Immortality or Resurrection by William West (philippa perry book txt) 📕

similar -- Isaiah 14:9-20
1. Both the rich man and king of Babylon go there after death
2. Both represent nations
3. Both are represented as being alive
4. Both found person(s) to speak with
5. Both are not to be taken literally
SUMMARY: THE THREE CONFLICTING VIEWS. THREE DIFFERENT GOSPELS Galatians 1:6-9
1. Luke 16 is used to prove at death the body dies and the spirit or soul (?) goes to hades or Abraham's bosom unto the resurrection.
2. At death the soul or spirit of all goes to Heaven or Hell
3. Ecclesiastes 12:7 is used to prove that the spirit or soul of ALL came from God at birth, both the saved and the unsaved, and at death ALL go back to God.
Which one do you believe? All three cannot be true. Many who believes the dead go to hades to be with the rich man in torment or to be in "Abraham's bosom" also believe and teach the soul goes directly to Heaven at death to "be with the Lord." They seem not to be able to see that they are making the dead go immediately to Heaven or Hell after death and, therefore, they have made this, which they teach as a true story impossible. No one could be in "Abraham's bosom" and in Heaven simultaneously. How many of the three conflicting gospels do you believe? Does the orthodox view not know what the orthodox view is? DO THOSE WHO BELIEVE THE ABRAHAM'S BOSOM VIEW FORGET THAT THEY TEACH NO ONE WILL BE IN HEAVEN BEFORE THE JUDGMENT? YES, THEY ALMOST ALWAYS DO AT FUNERALS AND HAVE THE DEAD LOOKING DOWN AT THEIR OWN FUNERAL.

PART THREE
THE SYMBOLIC PICTURES OF REVELATION
The Interpretation Of Figurative Language
Metaphors And Symbolical Passage
The symbolical pictures of Revelation versus a literal interpretation. All the literal passages in the Bible which use words like death, die, destruction, life, it is insisted that only one word be interpreted figuratively in these passages, not the whole passage, until they come to a book that is figurative, then it is insisted that the figurative be interpreted as being literal. It is a hopeless cause that requires such poor handing of God's word.
THE FIFTH SEAL - SOULS UNDER AN ALTAR
A SYMBOLICAL PICTURE [Revelation 6:9]: To understand this scripture we must keep it in the context. John was seeing a vision of what was to come to pass after the time he was writing [Revelation 4:1]. When we read the symbolism of Revelation, we must remember that the figures symbolizes something that is a word picture and are not to be taken literally. We must look for what is symbolized and not make the symbols into something real or literal. The red horse of Revelation 6:3 is not a literal or real red horse. John did not see a literal or real vision of what heaven is actually like when he saw a view of horses in Heaven or souls under an altar. None of the symbols can be taken literally. THE FIFTH SEAL IS FIGURATIVE JUST AS THE OTHER SEALS WERE. SOULS ARE NOT LITERALLY LIVING UNDER AN ALTAR. THAT THE SYMBOLIC SOULS UNDER AN ALTAR MUST MADE INTO LITERAL SOULS SHOWS THE WEAKNESS OF THIS BELIEF. Even those who believe souls go to their eternal abode in Heaven at death do not believe souls are now living in a prison under an altar, but they are desperate for any passage to prove we now have in immortal soul that goes to Heaven or Hell at death that they make it literal even if the souls must be living under an altar, even if it puts a literal altar in Heaven.
Souls under the altar crying out in Revelation 6:9 is similar to Abel's blood that "cries unto me from the ground" [Genesis 4:10]. Both are figurative and not literal. The fifth seal is only one of six seals in this vision, and cannot be made literal while the others are figurative. Is the 5th seal literal, but the 6th one figurative? Read all six. The 5th seal is taken out of context. Souls under an altar are no more literal than white, red, black, and pale horses running around in Heaven are. Like the horses, they are part of a symbolic picture. But when you take at look at the seven seals, they are all of things that are on this earth, not things that are in Heaven. IN THE SYMBOLIC PICTURE(S), THINGS OF THIS EARTH ARE SEEN IN HEAVEN THAT IS NOT LITERALLY THERE. There are not literally horses in Heaven. Souls under the altar is an allusion to the Jewish altar on which their sacrifices was offered, not to a real altar in Heaven. If this symbolism were made literal, not even those who believe we have a part of us that lives after the death of the body believes what this passage would say, that an immortal immaterial part of a person lives under an altar.
"That the blood of the sacrifices was poured out at 'the base' of the altar [Lev 4:7,18,30 et all.]. Therefore, when the blood was poured out, it was the life that was being offered. The 'souls' [psuchas], which John saw beneath the altar, was the lives of those who had been sacrificed for Christ." Homer Hailey, "Revelation, An Introduction and Commentary," Baker Book House, Page 194, Hailey was dean of Bible at Florida College.
