What happens during the interval between death and the final judgment?

natural_one

Well-Known Member
The "Familiar Spirits" thread got me to researching and I came across this article. Wanting to get some opinions on this..The one thing that is confusing to me if the scripture that says during the rapture the dead in Christ shall rise first. Now is that talking about their spirit or their body? And if it is talking about their spirit where has the spirit been in the meantime. Please read the article and provide some thoughts. Thanks!


Following death, there is an intermediate state-the time between death and the final judgment. And there is also a final state-the eternal destiny which will last forever. In this study, we want to look at the intermediate state-what happens during the interval between death and the final judgment.

1. THE IMMEDIATE ABODE OF THE UNSAVED DEAD

Jesus told about the self-centered ungodly rich man (in Luke 16). The ungodly man died, “and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments” (Luke 16:23/KJV). The word translated “hell” is “Hades,” a word which in the New Testament is used to describe the place where the unsaved dead go immediately upon death.

The Greek word for “hell” as a final destiny, is a different word. The word “gehenna” was used to describe the Valley of Hinnom, the garbage dump on the south side of Jerusalem. It was the place where wild dogs gnashed their teeth as they fought over the garbage of the dump. Gehenna is the final place of punishment; Hades is the intermediate place of the dead.

Jesus (in Luke 16) says the souls of the wicked go to “Hades” after death, but in Matthew 10:28 Jesus speaks about hell also. There, He says that both soul and body are cast into “gehenna” after the resurrection and final judgment. In Matthew 10 Jesus is talking about final judgment, but in Luke 16 He is talking about what happens immediately after death.

Hades is like a county jail (a temporary prison), until the sentence is determined. The Lake of Fire (gehenna) is like a state penitentiary, a permanent place of punishment.

While “Hades” is not the final destiny of the wicked, it is a place of conscious suffering and of despair place of torment. The man in Luke 16 wanted someone to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool his tongue (Luke 16:24). At another place, the Bible says that “the Lord knows how to … reserve the unjust under punishment for (until) the day of judgment” (2 Peter 2:9). Hades is a temporary prison where the wicked dead are kept under punishment until the day of judgment and the final sentence is named.

The purpose of the Judgment is not so much to determine who is saved and who is lost. The matter of salvation has been determined by our decision regarding Jesus Christ here in this life. For example, John 6:47 says, “He who believes in me has everlasting life.” The word “believes” is a strong word: It means “to embrace,” and “to cling to;” it includes repentance and obedience. Those who sincerely receive Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord of their lives, are assured of eternal life. By way of contrast, those who do not know God, and who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ “shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord” (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).

And so the final Judgment is not so much designed to determine who is saved and who is lost, as it is to determine the degree of punishment and the degree of reward. Every human being will some day stand before the judgment bar of God. There will be rewards and there will be appropriate punishment. Exactly when and how God will accomplish all this, is not really important for us to know. But in Revelation 20:1314, the word translated “hell” (KJV) is “Hades.” And so when the text says that “death and Hades” will deliver up the dead who were in them, those in Hades (the temporary prison) will be judged, and then cast into the Lake of Fire. The Lake of Fire will be the eternal destiny of the unsaved.

2. THE IMMEDIATE ABODE OF THOSE WHO DIE IN CHRIST

The Bible teaches that those who are saved, having embraced the blood of Jesus on the cross (11 Peter 1:18-19), will at death go to be with Christ, in a state of conscious bliss–and are immediately in fellowship with Christ.

The Apostle Paul declared that “to be absent from the body” is to be “present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). And later, he says that to die, is “to depart and be with Christ, which is far better’ (Philippians 1:23).

Jesus speaks of the immediate abode of the saved dead, as “Paradise.” He said to the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). The righteous dead are in the presence of Christ, in a place called Paradise, awaiting the resurrection of the body the judgment, the final reward-and the future lif6 in Heaven.

It might be helpful to explain that before the death and resurrection of Jesus, “Hades” had two regions, one for the righteous and the other for the unrighteous. Not only were the wicked in Hades, but so were the righteous in Old Testament times. In the account of the rich man and Lazarus (in Luke 16), before the death and resurrection of Jesus, there was a “great gulf” (Luke 16:26) between the two regions. But they were close enough to each other that the self-centered rich man could communicate with the patriarch Abraham.

