Is there any difference between death and annihilation?
The Bible speaks of two types of death. The first is Adamic death, so called because the entire human race was put under its curse because of Adam's disobedience to God. In Genesis 2:17, God says, "...but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day [...]
What is meant by Divine nature, etc.? What is the meaning of the word nature in these connections?
The word "nature" in its true sense, as applied to creatures, or beings, signifies the kind of organism and sphere of existence in which they live and move and have their being. Thus when human nature is referred to, it signifies the conditions of existence relating to the human race. The angelic nature is in a higher and different sphere of existence than [...]
God said to Adam, “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” How can you harmonize this with the record that “all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died?”– `Gen. 2:17`; `Gen 5:5`.
St. Peter gives us the key to this question in his declaration, "One day with the Lord is as a thousand years" (`2 Pet. 3:8`). Father Adam began to die as soon as he was cut off from the privileges of the garden of Eden; for while he was living therein he had the Divine [...]
1 Peter 4:6 – Who were the dead that the gospel was preached to? And when and by whom? How will they be judged in the flesh and live to God in the spirit?
In the preceding verses, the Apostle Peter says, "Speaking evil of you who shall give an account to Him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead." From these words it is manifest that he is addressing the followers of Christ who have become dead to the things of the world and alive [...]
If the dead are asleep in the graves awaiting the time of the resurrection at the second coming of our Lord, when all who are in their graves shall be awakened and shall come forth, as the Scriptures affirm; how shall we understand the experiences of some who, at the time of their departure from this life, see heavenly visions of angels, and hear strains of celestial music?
The Scriptures are clear that the dead are "asleep" "in their graves" and "the dead know not anything," “for there is neither wisdom, nor device, nor knowledge in the grave whither thou goest,” and that all will remain in this sleep of death until the awakening time, when “all who are in their graves shall [...]
If Moses and Elijah were actually dead, how could they appear on the Mount of Transfiguration with our Lord Jesus? (Matthew 17:1-3)
While Moses and Elijah both passed from the scene of earth's experiences under peculiar and mysterious circumstances, yet we are assured that both died. We’re plainly told in Colossians 1:18 that Jesus was the firstborn from the dead. Therefore, Moses and Elijah were still in their graves and not alive anywhere. Also see Deuteronomy 34:5 [...]