Question by clorenda23: How can I defeat dread of demise and dying?
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Reply by Billy!
Xanax and Jim Beam.
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Question by clorenda23: How can I defeat dread of demise and dying?
Best answer:
Reply by Billy!
Xanax and Jim Beam.
Add your very own answer in the comments!
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Everyone dies, but fearing it means you never really live. And really when you are dead, you will never even know it.
Find out where you are going after.
Repent.
Know Jesus is your saviour!
Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God
Painful moments, trust God
Every moment, thank God.
then you will go to heaven…
Romans 10:9-13 (King James Version)
9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
The wages of sin is death. But God, who alone is immortal, will grant eternal life to His redeemed. Until that day death is an unconscious state for all people. When Christ, who is our life, appears, the resurrected righteous and the living righteous will be glorified and caught up to meet their Lord. The second resurrection, the resurrection of the unrighteous, will take place a thousand years later. (Rom. 6:23; 1 Tim. 6:15, 16; Eccl. 9:5, 6; Ps. 146:3, 4; John 11:11-14; Col. 3:4; 1 Cor. 15:51-54; 1 Thess. 4:13-17; John 5:28, 29; Rev. 20:1-10.)
On the new earth, in which righteousness dwells, God will provide an eternal home for the redeemed and a perfect environment for everlasting life, love, joy, and learning in His presence. For here God Himself will dwell with His people, and suffering and death will have passed away. The great controversy will be ended, and sin will be no more. All things, animate and inanimate, will declare that God is love; and He shall reign forever. Amen. (2 Peter 3:13; Isa. 35; 65:17-25; Matt. 5:5; Rev. 21:1-7; 22:1-5; 11:15.)
LIVE A FEARLESS LIFE
http://www.hinduwisdom.info/contents.htm
Submit your life to God and you will have no worries at all in life
Living life to the fullest. Go take a vacation, volunteer in a school, play with your kids, DON’T watch the news.
True Christians LOOK FORWARD to It.
That could be taken as a HINT hint hint!
The process may be fearful, but death itself isn’t.
Accept that it is part of life. Know that you will once die.
Live aware of the fact….and you should be okay.
Consider your expectations of death, what you expect it to be like, etc., and evaluate if that is realistic. Also consider whether or not it is the act of dying that you fear, or the unknown of the afterlife.
clorenda23,
I don’t know. But I can tell you why I am not fearful.
I am saved. I have trust in God to have done that. Death is only a change, it’s not the end. I trust God to keep me with Him. It’s that simple.
Just try to picture where you want to go when you die. I believe you will be able to go, or do just about anything you want.
And just think of all the answers you will finally get.
I just look at it this way, there is no alternative so start getting use to the idea at an early age and when it comes you will be looking forward to all you want to do.
You can’t
by excepting impermanence….why do you care if you die? Do you really want to live forever? If you were dead and you didn’t know it, would it really matter? Nothing matters. Embrace today and stop worrying of death. It is not the state of continuous darkness that you might fear it to be.
just do things that u like
I think everyone has those same fears, I know I do.
by living your life to the fullest
Skydiving or Bunjee jumping.
Read The Bible daily.
http://www.chick.com/information/general/salvation.asp
Well, all I know is, when you are truly ready to die you won’t be scared. This happens more often as we get into our senior citizen ages. Its all in the mind. young people have not lived many years and want to experience life. Sometimes, you least expect death to catch you. we never know when we will die. I’ve had people tell me it is a peaceful experience to die and to come back and talk about it makes you feel better to know that death isn’t all that bad. You’re free from a body that has its restrictions.
You should not overcome these fears, as they are important motivations keeping you alive.
Honey, get to know your Saviour and know His word. Read the scripture, that will help lots. I guess really it is something you kind of grow towards. I know I look at it differently now than I did when I was younger. When you know what your future is, you aren’t afraid.
Take care of yourself physically and mentally to prolong your life…when your old you will except death more..
pray to God.
by living every moment of your life
Read the Universal Theology of the New Jerusalem by Emanuel Swedenborg.
http://www.mechanicsburgnewchurch.org/hh-ager.txt
It helps if you are sure of where you will spend eternity. with God or with satan. If you have not accepted Jesus as your savior, you belong to satan automatically. Jesus and acceptance of Him as your savior reserves your place in heaven. You must accept Jesus as your savior in order to get to heaven. There is no other way.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Accept Jesus as your savior and repent of your sins, invite Jesus into your heart and life, and give up your old lifestyle, and you have been born again by the blood of Jesus, and adopted into Jesus family through being born again. You then no longer belong to satan, but have become a child of God of your own free will.
Jesus is in heaven, and that is something to look forward to when you die and not fear. Those who fear death are spiritually lost and are going to hell. Those who are born again go to heaven. Jesus is returning for His church in our lifetime.
