Death: The Great Equalizer (Transcript)

According to the Bible – King David is still in his grave! So where are the dead? In Heaven? The Bible says something else.

Acts 2:34 NKJV “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand…”.

It’s been said, death and taxes are always constant. It’s also been said, death is the great equalizer. This is Bob Barney for theplaintruthtoday.com and theplaintruth.com. Death is real.

We all are going to face our own demise someday. As I approach my senior years, which seem to have gone by quicker than I expected them to, death is more and more in my mind than it was 40 years ago when I first started listening, believing, and researching the God of the Bible.

Death is real, and death is the great equalizer.

You can be Bill Gates and you can spend all your fortune trying to find eternal life like these rich people. I read stories all the time in the Daily Mail and other places how these rich people are trying to find the science to make them live forever and they foolishly think they can do so. However, they will die, and they will die just like the hobo in the street.

Death is the great equalizer, and you’re going to die and I’m going to die, and so is the little baby that hopefully has 100 years of life left in him. We’re all going to die and that’s a promise that can’t be broken for the time being.

But what happens when you die?

Is there a future? 

Do you come back to life again? Do you go to heaven or hell? 

Do you live in a cloud somewhere in heaven watching down on your loved ones sinning and killing each other and abusing their children, pedophiles, all your family members that you’re watching down below? Does that bring you good comfort to know that’s your future? What does the Bible mean? What does God mean when he says you die? Well, most religions, be it Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, you name it, most religions believe in life after death.

Most religions teach that when you die you have an immortal soul. They teach that our soul is not a part of your physical body and then when you die, your soul has to go somewhere. In the Christian belief and the Jewish belief today, one option for your soul is that it will either go to heaven with all eternity and blissfulness with God. It is believed that you will be looking at His face continuously like a little puppy dog who is sitting and watching his master. Thinking, oh, what a great guy He is.

The other option is that you go to hell, and you have to live with the devil with his pitchfork forking you in the butt, burning you, frying you on a fryer for the rest of your eternity. You want to know what? The Bible talks about neither.

It’s one of those misconceptions that I’m going to talk about a lot, that everyone has that is a Christian, Muslim, Catholic, Buddhist, you name it. They all believe in an immortal soul. Now, I don’t have a problem with people who don’t believe such a thing is in the Bible.

I mean, everybody has a right to believe what they want to believe. But I do have a problem when you claim to be a Bible-reading Christian, and you believe every word of God as the word of God, as the absolute fact, and then you say you have an immortal soul. Because that’s not what the Bible says.

As a matter of fact, in both the New and the Old Testament, the following phrase is used, the soul that sinneth, it shall die. Wait a minute, souls die? I thought we had an immortal soul. How could souls die? You know, the Bible has a lot of firsts in it, and it records the very first lie.

You know, we listen to politicians lie all the time. There was an original lie, and that came from none other than Satan the devil. Adam and Eve were placed in a garden, and they could eat all the fruit that they wanted from all the trees, except there was a tree in the middle of the knowledge of good and evil.

And God said that tree you shall never take its fruit and eat of it, for the day you take it and eat it, you shall die. Now, contrary to what theologians want to teach you, die means die. No, they want to tell you, oh no, when you die, it only means you go to another existence. That you die either in heaven or hell.

No, die means exactly what God says it means, to die. You know, the name Adam comes from the word red clay. God made man out of dirt. Every time he calls the name Adam when they talk together in the garden, He’s calling him dirt. He wanted to remind man that he was no different than an animal. Did you know that the word for soul that’s translated soul for humans in the Old Testament is from the word nephesh. It’s the same word that’s used for animals. So, animals have souls too.

Well, when you really read a good concordance and a good dictionary and you understand the word nephesh in Hebrew, it only means in the proper translation is a living creature, a living being. God blew life into the nostrils of man, and he became a living soul is in the King James, but it really should be rendered, which many Bibles do today as a living being.

There’s a book of the Bible that says there’s no difference between your death and that of an animal. As one dies, so dieth the other. Put that into search engine. As one dies, so dieth the other and see what comes up. You’re going to read a passage that does not make sense to you. That says that it’s nonsense to think that man goes up when he dies and an animal goes into the ground because as one dies, so dieth the other.

