Is There Life After Death?

                                                     Is There Life After Death?
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One issue of greatest concern to every person is whether there is life after death. Graves have been found to contain foods and weapons left for the dead person to use in life in the next world. Egyptians built large pyramid tombs for their pharaohs containing all kinds of precious objects for their use in the next life. Obviously, people thought or hoped we can live again in another life. But how can we know? Let's devote serious thought to this issue.

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What We Believe About Life After Death Influences our Present Lives.
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It's depressing and demeaning to think death means our extinction. For no matter what abilities, contributions, or efforts we put into living, we're on the same footing with the animals. There's nothing special about human life and person hood. It's just to do whatever it takes to survive as long as you can. Our legacy may consist only in a tombstone marker showing our name and dates if even that. Many die unknown and are thrown together into a common grave. We hardly count.

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It's destructive to personal relationships and ethical incentive. If animals be all that we are, then logically we live like animals meaning a survival of the fittest. Life's great purpose is survival and depends largely on who gets power over their peers. It promotes selfishness and destroys ethical value. Since life is short, is a struggle, with temptation on every hand, and desires oh so strong, why not limit myself to what advances me or seems to fulfill my desire at the moment. If what I think and desire verses what you think and desire, then I'm for me and you are of little if any concern. To cheat, lie, steal, rape, even murder really doesn't mean much when our only contest is our self and our survival. And yes we might get caught, injured or killed, but what is that since our only law is survival and we animals may cease to exist at any time?

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Non Biblical Faith Has No Objective Foundation or Evidence for Life After Death.

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A multitude of religions exist worldwide. They're based upon what one supposedly wise man thinks verses what another supposedly wise man thinks. He may show valued insights, arguments, possibilities, and have a following who highly respect his opinions as true. But can he show a cold stiff dead corps can come back to life, or that a dead person is alive even if taken another form in another life? The sprouting spring vegetation, birthmarks, and past recollection is no proof of reincarnation as pantheist religions suppose as all have better explanations. Dying persons seeing the death angel, and out of the body experiences may prove it to those who have such experiences but these too are subjective experiences. They can be given other interpretations depending on one's worldview. These religions do not give tangible visible evidences that can be objectively verified.   
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Biblical Believers Have Assurance of Everlasting Life in the Lord Jesus and His Promises.
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What's the evidence? Christians have objective evidence and assurance of everlasting life beyond the grave.  Eyewitness knew Jesus was cold stiff dead when taken down from the cross and  they  saw him alive after just three days. At Pentecost only fifty days later it was known in many languages and spread abroad (Acts 2:23-28).  It was published in less than thirty years (1 Cor. 15:1-8). His resurrection was predicted by ancient prophet (Psalm 16:10), and by Jesus himself to unbelieving disciples, who died to verify it. Here's the evidence--Jesus who claimed to be God was seen alive from the dead by hundreds of people (1 Cor. 15:1-8). See my article, Did Jesus Arise from the Dead?
for further details.
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What decides whether heaven or hell? Sinners faith in or rejection of the Savior decides whether they exist eternally in Heaven or in Hell.  Jesus promised that "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life" but also warned, "and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abides on him" (John 3:36). So whether we trust in or reject the Savior makes the difference whether we go to Heaven or to Hell. 
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The Kind of Life We Have After Death Is Our Choice.
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It's simply the principle of justice. "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (Gal. 6:7). It would be so unfair for someone living for God most of his life and a new convert to get the same heavenly reward. Likewise it's unfair for an unemployed grocery thief who only wanted to feed his starving family to receive the same punishment as a serial killer. We all do good or evil in different areas and to different degrees. Scripture mentions repeatedly that each person is judged according to THEIR OWN works or deeds (Psalm 62:12; Matt. 16:27; Luke 12:47-48; Rom. 2:6; 1 Cor. 3:8-15; Rev. 20:13) and a multitude of other passages.

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So rewards of Heaven and punishments of Hell are somewhat different with each person. Saints are said to receive crowns which they throw at Jesus' feet. I believe the crowns are metaphors acknowledging that they could perform these services only in their Lord's strength and direction. Rebel sinners are said to be caste into a lake of fire where the worm never dies and fire doesn't go out. I believe this too is a metaphor that represents the all inclusive wrath of God (John 3:36) or else it seems to teach all will be punished alike instead of according to their particular sins as clearly taught in above passages. Bible mentions degrees of sin John 19:11, and of reward 1Cor. 3:9-15.

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Dear reader, this is the most crucial decision of life. We can't know all the answers but Scripture is clear on essentials. Jesus and what we decide about Him makes the difference between heaven or hell. Won't you pray, Lord come into my life, be my Savior and help me live a holy life for You. Then share this wonderful news with loved ones and others. Tell them about these important blog articles. Thank you. God bless.
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