John 11:23-26 23  Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. 24  Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?; . Hermans Note; Notice the text states plainly that whoever believes in Christ while he is alive will never die.;" John 8:51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.; . Hermans Note; Notice again the text states plainly that whoever believes in Christ will never die.;" John 6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.; . Hermans Note; The text makes it clear that Christians would not die like the Israelites with Moses. - Your ancestors and you will be raised with imortal bodies. Nevertheless, you will never die unlike your forefathers who did die, even after eating manna from heaven.;" John 6:47-50 47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. 48 I am that bread of life. 49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.; . Hermans Note; This text confirms that we christians will never die as our forefathers died. This never dying is eternal life or this dying is spirital death. Therefore, he that believeth on me will never die spiritually. The text is clear.;" Matthew 22:29-32 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. . . 31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." Record 6 ";Scripture;Luke20:34To 3834 And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: 35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: 36 Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. 37 Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all liv_ unto him.;Hermans Note;Verse 35 indicates the children of this world exists and has not obtained the resurrection yet, but has been accounted worthy to receive it. - Verse 36 indicates that although they exist and have not obtained the resurrection, they cannot die any more: for they are equal unto the angels. - Verse 37 states that Moses confirmed this by comparing the dead in Christ to the burning bush. - This is further clarified in verse 38. It states that at the time of Moseses writing, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were not dead they were alive for they live unto God, for God is not a God of dead people. - Alive does not mean alive in God's mind or in a state of suspended annimation, soul-sleep or anniltion. Rather, this word is zoe life, which is to have eternal as opposed to death or nonexistence, and implying always some duration, often forever. Zoe life is derived from biology. - In conclusion, the children of the resurrection are not dead, Isaac and Jacob are not dead and the mans wife will not be dead while she is waiting on the resurrection. Therefore, you do greatly error by referring to them as dead, because you have a misunderstanding of what death is. - To God, no human being is dead, or ever will be; but all sustain an abiding conscious relation to Him. But the ""all"" here meant ""those who shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world."" These sustain a gracious covenant relation to God, which cannot be dissolved. In this sense our Lord affirms that for Moses to call the Lord the ""God"" of His patriarchal servants if at that moment they had no existence, would be unworthy of Him. He ""would be ashamed to be called their God, if He had not prepared for them a city"" (Hebrew 11:16 ). How precious are these glimpses of the resurrection state!;" Romans 6:23-23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Hebrews 11:16 16 But now they desire a better country , that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. Philippians1:21-23 21 For to me, to liv is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. 23 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better.; . Hermans Note; Pauls choice was not between living physically for 40 more years or annihilation for 2000 years and counting! Pauls choice was between 40 more years on earth, or dying and immediately being in the literal presence of Christ! Notice the word Greek word for ""depart"" means ""loose, untie"". Paul was saying his soul would be untied from the body and go into the presence of Christ!;" 2 Corinthians5:6-10 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. 9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.; . Hermans Note; To be absent from the body is to be simultaneously present with the Lord. Not only are you present with the Lord, but you are accepted of the Lord. Your acceptence is not contingent upon judgement day, but your acceptance is contingent upon your presence. To die is to gain (Philipians 1:21). To die is to be accepted of the Lord. - Some people choose to believe that Paul is saying ""this life is so miserable I wish I was dead so I can get away from all this misery"". They choose to think that Paul is saying that he would be better off in a state of complete oblivion than in his current state. - This implies that God has blessed Paul with life in the body, but Paul declares that he hates the thing that God has blessed him with. This is quite similar to Jobs depressed statement that he regretted ever being born. That he would have been better of in a state of complete obliviousness (Job 3:31). - Others like myself are persuaded that Paul is saying ""to die and be present with the Lord is better than being present in the body, regardless of the quality of life that you have in the body"". - Paul described the state of departing to be with the Lord (i.e., dying in Christ) as being very far better than earthly Christian fellowship (Phil. 1:23). Could one affirm that unconsciousness is very far better than the sweet communion among the children of God? Moreover, what value would there be in desiring to depart to be with Christ if one was unconscious, and thus did not even know that he was with Christ.;" John 5:29-24 24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. 25  Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 26  For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; 27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. 28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.; . Hermans Note; Verse 25 ""...is coming and has now come"" (NIV). A reference not only to the future resurrection but also to the fact that Christ gives life now. The spiritually dead who hear him now receive life from him now.;"