And the same God who is talking about sinners says the soul that sinneth, it shall die. And Jesus repeats that in the New Testaments. Do not fear the person who can kill the body, but he cannot kill the soul or the living creature, but rather fear him who kills both body and soul in a hellfire. Burn up that soul, burn up that living creature. Think about that. That’s what the Bible says.

So where do you get the idea that you have an immortal soul? You know, there was a time when a young man came to Jesus and said, Lord, what can I do to inherit eternal life? You notice Jesus didn’t say you already got it. You got eternal life. It’s just a matter now you’re going to spend it in heaven or hell. No, he says, if you are to enter into life, obey the law, obey the commandments. And the guy goes, which ones? On your father and mother, do not steal, do not commit adultery. And he starts naming off the Ten Commandments and the interrupts him and says, I already know all of this stuff.

And then Christ adds to it by saying, well, then give away everything you have to the poor and come and follow me. And the guy was rich and he couldn’t do it. So he couldn’t obey God. But anyway, there’s a lesson there that everybody just glosses over that there was a great teaching moment if Jesus believed in heaven and hell and a mortal soul, because He would have said you already have an immortal soul. You don’t have to do anything to have eternal life. You have to do something to have eternal life in heaven.

He didn’t say that. If you want life, obey the commandments. And of course, that means eternal life after your death, because as pointed out in the Bible, the first Adam died and so will every other Adam afterwards die. We are destined to die one time, at least. Some people will die two times at the great resurrection. Hopefully you’ll only die once, and you will be in the glory of God and spiritual being after your death and resurrection.

That’s what the Bible promises you. So yes, death and taxes are real. The only real thing that there are, and you’re never going to escape this world alive, as Hank Williams said, in a very old country-western song that I still like. And everyone’s going to die. It’s the great equalizer. Now you’ve got to decide, are you coming back to life? And do you have something to account for? And do you have someone you have to account to? And is that someone, someone that you have put yourself in a right spiritual mode with? God is going to force you to a reckoning.

You’re going to have to justify your life. Now, there are many people who never have heard the gospel. There are many people who do not know the Christian way of life, but they’re good people. They’re good Chinese people. There are good people in Africa or the Amazon who actually practices by nature the laws of God. Paul says so. The animals follow the law of God by nature, and so do many people. They’re following the laws of God. They’re following the laws of God by natural instinct, because God’s laws are naturally imbedded in all living creatures. But mankind has another God, and that is Satan the devil who likes to fool us and make us want things we shouldn’t want.

And they’re good things a lot of times to us. They’re fun things. They’re things that allow us to take pleasure over pain. And we kind of like that way of life. Now, most animals, by the way, don’t have a devil influencing them that much, and they follow nature’s God. But we don’t. We go our own way. And so, death is the first result, but eternal death is what we work for and earn by our evil ways. Paul says it quite distinctly, the wage of sin is death.

You go to work every day really hard, and what do you get paid for is death. You go to work every day to work hard for the devil, and he rewards you with dying. Eternal death at that. But the gift of God is eternal life. You notice again, it’s a gift. It’s eternal life that can be given to you as an opposite of your death. Do not be fooled by those who want to promise you, if you send them some money, that you’re going to go to heaven when you die, and your dogs are going to be there waiting for you. You know, dogs will go to heaven too. All dogs will go to heaven.

People want to believe that. I actually knew a minister one time who actually had to preach a funeral for a dog because one of his churchgoers, an older woman, believed her dog had to go to heaven or there was no God, so he did it for her. He felt good about it. Again, we sometimes deceive ourselves by thinking we’re doing good when we’re really doing evil to God. But no, all dogs don’t go to heaven, and neither do you. In fact, you’re going to go into a ground when you die, and you’re going to wait for the resurrection of the dead.

You can read that in 1 Corinthians 15, the resurrection chapter. You can even read it in the, gosh, I don’t have a Bible in front of me, but in the last few chapters of Revelation, I believe 20 or 21, when it tells you when each person resurrects. Of course, Christ, when He returns, His Christians resurrect right then. Then after the thousand-year millennium, the rest of the dead come back to life and are judged by what’s in the book, the Book ok of Life. And if their name’s there, they have a second chance. If their name’s not there, then goodbye, daddy.

You’re going to fry up and burn to death and be gone. No suffering, no eternal suffering in a hellfire. So, you know, the people that don’t like you could be happy that you’re suffering forever and ever and ever and ever.

