How many times do we get to die?

▪ORIGINALLY WRITTEN AS A SHORT PAPER FOR PHOENIX SEMINARY▪

INTRODUCTION

Curse and suffering all began with Adam in the garden of Eden when he ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—even after he was told not to by God himself. That was humanity’s first sin, and the result was curse and suffering to all who came after. It was promised that “in the day that you eat of it, [all of humanity] shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17, ESV) That is the first biblical promise of a curse resulting as a consequence of disobedience to God. Since Adam was the only human alive when God spoke this to him, it is emphasized in brackets that all of humanity was condemned to die—since in Adam was the seed of all future generations. Revelation 21 and 22 is the revealed culmination of the day of the Lord—which is the day of judgment. The curse of death and the suffering of humanity—all of which began in Genesis 3—will end on the day of the Lord.

WHAT IS A CURSE?

A curse is “the opposite of a blessing” and it is “the pronouncement of evil on someone or something.”[1] Did God pronounce evil on humanity? Yes he did. But did he cause the evil? No, he did not.

WHAT IS SUFFERING?

Suffering is “like prosperity,” but “introduces a test into human lives, both disclosing and forming character.”[2] Those who experience suffering find it to be very uncomfortable because in its very nature, it is a test—a test of our faith in God—and many people who are tested do not pass because we are unprepared to place our trust in God.

THE FIRST SUFFERING AND CURSE

In Genesis 3, humanity had just broken trust with their Creator. In a world where anxiety did not exist, fear of retribution was unknown, and shame had never seen the light of day—Adam certainly grew up fast as he suffered through each of these the moment he felt God himself must certainly be disappointed in him. Adam suffered. Later he would be evicted from the garden, and Adam suffered more. A little later, after discovering his youngest son was dead—murdered by his firstborn son, who was nowhere to be found—likely caused the first tears to flow from Adam’s eyes as he cried. Adam was now suffering even more, and likely mourning Cain’s disappearance as being similar to a death through exile. Adam now suffered greatly and was experiencing great pain.

What happened to the promised curse of death if Adam lived to be 930 years old? One attempt at answering this is that humanity spiritually died that day—because on that day humanity became separated from God and that is an experience similar to death.[3] That is not helpful—especially in light of Hebrews 9:27 which says, “[…] it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” Judgment comes on the day of the Lord. Also, it is hard to imagine the Ruach of God—which breathed life into humanity—being dead inside of our earthly vessels. Obviously, humanity’s “day”—specifically the one that God has spoken about in Genesis 2:17—has not yet come. How do we define “the day” God spoke of? Since it cannot be physical death (Adam lived to 930 years of age) and it cannot be spiritual death (it is appointed for man to die once) then it must be the day of judgment. The second death is the lake of fire revealed in Revelation 20:14 and 21:8. The first death is our body. There is no death beyond those two. Perhaps Genesis 2:17 could be paraphrased as saying, “if you sin against the Lord, humanity will be condemned to die on the day of the Lord.”

Curse and suffering will end on the day of the Lord because it states in Revelation 21:4, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” All the things that Adam and the rest of humanity suffered through—including the curse of death—will no longer exist on the day of the Lord for believers in Christ. But everyone, even believers, “must appear before the judgment seat of Christ.”[4]

HOW MANY TIMES ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DIE?

In light of Hebrews 9:27 and Revelation 20:14, how is Ephesians 2:1-2 supposed to be interpreted? It clearly states another death: “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.”[5] This does not sound like the curse of death from Genesis 2:17—rather, it sounds like a blessing to no longer be dead in trespasses. Contextually, Paul is writing an epistle to the saints in Ephesus—meaning, he is speaking to mature Christians who have already been born again. Before being born again, all of us are “children of wrath” (v. 3). The saints in Ephesus are people that have been “born of water and the Spirit” in John 3:6. So now it becomes important to figure out what this water actually is.

WHAT IS THIS WATER?

Continuing to John 4:11, a Samaritan woman asks, “Where do you get that living water?” Jesus replies that he can give her water that would satiate her thirst forever because it would “become […] a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (v. 14). So, it doesn’t look like Jesus is the living water, but he gives the living water to those who ask. It is further clarified in John 7:38-39, when Jesus said that out of the hearts of believers “will flow rivers of living water” specifically in reference to the Holy Spirit. It is reasonable to think that the Holy Spirit is the living water Christians are born of. What this means is that living water (the Holy Spirit) sets us free from the ways of the world—unshackling the bondage of our fleshly desires—which imprisoned all of us. When we are born of water and the Spirit, we are no longer children of wrath—which sounds a lot like humanity has become the children of Satan that needs to break away from an unloving and evil family so that we can become adopted by a new family. We are now children of God. We have died to our worldly desires and replaced our own desires with what God desires. This is what is righteous in God’s eyes. Ephesians 2:1 does not describe the death of the body and it is not the death of the human spirit—it is the death of selfish desires born out of repentance through the flowing river of living water revealed to us as the Holy Spirit of Christ and of God the Father. Living water cleanses the unclean rot from within us, sanctifying us,[6] and prepares us for a holy eternal existence with the Father.

Is there dead water? Maybe. The closest description found in the Bible of dead water would be in Psalm 137:1. It is the water of Babylon that might be viewed as being dead water. The exiles sat in remembrance of Zion, forced to sing songs of their home of Jerusalem. It is a place of despair and place of remembrance of the things that were better and good. Babylon is outside of the promised land in a place barren of all goodness—a hellish place. Israelites frequently shedding “tears of repentance.”[7]

HOW DID CHRIST BECOME A CURSE?

