Paradise on Earth

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onewithhim
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Paradise on Earth

Post #1

Post by onewithhim »

When I learned that the Bible speaks of a restored Garden of Eden and the restoration of mankind to the perfection and endless life that Adam forfeited, I was thrilled. Who doesn't want to keep living on this beautiful earth, with our loved ones, and being able to do all the things we love to do---endlessly?

If God said to you today, "When do you want to die?" would you say "now!!"? I don't think very many people would say that.

We CAN live forever here on Earth. The Bible tells us that we can.

Matthew 5:5
Psalm 37:9-11,29

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Post #21

Post by onewithhim »

What can we expect when the earth is a paradise, under Christ's direction?

Basic expectations:

1) All mankind will be at peace. (Isaiah 9:6,7; Psalm 72:7,8)

2) No more war. (Psalm 46:8,9; Isaiah 2:4)

3) Dream homes, enjoyable work for everyone. (Isaiah 65:21-23)

4) Crime, violence & wickedness will be gone. (Psalm 37:9,10; Proverbs 2:22)

5) Plenty of good things for all to eat. (Isaiah 25:6; Psalm 72:16; Psalm 67:6)

6) A loving brotherhood of all humankind. (Acts 10:34,35; Revelation 7:9,16)

7) Peace between people and animals. (Isaiah 11:6; Isaiah 65:25)

8) No more sickness, old age or death. (Isaiah 35:5,6; Revelation 21:3,4)

9) The dead are brought back to life. (John 5:28; Acts 24:15; Revelation 20:13)


:flower:

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Gauleiter88
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Post #22

Post by Gauleiter88 »

[Replying to post 21 by onewithhim]

Hello. I am new to the forum and don't know how to use it yet. I am an American male, 85 years old, retired and now living in northern California. I was raised as a Christian, but not very seriously and soon became an agnostic. Now that I am older, I am more open to the idea of some kind of life after death. I have looked at several religions, but found nothing satisfactory. I have many questions. I don't want preaching, just personal answers.

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JehovahsWitness
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Post #23

Post by JehovahsWitness »

DEATH

Image

Well Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in "life after death"... we hold to the bible which places human destiny firmly on this our planet earth. God created us to live forever, to enjoy good health forever and to be with our loved ones and enjoy the physical pleasures this planet gives us.

Old age, sickness and death were never part of his plan and the "good news" is that we can look forward to such things being erradicated from this our planet earth very soon.

Further reading: Paradise Restored
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/maga ... -paradise/


JEHOVAHS WITNESS






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HOPE

Is there reason to believe de can be with our dead loved ones again?
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SCRIPTURE
Did Paul not teach every human would die (at least once) 1 COR 15:22?
viewtopic.php?p=1061960#p1061960

Do Pauls words that some would not SLEEP not mean some Christians would not DIE?
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Does the text at Hebrews 9:27 mean no human can ever die twice?
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To learn more please go to other posts related to

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NOTE All posts I write represent my personal faith based beliefs as one of Jehovah's Witnesses
Last edited by JehovahsWitness on Wed Dec 21, 2022 3:20 am, edited 28 times in total.
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681


"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" -
Romans 14:8

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Gauleiter88
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Post #24

Post by Gauleiter88 »

[Replying to JehovahsWitness]

The body ceases to exist at death and returns to dust, but what about the spirit or soul?

"The soul that rises with us, our life's star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting and cometh from afar.l"

Is the soul not a conscious entity? Does the soul die with the body? How can we inherit the earthly Paradise if we don't exist?

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JehovahsWitness
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Post #25

Post by JehovahsWitness »

Gauleiter88 wrote: [Replying to JehovahsWitness]

The body ceases to exist at death and returns to dust, but what about the spirit or soul?

"The soul that rises with us, our life's star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting and cometh from afar.l"

Is the soul not a conscious entity? Does the soul die with the body? How can we inherit the earthly Paradise if we don't exist?
SOUL No, in the bible the word "soul" is simply another word to describe the physical person. It is not something we have it's just a description of what we are, like man, woman, doctor, mother... a woman doesn't have a "mother" living inside here that is released and continues consciouse existence when she dies, no rather a woman IS a mother. The bible describes the first man Adam as a "living soul" it does NOT say he was given or had a soul inside him.

So yes, the soul is a conscious entity, but not one that exists separately from the person. Why because the soul IS the physical person.


Image

I've written more on the subject here (link)
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 56#p330856

SPIRIT: In the bible the word spirit is simply the power or force (from God) that animates all living things. Think of it like the electricity that animates your computer. It doesn't carry the throughts or personality of the computer, its simply a power the enables your computer to function, in a similar way God "powers" every living thing, the the body dies the power is no longer needed. The source is "switched off" if you like, the person ceases to exist.

Further reading: What is a soul? What is a spirit?
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/book ... t-meaning/
Last edited by JehovahsWitness on Fri Jan 29, 2021 2:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681


"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" -
Romans 14:8

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Post #26

Post by JehovahsWitness »

Gauleiter88 wrote:Does the soul die with the body?
As I explained above, the bible speaks about the SOUL as the whole physical (flesh and blood) person, not a non-physical part of a person living "inside" their bodies. Thus another way to say "The man grew old, the man got sick, and the man died" is to say: "The [strike]man[/strike] soul grew old, the[strike] man [/strike] soul got sick, and the [strike]man[/strike] soul died"

It doesn't make biblical sense to speak of the soul dying with the body (of the person) any more than it makes sense to ask, regarding a man who is a Doctor "Did the doctor die with his body?"

