Interpretation of Scripture

wingnut said:
Hi Jim

The following scriptures are from the Bible (not the SDA's manual) and all seem to support soul sleep.

Acts 2:34 34 For David is not ascended into the heavens:
Job 14:14-15 14 If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. 15 Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.
Psalm 13:3 3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
1 Corinthians 15:51-52 51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 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.
John 3:13 13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

How do you explain them?

And how do you explain that Christ himself said he would be "as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. " Matthew 12:40

That does not sound like "paradise" in the heart of the earth.

Mark 8:31 31 "And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. " Christ said that "after three days" he would rise again - not during those three days.

Even the two witnesses have no life when they are dead for 3.5 days. Revelation 11:11 "And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. "
Click to expand...

I see it as a difference between the body and soul/spirit:

2Cor5: 6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Rev 6: 9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: 10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? 11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

So the body is "sleeping" in the ground or urns or whereever while the soul/spirit is with God waiting for the resurrection!
 
another way to look at this is to recognize that there are various phrases that are repeated throughout the Bible... such as "this is a trustworthy saying" or even "amen" or the thrice repetition of "holy holy holy"... in this case, we see another one of those "sayings" and it is this: "Truly I say to you" which also occurs in Mat 5:18, Mat 5:26, Mat 6:2, Mat 6:16, Mat 10:15, Mat 10:23, Mat 10:42, Mat 11:11, etc etc etc 71 times in the ESV.... so based on how this saying is used elsewhere, it seems most consistent to say as the ESV puts it:
Luke 23:43 (ESV) And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
or as the NASB puts it:
Luke 23:43 (NASB77) And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."

the same formulaic saying appears in the KVJ 9 times as "verily I say unto thee";

Luke 23:43 (KJV) And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

as Jasher pointed out, it really doesn't make much sense for Jesus to insist that "today" He is telling the truth, whereas elsewhere, He might not have....

blessings,
Ken
 
When it comes to where the commas are in these verses, the answer is simple there is none, is in the original language that the scriptures where written in there was no commas, exclamation marks, numbered scriptures etc.

The 1st century church interpreted this scripture;

And Jesus said to him, Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise. ( Luke 23:43)

This way;

The Orthodox Church believes that the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross opened a new waiting place, called the “Paradise”.​

Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”​
And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly , I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” ( Luke 23:42-43)

God Bless
D2M
 
There are certainly alot of opinions on this subject. I wouldlike to share mine as well. We know from scripture that your spirit goes to be with Christ when our earhtly life is over. We know from scripture that we get a new and glorified body at the day of ressurection. THe following verse dscribes the origin of the soul:
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

It would seem from this verse that the soul is imparted as the spirit is placed in the body. Based on that it would seem ( to me ) that the spirit is with Christ, the body awaits ressurection and the soul may very well sleep waiting the day of reuniting.
These are of course my opinions and theories as I am still searching and seeking revealtion form God on this.
 
the first one:
I tell you the truth, today....

This is the common terminology Jesus used throughout the Gospel. He uses this phrase a few times on other occasions

Also translated,
Surely I say to you
 
Sorry but I have to disagree with that one WW.
2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

Interpretation can involve knowledge of language, culture and many other factors but it is all in vain with the Holy Spirit breathing on it and bringing life from it. We could indeed no every aspect of every Word in scripture and never have a clue to it's heart and intent and never know God.

2Co 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. :fish:
 
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