a state of eternal separation from God and all loved ones. God will then dry our tears and the former things will be passed away and remembered no more.

Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and the unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and the sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

The above scriptures tell a fearful story of the final abode of them that don't know God. Thus far we have learned that we are a spiritual being, that will live forever. If we are found to be lacking in our relationship to God through Jesus, then we will spend that "forever" in outer darkness, most likely alone, without a shoulder to cry on.

You can only kill the body in which the spirit resides. The spirit is invisible. The body is dust. It’s the spirit that gives the body its capacity to feel pain - both physical and emotional. Imagine the body as a glove. When the spirit (represented by the hand) comes into the glove, it will move and do what the spirit directs it to do. If that spirit is called out of the body by God or taken out of the body by suicide, the glove goes limp and does nothing and knows nothing. The spirit, however, goes back to God who gave it. I believe it is awake and thinking and can still feel all the emotions and thoughts that were done in the body.

But what about the soul and the spirit? Remove the spirit from the body and the body feels nothing. The spirit is the only thing that will cause the body or the living soul to feel the pain. The spirit combined with the body makes up the living soul. A glove with no hand in it will feel no pain when run over, or hit with a hammer. I believe if God has sent a person pain and suffering, that suffering will continue on, even in the spirit via the soul (memory). That living soul can suffer both types of pain (physical and emotional). It has a memory and will suffer all the emotional pain it did while in the body. You can’t stick the spirit with a sharp object and make it suffer like when it was in the body but God’s affliction will act like that. It is much like when a person looses a limb of the body and they still experience itching at the extremity that is no longer there.

The soul is a different subject. The soul is the memory matter from the combination of the body (dust) and the spirit (light from God). They grow together in life. The spirit is ageless but is devoid of life experiences when formed in a new fetus. When the spirit is put in the body, that living soul gets or becomes the imprint recipient of life’s experiences. That imprint is now an intricate part of the spirit. Regardless of where it was, or what the spirit was doing in the past, this life’s, experiences are forever a part of that spirit. After death, in the judgment, there will be an accounting for what you did while on this earth. You meaning, the “total you.” The living soul.

We want to be in this body during the reign of Christ and afterward also. The lone spirit can’t enjoy the house with the white picket fence and the other blessings of the kingdom reign.
If “death” is total extermination of body, soul and spirit; there is no justice. God can be snubbed. Stubborn and blasphemous man wins, and God looses the battle of who is sovereign. God is mocked if extermination is the end of the rebellious. It seems to me that if the devil, beast and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire where they will be tormented day and night forever and ever, (Rev 20:10) that those of Rev. 20:15 whose names are not written in the book of life, will be in the same predicament. I do not see God apologizing. All I see is religious people making excuses for it and side stepping what the scriptures are really saying.

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ANTI-SUICIDE SCRIPTURES

Is suicide truly an escape? Can one really get away from their troubles by killing themselves? If there is no God and we evolved from slime, the answer is yes. If there is a God the answer is no. A careful reading of the following scripture will make this question quite clear. If you don’t believe there is a God, then first consider the fact that the Bible has been proven archaeologically, scientifically and historically accurate. (Read Summary of Discoveries.) If after considering this, you are not convinced that there is at least a 50/50 chance for the existence of God, then no one is going to talk you out of suicide. Coming to God on His own terms is the only way back from the brink.

There are many reasons that cause a person to take his or her own life. There are too many interconnecting reasons to be able to list or even know them all. The bottom line is that anyone even thinking of doing such a thing is, exhibiting a desire to escape some type of problem that they may have brought on themselves. There are a lot of people trying to find out what causes suicide. Each person is different. There are a lot of Christians that even kill themselves to escape some situation they can’t cope with. Not to oversimplify it, but people are probably living a life that puts themselves in the center, instead of God, or in a worse case scenario, are living a life style that is abominable enough to God, for Him to cut them off and/or, not woo them away from the brink.

In reference to escaping pain: The only reason we (as a body) can feel pain is because the spirit is there to define it. After death, the body can’t know or feel anything, but the spirit can. It is the essential part of life. Death by suicide does not guarantee you will escape the psychological or physical pain you are in.