Image
source: https://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/q ... is-a-soul/
Last edited by JehovahsWitness on Thu Dec 01, 2016 1:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681


"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" -
Romans 14:8

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Gauleiter88
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Post #27

Post by Gauleiter88 »

JehovahsWitness wrote:
Gauleiter88 wrote: [Replying to JehovahsWitness]

The body ceases to exist at death and returns to dust, but what about the spirit or soul?

"The soul that rises with us, our life's star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting and cometh from afar.l"

Is the soul not a conscious entity? Does the soul die with the body? How can we inherit the earthly Paradise if we don't exist?
SOUL No, in the bible the word "soul" is simply another word to describe the physical person. It is not something we have it's just a description of what we are, like man, woman, doctor, mother... a woman doesn't have a "mother" living inside here that is released and continues consciouse existence when she dies, no rather a woman IS a mother. The bible describes the first man Adam as a "living soul" it does NOT say he was given or had a soul inside him.

So yes, the soul is a conscious entity, but not one that exists separately from the person. Why because the soul IS the physical person.


Image

I've written more on the subject here (link)
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 856#330856

SPIRIT: In the bible the word spirit is simply the power or force (from God) that animates all living things. Think of it like the electricity that animates your computer. It doesn't carry the throughts or personality of the computer, its simply a power the enables your computer to function, in a similar way God "powers" every living thing, the the body dies the power is no longer needed. The source is "switched off" if you like, the person ceases to exist.

Further reading: What is a soul? What is a spirit?
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/book ... t-meaning/
So the soul doesn't exist as a separate entity and the body ceases to exist at death. So what goes to heaven and lives eternally?

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JehovahsWitness
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Post #28

Post by JehovahsWitness »

Gauleiter88 wrote:So the soul doesn't exist as a separate entity and the body ceases to exist at death. So what goes to heaven and lives eternally?
As I explained in my initial post, the bible does offer a hope for the dead. Not that something in them was created immortal but that God has the power (and the desire) to resurrect people that have died.

QUESTION: What is a resurrection?

A resurrection is effectively, God re-creating the individual. Just as God created Adam from "nothing" making his physical body from physical elements (dust), creating a physical person with a mind, personality... God is perfectly able to re-create or bring back to life someone that has died.

Jesus even demonstrated this when he (Jesus) resurrected his good friend Lazarus, dead four full days. Naturally the body in the Middle Eastern heat would have already began to rot and decay. When Jesus called Lazarus back to life and Lazarus did not come back to life in the same body but one exactly resembling the one he died in (except for that it was in "perfect" condition, no longer plagued by whatever killed him). His memory and personality was restored and he was welcomed back by his family.

Death like Sleep

When Lazaurs died, Jesus likened it to sleep. For Lazarus being dead would have been like a dreamless sleep. He wasn't alive elsewhere, and he certainly wasn't with God in heaven, he was simply in a state of complete unconsciousness, or non existence. But sleep is not permanent, and for God neither is death. He has purposed to "awaken" or resurrect ("re-create") millions of dead people that he has not forgotten. They will live in perfect physical flesh and blood bodies forever on this planet earth restored to a paradise.

CONCLUSION: God can recreate the person with a new body. This is called a resurrection. Most people will be given a physical body (that resembles the original) and live forever right here on this our planet earth.


FURTHER READING : What hope is there for the dead?
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/book ... -the-dead/

RELATED POSTS

Were humans designed to live forever?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 82#p815882

Is there reason to believe de can be with our dead loved ones again?
viewtopic.php?p=1063110#p1063110

Won't the earth eventually become over populated if nobody dies?
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 37#p832237

Will it be possible to die in paradise?
viewtopic.php?p=1061370#p1061370

If death will be eliminated, why will animals not live forever in paradise ?
viewtopic.php?p=956006#p956006
To learn more please go to other posts related to

LIFE, DEATH and ...THE HUMAN SOUL
NOTE All posts I write represent my personal faith based beliefs as one of Jehovah's Witnesses
Last edited by JehovahsWitness on Mon Aug 15, 2022 1:41 am, edited 4 times in total.
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681


"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" -
Romans 14:8

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Gauleiter88
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Post #29

Post by Gauleiter88 »

[Replying to post 28 by JehovahsWitness]

So the JW meaning of resurrection is that when I die, a copy will be made of me and sent off to heaven, or wherever. But why should I care? I am dead. If I live a good life, that copy of me will get all the rewards while I am left to rot in the grave? Hmmm. Excuse me if I don't rush off to join the JWs.
Last edited by Gauleiter88 on Thu Dec 01, 2016 2:24 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Post #30

Post by JehovahsWitness »

Gauleiter88 wrote: [Replying to post 28 by JehovahsWitness]

So the JW meaning of resurrection is that when I die, a copy will be made of me and sent off to heaven, or wherever. But why should I care? I am dead. If I live a good life, that copy of me will get all the rewards while I am left to rot in the grave?
When you fall asleep, does a "copy" of you wake up? Death is like a sleep, it will not be a "copy of you" it will BE you. When Lazarus died (or even Jesus for that matter) died and were resurrected, would you say they came back to life or "a copy of them" came back to life?
Last edited by JehovahsWitness on Thu Dec 01, 2016 2:45 am, edited 2 times in total.
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681


"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" -
Romans 14:8

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