The Oldest Book of the Bible

According to so called "Bible scholars", the oldest book of the Bible is Job. Does this book agree with the Gnostics (Illuminati) or with the remainder of the Bible? Job confirms that man is mortal! "Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?" (Job 4:17). In the Hebrew Strong's Concordance of the Hebrew language the word mortal is assigned #582 and comes from a root word #605. It means "to be frail, to be feeble or fragile." We CAN die! Webster's Unabridged Dictionary says mortal means "subject to death." That is frail, feeble or fragile! We have already seen the verses that said "the soul that sins it shall die."

The penalty of DEATH has passed upon us all because "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (Rom. 3:23). Every person ever created and born has sinned; therefore, we all face the ultimate penalty of DEATH - absence of life. UNLESS there is hope of God removing the penalty and giving us LIFE! Jesus Christ is the ONLY One that did not sin; therefore, He is willing to pay the penalty of death FOR US. That He did when God in the flesh died for our sins, not His. He had none.

God - the Salvager!

Since man is made from the dust of the ground, he will return to dust if he is required to pay the penalty for his own sins. The "good news" of the Bible is that God will salvage that which is decaying and returning to its earth. Salvation comes from the word salvage. God will salvage us FROM death and decay UNTO life by the resurrection FROM the decayed state of death.

Let's go back to Genesis. God has been instructing man in his relationship to his Creator. "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely DIE" (Gen. 2:17). This means DEATH! Webster's Unabridged Dictionary says death is "loss of vital functions." What are these vital functions that cause death if they are impaired? First, we must all breathe oxygen. Second, there must be a circulatory system to deliver this oxygen to every cell of the body. Third, the blood circulatory system is the method by which all oxygen and nourishment gets to the cells to feed them their life-sustaining nutrients. Without blood and oxygen circulation, you would die. You would become a DEAD SOUL.

The Webster's Dictionary also defines death as "to perish, to be terminated, to be extinguished from existence." That is exactly what the Bible says. The whole hope of the Bible is that man will NOT remain dead. His circumstances must change however; that means a resurrection from the dead. Very few have ever reached a point in their life where they want to die, cease to exist.

Animals and Man

The Bible states that something happens to the animal kingdom as well as to man. It is identical. "For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even ONE THING befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all ONE breath [oxygen]; so that a man hath NO preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity [temporary]. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again" (Eccl. 3:19-20).

We all understand that animals are buried in the ground and decay and turn back to dust. What we don't like to admit is that God said it happens to people like you and me. God built into animals lungs to breathe oxygen as He did man. Because we as people have sinned, death waits as a penalty UNLESS we accept God's alternative to give us life. God must have a method by which He can rejuvenate the body if we meet His requirements. God made us with human nature and left Satan on earth to deceive us into sinning and bringing the penalty of death upon us. You might say God put us between a rock and a hard place but WITH A WAY OUT! Every scripture thus far has shown that animals and men return to dust upon death. That is why the ONLY hope of man is the RESURRECTION from that state of existence. The Strong's Concordance of the Greek language gives the word resurrection the #386. It means "to stand up; restand on your feet." Webster's Dictionary says "rising again from the dead." What would be the need for a resurrection if you go to heaven or hell and keep living "when you die?" It doesn't even make sense unless you believe what God reveals about man's creation. Why would the Bible waste space talking of a resurrection if you don't "really die" - just change locations and keep living?All Scripture Inspired

Paul wrote to a young evangelist Timothy concerning the ONLY scriptures available for him to teach from because the New Testament was in the process of being written. He wrote: "ALL SCRIPTURE IS GIVEN BY INSPIRATION OF GOD, and is profitable for DOCTRINE…" (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Since the only scriptures available at this writing were the Older Writings, what doctrines have we learned about man thus far? 1) Man IS a living soul dependent upon oxygen circulating throughout his body for life. 2) If you do NOT have oxygen drawn into your lungs to circulate and feed the cells, you are a dead soul - you return to dust. 3) The dead return to the dust from which they came. The body decays.

Before embalming became commonplace, only skeleton systems were left intact after a few years. The flesh decayed and returned to dust. The Bible is the manual to the human race for us to understand how God made us and why! EVERY scripture in the Bible has been inspired by God. If the scriptures say that man returns to dust from which he came upon death, it means exactly what it says.

What Is the Spirit That Goes Upward or Downward?

After the Bible said "all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again, "we read this: "Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?" (Eccl. 3:21). Notice, both man and animals have this spirit. What is this spirit that leaves the body? The Hebrew word for spirit is Rosh." It means BREATH! Man dies and his breath goes upward. Animals die and their breath goes downward. No longer does oxygen breathe in and out of their lungs - animals or man. Whether you use the phrase upward, downward or sideways, it does not matter. The point is when your last breath is expended you are dead.

This same understanding is stated elsewhere: "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit [Hebrew word "rosh" which means breath] shall return unto God who gave it" (Eccl. 12:7). God breathed into the first man and woman the breath of life. He built into man what the scientific community calls "involuntary muscle" reaction. You nor I are required to think about causing these muscles to work. Once they start, it becomes automatic. The Bible is consistent. "Nevertheless man being in honor [made in God's image] abideth not [turned to dust]: he [man] IS LIKE THE BEASTS THAT PERISH" (Ps. 49:12). If God does not have a resurrection from the dead planned, we are no different than animals that perish - cease to exist permanently! God made man in his own image, set him over the works of His hands, has HONORED him with the HOPE of the resurrection from the dead to eternal life!

What Is the Life of Man?

God instructed righteous Noah to take a single pair of UNCLEAN animals into the ark; he also instructed him to take seven pairs of CLEAN animals for food (Gen. 7:2). Why were these animals and man alive? God told us: "But flesh with the LIFE thereof, which IS THE BLOOD thereof, shall ye not eat" (Gen. 9:4). The life of all flesh is in the blood system that transport food for the cells and oxygen to energize the body and keep it alive. Literally, the life support system within the body IS the blood. That is why it is imperative to stop the bleeding when cut or injured. The loss of too much blood prevents the feeding of the cells with food and oxygen; therefore, death occurs.

This is confirmed in other scriptures. "For the LIFE of the flesh is IN the blood:…" (Lev. 17:11). It also said in this verse that the blood was to be used as an ATONEMENT for our souls. The Hebrew word for soul is "nephesh." God used animal blood - the life of the flesh - as an example of the blood of the Son of God that was necessary to forgive sins. The animal blood looked forward to the COMING of Jesus to shed His blood - life - to cancel our sins. "For it [the blood] is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the LIFE thereof:…" (Lev. 17:14). God instructed in verse 14 not to eat the blood of animals. Drain it completely before eating the flesh.

What cancels our sins? The shed blood of Jesus Christ! The LIFE of Jesus was in the blood! He was willing to give up His life to pay the penalty of death - absence of life - in our stead. "Only be sure that thou eat NOT the blood: for the blood is the LIFE; and thou mayest NOT eat the life with the flesh" (Deut. 12:23). Man and animals were made flesh. Both have a LIFE support system called blood. The circulatory system is the life support system that keeps both alive.

Notice the prophecy of Jesus' sacrifice: "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou [God the Father] shalt make his soul [life's blood] an offering for sin…I will divide him a portion with the great…because he hath poured out his soul [life's blood] unto death" (Isa. 53:10,12). Jesus poured out His life support system called blood to forgive us of our sins. As a result, we will not have to remain dead forever. He will give us a new body that will not require a blood life support system.

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