When a tree falls in the forest, and there is no one around to hear it, does it make a sound? Are the sound waves imperceptible except to the human ear or some other sound gathering device? This is an age-old question that has been batted around, up to the present. When an ear or recorder hears the sound, it pretty much sounds like the tree that has fallen. Everything pretty much has its own sound, depending what you are doing to it. With no ear or recording device present, how could the sound wave be defined? Well, it is a similar thing with the spirit that is in mankind. The body of “dust” cannot perceive anything on its own. The spirit from God has to be there before the body can do anything, know anything, think anything, or feel anything.

In trying to find the reason for your misery, you have to be honest enough to see which area of the equation you fit into. In any case, there is a definite lack of connection to God and following His rules that can be applied to the population in general. That lack of connection can be related to God’s curse or our own setting aside of God, in our day-to-day lives.

When we sin against God and/or our fellow man (to include sinning against our own bodies) we build a wall of separation between us and God. When that wall gets so thick we lose sight of, and connection to God, anything is possible. The simple secret to the removal of that wall is repentance. When people live their lives in such a way that brings about a curse or curses that they can't cope with, (and as a result of feeling that they are so far down they couldn't get out) they kill themselves thinking that will end the suffering and justify it by saying things like, “I’m going to a better world.” I think a lot of people who kill themselves believe that there is a God. There is a big difference between knowing God and knowing “of” God. If you know God and His word, you know that suicide is impossible. You only kill the body, not the spirit. The spirit will move on to the next world just as, or even more miserable than it was in this one.

Do you know what Moses, Elijah, Job, Jonah and Jeremiah all had (and I'm sure, many others) in common? They either wanted God to kill them, or wished they had never been born. I would like you to notice in all the scriptures that these examples were taken from that there was real anguish and pain the subjects were in. Each one could have killed himself but didn't. I think the prophets knew suicide was a “forbidden fruit.” They knew that it would have been wrong before God to do so. They knew that they could not escape whatever pain or suffering they were experiencing, because you can only kill the body the spirit resides in. The spirit is the primary part of “us.” The body (which gets all the attention and abuse) is secondary. In the case of Elijah wanting to escape from Jezebel, he knew that in killing himself, he would be in even more trouble with God. It doesn’t matter if you believe you are conscious after death or in a state of soul sleep. You will be in trouble with God if you end the life He has given you.

Our bodies are not our own, we belong to God - body, soul and spirit. This is why we must keep ourselves from all manner of sin. When we sin against God we build a wall. The more we sin the thicker the wall gets. The thicker the wall gets the more irrational things man can and will do, which in turn causes the wall to get thicker and thicker. That's why the world needs John 3:16, and we Christians need 1 John 1:9.

OLD TESTAMENT

Genesis 4:13-15

13. And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. 15. And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
Cain could have killed himself but I think he knew what would have happened, because his connection to God via his parents (Adam and Eve) was not too many years back. I find myself wondering in light of the fact that blood must be shed, if God didn't excuse Cain because "his type" through procreation must be on the earth to work out God's dark side, that being judgment in those cases when He uses man for that task. (See: Why Do The Wicked Prosper?)

Numbers 11:14-15

14. I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. 15. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness
The first thing we have to ask is: why couldn't Moses have killed himself? Why did he need to ask God to do it for him? Why didn't he just do it?

1 Samuel 24:12-14

12. The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. 13. As saith the proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked: but mine hand shall not be upon thee. 14. After whom is the king of Israel come out? After whom dost thou pursue? After a dead dog, after a flea?
This may be a little off the subject but vss. 12 and 13 are the reason why I couldn't have assassinated Hitler even if I had been there with the chance to do it. He was anointed by God for a certain task. David was running from Saul and would not even raise his hand to protect himself by killing Saul to save himself, because David recognized the importance of respecting God's anointed.

1 Samuel 26:9 And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed, and be guiltless?
This is similar to the previous scripture given above. A person could call these anti-assassination scriptures. Deut. 27:25 is another: "Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person..." A person does have a right to protect himself in a case like David's. There may be room for political assassinations if God is the one who directs that a person deserves to be killed. Even so, anyone in that line of work could carry a curse to some degree.

2 Samuel 1:9,14-15

9. He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me. 14. And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord's anointed? 15. And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died.
Maybe Saul deserved to be abused. He had no right to take his own life and deny God what was coming. Paul Harvey once quoted Robert Orbin, "If God sends you tribulation, He expects you to tribulate."

1 Kings 19:4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, it is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
Elijah sounds a lot like Moses. Why didn't he just end it himself?

Nehemiah 9:6 Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
The word, “preservest,” means to keep alive.