In the later parts of the New Testament, the abode of the saved is described with the word “paradise.” The Apostle Paul was “caught up into Paradise” (2 Corinthians 12:4). Our Lord Jesus says that those who overcome shall “eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7).

The Scriptures indicate that Christ descended into Hades before He went back to the Father, at the time of His crucifixion and resurrection and ascension. Acts 2:27 says that His soul was not left in Hades and that His body did not see corruption. Acts 2:32-33 says that Jesus was raised up and exalted at the right hand of the Father. And Ephesians 4:8-10 says that when Christ “ascended on high, He led captivity captive.” It is the belief of many evangelical Bible teachers that it was at this time that those in the righteous portion of Hades were led into the place called Paradise in New Testament times. Jesus descended into Hades, set the Old Testament saints free, and took them to Paradise to be with Him. And now, when saved persons die, “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).

If the above Scriptures are properly interpreted, then immediately after death, the saved find themselves in Paradise and the lost find themselves in Hades. Exactly what activities will take place during the time between death and judgment (in these temporary abodes) is not revealed in Scripture. The Bible is restrained in what it says about life immediately following death. There are many questions about life after death that go beyond the limits of our understanding. Now we see through a glass darkly, but a marvelous day is coming when those mysteries will be completely unveiled.

We do know two major facts. Unbelievers will be in a state of anguish and torment (Luke 16:2328; 2 Peter 2:9). The saved will be resting from their labors in joyful satisfaction (Revelation 14:13; Acts 7:59; Philippians 1:23; 2 Corinthians 5:8). The spirits of those who die in their sins will be ushered immediately in Hades, and after the Judgment, both body and soul will be delivered into the Lake of Fire. The spirits of those who die in Christ will be ushered immediately into the

Paradise of God, and upon receiving new bodies, eventually will be transported into the final heavenly home, which Jesus says He is preparing for His people (John 14:1-3).

http://realchristianity.wordpress.com/2008/01/14/what-happens-immediately-after-death/
 
Cliffnotes: The article states that people that are non believers that once they die their spirit goes to a temporary hell called Hades, while the believers go to a temporary heaven called Paradise. So my OP was asking if anyone has heard of this before and if this is what happens between death and judgement day.
 
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Wanting to get some opinions on this..The one thing that is confusing to me if the scripture that says during the rapture the dead in Christ shall rise first. Now is that talking about their spirit or their body?

natural_one: My interpretation is that the dead will rise in a "spiritual body".

1 Corinthians 15
35 But someone will ask, (AX)“How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish person! (AY)What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

42 (AZ)So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; (BA)it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.
 
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More on the question of how the dead will rise:

1 Corinthians 15
50 I tell you this, brothers: (BK)flesh and blood (BL)cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. (BM)We shall not all sleep, (BN)but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For (BO)the trumpet will sound, and (BP)the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and (BQ)this mortal body must put on immortality.
 
Lack of an immediate response does not mean no one will answer, sometimes someone is waiting to read up on a matter first or simply they are waiting on God or is simply unable to answer, it could be various reasons..

First I think it's important to explain the the body soul and spirit (tripartite man), which can be a bit confusing and this is why I waited, I don't want to confuse anyone.


Upond death Our bodies will return to the earth and decay, the bible says that we will be given new bodies, so no our bodies will not be resurrected...

Soul and spirit are two different things, see Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit...also in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, “May your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete.”

Soul refers to consciousness or conscious experience. Soul, Biblically, is the ability to interact with your environment, to feel, etc. – to be conscious. For example, the Bible says that even animals (including fish, whales) have souls. Genesis 1:30, talking about animals says, “every living thing in which is a living soul”.

Spirit does not refer to consciousness but rather to the “God part” of a person and/or simply the fact that they are breathing and is alive. Ecclesiastes 12:7 tells us that death the breath or spirit returns to God who gave it.

We see in Genesis that Adam only became a living soul after God breathe the breath of life into him.
 
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Lack of an immediate response does not mean no one will answer, sometimes someone is waiting to read up on a matter first or simply they are waiting on God or is simply unable to answer, it could be various reasons..
^^^Quoted for emphasis again- in love:yep::rosebud:. A lot of us are at work, running businesses, moms, students, etc. When there is a weighty question asked such as this one, I do pray before I answer. Just as I'd pray if we were all discussing these things face to face. Now if days went by w/o a response I could see someone withdrawing their question. Even when we don't see eye to eye in the CF, I don't think anyone is intentionally rude or intentionally ignoring others. If it's not too much to ask, will you consider restating your OP?