That is a healthy fear that most of us have. We just distract ourselves with other things until death presents itself. For alot of people religion is the band-aid they place over their fear of the inevitable. It gives them hope of a happy nice place after they die. If that works for you, fine. If not, just be happy that you exist at all and try to make your mark in the world by doing good and useing your best talents to help others in need.
You do not need to be afraid of something like this….
if you believe there is no after life, then there would be no fear that you express, because you would believe that there is “nothing” after you die……..
as much as the world preaches that there is no afterlife, there really is one….but you sense that there is one in your spirit…..Many people think something bad will happen to them..so they are afraid…..
this does not have to be that way……if you understood that faith in Jesus christ for forgiveness of sins (mistakes) and salvation (from anything bad) only brings happiness in the next life, you would feel reassured.
The next life is meant to be one of joy for the believer…there is no fear there, only peace….
contact me if you want to talk more.
it is normal to fear death. but do not be obsessed over it. dont think about ti all the time because liek sme have said you will not live your life. one way to get over this fear is to find your purpose. do you know God? you feel empty and meaningless because you may have not filled a hole in your life. if you dont eat you die just as if you dont commune with God you die spiritually. those who say that they are happy with the belief that they will never exist after they die are lying to you. we all want to have meaning in our lifes and death is what we view as the dead end or the cliff. death is not a cliff. have comfort that all of us will have to go through it and when God returns to us there will be those who wont. jesus tells us death is like a sleep. he tells us that all he must do is wake us up. remember when you are asleep? no you are not consious of it. such as death. of course there are different theories. think of all the near death stories. i have personal experience with this. i believe there is more evidence to think there is something more out there. can i prove it. no. nor do i wish to make an attempt. deaht is a heavy door that must be opened but i think once it is opned then all eyes will be opened.
A common motto of soldiers is “Only when you can accept the fact that you are already dead can you truly function as a soldier is supposed to function. Without compassion, without remorse, without a second thought”
Same thing in civilian life… just accept the fact that you’re dead and you won’t even have as many problems doing things you normally would be to shy/scared/skeptical to do.
Repeat after me….. I AM ALREADY DEAD AND THE ONLY THING THAT WILL CHANGE IS THAT SOMEDAY I WON’T WALK AS MUCH. that should do the trick…
Victory Over Death—Is It Possible for You?
Unless otherwise stated, all quotations from the Holy Bible are taken from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, 1984 edition.
VICTORY over death! How delightful! The very idea warms the hearts of humans. But from time immemorial it has been the other way around. Death has reigned victorious over mankind. So, how could such a reversal ever be achieved? Who could do it? Is victory over death possible for you?
DEATH’S ORIGIN
2 Death is a reality. It is no fable, as our grief-stricken human family well knows. As for death’s origin, the Hindu Rig-Veda depicts Yama as the first man to die. The Rig-Veda implies that Yama is another name for the first man, and that he had a twin sister, Yami, who was the first woman. We read: “Remembering the earth and days to follow, obtain a son, the issue of his father. Yes, this the Immortals seek of thee with longing, progeny of the sole existing mortal.” (RV. 10. 1. 3)1 The Rig-Veda thus depicts Yama as “the sole existing mortal,” hence, the first man, and that it was Heaven’s will for him to beget offspring for the sake of “earth and days to follow.”
3 Regarding the introduction of death to humanity, the Rig-Veda says: “He [Yama], for God’s sake, chose death to be his portion. He chose not, for men’s good a life eternal.” (RV. 10. 13. 4) Interestingly, Yama means “cessation.”2 A fitting meaning for the one reputed to have brought cessation to eternal life on earth.
4 These Rig-Veda quotations seem to recall memories of the Bible’s earlier record of the first man and woman, and how they brought death to the human family. For example, the Bible’s account reveals that the first man and woman were closely related. As Adam said: “This is at last bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” (Genesis 2:23) Also, it was God’s will for the first human pair to “be fruitful and become many and fill the earth.” (Genesis 1:28) Moreover, by his willful disobedient action, Adam, the first man, rejected life and chose death. This was not for men’s good, because it resulted in loss of eternal life for all of his descendants by God’s judgment, which was carried out by the natural law of heredity. So the Bible states: “And to Adam he said: ‘Because you listened to your wife’s voice and took to eating from the tree concerning which I gave you this command, “You must not eat from it,” cursed is the ground on your account. In pain you will eat its produce all the days of your life. In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return.’”—Genesis 3:17, 19.
5 Explaining how the first man’s actions affected his offspring, the Bible says: “That is why, just as through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned.” This clearly shows that death came as a punishment for disobedience to God the Creator. Disobedience to God is sin. And, “the wages sin pays is death.”—Romans 5:12; 6:23.