God is not that. God is not evil. God is not the devil.

God is not cruel. God realizes if you can’t make it, you’re evil through and through, it’s best just to destroy you. Do you know the Bible even tells you that the devil is going to be destroyed? Because the only thing immortal in your Bible is God.

Again, you put in the word immortal or immortality, and you will see that God only has immortality as is what is written in the Bible. Only God, not even the angels. They’re created spiritual beings. They’re spiritual, but they’re not spiritual in everlasting, eternal life like God’s Holy Spirit is indestructible. You are going to be born again at your resurrection if you are a child of God with God’s Holy Spirit, not with that of an angel. You’re going to be superior to the angels.

Sounds like blasphemy, but that’s what the Bible says. You’re God’s children. You will have his Spirit and you will have his eternal life. You will not be able to be destroyed because you will be in unison with the Godhead. Total agreement, total dedication. When you’re putting your affairs in order, and those of you who are probably under 40 don’t think that way, unless you’re in the military, of course, and you’re getting ready to go fight a battle.

One time I was told that the people who tend to listen to spiritual things are prisoners on the death watch and soldiers getting ready for a battle. That may be true, but as you age, you realize you’re looking at eternity. You’re looking at a death that’s going to be sure as Shanola, and you’re looking at the possibility of eternal life with God or eternal damnation of ceasing to exist. Again, read the Bible for yourself. Don’t let people tell you what’s in the Bible. Don’t let me tell you what’s in the Bible.

Listen to what I say, then you go look it up. You can do some searches. Nowadays, unlike when I had to do it, I had to physically pull-out Bibles and concordances and all that stuff. Today, you’ve got a search engine that will find it all for you. You can find the things that are in the Bible that your minister doesn’t want you to know it’s there. They don’t like certain things in the Bible that the Bible says. For example, most ministers don’t like when Jesus says to the people who say, we worshiped you. We did miracles in your name. And Jesus says, away from me, you who practice lawlessness. I never knew you. You mean people can worship Jesus, believe on Jesus, adopt Jesus, do miracles in his name, and Jesus is going to tell them on the judgment day, get away from me? I don’t even know who you are. That’s what your Bible says. Haven’t heard about that Jesus, have you? Or the Jesus who says, you worship me in vain, following the doctrines and traditions of men rather than the commandments of God. You can worship Christ in vain according to Jesus in the red-letter words in the New Testament.

That’s not talked about too much. No, church wants to make it easy.

There’s no secret you have to know. There’s no divine secret that you can’t find quite easily on your own. But the idea that you don’t have to do anything, and you can go on doing what you’ve been doing and just believe on the name of Jesus Christ, and you are saved. Well, you’re deceived, and your deception is going to cause misery in your life and the life to come if you have one.

Every day, theplaintruth.com really delves more into news than it does religion, and people ask me why. We are not a church. I am not a minister. I’m not an evangelist. I am a newsman. My degree is in political science. I actually run a paint business that my wife and I own. We manufacture and sell automotive and marine industrial coatings. I work for a living. Everything I do for The Plain Truth comes out of our pocket. We don’t ask for donations. We don’t take any donations. You could send me money if you want to. I had a few people over the years ask me if they could help me and send me money, and I say, find a good cause. Find a Godly cause. You can help any child from suffering. You can help any child from starvation, and you let that child know that is coming from Jesus Christ.

If one does this, you have done a tithe. You’ve done a tithe better than giving it to any church. 

You know, Jesus gave an example that when you do something for the least of his brethren, you’re doing it for him. You go look that up, and you’ll see how he explains it very sincerely. When you do something kind for the least of the people on this earth that Christ created, you’re actually doing it for Him. When you write a letter to a prisoner that you don’t even know, telling him that you hope he finds God, or you have some guy hand out his hand and who is looking for something. I have people begging me all the time, and sometimes I get, like everybody else a little callous and look the other way, but at the same time, we’re not supposed to look the other way. There is an old country and western song. I’m not going to put it on here, but it’s called The Tramp on the Street. Now, most people may not want to listen to it because he has a twang, and he’s old country western but I like it. Read the words, A Tramp on the Street, and you will understand what it means to do something for a tramp who just might turn out to be Christ.

This is Bob Barney for theplaintruth.com. Thank you for listening.