Many people have wondered about death and after death, what happens, without any convincing answers or explanations.

This article will give the most detailed explanation of everything that takes place. All the information is taken from records covering 4000yrs, but will also answer other questions at the same time.

From this you will get a deeper understanding of the meanings of words that become correctly placed and thus giving you knowledge.

The intention of this article is to expound, and amplify why God became man (Jesus Christ), and dwelt with us, and in so doing, clear up the false doctrines that are prevalent in the congregations of today, thus resulting in a distorted outlook toward God and the gospel of (about) Jesus Christ.

The Bible (K.J.V) is the only book I will use to name verses and why/how everything is centered around Jesus Christ.

Note: This literature has been criticized and judged before and was printed, but work out your own salvation and do not let man steal Christ from you. And I would like to say this from the start that Jesus Christ is GOD.

The following subjects that will be covered in order to see how Jesus affects our lives.

1) No soul sleep

2) Man goes to Paradise at death (false teaching)

3) Absent in Body Present with the Lord (false teaching)

4) Spirit's in the Grave (mis-interpreted scriptures)

5) Spirit and Soul - the same thing (false teaching)

6) Once saved not always saved (false teaching)

7) The tithe (false teaching and doctrine)

To the “born-again” and “learned”, this literature can only give you knowledge and understanding concerning life - before, now and after - which will build understanding in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and why being born-again is the only position any human should want to be in. Take care not to confuse the words “born-again” and “reborn”. The word reborn is unscriptural and means a completely different thing to that of being born-again.

The only enemy of the Church (believers in Christ) today, is the same one from the beginning. This enemy started from creation, its name is False Doctrine and it is the lie that deceived EVE in the garden which still is exists today, but in various forms.

The main reason for this is to lead us away from coming to know Jesus Christ, whom is Gods expression of love for us lost humans. In Colossians 2:8 we read:

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ”.

The church today has in its belief, old pagan philosophy and to make matters worse, this lie comes from the pulpits on TV through Pastors, Evangelists, Politics, etc, and people are believing everything they hear as the truth! Jesus clearly spells out in

Revelations 1:18

"I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell (Greek - hades) and of death".

Note; the words “hell” and “death” we will discuss these later in more depth.

Lets go further and see what God has taught us throughout the scripture.

1 John 4:2-3

"Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is the spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”

note how this verse says what COLOSSIANS 2.8 says

Jesus is and was a human being, he came in the image and form of man. Jesus is . Jesus came to save man in the flesh. Jesus is the Word in the flesh.

John 1:14

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth"

Jesus is the Son of Man, Jesus is a fleshly person. Man is fleshly, he dies in the flesh, he will be resurrected in the flesh, he will be judged in the flesh, he will be persecuted in the flesh. Jesus is God in the flesh.

John 1:1

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"

For God to set man free from sin, God had to become a man, to be the sin.

Romans 6:6

"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace"

Before I go into anything else, we need to first take a deeper look at "man" and see what God made and called it man.

Genesis 2:7

"And God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul"

Here we can see the three parts of man "DUST, BREATH, and SOUL"

We will take a deeper look at this later concerning spirit, soul and body

If Jesus was a human being then Jesus was also Dust, Breath and Soul.

When Jesus was crucified, what did he say.?

Luke 23:46

“And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, He said, Father into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, He gave up the ghost "

When Jesus died, what left his body? His spirit also called the ghost. Note that a small "s" for spirit and a small "g" for ghost is used, also he said "my" referring to his life giving spirit therefore it was not the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost. In other words, the breath of life left him , Jesus died. We know that his body went to the grave as is written in

John 19:38-42.

“ And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.

And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury.Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulcher (grave burial ), wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.”

This brings us to the question of what happened to the "soul"? Well, the answer is straight forward the soul went to sleep. (this is a point of argument)

Revelations 1:18

“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, amen, and have the keys of hell and of death.