ETA- Thanks for reposting:yep:. I'm reading it now and will respond later. About to start the commute home now:driver:. Ahh, rush hour traffic:perplexed my daily chance to develop spiritually:rolleyes:...
 
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Thanks to the ladies that responded. I definitely didn't mean to offend with my second post..

Back to the subject at hand, loolalooh, your first post really helped me see the missing piece. I didn't think of that fact that the spiritual body would rise not the physical one.
 
The "Familiar Spirits" thread got me to researching and I came across this article. Wanting to get some opinions on this..The one thing that is confusing to me if the scripture that says during the rapture the dead in Christ shall rise first. Now is that talking about their spirit or their body? And if it is talking about their spirit where has the spirit been in the meantime. Please read the article and provide some thoughts. Thanks!

Great Question. The spirit and the body or the same, the spirit the body the soul are all the same thing. Yes those who died in Christ will arise at the coming of Jesus.
 
Your body will arise as it is and at the last trump will change to incorruptable. Which is such a good question. Because many believe your already in heaven and so Jesus is coming back for your body?. it really doesn't make any sense at all. But you will be amazed at the things people actually believe and run with. When you pass from this life the breath that is in your body returns to God its just air. But you need it in your body to be a person with out it your just a body. its just air. thats all. But in case you have some doubts I will post my very long information about the Soul, The Breath, The body.
 
Job 14:14), "If a man die, shall he live again?"

1 Corinthians 15:16-22 how positive and clear God is when He says that the day will come when the trump of God shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. "For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." Now it tells us here in essence that Christ was risen from the dead, thus guaranteeing that all Christians who die could follow Him and be raised also from the dead.

Genesis 2:7 God's definition of a soul. "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." BODY + BREATH = SOUL. A body plus the breath of life and we no longer have a body and a breath but we have a combination known as a "soul." That's the first and general definition in the Bible concerning a soul. We are souls. I'm a soul. You're a soul. A living, walking, talking, living human being is a soul
Now the word "soul" is used to mean two other things also in the Scripture. It's used in some cases to mean life itself. One example of this is Job 12:10. "In whose hand is the soul of every living thing." Well, of course, that's talking about life itself. And then the third definition, is the mind or the intellect. An example of soul being used this way is found in Psalm 139:14, "... and that my soul knoweth right well.".
It takes a combination of two things to make that soul. It takes a body + breath. You have to have both of them or you will not have a soul regardless of which definition you want to use. It doesn't make any difference about that. If it means life, you must have body + breath. If it means intellect, you must have body + breath or you don't have the soul. The general usage in the Bible is a person, a personal being.
If a body + the breath makes a living soul, then what happens to that soul if the breath is taken away? Well, it would die, that's exactly right. It's the truth.
This is the important thing. It's not what man thinks; it's what God says. Listen to this in Ezekiel 18:20. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Die, if the soul was naturally immortal it could never die. But God says Himself, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." So on the authority of God's Word, souls do die after all.

The Spirit that returns to God when a man dies is the breath of life.
The breath or spirit of every person who dies whether he's evil or good, returns to God, Body + breath = (or makes) a living soul, so we are souls. Souls do die.

Another example is the case of Jesus on the cross. You remember He said, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." Luke 23:46. It's the same thing exactly. He knew that the breath returned to God. It would be given back to Him early Sunday morning when He was raised from the tomb. Steven, the first Christian martyr was stoned to death outside the city because he dared uphold the name of Jesus. And as he was dying, he said, "Lord, Jesus, receive my spirit." He understood the Bible doctrine that we are teaching right here because it was a doctrine that was taught from the beginning of creation. The spirit, or the breath, goes back heavenward when a man dies; it returns to God. So this is not a new thing at all. It was taught 3,000 years ago by the great prophet and singer in Israel, David. In Psalm 104:29, "Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth thy spirit, (or breath) they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth." You see the same thing exactly, friends, and that was preached 3,000 years ago by David.