Job 3:3,11,13,20-22,25

3. Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. 11. Why died I not from the womb? Why did I not give up the Ghost when I came out of the belly? 13. For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest, 20. Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul; 21. Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures; 22. Which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad, when they can find the grave? 25. For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.

Job 6:9 Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!
We are totally in God's hands and Job knew it.

Job 7:5,11,15-16.

5. My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome. 11. Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 15. So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life. 16. I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.
Here, Job knows he could have hung himself but didn't. What did they know then that we don't know today?

Job 9:18, 21

18. He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness. 21.Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life.
When God sends you tribulation, He expects you to tribulate. (Robert Orbin) There are no quick escapes.

Job 10:18-19

18. Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me! 19. I should have been as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.
Here we have Job in great physical pain and he still doesn't take his own life. Is there something he and the others know that we don't?

Job 27:3 All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;
This is just how close God is to every one of us. When we kill ourselves, we remove Him from our physical body. That is something only He should do.

Job 34:22 There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
This one is easily understood, even the KJV. Corrie ten Boom said of the holocaust: no matter how deep the pit, God is deeper still. No matter how miserable you are, wherever you go to escape - even death, you cannot get away from God.

Ecclesiastes 7:1 A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.
This does not give one permission to hasten the day.

Ecclesiastes 8:8 There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.
Everything is in God’s hand.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
This of course, is speaking of the body. Notice that the words in the last half of this verse do not include consciousness. What we do on this earth for our eternal rewards is all that can be done. There are no physical works in the grave but we will have conscientiousness (of what should have been done) just like Jonah did when he was in the belly of the fish (Jonah 2:1-10) and the rich man did after he died and was in the grave (Luke 16:19-31). (See: Second Chance) This ties in with Hebrews 9:27, (once to die).

Ecclesiastes 9:12 For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
It sounds to me like our death is suppose to be a surprise, and not something we plan.

Jeremiah 20:14-18

14. Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed. 15. Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad. 16. And let that man be as the cities which the Lord overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide; 17. Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me. 18. Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?
Here we find Jeremiah in bitter anguish, regretting that he was ever born, yet he didn't take his own life.

Jeremiah 21:9 He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.
I am not going to say that no one killed themselves to escape but it seems to me that people of those days knew that it was not the thing to do and probably knew it was more dangerous than dying of famine or going into captivity. The bottom line here is that it was God's will for most of the people go into captivity and not die, either by sword, famine or self.

Daniel 2:18 That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
I think this points to the fact that no normal person; and even the ones that know God, really wants to die. Life is to be lived. When things aren't going right, it is usually us out of control.

Hosea 13:14 I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
I believe this is a "second chance" scripture but it really shows that God is everywhere and has power over everything. If you kill yourself to escape the misery you deserve, you’d better believe He will be there to rebuke you at least and condemn you at most.

Joel 2:8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.
Nobody seems to be able to explain this scripture so they change it (in other versions) or explain it away in various commentaries. Any other time in scripture (like with King Saul) when someone fell on their sword - they died - but not here, if you listen to different scholars. This is obviously dealing with a miracle - in judgment. See: Rev. 9:6. If this is not literal death but has a spiritual application, then it proves beyond any doubt that our spirit does not die upon the death of the body, but goes to a place of God's choosing, for however long, until the resurrection.

Jonah 4:3, 8

3. Therefore now, O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. 8. And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
Jonah was in some physical discomfort but he was also mad at God for saving Nineveh. He thought they should have been destroyed.
Notice in chapter 1 verse 12, that he told the seamen to throw him into the sea. Why didn’t he just save them the trouble and jump in himself? That, in effect, would have been suicide. I think the people back then knew that they would have been in big trouble if they took their own lives. The further we get away from God the more we want to take our destiny into our own hands. We tend to live for the moment, and if something goes wrong we want immediate action to solve the problem.

As we have discovered earlier, we are a spiritual being, and that spiritual being lives forever. Just leaving the body will not get rid of the problem.

I think for the most part, people wanting to kill themselves are the ones responsible for the misery in their lives. This is supposing that there was no sexual, psychological or physical abuse that would cause someone to take their own life. That misery could end if they were to live life in accordance with God's rules. Their rebellion and/or pride will not allow them to do that, so they must be drug over the coals. To avoid crying out for God to forgive them, they would rather die. This is supposing that they haven't been cursed by God (where He wouldn't even try to reach out to them) and that He would just turn His back on them, in which case they would be open to suicide, thinking that that would be the way out.