There is a very prevalent doctrine in the minds of church goers today that declares there is no soul sleep, but God's Word says that Jesus died 100% - His spirit went back to the Father, His body to the grave and His soul to sleep.

There are many examples of people that died, recorded in the bible with rich explanations and expressions of what takes place, but to understand, we need to study the meanings of the words, especially those from the original texts normally only found in the K.J.V and the Greek and Hebrew texts but for now what did Jesus say?

In John 11:11 and 14:-

verse.11. says - "...Lazarus sleepeth..."

verse.14. says - "...Lazarus is Dead..."

Matthew 9:24 says:-

"...maid is not dead, but sleepeth".

Let us go a bit further, with this in mind that thousands of people had died in the past and see what happened to the Old Testament Saints.

Matthew 27:52+53 reads:-

"and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city and appeared unto many"

Ok we see here that bodies ‘arose’ and it didn’t mention soul well that is not strange, because these bodies are resurrected bodies and the ‘soul’ is the person and not the body.

So we see the Old Testament Saints were sleeping, as in dead and they were in the graves - nowhere else, not in Heaven or in Paradise! They were waiting for their resurrection according to God's Promise.

This word “sleep” which describes the people that are dead has a Greek meaning and this translation is: “koimaomai” this word is used in various scriptures to indicate dead and sleeping.

SLEEPING :

Matth 28.13 . Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.

Luke 22.45 . And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow

Acts 12.6. And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison.

DEAD:

Matth: 27.52. And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose

John: 11.11. These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep

1Cor:15.20 .51. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.

1Thess 4.14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him

The other translation for sleep “HUPNOS” as you can see where hypnosis comes from and this translation has nothing to do with being dead .

Now comes the Big Question, “did Jesus go to Hell”? ….. Yes or No? The answer is BOTH Yes and No.

The word Hell is translated in three ways :-

HEBREW

Sheol....grave

Gehenna…..Lake of fire

GREEK

Hades……grave

Geena…..Lake of fire

Tartaroo ........a condition reserved for the fallen angels, that sinned against God

Abyssos......region for fallen angels a region for spirits where movement is restricted

Sheol (Hebrew) and Hades (Greek) means GRAVE or STATE OF THE DEAD - THE PLACE OF THE DEAD.

Gehenna (Hebrew) and Geena (Greek) means PLACE OF THE UNWANTED, PLACE OF WHERE RUBBISH IS BURNT OR DISCARDED .

Jesus did not go to Hell the fire (Geena/ Gehenna) but to Hell the grave (Sheol/Hades), the place where all the dead go.

Tartaroo is used for fallen angels that sinned against God.

In Hades the grave, there are no living souls, or spirits, there is no fire or demons as we have incorrectly been taught.

2Pe:2:4: For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell (Tartaroo ), and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment

Jude:1:6: And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.;

Some doctrines teach that Jesus went to Hell and set the spirits that are captive free. We will look at this point later on. There are many other teachings similar to this. Some teachings say that when a person dies he goes to Paradise.

Now where is Paradise and what is Paradise?

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew translation is “pardes” which means “forest” (Nehmiah 2:8) and “orchid” (Eccles 2:5). The original is the “Eden”, the garden where man first dwelt before the “FALL”. When man fell, his eternal life was lost, so was his eternal home. Genesis 2:15 (Adam was placed into Eden) reads :-

“And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it”

and in Genesis 3:23+24 (Adam is taken out of Eden):-

23: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
Ge:3:24: So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Paradise in the New Testament is translated as “paradeisos” meaning “pleasure park”, “grove” and “garden”.

In the New Testament we have Paul who experienced Paradise.

2 Corinthians 12:2 - 4 :-

'I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in body I cannot tell; or whether out of body, I cannot tell; God knoweth;) such a one caught up to the third heaven"."and I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)."how that he was caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which is not lawful for a man to utter."

Take note that Paradise is the third heaven, the throne of God. This brings us to a new subject heaven.