6 The Rig-Veda shows sin to be a violation of divine law with death as the penalty. We read: “Whatever law of thine, O God, O Varuna, as we are men, Day after day we violate, Give us not as prey to death, to be destroyed by thee in wrath.” (RV. 1. 25. 1, 2) The Vedic writers obviously felt a sense of sin and viewed death as a punishment for sin, and they tried to appease their gods by prayers and sacrifices. Many of the Rig-Veda hymns are taken up with prayers for removing sin, and with sacrifices propitiating their gods. They also made their god Varuna the upholder of moral law, apparently sensing some legal obligation toward Heaven.3
FEAR OF DEATH
7 Death is decidedly a grief-inducing element within the experience of our human family. It is associated with tragic loss and with a feeling of utter helplessness by bereaved survivors. Mankind in general does not harbor friendly feelings toward death. The Sanskrit word for death is mrtyu. The Rig-Veda portrays Mrtyu as Death personified and as the son of Bhaya (Fear). This suggests the close link between fear and death. Indeed, references to death in early Vedic writings make it clear that death was viewed with dread.4
8 Hindu writer Rohit Mehta admits that death elicits fear within many humans.5 Discussing an allegory in the Hindu Katha-Upanishad, Mr. Mehta wrote: “Why was Death unwilling to convey its secret to the young and fearless enquirer? Perhaps Yama thought if the secret of Death is known by the mortal then surely he will have no fear of death.”
9 It is this fear of death that has held the human race in mental slavery to all manner of superstitions and omens. The Bible speaks of “all those who for fear of death were subject to slavery all through their lives.” (Hebrews 2:15) How have men been held in slavery through fear of death? It is by the immense volume of restrictive omens, customs, and superstitions that inhibit life’s movements. For example, the Hindu manual “Knowledge of Omens” is particularly connected with astrology.6 There was a code of omens named the “Law of the Lizard.”7 The worst omen was a cat cutting across one’s path. It betokened death. All such dread of omens stems from fear of death, which has a profound effect on how a person conducts his life. Undoubtedly, an understanding of what death truly is will positively do much to remove such fear.
SOUL AND SPIRIT—WHAT ARE THEY?
10 Where are the dead? What is the condition of those who die? Really, what happens at death? Much of the uncertainty about the condition of the dead revolves around the understanding of the word “soul” and the word “spirit.” To arrive at the truth concerning the above questions, it is necessary to distinguish between the original meaning of these two words and the later interpretation given to them by religious commentators. To know the truth of these subjects, one must guard against preconceived notions based on the speculations of mere human interpreters. Often, human religious teachers make interpretations that differ from those of others. Therefore some interpretations are bound to differ from the very first meanings of the words “soul” and “spirit.”
11 For instance, the word “soul” is very often used to translate the Sanskrit word ātma. Is this correct? Some derive this Sanskrit word from an, meaning “to breathe”; others from at, meaning “to move”; and others from va, meaning “to blow.” The oldest derivation is believed to be from a root meaning “to breathe.”8 This is interesting when we compare it with the words for “spirit” in the languages that most of the Bible was originally written in, Hebrew and Greek. Both the Hebrew word (ru′ach) and the Greek word (pneu′ma) basically mean “breath” or “wind.” And the English word “spirit” comes from the Latin spiritus, which means “breath.”
12 These Hebrew, Greek, and English words for “spirit” are used in many different ways. But in all their uses they have9 something in common: They all refer to something that is invisible to humans and that gives the evidence of force in motion—just like breath or wind. Obviously, then, the Sanskrit word ātma would more properly be translated as “spirit” rather than as “soul.” Hence, when the sentence, “God is a Spirit,” was translated into Sanskrit, it was rendered: “Ishwar ātma.” (John 4:24) This is because God is both invisible and powerful, as the words “spirit” and ātma denote. But God is not, of course, and never was, disembodied spirit. God has always been and always will be an absolute Spirit!
13 At Genesis 2:7 in the Bible we read the statement: “The man came to be a living soul.” Here the word “soul” appears, and it is translated from the Hebrew word ne′phesh. This Hebrew word comes from a root meaning “to breathe.” However, it signifies “a living being, an individual, a person.” When this verse was translated into Sanskrit, the phrase “living soul” was translated “sa sātmaprāni babhuva.” Sātmaprāni contains three words: sa-ātma-prāni.10 Sa means “with”; ātma11 is “spirit”; and prāna signifies “vitality, life, vital breath.”12 The Sanskrit prānin13 means “a living or sentient being, an individual, a person,” similar to the Hebrew ne′phesh.