Now let's review a few facts again about the soul. Point number one. The word "soul" or the word translated "soul" is used 852 times in the Bible. Soul, not spirit, (we've talked about that earlier) that was 948 times, but here the word "soul" 852 times. Point number two. Never in any of these references is it given any existence apart from the body. Point number three. Never in any of those 852 references does it have any life or activity or knowledge or personality separated from the body. Point number four. Always in all of these references is the soul pictured as something that is short-lived, never is it deathless or immortal. The natural undying, immortal soul is absolutely unknown, dear friends, in the Scripture. It just isn't there, and with 852 opportunities all through the Bible, if the great men of God had something to say about an undying immortal soul, it seems strange that no one ever mentioned it. There's a reason, of course. The reason is that the soul is not undying or immortal.
Never once in all the Word of God is it anywhere stated that the soul goes back to God. Now I've heard that repeated over and over again, maybe you have also, that your soul does return to God, but that's not in the Bible, it just isn't found there at all.
At death the soul ceases to exist.. At death the soul ceases to exist until the combination is made again and the breath of life is put into that body once more in the resurrection. And then the individual will be resurrected and there will be life.. Even the fish of the sea are called souls. The text is Revelation 16:3. You read it and as you read it and study it, you'll be aware of this fact, that anything that has a body + breath is a soul. That applies to animals, fish, birds, anything that has a body and is alive.
" 1 Timothy 6:13 and 1 Timothy 6:16: "I give thee charge in the sight of God ... Who only hath immortality." Man doesn't have it. God has it by nature. Man is mortal and subject to death. This text specifically says, "God ... only (only) hath immortality." No one else, not even the angels of heaven, "God ... only hath immortality." So once again I say, the immortal soul of man is simply just not in the Bible at all and the Bible teaches the very opposite.
 
You know, we ought to thank God right now that Christ's tomb is an empty tomb. Mohammed's tomb is not empty. The grave of Confucius is not an empty grave. Parts of Buddha have been enshrined all over the Orient in various and sundry places, but the tomb of Christ is an empty tomb. And that's what Paul is talking about. Then he added that since Jesus had been raised, Satan's prison house was opened so that all the redeemed who have gone to sleep in Jesus will be raised again. And so the question, "If a man dies, shall he live again," has been forever settled on the authority of the Scripture, and God's plain unqualified answer is "Yes."



"How did it all come about? What happens to man between the time he dies and the time he's raised from the dead?" Ecclesiastes 12:7. This is a statement made by the wise man, Solomon, the wisest man of the past. He's making a general statement here on death in verse 7. "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." There are two things that this text nails down. Point number one. The body will return to the dust and the dust to the earth. Point number two. The Spirit, whatever that is, will return to God. Now those two things are made clear in this passage of Scripture. Let's go a step further. What is the Spirit, this Spirit that goes back to God when a man dies? What is it? I would like to read a New Testament Scripture now and then an Old Testament Scripture after that. First, James 2:26. "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."



Now according to this Scripture, the Spirit is the thing that keeps the body alive. In translating the Bible, the translators were not sure just how some of these words should be placed in the Scripture text. There are several meanings of some words and if they're not sure, they put one word in the text and the other word in the margin. Now the word in the margin makes it much clearer to us. It says "or breath." And so according to this text, this spirit that goes back to God is the thing that keeps the person alive and it is called also the breath. Let's see if the Old Testament writers agree with this. We turn to Job 27:3. "All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils." And the margin says here "by the spirit of God," That is, "the breath which God gave him." Now I want you to notice what this text proves. This text proves and shows that this spirit which goes back to God is in man's nostrils and the margin says it's the breath which God gave him. So this spirit which returns to God when man dies is simply the breath of life.



Now perhaps you'd like to ask, "Are you sure of this? I've never heard that before. Are you positive that the spirit which goes back to God when a man dies is the very breath of life?" Well, let's establish and reestablish, these two facts. We must remember that God in the beginning placed this spirit or breath in man's nostrils. In order to see just what it was that God did place in man's nostrils let's read another text. This time in Genesis 2:7. Remember now, whatever this spirit is, God gave it in the beginning and He put it in man's nostrils and then later it was to return to God after death. "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." You see how clear and plain it is, friends, there's no room for question at all. The Scripture plainly shows that the spirit that returns to God when a man dies is the breath of life which God placed in his nostrils in the beginning when man was created. Now that's exactly what David also taught in the Psalms. Psalm 146:4,speaking of death, "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." You see there's a perfect agreement among the Bible writers. Now before we go further, there are several things we ought to establish in regard to the spirit. Then we'll go on to another topic.