There are three translations regarding heaven in Hebrew.

1) The first heaven is "Rakia" - the atmospheric heaven - the place where the clouds form, the atmosphere around the earth.

2) The second heaven is "Shamayim" - the starry heaven - the solar system.

3) The third heaven is "Shemi Hashamyim" where God dwells - the Eternal Realm.

God originally gave man his own eternal home.

Isaiah 64:4 :-

"For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath they seen, O God, besides thee, what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him"

Isaiah 45:18 :-

"For thus sayeth the Lord that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it; He has established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited; I am the Lord, and there is none else"

God originally planned for "Heaven Paradise" on earth. Man sinned and now has to die. God loves man more than any other creature He has ever created. This is the reason why God became a human being, to be crucified on a cross as a sinner and in so doing, he destroyed sin in his body for all humans and then to be resurrected in a new body, suitable to live forever.

Now that some foundation has been laid, we can continue looking at the 3 parts of man, i.e. the spirit, soul and body.

SPIRIT SOUL and BODY

God tells us in

Matthew 10:28 :-

"and fear not them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (fire) (Gehenna)"

note; what does God destroy?.... soul and body

Going deeper into the word we will have a look at death - what it is.

When Mary Magdalene came to look for Jesus at the grave, what happened?

Luke 24:5 reads :-

"and as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?"

Jesus was raised from the dead. The dead that were not resurrected or raised are those that will go to judgement day.(REV.20.5+12) After death there is no more life in the "body" including the "soul", because the "spirit" has returned to the Father who gave it.

The angel said the “dead” are in the graves, obviously there are none living in the grave. Jesus was dead and remained dead until the Holy Spirit raised him to Eternal Life.

If you can understand Jesus life, you will see that he is eternal life.

When a born-again Christian dies, what happens?

God says in

John 14:3 :-

"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also"

Obviously Jesus prepares a place for us because we do not go to heaven or paradise when we die , we go to the grave and wait, in sleep, for the resurrection!

1 Thessalonians 4:14 and 17

"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."

"then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord"

Some more scriptures concerning the state of being dead and take note of the words - soul, body, spirit, hell and grave.

Psalm 146:3-4 :-

"Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish"

Here we can see the process of dying breath, earth, and thoughts

Psalm 89:48 :-

"What man is he that liveth , and shall not see death? Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave (sheol/hades = hell)"

God intends to free man from the grave

Psalm 16:10:-

"For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell (sheol/hades = grave)"

We see again God intends to free man from the grave and the part he sets free is the soul.

Isaiah 53:12 :-

"Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He hath poured out His soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors: and He bear the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors"

Matthew 10:28 :-

"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (gehenna - hell fire)"

Ecclesiastes 9:5+6+10:-

"For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything neither have they anymore a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten,"

"Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they anymore a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun"

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest"

John 11:11+14

"These things said He: and after that He sayeth unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep"

"Then said Jesus unto them plainly; Lazarus is dead."

Acts 7:59+60 :-

“And they stoned Steven, calling upon God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit “

“And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when He had said this, He fell asleep”

Steven died when he gave up the ghost and it is called "fell asleep"

1 Corinthians 15:6+18+20+21+22 :-

"after that, He was seen above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep"

"then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished"

"but now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept"

"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead"

"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive"

Psalm 6:5 :-

"For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?"

Job 14:12+13+14 :-

"so man lieth down, and riseth not till the heavens be no more, they shall not wake nor be raised out of their sleep"

"Oh that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret until thy wrath be passed, and thou wouldest appoint me a set time and would remember me!"

"If a man die, shall he live again, all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come"

Every human being whether saved or unsaved shall go to the grave.

John 5:28-29 :

"Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice,"

"and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation"

Ecclesiastes 3:20 :-

"All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again"

Ecclesiastes 12:7 :-

"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it"

Job 14:10:-

"But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost and where is he?"

