What does “dead” mean?

 What does “dead” mean?

By Richard P. Joseph

2/28/2025

I once asked Ed Stevens a question about debates and he said there is an old adage that goes something like this;  “ He who defines the terms, wins the debate”.    In the religious world, and especially in the preterist world, there are debates.  Debates are good in that a person's perspective is challenged and if they fail to defend their position then that gives them an opportunity to reconsider their position or to bolster their position with more evidence.  I heard another preacher say that what he believes today (as far as doctrinal issues are concerned), he may not believe tomorrow.  In other words, he is willing to reconsider his views in light of new biblical evidence that he previously had missed.  Dogma is usually so entrenched in religious circles that when a different view is presented, people go apoplectic.  The only thing that is absolutely true is scripture itself but depending on one's knowledge of proper hermeneutics, scripture can easily be misconstrued.  While scripture is solid and unmovable, our knowledge and perspective is fluid until it can be cemented with certainty.  Therefore, I really don’t have all of the answers.  The challenge is in the pursuit. 

One challenge that I will attempt to shed light on is the word dead in the bible.  It sounds simple, if something is dead, it stops living, right.  Well, that is usually correct but in some cases the word dead could also mean spiritually dead.  Or it could also mean, philosophically dead. 

 

John 12:24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much [a]grain.

In this parable Jesus is asking us to die of what we are in order to become something greater.  Or he could also be referring to Judaism dying in order to become something greater but either way, the seed doesn’t actually physically die, it just dies to what it was.  However, the most contentious argument comes when the resurrection of the dead is brought up.  

One argument says that the physically dead are resurrected (or at least their soul is) and enters the heavenly realm.  The other view is that the spiritually dead are resurrected out of their condemned position and brought into the light of Christ.  Another position similar to the second one is that Israel will be resurrected into a new elevated position.  I am tempted to say that perhaps all of those views have some truth to them but I will also attempt to show you that the first view of our souls, once given a new heavenly body, will enter into heaven with God forever.  

In Acts 23 we find Paul being arrested and set before the Sanhedrin facing the death penalty.  Thinking quickly, he used this very doctrine of the resurrection to divide the counsel.  

Acts 23       6 But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!”

7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided. 8 For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection—and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both. 9 Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees’ party arose and protested, saying, “We find no evil in this man; [a]but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God.”

As is explained here, and also in the writings of the historian Josephus, the Pharisees believe in a resurrection of souls while the Sadducees do not.  In other words, if Paul and the Pharisees believed that the resurrection was some sort of rising from sin to a better life, or Israel being reborn into a better or elevated state of being then there would have been no argument at all.  In fact, there wouldn’t even be two sects.

To drive this point home, let’s take a look at Acts 24:15

15 I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection [e]of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. 

In the above verse, Paul says that he has a hope in the resurrection of the dead.  He then describes the dead as being made up of the just and the unjust.  So, if the resurrection is about someone entering a more elevated spiritual position then why do the just have to do that?  They are already there.  This is just one of the many verses that point to a resurrection of the physically dead people being raised from the dead into God’s eternal glory.  We could go on and on but it is up to you to read and study the bible in context and pray for wisdom.  Never simply take someone’s word for it, do your own research.  Read your bible every day.  Become familiar with it.  Look for things.  Look for patterns.  Look to glorify Jesus Christ.  

So in the end, dead, means several different things but it certainly also includes the physically dead.

A Royal Priesthood

 A Royal Priesthood

By Richard P. Joseph

2/3/2025

In Exodus chapter 20 we find the newly formed nation of Israel moving through the wilderness.  They had recently been liberated from slavery by God through the hand of Moses.  Moses is now beginning to receive the law from God and the Ten Commandments are presented to the people.  It firmly establishes YHVH as the only eternal God and the second commandment was to never create any image that could be used to represent a deity or would be worshiped.  This was not ambiguous, it was very plain and understandable.  

Well, maybe not!  Flip a few chapters later and you have Aaron, the brother of Moses, fashioning a golden calf to worship to.  The human condition is hopeless, weakness is the norm and evil is the goal.  Exodus 32 brings this to light.  While Moses was up on Mount Sinai receiving instructions on how to build a tabernacle to YHVH, the congregation decided that Moses must have died and therefore they would create a pagan god from gold just like the Egyptians had.  They could not understand that a human cannot create a real god.  Moses did not go to God, God came to Moses.  God created man, man did not create God.  This was a very new concept back then.  So God sent Moses down the mountain to confront the Israelite nation and it wasn’t pretty. 

 Exodus 32:7-8 7 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a [b]stiff-necked people!

God would have destroyed them had Moses not prayed and intervened.  Moses, however, cleaned the camp by putting to death 3,000 of those that would not follow the true and only God. 

Moses then formed a priesthood that was to serve the Eternal God and Him alone.  The Priesthood was to be formed from the tribe of Levi which Moses and Aaron were part of.  The main job of a high priest was to offer atonement for the people through the sacrificial system laid out in the books of the law.  There was, however, a different kind of priesthood that was not of human origin.

While Moses was the person responsible for the formation of the nation of Israel and the priesthood, it was Abraham who had previously become the father of the nation.  After Abraham had success in defending several of the cities, including Sodom and Gomorrah where Lot lived, he ran into a strange priest named Melchizedek, the priest of Salem.  Not much is mentioned about this obscure character in the scriptures but apparently the Jews knew more about him than what was written about him.  When David was prophesying about the future messiah in Psalm 110 he spoke about Jesus as being a priest after the order of, not Levi, but Melchizedek.  The book of Hebrews informs us that Melchizedek is one who has no beginning and no end and no traceable genealogy.  He is called a priest forever.  That is why the author of Hebrews associates Melchizedek with Jesus as one and the same.  

So now we have talked about two distinct priesthoods, but there is a third.  Revelation 1:6 reads like this:

  … and has made us [c]kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 

And 1 Peter 2:9 says this:

 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Jesus, who is a priest forever, will never change.  He is the High Priest of all time.  However, as humans, things change.  The Levites were called to be priests during the old covenant but once that covenant ran its course, Jesus established a new covenant with his blood.  Peter then informed us that we, the Christian men, are the new priests.  After AD 70, the Levitical priesthood ended.  Each Christian man is now the priest of his family and with this a tremendous amount of responsibility is placed on each man to lead his family into righteousness.  With this priesthood comes also a new nation.  Judaism has become obsolete and the church has become the new nation, a holy nation.   Marriage is the building blocks of society and the father and mother are responsible for bringing up holy offspring unto the Lord.  The institution of marriage is the most important union on earth.  As the marriage goes, the earth goes.  Each husband is the priest of his family and each Christian family joined spiritually together forms a holy nation.  This is what holds the world together.  It is sad to see people still associating the priesthood to religious organizations when in reality the real priests are the fathers and husbands of each family.  It is our responsibility to strengthen our families and our communities.  People who wait and rely on a religious organization to teach their families the gospel are out of touch with scripture.  While it is a great thing for people to learn from their pastors, it is imperative that the real teaching and lessons are learned at home.  This is something that should not be taken lightly.  Like Michael Jackson said in his song “We are the World”, “We are the Church”.  Let us be bold and lead the world by leading our own families.

Lenin, Lennon & Marx

 Lenin, Lennon & Marx

(No, this isn’t a law firm)

By Richard P. Joseph

Ex-president Jimmy Carter recently passed away and many famous celebrities attended his funeral.  Carter, a pro-abortion left wing democrat, lived to 100 years old and was well known as a “Christian” who promoted many philanthropic organizations.  I don’t know who planned his funeral but it was a reflection of his myopic view of life.  His funeral was held at the Washington National Cathedral and featured many scripture readings and spiritual songs.  Then it was capped off by the famous country singer, Garth Brooks, singing Imagine!  No, this isn’t a joke, it really happened and that is why I write.

The song “Imagine”, which was written by John Lennon, is actually the Communist Manifesto set to music.  This haunting, yet beautiful song, has been recorded and celebrated by many rock stars and played at a myriad of occasions as if it is somehow a song of peace, love and togetherness.  For it to be played at Carter's funeral tells how misconstrued Carter’s faith was.  Here he is, a so-called faithful follower of Jesus Christ, being memorialized in a so-called Christian Church, by an atheist rock star singing a song written by an atheist rock star,  about a world without God, without heaven, without hell, without any countries, and all the people owning nothing and being happy.  I would say that Jimmy Carter was rolling over in his casket but I didn’t see any movement which leads me to think he was just fine with it just like he lived his life by promoting abortion and homosexuality.  Here is an excerpt found on the internet:

By Bob Allen

Former President Jimmy Carter, the world’s most famous Sunday school teacher, said Sept. 22 he supports LGBT equality because Jesus didn’t discriminate against people based on their identity.

Obviously he believes in blasphemy also.

John Lennon was born in 1940 in Liverpool, England, a western Christianized country.  He grew up in a broken family which came out in many of his songs such as God, Imagine, Mother etc.  He was born at the outset of WWII.  One of the funniest quotes I have ever heard was by Ringo Starr when he said “My mother told me ‘when I was born, WWII started’”  John Lennon was born during these turbulent times and lived in a broken family.  However, using his unusual talent he formed the most famous rock group in history, the Beatles, and became a multi-millionaire.  Apparently he never stopped to notice the starving Russian people of his day standing in long bread lines attempting to get a morsel of food to feed their starving families.  That is because the Soviet Union was forced into communism by one Vladimir Lenin in 1917.  Lenin got his ideas from a Jewish idiot named Karl Marx.  The goal of Marx was to disassemble the family unit and usher in poverty, chaos, atheism, sexual perversion, oppression and violence.  That is exactly what the song Imagine is promoting.  

I remember when my kids were on the football team in high school and we played at Swartz Creek High School during their senior night.  The Swartz Creek athletic department wanted to send their seniors off to a bright future and had them all take the field after the game to wish them farewell.  They then blasted out John Lennon’s song Imagine over the loudspeakers as the kids marched around the field with candles in hand.  Can you imagine (pardon the pun) sending your kid into a world of no God, no hope, no country, no peace, no heaven, no hell, no money, no possession, no government, no nuttin’.  

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics attempted that but finally had to give it up.  It is funny how hunger can make you change your mind in a hurry.  Communism is a hopeless, dark and desperate proposition but it is something that woes young uneducated kids to.  Like a siren that lured many a lonely sailor to their death, they just keep singing.  Just like the song, it uses deception and lies to fool the masses into a mind numbing mess.  Communism is something that will always plague us with its presence.  We, in fact, now have an entire political party dedicated to it which will need to be beaten back during every generation.  The lure of “free stuff” will never go away.  This is a fight that every new generation will have to fight.  The only antidote is to have fathers that teach their families the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Keep up the fight. Pray.  Study.  Don’t be fooled.    Just think, if we play the song backwards we will have hope, love, God, a country, possessions, law, families, heaven and peace. 

Lineage of David

 The Lineage of David

By Richard P. Joseph

12/21/2024

The Catholic church holds to the doctrine of Apostolic Succession.  They claim that they can trace the papal seat all the way back to Peter.  One of the things I find funny about that, among other things, is that Peter never claimed to be the bishop of any church.  In fact, if there was a bishop of Jerusalem in the first century, it was James, the brother of Jesus, not Peter.  That in itself is odd too.  Why would James be the bishop of Jerusalem and not Peter?  To make things more interesting, it is recorded in the writings of Eusebius and others that when James was martyred in 62 AD,  they found another blood relative of Jesus, Symeon, to replace him.  

Does anyone but me see a problem here?  This “line of David” seems to have been an attempt to reestablish a physical Davidic kingdom on earth that had nothing really to do with Jesus except to exploit his popular name.  James, of course, wrote a wonderful epistle and we don’t really know how exactly he was chosen instead of Peter to take that position but it just seems odd to me.  

Of course there were several persons by the name of James mentioned in the New Testament.  One was James the brother of John, one was James the son of Alphaeus, and one was James the son of Mary, or in other words Jesus’ brother.  So, my question here is, why was a relative of Jesus chosen to guide the church of Jerusalem instead of an apostle?  And when James was martyred in AD62, why was another obscure relative of Jesus (line of David) chosen as his successor?  It also appears that the Judaizer sect tended to be followers of James.  James, however, was not a Judaizer as he led the way for Paul to evangelize the gentiles without forcing them to be circumcised.  So back to the question of why James and others in the lineage of David were being chosen to lead the church especially when the apostles were still alive.

I can only speculate at this point but I think that some of them just didn’t get it yet.  It is almost as if they still believed that physical “Jerusalem” was going to be an earthly kingdom replete with a Davidic King, but gentiles will also be able to worship there too.  If we place ourselves in their culture and in their times, that isn’t a far fetched idea.  It would be hard to think out of the box.  Furthermore, even after the fall of Jerusalem, most Christians still were waiting for the second coming and it might just be for this very reason; that they were still waiting for a physical kingdom just like the futurists of today are waiting for.  Add to that, if a rapture did occur in AD66 and transport the faithful remnant into heaven then the new church would be fully void of inspired apostles.  That is why I have no problem today understanding that we may need to reconstruct the historical record from years of neglect.  Besides that, in today's computer age, we literally have more information at our fingertips than all of the ancient historians combined.  For example, we can clearly see that the physical Davidic lineage has ended and will never be reestablished again.  However, the spiritual Davidic kingdom has been established in Jesus Christ and will never be removed, replaced, superseded or extinguished.  It is an everlasting kingdom and is completely out of the reach of any human effort to thwart it. Jesus made it clear that his family isn't his from his geneology but is now a spiritual family:

Matthew 12 46 While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. 47 Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.”

48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

  Even Gabriel understood that the kingship is completely fulfilled in Jesus alone and no other.  

Luke 1:26-33            26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; [e]blessed are you among women!”

29 But [f]when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

This kingdom is here and it is now.  Rejoice and live.