14 In Sanskrit, a prāni in a literal sense could signify “a breather,”14 someone or something that breathes. The Hebrew ne′phesh has the same significance. Animals are also breathers; they also breathe. So the Sanskrit Bible translators rendered ne′phesh as prāne (plural of prāni) at Genesis 2:19, where the Hebrew word for “soul” refers to animals, not humans. Thus, prān is frequently used in the Sanskrit Bible to translate the Hebrew ne′phesh, and the Greek word for soul, psy·khe′.
15 Hence, the Sanskrit translation of the phrase “[man] became a living soul” (sa sātmaprāni babhuva) could be rendered literally into English as “[man] with spirit soul became.” (Genesis 2:7) It could properly be read: “[man] became a ‘spirited’ soul,” or “an animated soul.” This statement in Genesis is referred to later in the Bible at 1 Corinthians 15:45. Here, the writer quotes Genesis and says: “The first man Adam became a living soul.” The Sanskrit translation of this reads: “Purusha Adam jivaprāni babhuva.” The phrase “living soul” appears as jivaprāni. The word jiva15 signifies “living,” while prāni is used to translate the word for “soul.”
16 Confusion arises because in some Indian languages “soul” and “spirit” are used interchangeably.16 When translating the Bible into other languages, scholars allowed preconceived beliefs to influence their use of these words.16 However, in the Bible languages and in Sanskrit the words “soul” (ne′phesh, prān) and “spirit” (ru′ach, ātma) are not interchangeable.
17 To learn the truth about “soul” and “spirit” we must distinguish between their two different meanings and distinctive applications. That there is a difference is clearly seen in the Bible at Hebrews 4:12, where it says: “For the word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul [prān, Skt.] and spirit [ātma, Skt.].” The distinction is also shown at 1 Thessalonians 5:23.
18 Then what is this thing called prān, or soul? Does it survive death? This question has tantalized man for many centuries. The Katha-Upanishad17 relates a curious conversation between the Hindu god of death and a youth named Nachiketa. Nachiketa said: “Some say the soul exists after death, others say it does not exist. I request as my third boon, that I may be introduced by thee in the true answer to this question.” Thus, this Upanishad reveals some doubt on the subject of survival after death. Divided opinions on the state of the dead existed even after the Vedas were written. Then how did the Upanishad answer this common question? It said: “On this point even the gods formerly had their doubts. It is not easy to understand. That subject is subtle. Choose another boon, O Nachiketa, do not press me, and let me off that boon.”18 Hence, in some religious communities there has been uncertainty on this question.
19 Most people, however, have taken survival of a person after death for granted.19 But reasoning persons are not interested in mere assertions. They want convincing proof. There are some people who rebel at the shortness of life. Some even believe that religious people have simply invented survival after death as a way to overcome their sense of insecurity. For some, the heart resents the idea of death20 as cutting life short, and yet the mind21 is not satisfied with the explanations given. What exactly does happen at death?
WHAT HAPPENS AT DEATH?
20 The Bible gives much enlightenment on the prān, or soul. It also contains comforting and cheering information on the condition of the dead, and it provides hope for our dead loved ones. The Bible’s description of the human soul is found at Genesis 2:7, “Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of the dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul [sātmaprāni, Skt.].” Please note, man did not receive a soul, rather, he came to be a living soul. Hence man is a soul. Therefore, you do not possess a soul, but you yourself are a soul. A living human soul has two vital constituents: fleshly body plus life-force (ātma). Separate the life-force from the body, and there is no living soul. The soul becomes nonexistent. Man is no longer “a breather,” and therefore, is no longer a soul. It is like water made of two gases, hydrogen and oxygen. By combining these two gases in correct proportions, water is formed. Extract one of the gases from the compound, and the water ceases to exist.
21 Accordingly, at death you do not become a disembodied soul. No, for the simple reason that your fleshly body is a part of your soul. When the body dies, the soul is dead, it ceases to exist. Neither do you become a disembodied spirit, or ātma. Why not? Because the ātma is the impersonal life-force, or spirit, which animates the living soul, and which empowers the soul to think, move, and live. When the life-force, or ātma, is extinguished within the living soul, the effect is similar to what happens when electricity is withdrawn from a light bulb. The light is extinguished. Where does the light go? It simply becomes nonexistent. It is for this reason that death is the very opposite of life. And that is why death came to mankind as a punishment for disobedience to the Creator of life.
22 The human soul is, therefore, not immortal, but mortal—subject to death and extinction. In confirmation of this, the Bible states: “Look! All the souls—to me they belong. As the soul of the father so likewise the soul of the son—to me they belong. The soul [prāni, Skt.] that is sinning—it itself will die.” (Ezekiel 18:4) Consequently, the condition of the dead is far different from what human rishis, or religious sages and gurus, have speculated it to be. The Bible, as God’s Word, authoritatively states: “Do not put your trust in nobles, nor in the son of earthling man, to whom no salvation belongs. His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish.” “The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they anymore have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten. All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol, the place to which you are going.”—Psalm 146:3, 4; Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10.