The life is in the blood, which was under the altar. Psukee is translated "life" about as much as it is "soul." Lives would be a better translation of psukee than "souls?" The blood of the sacrifice was poured at the base of an altar. The life was in the blood [Genesis 9:4, Deuteronomy 12:23]. Just as the blood of Abel cried out from the ground for justice [Genesis 4:10], the blood of these who were sacrificed for Christ cries out for justice. It will come at the judgment. This symbol picture is taken from something on this earth before the judgment, not a literal picture of Heaven. Can anyone believe John literally saw souls living under the altar on which they were killed and that this altar where they were killed has been moved from earth to in Heaven?
"The souls of this altar scene are represented as the sacrifices of life in the aggregate slain for the word of God...the souls under the altar: as the figurative altar of this vision signifies martyrdom, the phrase under the altar describes the scene of defeat. The cause for which they were offered was represented as being despised and defeated. But it was temporary, because the same souls were removed from beneath the altar of chapter 6, and elevated to the thrones in chapter 20, signifying the resurrection of the cause for which they had died." Foy E. Wallace "The Book Of Revelation," Wallace Publications, 1966, Page 150.
The Protestant version of Hell is that the lost are now in Hell being tormented with more torment than anything we can know, but it has the saved that Protestants teach are now in Heaven now under an altar and are now wanting more torment on those who they believe are now being tormented in Hell. What would you think of some you now know that were seeing many being tormented by some one, if they were asking to see more torment? To make this passage literal to prove torment in Hell makes those in Heaven be more heartless than any living person and makes them be completely without any love. They would be seeing the agony and hearing the crying of unceasing anguish and asking for more.
SYMBOLIC PICTURES
A LITERAL ALTAR IN HEAVEN? There cannot be literal souls on a symbolic altar. If the souls are literal, then the altar must also be literal; when one part of the vision is made literal, there is nowhere to stop without making the whole vision literal. What sacrifice is made on this literal altar in Heaven? If the altar were literal, then there would be literal death in Heaven, for to have a literal sacrifice on the literal alter there must be a literal death of what is sacrificed. What would be the reason for the sacrifice? Not for sin, for there is none in Heaven. Who is making the sacrifice? Do angels have a reason to make a sacrifice? Are souls in Heaven confined to the area under the altar? See Genesis 4:10 and Hebrews 12:24. This altar in Heaven is no more literal than: (1) Jesus having a literal sword coming out of His mouth. (2) A church is a literal lamp stand. (3) False religion is a literal harlot riding a beast.
Revelation 6:9; 14:9-11 are symbolic pictures of events that happen in time just as the other symbolic pictures around them are of events that happen in time. To put an altar for sacrifice or smoke from burning flesh in Heaven is absurd. Just as absurd as making Revelation 12:1, "A woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars" into a literal woman would be. Her head would need to be much larger than the sun to hold a crown with twelve suns in it. They are symbolic pictures; they are not literal or real events, not at the judgment or after it. The end of time is not described unto near the end of the book [see Hailey and Wallace below]. To prove Hell, the symbolic pictures of these in time judgments [judgments that take place on the earth before the Judgment Day] are taken out of context and moved unto after the end of the earth after the Judgment Day and placed in Hell even when there is no revelation that Hell exists. Those who believe in Hell think these symbolic pictures of in time judgments in Revelations are one of their strongest proofs of Hell. Peterson said, "The book of Revelation paints some of the most graphic pictures of hell found in the Bible" Page 93. He takes the visions out of context and makes them be literal by making all the judgment pictures in the book be torment in Hell after the Judgment Day is over. He ends up with such absurd things as Heaven being always full of smoke from the burning bodies of those in Hell. ALTHOUGH IT IS AGREED BY MOST THAT NO DOCTRINE CAN BE PROVED BY THE SYMBOLIC PICTURES OF REVELATION, YET "THE SMOKE OF THEIR TORMENT" IS CONSTANTLY QUOTED AS PROOF OF ENDLESS TORMENT. THE FACT THAT BELIEVERS IN HELL CAN PROVE THEIR HELL ONLY BY USING SYMBOLIC PASSAGES, METAPHORS, AND PARABLES; AND MUST USE THESE TO SET ASIDE PLAIN PASSAGES THAT SAY THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, THE LOST DIE, PERISH, ARE DESTROYED SHOWS HOW UTTERLY GROUNDLESS THEIR BELIEF IN HELL IS. THE CLEAR STATEMENTS ARE THE TRUTH, NOT THE MISUSED SYMBOLIC PICTURES. The Bible does not say yes and no to the same thing. It does not prove both the affirmative and negative. A symbolic picture does not prove the opposite of a clear statement. A symbolic picture of smoke in Heaven does not prove "the wages of sin is death" to be "the wages of sin is eternal life burning in torment" with the smoke of their burning going into Heaven for all eternity.
Like most if not all the symbolic pictures in Revelation, this language is taken from the Old Testament and is speaking of judgments on this earth, not