I know that it is easy for someone not having the same problems to rebuke someone in pain for wanting to take their own life, but God has a plan in this also. What you may not know is that the person rebuking you could have been through similar circumstances as you are now suffering. The short but not-so-sweet of it is, that we get what we deserve and to try and end the pain of judgment by suicide is futile. I really don't know if physical pain can be ended by killing oneself, but I suspect that if it can, it will be replaced by something of the psychological nature. Let’s remember those stories about someone that lost a leg and still get an itchy toe. Life in the “spirit” could be like that.

When we're talking about God and judgment, we're talking hardball. I know most people think that God is a God of love (which He is) but He is also a God of wrath. He does not put up with our sin. (See: God of Wrath)

NEW TESTAMENT

Matthew 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
If “them” aren’t able to kill the soul, then the person killing themself isn’t able to either. That person will be fully awake and even more miserable than they were before killing themself because they will see (at least) some portion of the next life and not be able to return to the life they just left and make things right.

Matthew 26:24 The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It had been better for that man if he had not been born.
Judas was under the idea that he could end the pain (of betrayal) by killing himself. Or was it to prove to God that he was really sorry? At any rate, he did not follow the examples of those mentioned above. It stands to reason that he thought he could kill himself when you look at the fact that he could betray Jesus in the first place. I think it's an understatement to say that he was not a very spiritual man. He lacked understanding of God and the scriptures.
If our spirit dies along with our body - this regret (v. 24) would not be possible. If you sin unto death and you don't know you are dead, how could this ( "it had been better for that man if he had not been born," ) be a problem, curse or whatever? I know that come judgment day there would be lots of regrets by those that rejected the Lord but then after you are thrown into the lake of fire you are dead (body, soul and spirit) again, right? Wrong. The spirit lives forever, fully conscious - in or out of the presence of God.

Luke 23:42-43

42. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. 43. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
When the repenting malefactor said to Jesus, “ Remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom,” he had no idea of the time frame. When Jesus said, “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise,” there was no doubt that it would be soon and alive (in the spirit).

Acts 17:27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:
As close as every heartbeat.

1 Peter 3:19-20

19. By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20. Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
The body of Jesus was dead but his spirit preached to those in prison. I trust if He was speaking to those former disobedient, their spirits were alive enough to hear Him.

Revelation 6:9-11

9. And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11. And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
I thought this passage was very interesting. When we die, (at the hands of others) we carry that sense of indignation of our death into the afterlife. Who then, do we blame when we kill ourselves? One thing is clear, when we die we will see ourselves in the light of God and know what we should have been. Those that kill themselves however, will not be in the above group. I believe they will have to wait out that period of time between what would have been their normal life - up to the resurrection, and in addition wait out the thousand-year reign of Christ. They will not enter the kingdom. I believe, according to the “second chance” theory, they could enter heaven if they repented of that which kept them out of the kingdom.

Revelation 9:6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
Here we have another case where the Bible must not be saying what it is saying. I am one of those who think that God will not let them die because they must face the punishment of the fiery furnace of the tribulation.

Revelation 20:12-14

12. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

I worry about those who kill themselves, in relation to the book of life and the book(s) of works. They had some serious problems that caused them to kill themselves, and there is a point of contention right there, alone. Another point of contention comes when they kill themselves because they couldn’t cope with the life they were living. God sends us tribulation so it will drive us to repent of those sins and come back to Him or to Him in the first place. When we can't cope with life and refuse to repent - suicide could very well be one of the next steps and only God knows what the status of that person will be in the hereafter. I think it’s safe to assume, based on the scriptures, that that life will be less than pleasant. There is no escape from God; there is no escape from ourselves and the judgment that we bring upon ourselves. We must make an attempt to apologize to those we have wronged, including God, if we expect those burdens to be lifted. Those people that can’t be reasonably reached are the other reason we must tell God. Those sins must then be covered by the blood of Christ.

God did not put us on this planet to be miserable. If we walk in God’s statutes and laws we can live a happy and fulfilled life. That includes God’s natural laws - like gravity. If you shoot an arrow straight into the air; who do you blame when it hits you on the top of the head? A lot of people blame God. We won’t even mention the recklessness of that simple act (arrow in the air) as it pertains to the potential pain and suffering of innocent bystanders, but it is something to think about. At this point I would like to add another analogy.