Point number one. The spirit or the breath of every person that dies, whether that person is good or evil, returns to God. That's found in Ecclesiastes 12:7. A lot of people have taken that scripture and have said, "Now here's proof that something goes off to God from the righteous people when they die." But that isn't what the text says at all. It has to do with all people, not just the righteous people. So this spirit, the breath of life, goes back to God when a person died whether that man is good or evil.



Point number two. Men have the same spirit or breath as do animals. Now we may not like to think of that and I certainly wouldn't say it if I just made it up, I might not be appreciated, but God said it in Ecclesiastes 3:19, 20. "For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; ... all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again." There it is. God said it. No question about it at all. He has forever settled it.



Point number three.. This word, translated "spirit," is used 948 times in the Scripture and yet not one time is it ever shown to have life, personality, feeling, wisdom; nor is it ever given any attributes of personality. Now you think of that for a moment. If it's true as people say today that the spirit is something you fear and it goes off and has wisdom, knowledge, etc., why is it that in 948 opportunities the Bible writers never one time spoke of it? There must be a reason, friends. There is a reason. The spirit is simply the breath which God gives to a body, making that body live. No more and no less, that's what the Scriptures teach. It's the power of God, the touch of God's hand, as He put life into that dead body.



In the beginning, He simply formed that body out of the dust. It was all there but it was not alive. The heart was there, it wasn't beating. The blood was there, it wasn't flowing. The brain was there, it wasn't thinking. And then, the Bible says, that God put His breath into that body. He did not put a soul in. He put in the breath and the text says, "man became a living soul." Now I hope you'll remember this, friends. When death comes, that breath returns to God. We found out that the spirit and the breath are the same thing. Whatever God gave, now it returns, and it's called "breath" in one text and "spirit" in another, but they are one and the same thing! The spirit returns to God and the body returns to the dust as it was, and so the life ends right there.

We've been studying for several days about the soul of man and what happens at death. Millions of people have wondered about this down through the years. They want to know about their beloved dead. Where do they remain during the time they wait for the great resurrection day? Today we're going to answer this question. We are not immortal. We've found that there is no such thing as a naturally immortal soul. We've found that the body and the very life is made up of a combination of breath plus the body. And when the breath returns to God and leaves the body, there is no longer any conscious existence on the part of the individual. The soul is not in existence as long as the breath is not in the body
 
But today we want to know this: If we're not immortal by nature, when will the saints of God possess immortality or immortal souls? Will there be a day when God's redeemed will become immortal? The answer, of course, is a positive "Yes." The Scripture for that is 1 Corinthians 15:51-55. "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 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. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." Now you see the Scripture is very pointed and very specific on this. There is no question but that man will receive immortality and it says "at the last trump." That's at the second coming of Jesus.

No one has natural immortality except God only. That was found in 1 Timothy 6:13, 16. "God ... only hath immortality." Secondly, the righteous will receive it at the second coming of Jesus. Now the question naturally arises, "Where are the bodies of the dead if the soul ceases to exist and the breath goes back to God, where are the bodies?" Let's hear Jesus answer this, friends. He gives a specific answer in John 5:28, 29. He said, "... for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 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." Now notice what Jesus taught. He taught that those who have died are in their graves, both the good and the evil, and they will hear the voice of God call them forth, the righteous to the resurrection of life and the evil to the resurrection of damnation. Now that's too plain to be misunderstood, friends, because Christ Himself taught it. You can depend on it. He makes no mistakes.



Now I know how you feel just about this time. If you've never heard this before, you're saying probably, "Well, isn't there some part of man somewhere or somehow that separates from him at death and that goes somewhere and that might even keep knowing and thinking after death?" Yes, I have heard those things, friends, most of my life. I've read about it, too, in books and pamphlets, that some part of man must keep on living even after death. But what about the Scriptures? What do they teach? They say, "No." In Job 14, let's see what he had to say about death and the condition of man in death. Job 14:12 and then verse 21. "So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." Here he's speaking of this man who is dead, friends, and who is in his grave in the tomb. And then he goes on with his words, "His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them." Well, you say, that's just the opposite of what I've heard most of my life.