23 The Bible thus teaches that death brings total cessation to one’s thinking and consciousness. Death ends activity, work, devising, knowledge, and wisdom. Death is nonexistence. Assuredly there is no life after death! This explanation of the human soul and condition of the dead may come as a shock to many. But so did the discovery of the earth’s shape when it was found to be spherical. The human race had to reconcile itself to the truth. Likewise, when the emperor of Japan acknowledged his humanity and renounced his godship, the ideas of millions had to be readjusted in line with the facts. And when scientists put men on the moon, millions had to revise their religious ideas of the universe. So, too, millions of people around the world in this 20th century have already reconciled their beliefs to their discoveries of the Bible’s teachings regarding a destructible soul and the unconscious dead.
24 But how is this knowledge about the dead comforting or cheering? Well, it is comforting to know that our dead loved ones are not suffering pain anywhere. They are not existing in a semiliving, inert state of Nirvana.22 Nor are they toiling along a remorseless and merciless series of rebirths, or samsaras.23 Nor are their identities lost forever, released (moksha)24 into a mass of impersonal World Spirit (paramātman).25 But the dead are dead. They are in a state of nonexistence. Moreover, there is a bright hope for our dead loved ones. This is why the foregoing information about the dead is comforting and cheering. But we now ask: What hope could there ever be for any renewal of life for the dead, and yes, what hope for the living?
A LEGAL PROBLEM
25 You will recall that our human race became subject to sin and death because of God’s righteous decree that was sustained by the operation of heredity. So the problem arises: How could God as Judge honor his decree or decision and at the same time redeem our race from sin and death without violating true justice? Since divine law and righteousness demand that a law violator be punished with death, how could sinners be acquitted and death be eliminated, without a violation of justice? Not only is God perfect in love and mercy but he is also perfect in justice. God is not arbitrary. To uphold his word and maintain his status as God and Sovereign, God cannot ignore his own inviolable law.
26 God as the Giver and Enforcer of his decision must abide by his decision to preserve his position as Universal Judge. Granting mercy to a lawbreaker without a legal basis would pervert justice. For justice to be true, divine mercy to sinners must be lawful. Hence, before sinners can receive acquittal and be restored to real life, God must be provided with a satisfactory equivalent, or a corresponding ransom. (1 Timothy 2:5, 6) In this way, God would continue to command the respect and obedience of the whole universe.
27 Our first common ancestor, Adam, forfeited his own perfect human life and the right to eternal life in exchange for selfish use of his free will. In so doing, he sold all of his future offspring—including us—into sin and death. Our opportunity for eternal life was lost—forfeited by our first forefather. So for the purpose of illustration, it is somewhat similar to when a family falls into unhappy circumstances and the father forfeits the family gold to a moneylender, or a bank. Now the family goes through life without its gold, and even the offspring fail to inherit it. But later the offspring are able to redeem their family gold from the moneylender by paying a redemption price that the moneylender considers adequate to fulfill justice.
28 Similarly, to satisfy justice, our human race needed a redemption, or a price, to ransom them from sin and death and to restore their birthright. The stress on sacrifice in the Rig-Veda may have been rooted in memories of ancestral sacrificial practices. (Compare Genesis 4:4; 8:20.) The book Indian Wisdom shows that horses, oxen, sheep, and goats were sacrificial victims in Vedic times. And it says: “Such sacrifices were held to be propitiatory.”26 It is significant that ancient Hindus felt, somehow, that lifeblood had to be sacrificed for them to get right with their gods.
29 However, as one ancient authority stated: “It is not possible for the blood of bulls and of goats to take sins away.” (Hebrews 10:4) The price needed is a perfect human life, which is exactly equal to what our first forefather Adam forfeited in exchange for a disobedient life. This is the only ransom price that will satisfy God’s perfect justice. But are we humans in a position to produce such a high price? Honesty compels us to admit that we are unable to provide such a redemptive price to purchase our own release from sin and death. As an honest Bible writer confessed: “Not one of them can by any means redeem even a brother, nor give to God a ransom for him.”—Psalm 49:7.
