RE: Part 2: Objections to "Death as Sleeping"
You refuse to believe the truth.
The thief on the cross went to heaven with Jesus the day they both died. The only way to deny it is to say that Jesus lied.
Moses appeared with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration. To say otherwise is to say that the Bible is lying.
As always, you pick and choose the verses you want to believe in order to get the result that you want.
The rich man in hell is the most detailed picture of the afterlife that there is. Lazarus is in a good place and the rich man is in a bad place. Both are alive. It's obvious that it couldn't be a future event because the rich man wants to visit his brothers so they don't end up in hell.
And in Revelation that are the souls in Heaven of the people that had died during the Great Tribulation. They didn't have bodies then but they will at the resurrection.
So obviously when you die you go immediately to heaven or hell where you will remain until the resurrection, the final judgment, and your final placement in your final destination. It really isn't that hard to understand.
@barncat, I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I'm clearly missing something that you see, so perhaps let's take this one thing at a time.
Sticking with just the thief on the on the cross, what do I do with the scripture where Jesus says he has not yet ascended to heaven?
Also, you have two scenarios where Jesus is lying, if you stick to your theory:
...or...
In either scenario, Jesus would be reduced to a liar. There's no harmony in scripture in this case. So what do we do now?
As Bible students, we need to have an answer to these questions (1 Peter 3:15).
@barncat, also, you said...
For the story of the thief on the cross, which verses did I ignore?
Its ironic that he claims you picked verses that only support your view, when in fact, he didn't offer any verses to back his claims.
Right. I was hoping for a real and honest discussion about what we believe vs what the Bible actually teaches. If he has truth that I am not seeing, then it’s his Christian duty to help me understand.
Don’t care much for the type of responses like, “well you’re wrong I’m right and you refuse the truth.” I’m a Bible student, show me with scripture how you can prove your truth while staying in harmony with all of scripture. And I will do the same, as I am doing with my objections posts.
I took on his challenge.