I say this with kindness and sympathy because this is a very delicate subject. It touches the hearts of individuals because I know many people, most people, have lost loved ones and they're very, very closely tied up emotionally with this topic; and how many times have you heard ministers in public services say, "Your mother is in heaven now. Don't be alarmed. She's looking down right now and knows everything that's taking place here." Well, on the authority of Job 14:21, friends, you can be sure that your loved ones are sleeping the sleep of death in the grave waiting for that glorious day when they will receive immortality at the coming of Christ. Here's another text, Psalm 115:17. "The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence." Now that's clear. If one should die, a righteous one, and be ushered into the presence of God, surely they would be praising God. But this text says, "No, they do not; they can not." Now to me this is a wonderfully comforting doctrine. I've often tried to think of what I would say to people if I didn't know and teach this Bible truth. If I had to teach what men usually teach today in regard to this subject of the dead, I don't know what I could say to comfort people when we stand by the open grave. I'm grateful for this wonderful message of comfort. It's comforting to know that our loved ones are sleeping in the tomb, that's what Jesus called it.
 
You remember the story in John 11 about the death of Lazarus and how He went quickly to comfort those sisters? The word came to Him from Martha, "Come quickly. Lazarus, your dear friend, is dying." But Christ didn't make it soon enough and they sent the message saying, "He's dead already." Well, He was discussing this with the disciples and He said, "Lazarus is asleep. I'm going to wake him up." The disciples said, "Well, if he's asleep, you'd better just leave him alone; he's better off sleeping." But then the Scriptures say the Lord answered plainly saying, "Lazarus is dead." Over and again the Scripture uses that term "asleep" in reference to death. That's the way the Lord wants us to think of it. Now at your house is there great sadness when somebody rests or sleeps for the night? No, indeed. You go into the other room and there one of the members of the family has gone to bed early and is sleeping. You're not sad, are you? You don't say, "My this is a great tragedy." No. You say, "Well, they're tired and they'll feel better in the morning." And that's what God wants us to think, friends.



Death is a sound, dreamless sleep and we will awaken in the morning, that is on the glorious resurrection morning. You know how it is when you sleep at night, you're tired, your body is fatigued, you get a good night's sleep and before you realize it, you're not conscious of the passing of time, before you realize it that alarm clock goes off and you cannot believe that the night is over. It doesn't seem possible. And that's the way it will be with those who sleep in death. It will seem but a moment of time. They will not be conscious of any passage of time between that moment of falling to sleep in death and waking on the glorious resurrection morning. Just try to picture this. In their last moments, they're lying in a hospital bed perhaps, with the family gathered around weeping and saying goodbye. Then they close their eyes and go to sleep in death. But it seems to the person who's been in the tomb just a matter of seconds and he wakes up again expecting to be in a hospital room, but no, there's an angel reaching out a hand to help him out of the grave. Is there anything sad about that, friends? No, indeed. It's one of the most comforting teachings in all the Book of God. It's what Christ taught and He knew what would comfort men's hearts.



On the other hand if the popular idea is taught, I can't see how anyone can be comforted really. I can't see how there's any comfort at all. For example, a man died; if he's righteous, then he goes to heaven. His wife is left behind to struggle along and things don't go too well. She loses her home. She loses the automobile. She becomes ill and finally even loses the children. They're sent off to different places to be kept in different families. Finally the wife, herself, passes away. Now, tell me, would heaven be an enjoyable place for a man under those circumstances? For him to look down and see his family being divided and parcelled out? Oh, no, friends, that would be hell for a man, wouldn't it? Or supposing a mother dies and, according to the popular teaching, goes right into heaven. Behind are left her children in desperate need; no one to care for them; no one to help them. Could that mother enjoy heaven under those circumstances? Why, of course not. She would want to leave heaven and go back down at any cost to help her children. Or supposing a loved one were not saved, that we never like to mention, this we always try to avoid, but the popular teaching is if a loved one is not saved when he closes his eyes in death, he's plunged right straight into hell where he begins to shriek for mercy throughout all eternity. I'm thankful that such a doctrine is not in the Bible and I don't need to teach it.



A man can be ever so wicked and I can say to his loved ones, he's sleeping peacefully now, and it's true because that's what the Bible says. The wicked are asleep just as the righteous are asleep until the judgment day and then they all come forth to receive their rewards or punishments. Now let me give you the plainest text. In Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 10, "For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing," isn't that clear? " ... neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." So you see, friends, God doesn't leave us in the dark. There's no question about these things. We could not possibly be confused if we just read the simple statements of the Bible concerning the condition of man after death.



Acts 2:29, 34, "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. For David is not ascended into the heavens." