Tag: Soul sleep

You will be with me in paradise today

Andrea del Castagno - Crucifixion

Jesus to the repentant thief on the cross: Luke 23:43 (KJV) – And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. Every single time in the Bible that “Truly I say unto you” is used (or the equivalent in various translations), it takes the form …

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Ecclesiastes and the dead

Icon of the Resurrection

Ecclesiastes can’t be used to say that there is no consciousness after death, because the author, Solomon, explicitly states that he does not know.

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Ellen White centenary prayers (novena) – Conclusion

Novena ConclusionToday, 16 July 2015, is the centenary of the death of Ellen White, Adventist prophetess. This Novena has asked her and all the angels and saints to pray with us for the return of the Adventist faith to the original teachings of Christianity.

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Ellen White centenary prayers (novena) – Day 7

Today, leading up to the centenary of Ellen White’s death, we pray for Adventism, who deny the spirit of man. Instead of believing in a heaven filled with saints praising God, to them, we are alone, with no living cloud of witnesses to pray for their fellow Christians on earth. We pray that they come to understand the biblical teaching that our fellow-believers have indeed become spirits made perfect, and that we praise God united with them.

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Ellen White centenary prayers (novena) – Introduction

Novena - Introduction

In the Nine Days leading up to the 100th anniversary of the death of Adventist prophetess Ellen White (16 July 2015), we will say a novena – a prayer continued for nine days – for those who follow her teachings today.

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What Catholics Believe – Mary, the Virgin Mother of God

Madonna enthroned with Angels

As the symbol of the Church, and as the first Christian, Mary is now what we will become. She birthed God into the world; we are called to bring God to others. She was sinless; we will be made spotless. She was taken body and soul into heaven; we will ultimately be resurrected and our bodies reunited with our souls in heaven.

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The end of the Novena

I should note that requesting the prayers of deceased non-Catholics is not the norm, and that non-Catholics are not canonised as saints in the Catholic Church. If Ellen White is in heaven, we do not know, but we can hope and pray that she is. If she is, she will be praying with us. If not, God hears our prayers – cf Romans 8:26. This is therefore a private devotion, not one officially sanctioned by the Church, which I have shared with you.

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Novena for Adventists – Day 6 – Soul Sleep

Today we pray for Adventism, who deny the spirit of man. Instead of believing in a heaven filled with saints praising God, to them, we are alone, with no living cloud of witnesses to pray for their fellow Christians on earth. We pray that they come to understand the biblical teaching that our fellow-believers have indeed become spirits made perfect, and that we praise God united with them.

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A Novena for Adventists

Novena - Introduction

In the Nine Days leading up to the 179th anniversary of the birth of Adventist prophetess Ellen White, we will say a novena – a prayer continued for nine days – for those who follow her teachings today.

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Sal’s questions and answers – Sabbath, soul sleep, infant baptism

Questions and Answers

On AllExperts, there are two useful articles on the Sabbath and soul sleep, by a Catholic responding to Adventist questions.

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Soul sleep feedback

Someone recently wrote to me about soul sleep. The e-mail address they gave doesn’t work, so I will reply here. Their text is in green and my reply in black.

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Paradise vs Heaven

Another perfectly valid explanation is that Jesus had not ascended, which he only did in Acts 1:9. Mary was not to cling to him, in the sense of wanting him to stay, and not return to the Father. This is a more accurate translation of “touch” – merely touching him was quite okay, as is shown in later passages, where Thomas touches him.

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And no man hath ascended up to heaven

Adventists and others often use the following verse to show that Catholics are wrong in saying that the souls of the dead can go to heaven immediately after death: (Joh 3:13 KJV) And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

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Bacchiocchi on the 58th General Conference

Doctor Bacchiocchi, don’t confuse type and antitype. Don’t try to prove your Sabbath theology by discrediting the New Testament’s fulfilment of the Old by means of false dichotomies used to water down the prophetic fulfilment of David’s words in Christ.

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Soul sleep – are the dead alive in heaven, or not?

First I’ll deal with the evolution of the concept of the state of the dead, and then get onto specific biblical arguments about it.

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