The Intricacies of Life and Death

Life precedes death. So, we shall have a comprehensive look at life and the two forms of existence, namely, the spiritual and the physical.

From what we know, life started with Adam. Before and after Eve was extracted out of him, he coexisted with the ALMIGHTY GOD. As we read from the Bible, the LORD GOD paid regular visits to Adam and Eve whilst in the Garden. The day they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they heard the footsteps of the LORD GOD walking in the Garden as He usually did and they successfully hid from Him. In fact, the LORD GOD had to call out to Adam: “Where are you?” Genesis 3:8. The point is that no one can hide from whom he cannot see. Definitely, Adam, Eve, and the Garden were all spiritual as the Bible confirms in Revelation 2:7. The Bible tells us in John 4:24 that GOD is Spirit. So, we do not have to establish that. In fact, it is beyond us.

The death of Adam in accordance with the commandment which he disobeyed was in the spiritual. His activities came to an end in this mode of existence. Principally, according to the LORD GOD, Adam was banished from spiritual realm in order to prevent him from doing what could make him live forever. In this respect, Genesis 3:22-23 reads: “And the LORD GOD said, ‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live for ever.’ So the LORD GOD banished him from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.”

It is reasonable to infer from the above quotation the following: Eternal life is possible only in the spiritual. Secondly, whatever we do while in flesh and blood contributes nothing to what makes us gain eternal life. For complete clarity, let us make the point that we are able to take steps that lead to eternal life after we have come back to life in the spiritual, that is, after we have benefited from the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This benefit effects for us the forgiveness of sins, reconciliation, and restoration of activity of the spirit body with the LORD GOD in the spiritual. By this, Jesus Christ remains the only way to the Father. In any case, we are fully rewarded here on earth for all what we do.

THE SPIRITUAL BODY

Talking about the spiritual, I had the privilege to see myself in my spiritual body and physical body as well at the same time. I have seen other bodies as well, but this cannot be discussed here or anywhere. The Bible says in I Corinthians 15:40 (b), “If there is a natural (physical) body, there is also a spiritual body.” In fact, the physical body and the spiritual body look exactly alike. From mere appearance, it is impossible to know one from the other. The difference is in their respective nature. Whilst one is flesh, bone and blood, the other is definitely something else. In addition, attributes in such matters as mannerisms, peculiar faculties, memory of past events, and so on are exactly the same in the two bodies.

So far, we have talked about spiritual body which is a fact of the creation of Adam. We must recognize the fact that all spirits are not of the same nature. For a real man, his spirit is created for active life with GOD. Otherwise, it is passive. According to its nature, this body can inhabit the Spirit of GOD and thereby live eternally with the LORD GOD. There is no other condition for eternal life for man. This spiritual body is only for the purity of existence with the LORD GOD. It cannot otherwise be active except at such instances as dreams, visions, and trances when the physical body is passive.

THE SPIRITUAL WORLD OF SATAN

This world in which we now live is under the control of Satan. We are therefore entitled to talk also about the spiritual world of Satan, a complex world indeed. There are quite a number of spiritual worlds or kingdoms inhabited by very different spirits. A great deal of these spirits have found their way into this physical world which was specifically created to be inhabited by humans. I was alarmed beyond words and torn apart by wonder and disbelief the day I first became aware of the fact that not all who parade themselves on two feet as human beings are indeed humans. Though they have the human form, the complementary human spirit is simply not there. These spirits come from different spiritual worlds. They appear different from one another and from human spirit. This makes them different from the human being the LORD GOD created.

This phenomenon cannot be strange to the Bible, reputed as the Book of all books. As likely as not, it has something for us on this matter. Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea. The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a man, and the heart of a man was given to it.” Daniel 7:2-4.

It is understandable that on earth, the practice of witchcraft is major as we live in the world of Satan. The body of flesh and blood acquires this spirituality. Witches are, so to speak, the ‘angels’ of Satan. Talking about Angels, there is a significant difference though. For all of the time, Angels carry out the will of GOD only. This is so because the Spirit of GOD lives in them and directs them. As for man, a bit of Satan resides in him, and this gives him a personal knowledge of good and evil. As they are humans in the first instance and therefore have the knowledge of evil, witches are endowed with the ability to originate and perpetrate evil, completely on their own initiative. This they do from time to time. The extent to which they severally do this determines how much they worth their salt, and what worthy angels of Satan they have proved to be. Apart from witchcraft, there are innumerable occult practices that are more formidable.