GOD’S LOVE TO THE RESCUE
30 Recognizing humanity’s helplessness, God, in his wondrous love, came to our rescue. God prepared the required price from among his perfect spirit sons in heaven. The Bible says: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) To be the corresponding price to our first perfect human forefather, this spirit Son had to become a human. A spirit incarnation, or avatar, could not be the exact equivalent of our first human ancestor. So God’s only-begotten spirit Son had to divest his spirit form and be miraculously born into our human race to become perfect flesh and blood—a member of the same race—nothing more and nothing less. The Bible puts it this way: “When the full limit of the time arrived, God sent forth his Son, who came to be out of a woman and who came to be under law, that he might release by purchase those under law, that we, in turn, might receive the adoption as sons.”—Galatians 4:4, 5.
31 Who was this spirit Son of God who was born from woman as a perfect man so that he could pay the ransom price, or purchase humanity’s release from sin and death? Throughout history there have been countless humans claiming to be saints, rishis, swamis, world gurus, holy men, god-men, and reformers. But not one of them ever claimed to be a redeemer, or a ransomer! It would appear that none of them recognized or understood the religious doctrine of redemption. In all the history of religion only one spiritual leader claimed to be the Redeemer of mankind from sin and death. He was the one who said: “Just as the Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.”—Matthew 20:28.
32 In identifying this one, the Word of God states: “We behold Jesus, who has been made a little lower than angels, crowned with glory and honor for having suffered death, that he by God’s undeserved kindness might taste death for every man.” (Hebrews 2:9) Consequently, the death of Jesus Christ was no ordinary death—it was a sacrifice. Christ forfeited his own perfect human life and earthly prospects to purchase the life rights of our own human race. Thus, by virtue of his earthly ministry and sacrificial death, Christ Jesus became mankind’s Ransomer. Therefore, it is written: “But it is not with the gift as it was with the trespass. For if by one man’s trespass [Adam’s sin] many died, the undeserved kindness of God and his free gift with the undeserved kindness by the one man Jesus Christ abounded much more to many. So, then, as through one trespass the result to men of all sorts was condemnation, likewise also through one act of justification [Christ’s sacrifice] the result to men of all sorts is a declaring of them righteous for life.”—Romans 5:15, 18.
33 Just as a cholera epidemic can spread swiftly through a whole village from only one sick patient, and just as the medicine from only one doctor can bring healing to many in the same village, likewise, God’s perfect justice permits only one corresponding ransom price to effect the redemption of millions of sinners descended from the one first man.—Compare 1 Timothy 2:5, 6.
34 As a reward, God restored his Son to spirit life, enabling him to present to God in heaven the value of his sacrificed human life as the purchase price for the life rights of our race. Thereby God had the legal basis to return the right to life to Adam’s offspring. The Bible says: “Why, even Christ died once for all time concerning sins, a righteous person for unrighteous ones, that he might lead you to God, he being put to death in the flesh, but being made alive in the spirit.” (1 Peter 3:18) Most importantly, this grand accomplishment vindicates God’s original creative work, his word, and his righteousness.
ACHIEVING VICTORY OVER DEATH
35 Do we wish to avail ourselves of these life rights? To do so, what must we do? We need to make grateful acknowledgment to both God and his only-begotten Son for their self-sacrificing love and undeserved kindness, as a great international crowd in our own 20th century are now doing. The Bible describes them: “After these things I saw, and, look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes; and there were palm branches in their hands. And they keep on crying with a loud voice, saying: ‘Salvation we owe to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb [Jesus Christ].’” (Revelation 7:9, 10) The historical facts of our 20th century, particularly since the year 1935, prove that this grateful international crowd is now in existence on all continents of the earth. But how do we acknowledge this gratitude?
36 We need to identify the God of heaven and learn how to worship him. Some 1,500 years before Christ was born, the ancient prophet Moses unwisely asked to see God. What was the outcome? We read: “‘Cause me to see, please, your glory.’ But he said: ‘I myself shall cause all my goodness to pass before your face, and I will declare the name of Jehovah before you’ . . . And he added: ‘You are not able to see my face, because no man may see me and yet live.’” “And Jehovah proceeded to come down in the cloud and station himself with him there and declare the name of Jehovah. And Jehovah went passing by before his face and declaring: ‘Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and truth, preserving loving-kindness for thousands, pardoning error and transgression and sin, but by no means will he give exemption from punishment.’”—Exodus 33:18-20; 34:5-7.
37 Is this beautiful description not what we would expect the invisible God to be like? Here is the kind of God we can admire and worship. But how should we worship Jehovah? God wants us to worship him with spirit and truth. The Bible says: “Nevertheless, the hour is coming, and it is now, when the true worshipers will worship the Father with spirit and truth, for, indeed, the Father is looking for suchlike ones to worship him. God is a Spirit, and those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth.” (John 4:23, 24) To worship the Father with spirit means that the veneration of physical places, objects, buildings, and material representations of God are forbidden. It is truth that really matters. To worship the Father, Jehovah, with truth means that our religious practices, beliefs, and teachings must be in agreement with the actual state of things, the truthful reality of things, as revealed in God’s written Word. God’s chief Spokesman said in prayer to the Father: “Your word is truth.”—John 17:17; compare Acts 17:24, 25.
38 If then Jehovah is the true God, who is Jesus Christ? To the Jews, Christ was a cause of stumbling. To the non-Jews, Christ was foolishness. The Bible states: “But we preach Christ impaled, to the Jews a cause for stumbling but to the nations foolishness.” (1 Corinthians 1:23) The Jews rejected Christ as their Savior because his manner of life and death did not meet their nationalistic ambitions. To non-Jewish nations who seek to find God by human speculation, Christ’s manner of life and death was completely unintelligible. His death seemed a sheer waste—unnecessary. Jehovah God’s will and purpose as revealed and accomplished by Christ was foolishness because of the astonishing reversal of human suppositions and values.
39 Even today, millions of people stumble over Christ Jesus. In their estimation Christ is foolishness. Is that how you feel about Christ? Conversely, there are millions today who have satisfied themselves on the true worth of Christ Jesus. They recognize that Christ is not God Almighty, but is a Son of Jehovah. Christ was the firstborn of all of Jehovah’s creatures, and God made him the Word, or Spokesman to the rest of creation. So we read: “In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. This one was in the beginning with God. All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence.” (John 1:1-3) Thus Jesus Christ in his prehuman existence filled the dual role of being God’s “master worker,” and the voice, or mouthpiece, of God.—Compare Proverbs 8:22, 30; Colossians 1:15, 16.
40 In superintending his own human sacrifice and its life-restoring benefits, Christ becomes humanity’s High Priest before the God of heaven, Jehovah. We read: “However, when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come to pass, through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, he entered, no, not with the blood of goats and of young bulls, but with his own blood, once for all time into the holy place and obtained an everlasting deliverance for us.” Also he thereby becomes God’s Chief Agent of life. In his role of teacher, Jesus is the Guru of all worshipers of Jehovah God: “But you, do not you be called Rabbi, for one is your teacher, whereas all you are brothers.”—Hebrews 9:11, 12; Matthew 23:8; compare Acts 3:15.
41 Hence, Christ Jesus is far more than a mere religious reformer. He knew, for the most part, that this wicked system of things is irreformable. For this reason Jesus preached, not world conversion, but “great tribulation.” He said: “For then there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again. In fact, unless those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved; but on account of the chosen ones those days will be cut short.” (Matthew 24:21, 22) That “great tribulation” will destroy the wicked and will vindicate Jehovah’s righteousness before all creation. Jesus’ words imply, however, that some “flesh would be saved.” This is because Christ loves righthearted people. That is why he died for them. We get a glimpse of Jesus’ personality in these words: “And Jesus set out on a tour of all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news of the kingdom and curing every sort of disease and every sort of infirmity. On seeing the crowds he felt pity for them, because they were skinned and thrown about like sheep without a shepherd.”—Matthew 9:35, 36.
42 In our own 20th century also, many people are “skinned and thrown about like sheep without a shepherd.” And we may be sure that Jesus feels the same pity for them. That is why God’s Kingdom by his self-sacrificing Son will soon extend its kindly rule over the faithful survivors of the “great tribulation.” God’s Word foretold: “Look! A king will reign for righteousness itself.”—Isaiah 32:1.
43 God’s Kingdom is made up of a body of tried and tested, faithful, integrity-keeping persons who form a government in heaven, headed by Christ Jesus. This is God’s heavenly raj that will exercise its sovereignty over the whole earth. (Revelation 5:10) Today, people look to their human governments for employment benefits, housing provisions, and health benefits. And several governments fix a series of five-year plans for the purpose of developing these benefits for their subjects. But they can offer no hope whatsoever for their dead. And the historical experiences of all former governments weigh heavily against their chances of full success in their plans for the living.
44 Nevertheless, God’s Kingdom, not by a series of 5-year plans, but by a 1,000-year program will “do more than superabundantly beyond all the things we ask or conceive.” Thus we read: “And I saw thrones, and there were those who sat down on them, and power of judging was given them. . . . And they came to life and ruled as kings with the Christ for a thousand years.” (Ephesians 3:20; Revelation 20:4) During that 1,000-year rule, God’s King-Priest will apply the benefits of his ransom sacrifice to earth’s happy people. Gradually sin and its damaging effects of sickness, imperfection, and old age will be removed from their fleshly bodies. Hence, God’s Kingdom is His means for humans to achieve victory over death.
45 Let us read together some of the guarantees that God himself gives for these promises: “Happy is the one whose revolt is pardoned, whose sin is covered. Happy is the man to whose account Jehovah does not put error, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” “Bless Jehovah, O my soul, and do not forget all his doings, him who is forgiving all your error, who is healing all your maladies, who is reclaiming your life from the very pit, who is crowning you with loving-kindness and mercies, who is satisfying your lifetime with what is good; your youth keeps renewing itself just like that of an eagle.”—Psalm 32:1, 2; 103:2-5.
46 “‘Let his flesh become fresher than in youth; let him return to the days of his youthful vigor.’ He will make entreaty to God that he may take pleasure in him, and he will see his face with joyful shouting, and He will restore His righteousness to mortal man.” (Job 33:25, 26) What is more, all the evidence indicates that Christ’s Thousand Year Rule will begin within the lifetime of our present generation!
47 For the applying of Christ’s ransom to the world of mankind to take place, there must be a return to life of dead human souls from the memorial tombs. So God’s Kingdom by Christ will accomplish a resurrection of billions of dead humans just as God’s Word assures us: “And the sea gave up those dead in it, and death and Hades gave up those dead in them, and they were judged individually according to their deeds.” (Revelation 20:13) How can this be done? The Creator will simply re-create new human fleshly organisms from the earth’s dust and from his perfect memory will recall former life patterns, superimposing them upon the new brain circuits, and will infuse each organism with the life-force, or ātma. Then these re-created living souls, or jivaprāne, will live on earth once again. What a stupendous miracle! Only Jehovah can do this through the legal ransom arrangement. And this is also why the future life of dead loved ones depends, not on a fictitious immortal soul, but rather on the unfailing love and memory of Jehovah God. Indeed, “for he [Christ] must rule as king until God has put all enemies under his feet. As the last enemy, death is to be brought to nothing.” (1 Corinthians 15:25, 26) Never again will death be allowed to dominate God’s human creation.
48 What a magnificent hope! How gratifying! The very idea warms the hearts of humankind. Surely victory over death is possible for you! Will you choose it? God respects your free will just as he respected the free will of our first forefather. But we pray that you will make the wise choice. May you be among those future happy ones who will triumphantly cry in victory: “Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?”—1 Corinthians 15:55.
If you submit your life to Lord Jesus Christ and accept his free gift of salvation, then (at least) two certain things will happen to you:
1. you’ll stop being afraid of death and dying
2. you’ll start seeing God as a loving father instead of a dreadful judge
I suggest you ask God to draw you to his Son Jesus Christ.
For those who are in Christ, to be absent from the body (death) is to be present with the Lord.
Hallelujah.
2Corinthians 5:8 We are confident, [I say], and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
We are only here, for a moment, to prepare us for an eternity with Christ and the innumerable family of God in a place beyond comprehension, prepared for us before the foundation of the world.
Hope to see you there. :>
Well, it depends on what you’re afraid of. Are you afraid of the pain? Chances are you won’t even remember! I’d be more concerned of just driving around in my car! Is it the fear of leaving those you love? Well, honey, thats life. I have that fear too. I suggest you just live the best life you can and tell those people everyday, how much you love and appreciate them. I have made it very clear, that when I go, I want there to be a HUGE party on the beach after my ashes are thrown over the ocean. Cliche, I know, but nevertheless, it seems to calm me now. I want a bonfire, lots of Miller Lite, tons of food, great music, and everyone just celebrating my life. I will come back and haunt anyone who wears black! Thinking this way makes it easier. My father is going through those fears right now. He’s 70, and still too young, but he’s afraid. After I gave him my scenario, he loved it! Of course, he would prefer a party in Athens, GA. (he graduated from UGA) with Budweiser and Jack Daniels, grilling steaks and big screen tv’s with UGA football games playing! All with his urn sitting on a table next to the beer and his pic! Death has been too sad for too long! Maybe we should wear black and play organs at weddings instead!
UPDATE: I am going to apologize for all the nutcases who have preached and left freakin books for you to read! I hate that! Just skip em!
Death is inevitable. Spending your life being afraid of it is silly. Think of something else. There must be something more worthwhile to think about. Don’t let the religious zealots influence your life. There is no heaven (or hell for that matter), other than the one you make for yourself.
If religion seem to make it easier for you to overcome the fear of dying, well, fill your boots.
In the end you will still pass on and life will go on.
I think long winded answer that takes 3 days to read should be outlawed. Instead of writing a freakin book, why don’t you just write the reference and be done with it. Go preach somewhere else OK.
Read the Tibetan Book of the Dead
Know that Jesus is your Lord and Saviour. Live each day as if each were your last, so that you won’t have regrets. Death is a natural process, just like birth. It is but a slumber, the time will come when we will be resurrected to be judged by God. All the best.
If you will accept Jesus Christ as your savior and repent of your sins he will deliver you from the fear of sin and death. the scripture says he will