Who or what do you blame for the troubles in your life? Most people want to blame something or someone else for problems they are having. For the most part we are the ones that are responsible for that pain. Things we are doing that are outside the will of God is what is causing the trouble. It is like we are squeezing our finger with a pair of pliers and wonder why we are in pain. Most of the pain is self-caused. I would like to use the Vise Grip pliers as a simple teaching tool for understanding a complex spiritual problem.

The Vise Grip tool hanging on the finger could represent the weight of original sin as given to us by Adam and Eve. This curse is in our lives from the moment of conception. We add to the curse when we sin going through this life; this is represented by the adjustment screw. The more we sin the tighter the grip becomes. The continuing tightening of the adjustment screw will cause discomfort, which should cause us to seek relief from the pain by repenting. If we were in touch with God, all we would have to do is rely on 1 John 1:9, (“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”) represented by the quick release lever, to restore our fellowship with Him and bring balance and peace back to our life. The big problem is that we as a nation and the world in general have stepped away from God’s rule book (the Bible - which teaches that God will and does judge sin) and when we are troubled in the spirit or in a physical sense, we seek other ways of relieving the discomfort of the ever tightening Vise Grip of God’s judgment. God’s judgment can come in the form of physical maladies or psychological problems. Some of those ways of seeking relief might be chasing after various forms of materialism, entertainment, and indulging in excessive alcohol and/or drugs, to name but a few of the most obvious and abused forms.

The marks left on your finger by plier jaws represent the physical scars which can be left behind long after your sin has been forgiven. An example of this might be as in the case of an auto accident after over indulging in alcohol so-as-to forget your problems. The physical scars you may receive and any other physical and monetary damage done to property and other persons, possibly involved, will be left behind long after you have been forgiven.
If it is other people causing you pain that you don’t deserve to have, then you have to simply remove yourself from their presence. Avoid any contact. However, if I am right in my theory that we get what we deserve; do you really think God would allow someone to escape the life they deserve so easily by simply killing themselves? That is not justice nor would it be fair. Don’t get me wrong - there are bad things happening to good people. But that is where God comes in. We need to go to Him in prayer and ask for protection against those causing the trouble. If we don’t get relief there is a reason, and we must remain humble. It will all be made clear someday.

In people’s quest for “the good life” they use excess alcohol, drugs, entertainment, materialism and anything else and is man’s feeble attempt to enter the “better life” as he understands it. Suicide ends the physical quest for that inner want of that life.

I believe after death, you can repent of the suicide and of the sins that caused you to kill yourself, but you will be miserable for the life you could have had, if you had just repented of those sins before death. That regret will last through the kingdom and whatever number of years you would have lived in your natural life.

God will dry your tears after the tribulation and after the kingdom age, at the setting up of heaven.

Do you really think God would allow someone to escape the life they deserve so easily by simply killing themselves? That is not justice nor would it be fair.

If suicide has a definition (other than the one in the dictionary) it can be described as, “the ultimate intrusion into the office of God.” Since God holds (in His hands) the life of every creature on the earth, suicide is the usurping of God’s power over our lives. He is the only one that has the right to remove the spirit from the body. In the case of capital punishment, He has designated governments as His instrument of judgment upon those deserving such treatment.

To step into His stead is a grievous sin. That is why the prophets that were so miserable, and wanting God to kill them, only dared request death instead of actually doing it.

For all those that believe in soul sleep, (if it is true) suicide is really an escape. They get to escape the miserable life which they deserve, by killing themselves. In effect they thumb their noses at God and say you can’t judge me and try to bring me to, or back to you, through whatever judgment you use. If that is the case, we are truly more powerful than God, until the resurrection and judgment day, that is.

We need to look at the body as a glove and the spirit as an invisible hand. When you place the hand in the glove, the glove will do what the hand does. When you remove the hand from the glove, the glove just sits there. The hand is still in existence, even though it is not seen by the eye.

The religions that usually espouse a non-eternal suffering, non-judging, “you’re okay, I’m okay,” type of God, seem to think that those on the outside (of His will) can simply choose to be obliterated at the end of time, and that’s that. That logic defies common sense in view of what the scriptures say.