Bird is the medium in which witches operate to depart from this world into their spiritual world. An unusual bird. A totally devilish bird. Though it is spiritual, yet one hears its cry and sees it fleetingly in the physical. Its cry is in fact a stamp of authority, the finality of order on any evil work that is intended. There is yet something strange and perplexing about high ranking witches. It was revealed to me sometime ago the situation concerning a woman who was a member of the National Executive Council. In the spiritual world of witches, she operates as a man and a woman. They do not resemble each other.
At first, I did not suspect that the two were, in fact, one. It seems Satan must have taken a man out of this woman, analogous with but the reverse of Eve being taken out of Adam by the LORD GOD. Even now, she has got a baby for her husband in the spiritual world of witches. What is perplexing is that she is still alive here on earth, long pass the age of childbearing.

Without any shred of doubt, this woman has a complete existence in the spirit world of Satan. She has been sold and bought. If you care to know, she is a professed born again Christian. On a more serious note, she was ordained ‘A Mother in Israel’ in her church. Hers is not an isolated case. The entire Christendom especially and certainly in the top echelon of every denomination, and most especially among the Pentecostals or Evangelicals, is in fact replete with such men and women. Some perform wonders with their natural spiritual powers.

In all my life, I can boast of only five men who in my presence have talked about their travels in the astral. This happened in the course of separate discussions I had with them, spanning over a period of twenty-four years. Only the Rosicrucian among them played down the danger inherent in astral traveling. On the contrary, he spoke of his decision to ‘travel’ home at that particular point in time and see what his wife was up to!

As it was and still is, there was no way I could cross-check to eliminate mere boasting. However, the others freely owned up to the fact that astral traveling was accompanied by most extreme danger. They spoke of wicked and fearful spirits who lurk around, ever ready to pounce on their prey. And hard luck, if you were attacked. Shout as you would, the other spirits would not come to your aid if at all they bother to notice what was going on. Three of them said that the name JESUS always provided immediate protection from danger even in the astral world. That’s great.

Lastly, I have received documents telling me and inviting me as well, to sublimate my physical with the spiritual. I was in no doubt what to say to that. The LORD GOD created man with two different natures: the spiritual and the physical. To fuse the two into one is definitely going against the purpose of GOD in creation. Also, delving into the twilight zone interlocking the two natures of man, fuelled by human affinity for myth and insatiable greed for power, must certainly be fraught with unpleasant consequences.

We have gone into the minutiae of the activities in the life of man which is relevant to our purpose here. Our doing this is simply to show that the activities of man go beyond walking about on two feet or sitting down to a sumptuous meal or frolicking at the best of times. Each of the activities we have outlined contributes to where we send ourselves after death.

CREATION IS BOTH SPIRITUAL AND PHYSICAL

That brings us to the important question: What is death? But before we go into this, we shall spare some time to consider the world in which man lives in life and shall live after death. By now, no one should be in doubt about the two natures of man: the spirit nature and the physical nature of flesh and blood. Now that we are active in the physical body, we live in a physical world which Satan rules. It stands to reason that when man is active in his spirit nature, he will live in the spirit world which the ALMIGHTY GOD rules.

In spite of its achievements in civilizing the world, science is responsible for the myopic view of the generality of people on spiritual matters. Scientists do not hide the fact that they cannot create anything. One comes across this quite early in school: Matter cannot be created but can only be transformed from one form to another. In this respect, the Bible says, “I know that everything GOD does will stand forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. GOD does it so that men will revere Him.” Ecclesiastes 3:14. At least, some of the scientists do not revere Him. That scientific law quoted above learnt from the outset of the study of science implies that science is not qualified to define the scope of creation. Notwithstanding this, science maintains very vehemently that what it cannot prove does not exist. In my view, that stand is the illogical and the unscientific aspect of science. Actually it seems silly. On the same basis, my former wife had called me a compound fool for not accepting the obvious evidences that she was not a human being. I now know that whatever I refuse to believe does not alter facts. More important, I do not summarily dismiss any more any information that is outside my knowledge or experience.

The fact that the physical eye cannot see spiritual objects has been a big hindrance to the awareness and acceptability of the spiritual by the generality of people. The fact remains that the physical eye cannot even see everything physical anyway. For example, radio waves. This apart, the spirit body does not require to seek knowledge or acquire information. He naturally knows all things without any effort. But I’m not at all sure the spirit eye can see the physical as well.

What has been so baffling is the fact that the difference in their natures is such that the one does not seem to exist in the eyes of the other. For example, a physical wall is no barrier to a spirit body. In fact, it does not exist. He simply goes through as if nothing is there and vice versa. This fact has a far-reaching significance as we shall presently try to establish.

Let us start from creation. We shall take note of the fact that creation is both physical and spiritual at the same time. We know that man is both physical and spiritual by creation. I also know that the earth is both physical and spiritual by creation. By implication, the ground is both physical and spiritual by creation. The Bible reads: “And GOD said, ‘Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.’ So GOD made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse form the water above it. And it was so. GOD calls the expanse ‘sky’. And there was evening and there was morning -- the second day.” Genesis 1:6-8.