In Galatians 3:13, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.'” Where in Scripture was this written and why is this important? Deuteronomy 21:22-23 says, “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. […].” Galatians 3:14 explains Christ’s crucifixion was important for Gentiles to receive the promised Spirit through faith. The law was a curse because Jewish people could not follow it absolutely—therefore no one could be justified by following the law. In place of the law, righteousness is achieved by faith in Christ’s fulfillment of the law—and the blood poured out from Jesus was the perfect sacrifice to forgive all sins, for “[…] without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22).

WHY DID JESUS NEED TO SUFFER?

Suffering is a result of sin, but it also offers a redeeming quality to refine a person. Isaiah 48:10 says “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.” Being Christians, we should know that we have been promised—or “called”—to suffer. In 1 Peter 2:21, “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” What happens to the person who suffers without needing to be refined? Jesus is the person who is already pure, and he needs no refinement. What was his suffering for? It was to redeem others. His selfless act redeemed all of humanity from our selfish acts.  To receive this redemption, we need only accept his authority as our Lord and accept his role as our Savior—but we must also repent. We are cleansed through the blood of Christ, but he asks that we not continue to sully our lives with impurities. Simply put, try to stay clean.

THE CONCEPT OF DROSS AND SANCTIFICATION

1 Corinthians 3:12-15 says, “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” This is a description of dross, which are the impurities that separate from precious metals through the purification process of applying intense heat. This could be called the “gold standard.” This verse describes the results of suffering as something a person should look forward to. This verse brings attention to “the Day,” which this paper asserts as being mentioned in Genesis 2:17, originally.

IS THERE OT SUPPORT FOR HIGH PRIEST INTERCESSION?

In Numbers 16:48 it states, “And [The High Priest] stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped.” This describes what Aaron did to atone for Israel when the Lord wanted to “consume them in a moment” (v. 45) This is likened to how sin spreads so rapidly, it kills like a plague—a sin plague. It would be a mistake to say that God caused the plague to kill almost 15,000 people on that day the High Priest interceded. It would be better to say that all of Israel was condemned to die for their sins against God, but instead God was merciful because the High Priest interceded. Although the prophet Moses was their leader, he was not a king. Humanity needs an intercessor like Moses and Aaron who carries the role of King, Prophet, and High Priest to stand between us and the wrath of the Lord. Jesus Christ is all three—and he forever stands between us and the wrath of God the Father.

BOOK OF JOB:

The theme of curse and suffering is best encapsulated within the book of Job. Why didn’t Satan just kill Adam? The Bible alludes to a restriction placed upon Satan by God himself to not kill the Adam-like character named Job. Whether Job is interpreted allegorically or parabolically, other books of the Bible treat Job as if he were a real human that existed historically. “At times we must trust God without understanding,”[8] because some mysteries are only for God (Deuteronomy 29:29). Through Job, we were able to see that sometimes Satan is the cause for our suffering. It has nothing to do with our sinful ways, and it has everything to do with demonic forces trying to destroy God’s creation. Other times it is because of our sinful nature that we experience suffering. Therefore, when we suffer, we should trust God and be patient He will deliver us. “Job was a righteous man, but he suffered great disaster. Yet through all his suffering, Job continued to serve God.”[9]

Job becomes a mediator (similar to Aaron the High Priest) in Job 42:8 when he interceded God’s wrath by praying for Eliphaz and his two friends—and God accepted Job’s prayer and spared their lives.[10] It is the prayer of a righteous man—a blameless man—that God will accept for intercession. James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE TO REVELATION 21 & 22

Throughout the Bible there are instances of God cursing us for sin and allowing believers and nonbelievers alike to suffer. From the beginning, there have been references to water that brings life. God has met this need to quench the thirsty by offering believers “[…] the spring of the water of life without payment” (Revelation 21:6) we are promised and given multiple previews of the perfect intercessor before finally being gifted with our Savior Jesus Christ. Revelation 22:17 states, “[…] let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” This is a direct flashback to what humanity desired to take for itself—and at a tremendous price—back in the garden of Eden. This is a great change from the Bible’s recurring theme of consequence for taking for oneself what one desires—humanity’s desire must be for Jesus, the living water.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bavinck, Herman, John Bolt, and John Vriend. Reformed Dogmatics. Vol. 4. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2003.

Brand, Chad, Charles Draper, and Archie England. Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Nashville, Tenn.: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003.

Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Book House, 1998.

Grudem, Wayne A. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Second edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Academic, 2020.

Leupold, Herbert Carl. Exposition of the Psalms. [11th printing]. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1989.

Metzger, Bruce M., Michael David Coogan, and Oxford University Press, eds. The Oxford Companion to the Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.

Swindoll, Charles R., and Charles R. Swindoll. Job: A Man of Heroic Endurance. Great Lives from God’s Word v. 7. Nashville, Tenn: W Pub. Group, 2004.

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[1] Conrad, Edward W. ” Curse,” The Oxford Companion to the Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 144–45.

[2] Crenshaw, James L. “Suffering,” The Oxford Companion to the Bible, 718–19.

[3] Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Book House, 1998), 631.

[4] Herman Bavinck, John Bolt, and John Vriend, Reformed Dogmatics (Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2003), 4:701.

[5] Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, Second edition. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Academic, 2020), 610.

[6] Erickson, Christian Theology, 869.

[7] Herbert Carl Leupold, Exposition of the Psalms, [11th printing]. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1989), 934.

[8] Lemke, Steve W. “Suffering,” Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, Tenn.: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1540.

[9] Lemke, Steve W. “Suffering of Believers,” Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 1539.

[10] Charles R. Swindoll and Charles R. Swindoll, Job: A Man of Heroic Endurance, Great Lives from God’s Word v. 7 (Nashville, Tenn: W Pub. Group, 2004), 303.