Thousand Years

 A Thousand Years

By Richard P. Joseph

2 Peter 3:8 New King James Version (NKJV)

8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

When I was young someone asked me “when was the war of 1812?”  I can’t rightly remember if I got it right or not but most people have to stop and think for a while and end up saying “I’m not sure”.  Then they feel embarrassed when they find out it was in 1812.  Of course it lasted a few years but the joke goes on.  That leads me to my question; “How long is 1,000 years”?   

Whenever I talk to futurists (those that believe that the return of Jesus is in the future) they inevitably go to 2 Peter and say that a thousand man years are equal to one day in God years, as if this is some sort of mathematical equation.  Well, maybe this question will help us figure it out; “How many cattle does God own”?    Psalm 50:10 reads; For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills. 

So, all you would need to do is use this mathematical equation to figure out how many cattle God owns:

How many cattle can fit on a hill X 1,000 = the amount of cattle God owns.  

Or you can google it and use the equation that I found there:

The phrase “the cattle on a thousand hills” conveys God's ownership of all creation and His limitless resources.

It is sad when google has a better biblical understanding than what most Christians do.  

In Revelation 20:2 John tells us that:

 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

So, was Satan bound for exactly one thousand years?  

Even though the number thousand appears many times in scripture it can mean different things.  It can mean an exact number but is used more as an estimate, and many times as the number of “an undisclosed period of time in which something needs to be completed”.  For example, God owns all of the cattle, or in other words, God needs nothing from us because he is complete and has an abundance of what he wants.  As far as 2 Peter is concerned, God is not bound by time limits like we are.  It has nothing to do with the number of years when Jesus would return.  When the work that the apostles needed to complete their mission, then Jesus will return, which happened in 66-70 AD.  Satan was bound at some point in the first century until God’s plan was completed for him.  Then he would come out and wreak havoc to complete the plan.  The idea of one thousand is arbitrary.  It is the idea that God is in control of all things and is sovereign over all.  

Numbers, in ancient Hebraic culture, don’t always mean “amount”, it can mean other things and that is why we must attempt to understand 1st century Middle Eastern culture before we can rightly divide the scripture that was written at that time.  Therefore, Peter was not saying that the second coming was thousands of years hence, he was simply telling the scoffers of his day that the Parousia will happen exactly when God planned it to happen and that God is not on our timetable.   It did happen and God’s plan was completed exactly when He said it would be. 

Woe to those

 Woe to Those

By Richard P. Joseph

11/28/2024

Mass murderer, Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood.

Isaiah 5:20-21                                                                                          

20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

 21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
And prudent in their own sight!

The prophet Isaiah had strong words for the people of Israel during his lifetime.  The corruption of God’s then chosen people was out of control which led God to lead them into captivity for 70 years by the Babylonians.  They suffered the loss of their temple and homeland but God eventually brought them back for a second chance, which of course, they blew that too.  This was a people who reversed everything that the law of God called for, putting their selfish and sinful life first.  They were a master of deception and called the pure and holy things of God and earth evil, while calling all manner of impurity, evil, sexual perversion and worship of idols good; just like our modern day democratic party and big media do today.  

Recently, Joe Biden, the false president of the United States, honored a mass murderer with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by awarding it to Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood.   Just like when they commandeered the rainbow, which used to be a sign of peace between God and the earth, and made it into a sign of violent sexual perversion, they now reward a woman who is responsible for the torture and murder of millions of babies, with the Medal of Freedom.   It is as if Joe Biden read Isaiah’s words and purposefully fulfilled them.  This is a perfect example of what Isaiah was warning against.  The Democratic Party calls evil good and good evil.  In today’s, so called,  post Christian era, everything that is evil is called good and everything that is dark is called light.  Children are nothing more than objects to be molested and mutilated instead of nurtured and protected.  Marriage today has no real meaning and the traditional family is scoffed at.  Even the words “planned parenthood” means “plan to not parenthood” as the goal is to slaughter your children.  Young kids are growing up thinking that communism is good and freedom is bad.  So what can be done about it?

Pray, repent and teach.  The iniquity must be broken and the gospel must be taught.  Men must once again take charge over their families.  They must pray and believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  They must repent of their sin and they must actively teach their families the gospel of Christ.  Going to church does not replace the man’s job of being the priest of his own family.  He alone is responsible for teaching his wife and his children the scripture.  He alone is responsible for living a holy life.  The change must begin in the family unit.  By the way, a family consists of a father, a mother and their children.  Those that don’t have all of that need to do the best they can without it but the goal is to produce strong, stable families all across this land.  The family unit is the core building block of society.  The stronger the family, the stronger the community the stronger the nation.  The liberals will again attempt to call two perverts a family but woe to them.  Keep the standard and don’t bend.  Keep the faith and don’t flounder.  Keep the truth and don’t be fooled.  Call good, good and evil, evil.  Be brave and stand tall.  Never cower and never back down.