Job 17:13+16 :-

"If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in darkness"

"They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest together is in the dust"

Job 21:13+26 :-

"They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment, go down to the grave"

"They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them"

Hosea 13:14 :-

"I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction, repentance shall be hid from my eyes"

Ezekial 37:12 :-

"O my people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves"

The born-again will come out of their graves at the resurrection but you might say that these are old testament verses and this was relating to the O.T people, well that’s true the same promise to the N.T people also look at the N.T verses.

Now I am not saying that you have to be in the grave to go to heaven (this is another subject explained later)

Revelation 20:6 :-

"Blessed and Holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years"

Acts 24:15 :-

"and have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust"

From all these verses we can clearly establish a of what happens at death, during death in the grave, and how we come out of the grave at resurrection.

Now to discard some false ideas, that are un-scriptural IN OTHER WORDS they do not support the death and resurrection of JESUS CHRIST :-

1) We do not go to heaven at death.

2.) We do not come back and collect our bodies at anytime.

3.) We are not aware of any life whilst we are dead.

The reason the born-again can be resurrected is because they are covered in the blood of Jesus's death, by the baptism in the water, the blood of Jesus and the baptism of the Holy Spirit which raised up Jesus from the grave. The born-again are considered justified by God.

Luke 14:14 :-

"and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just"

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 :-

"Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep (be dead), but we shall all be changed"

"In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed"

James 5:7 :-

"Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain."

1 Peter 5:4 :-

"And when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away"

1 John 3:2 :-

"Beloved, now are we the son's of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is."

After reading all these verses we can, with confidence say that Jesus is my resurrection and life in him I move and have my being and my life is hid in Christ and be baptised into His death in order to become a new person.

Another little matter to clear up is the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man in Luke 16: 22-26. This is a parable. It is NOT a literal description of man's condition after death, but man's condition after the resurrection of the just (Lazarus) and the resurrection of the damned (Rich Man).

Another misquoted verse, that is often taken out of context "Absent in body is to be present with the Lord". This is not what the true verse says

2 Corinthians 5:8 :-

"we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord"

NOTE : there is a comma after "body" representing the next statement in a future tense talking about the resurrection. Now read the next 4 verses and compare it with the above scripture.

Philipians 1:20-23 :-

"according to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death"

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain"

"But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not"

"For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:"

Both of these two sections, describe dying and then resurrection. The only time man will receive a new body is at the coming of Christ at the resurrection.

Colossians 3:4 :-

"When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory"

2 Timothy 4:8 :-

"henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing"

Now there is also that other verse, the one that is also misunderstood, the thief on the cross with Jesus. Let's read what took place

Luke 23: 39-45 says :-

"And one of the malefactors which were hanging railed on him, saying, if thou be Christ, save thyself and us"

" But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation"

"And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss"

"And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when comest into thy kingdom"

"And Jesus said unto him, 'Verily, I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise"

The word "today" does not mean the day you die you go to heaven. Yes, the thief's spirit went to the Father, his soul went to sleep, but his body went to the grave - not to Paradise! The thief acknowledged before God "Jesus" that he is a sinner and that very day he received eternal life. Jesus said today is your day of salvation, death will not separate us from God's resurrection. So then, when did the thief come out of the grave into eternal life.

Read Matthew 27:50-53 - the Old Testament Saints resurrection. Also take note a this period God was bringing to an end the old testament by the death of Jesus to institute a new and better one, but the completion of the old is the fulfilling of a promise and the promise was a resurrection of the old covenant people.

But what about the "spirits in prison"? Who are these "spirits in prison"? Is it the spirit of man or is it the devil spirits? In fact, what is this prison? We have already established that all human spirits return to the Father in heaven, therefore the "spirits" in discussion must be spirits of living people. The prison, is the body, taking into consideration that man is separated from God due to sin and the prison is the body of sin. For God to set man free, God has to place His Spirit (Holy Spirit) into the body and thus setting the human spirit free! This is called the regeneration of the spirit. This also means that the Holy Spirit is connected back to our spirit as it was in the garden in the beginning.

1 Peter 3:18-20

"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh (body), but quickened by the (Holy) Spirit:"

"by which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison;"

"which sometime were disobedient, when once the long suffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water"

Romans 7:14

"For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin"

2 Peter 2:19

"While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same he is brought into bondage"

Galations 3:22-23

verse 22 "But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe."

verse 23 "But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterward be revealed."

Note ; the faith of Jesus not our faith .and Jesus is the faith of God ,

Galations 5:16+17+18

"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit (Holy Spirit) and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh."

"For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that you would."

"But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law"

Galations 5:1

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty (freedom) wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage"

Jesus set the prisoners of sin free by being the Gospel of Salvation on earth and sending us the Holy Spirit at the day of Pentecost.

Luke 4:18+19

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel (good news) to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,"

"to preach the acceptable year of the Lord"

Isaiah 61:1

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the broken up, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound"

Jesus is the truth and the truth set us free.

John 8:32+36

"and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

"If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed."

Noah was a preacher of righteousness, he was also the eighth person, he was a type of Christ preaching salvation during that time. Compare Hebrews 11:7 and Romans 8:1-2 :- God preached by his Spirit through Noah to the people in the "prison house of sin" in the days before the flood. I would like to embark on a lengthy teaching here but maybe later.

Obviously then the "spirits in prison" are not disembodied spirits, all human spirits return to the Father who gave it. These spirits are the spirits of men (still living) that have not been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, therefore, they (the spirits) are still in bondage as in prison - meaning lack of freedom or salvation and eternal life. These are living people. A person that has not come to Christ yet or even entered Christ.

Hebrews 12:9+23

"Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us; and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits and live?"

"to the general assembly and church of the first born, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,"

How does God make the spirit of man perfect? There is only one way and that is the baptism of Jesus in water and spirit (John 3:1-7). When man is baptized, in the water and the spirit, he is born-again and when God speaks to the born-again, He speaks to the spirit of the man by the Holy Spirit that now lives in the born-again.

There is another false teaching about purgatory. But what does the Bible tell us? We will establish that purgatory can never be a "place" a person goes to; but more a "state" that a person is living in - presently.

Matthew 5:8

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God"

John 1:18

"No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him"

1 John 3:2

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is"

Exodus 33:20

"And He said, thou canst not see My face: for there shall no man see me, and live"

Why can man not see God's face, what has man done?

Isaiah 59:2

"but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear"

Deuteronomy 4:24

"For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God"

Hebrews 12:29

"for our God is a consuming fire"

So then how are we to be purged from our sins without being destroyed in body and soul by God's presence? Seeing that purgatory is not a region/place man can go to but a state of being, cleansed by God or purged by God. We are presently living in "purgatory" right now, alive, and not when we die.

Titus 3:5+6+7+8

"not by works of righteous which we have done, but according to His Mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost:"

"which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour:"

"that being justified by His Grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life"

"this is a faithful saying"

Psalm 51:7+10

"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."

verse 10 "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."

Hebrews 9:28

"so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation"

There is no opportunity to purge sin after death. Once you are dead you have had your chance. People still think that they can wait until they get to stand before God and then see if they have made it or not. Remember the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus!

The reason for this, is many preachers still believe this error which does not line up with the rest of the Bible and what Jesus has said and done. As a result, they ensure that their congregations learn and know the same error, thereby keeping them in the same error of trying to please God whereas Jesus has already completed the work and pleased the Father for us! According to John 3, man's spirit has to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit. We have to be born-again by water and the Spirit to see the Kingdom of God and to enter in.

James 4:8

"Draw nigh to God, and He will drawn nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded"

Acts 15:9

"and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith"

1 Peter 1:22+23

"Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth, through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:"

"being born again, not of corruptible seed but of