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UNDER THE SHADOW OF GOD

When our daughter was very young and not even able to respond to the voice of her mother, I remember on about three occasions that I walked into her room to look at her and when my shadow passed over her, she gave out a big smile. But when I spoke or she had time to focus on me, the smile would soon turn to an expression of, who are you? This startled me the first time, but when it happen again, the thought of the “shadow of God” came across my mind.

The anti-abortion scriptures that I had been compiling for the book came to mind. Jeremiah 1:5 says, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee;... If this was true, then truly we all were living under the shadow of God before we were ever conceived. Once conceived, we start that long path of transition from our dwelling in the spirit, to human realm. The whole thing seemed to fit. When my shadow passed between the light and my daughter's face, she thought it was her heavenly father. I also realize that Jeremiah 1:5, could be based on His foreknowledge of how we lived our lives. I believe the older we get, the further we are removed from any pre-existing contact we may have had with God. It's kind of like when we are a baby; the further our eyes focus from our bodies the more contact we have with our new world and less with where we came from.

From that moment on I realized that this little girl, as well as our other four children, weren't ours, they are God's. We, the parents, are just a vessel to get them here on earth, to be in God's service, whatever that may be.

It is a terrible tragedy when a child dies but one has to know that the child isn't lost forever. The spirit of that child goes back to God who gave it. There will be a resurrection someday and there will be a joyful reunion for all those that live life God's way.

If there is a reason God takes a loved one from us, His reason should be good enough, and who are we to question Him who created us in the first place? He gives us every breath of life we breathe. God does not make mistakes, but even if He did and/or allows an injustice, who better to make it right in the next life than the Creator of life itself? Don't make the mistake of foolishly charging God like Job's wife did, because all it will do is further alienate you from God; and there may be something happening in the plan of God that we don't understand right now. One hundred years is a short time when you look at eternity. All the sadness and tragedies will be made right.

Someday all our questions will be answered. We will have a complete understanding of why we lost our Mother, Father, child, sister or brother at whatever age. There are things that we just don't understand but we have to take it by faith that God knows best.

There are no babies in hell. I believe the spirit is ageless. When a person dies, the body goes into the grave, but the spirit goes back to God who gave it. The living soul, which is made up of the spirit and the body, does have an aging process. As the body gets older the wisdom and intelligence of that living soul increases. At the time of death, as mentioned before, the body goes into the grave where it knows nothing at all. The spirit that has now been in contact with life on this earth, (via the living soul) goes back to God who gave it and is now subject to judgment according to what it did on earth in conjunction with it's body.

If I had to give a solemn warning to everyone it would be that our God is a jealous God and if you love your child more than Him, don't be angry if and when He takes that child away. He has that right. If we love and worship God first and foremost, everything else will fall into perfect order.

Hosea 14:7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.

Psalms 90:1-2

1. LORD, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. 2. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
If this says what I think it says, it proves that we were with God even before the beginning of the earth, but not necessarily throughout eternity. The whole universe is dwelling inside of God. The Hebrew word, “dwelling,” 4583 ( “ma` own (maw-ohn'); or ma` iyn (1 Chronicles 4:41) (maw-een'); from the same as 5772; an abode, of God (the Tabernacle or the Temple), men (their home) or animals (their lair); hence, a retreat (asylum): KJV-- den, dwelling ([-place]), habitation,“ ) I think, indicates, that we have our being in (side) God, as attested to by Paul in Acts 17:28: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. When this actually began; I don’t know.
The word, generation, in Hebrew, 1755 (“dowr (dore); or (shortened) dor (dore); from 1752; properly, a revolution of time, i.e. an age or generation; also a dwelling: KJV-- age, X evermore, generation, [n-] ever, posterity,”) says more than from grandfather, to father to son.
The word “everlasting,” in Hebrew, 5769 (“`owlam (o-lawm'); or `olam (o-lawm'); from 5956; properly, concealed, i.e. the vanishing point; generally, time out of mind (past or future), i.e. (practically) eternity; frequentatively, adverbial (especially with prepositional prefix) always: KJV-- alway (-s), ancient (time), any more, continuance, eternal, (for, [n-]) ever (-lasting, -more, of old), lasting, long (time), (of) old (time), perpetual, at any time, (beginning of the) world (+without end). Compare 5331, 5703,”) only shows us the time period where we were created to deal with God. The “vanishing point,” Deals with God after us. God before us, is eternal, no beginning or no ending. God started dealing with us at a certain point within His vast history.

As I said before, someday all our questions will be answered.

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