Truth is the upper limit of water above the expanse, that is the uppermost end of the cloud, is the spiritual boundary of this world. Looking from here spiritually with the spirituality of GOD, this boundary seems translucent. But in less than a flash you were there in the spiritual world directly above ours, filled with wonder. Then you were brought back to earth and up there you were again. Perhaps, this was to drive it home that you were not dreaming as it were but indeed in a spiritual world. Well, what did you see there?

We must not ignore the fact that those who travel in the astral world cover thousands and thousands of kilometers. Yet, not one of them sees the first heaven which is so near, about ten kilometers, say. Imagine that! Witches and those vast in occult practices do not see even the first spiritual world. The reason is simple. The spirituality of the spiritual worlds of GOD is quite different in nature from the spirituality of the spiritual world of Satan. Aircrafts, rockets, even balloons go through the first heaven as if it is not there. Little wonder the scientists probe space over distances of billion light years searching for JEHOVAH who is Spirit. What else can it be but simply stupid that the scientist has come out from his probe with a disclaimer! The Bible, of course, has a word for him: “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no GOD.’ ” Psalm 14:1.

HADES

Let us come back to our question: What is Death? Precisely, death is the end of activities in the particular form of existence. It is understandable that our experience in this world in which we live has clouded our perception of death. We tend to think of death first and foremost in terms of a lifeless body that must decay. On the other hand, spiritual bodies do not decay. In spite of this, their activities do come to an end.

In the Garden of Eden, the LORD GOD said to Adam: “You are free to eat from any tree in the Garden, but you must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for the day you eat of it you will surely die.” Genesis 2:16-17. That very day the spiritual activities of Adam with the LORD GOD came to an end as he was banished from the spiritual Garden of Eden into the physical world which Satan rules.

When the activities of man come to an end in the physical, he continues to exist in his spirit body. The evidence that GOD did not, in the first instance, create man for life in the world Satan rules, that is life in flesh and blood, is the fact that his spirit can only be active in a life with GOD. When the physical body that is capable of activity in the world of Satan dies, all activities come to an end for bona fide human beings. In this respect, the Bible says: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.” Ecclesiastes 9:10.

However, what happens to the state of existence of the spirit body depends on the extent of complicity of the physical body in the spiritual world of Satan. We shall treat this before we consider what happens on the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Months before death, the spirit body moves away from the physical body and draws towards the spiritual ground. The spiritual and the physical grounds are at the same level, but one is independent of the other. In the spiritual, there is a one-room chalet painted white for each person. As by creation, the spirit body is active only in a life with GOD; so there is no activity for now. Each remains indoors. There is no fending for food as it is in all spiritual worlds. There is no social life of any kind. The spirit body, like any other spirit, knows everything that is happening on earth as a matter of course. Beyond that, he has no other interests. He lives at rest and in peace. This is the case for a person whose life was free from complicity in the spiritual world of Satan. He waits patiently for Jesus Christ to come, that is, for the judgment day.

Suppose one has been active in all kinds of spiritual activities during one’s time on earth. That extra spirit body acquired at initiation, will not be able to completely detach itself from the physical world. He will show concern over what is happening on earth. His frets in life continue to no avail. He is unable to remain in his chalet and rest. He has no peace. That kind of spirit is not potentially capable of coexistence with GOD. We cannot forget the case of those who are not bona fide humans. Simply, such spirits cannot go to Hades because they do not belong; neither can they be part of the Kingdom of GOD. One of the following two things happen: Some start a new brand life in the flesh in the same body that has died and has been buried, living in the same city or entirely new city or town. Others go back into the spiritual world of Satan.

THE SECOND COMING

This is also referred to as the Day of the LORD. Many parts of the Bible tell us it will be a terrible day. “But the day of the LORD will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.” 2 Peter 3:10. On the day of the LORD, everything physical, that is everything that causes sin, will be destroyed. This physical world will come to an end.

In the spiritual Kingdom of God, we can only find those spirits that already inhabit the Spirit of GOD and are therefore born of Spirit, John 3:5-6. They are suitable to live with GOD. They are in the suitable condition to do the will of the LIVING GOD. Others will stay out. And this will be for ever and ever.

LIFE IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD
The aim of the Mission of Jesus Christ is to give us abundant life, which is eternal life in the spiritual. John 10:10. To this end, He says: “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” John 6:63. The Mission of Jesus Christ is entirely spiritual. It has nothing that can be of lasting benefit to the flesh.

Immortality is possible only in the spiritual. When we inhabit the Spirit of GOD, we are led to do the will of GOD; we are born of Spirit. We are then the children of GOD.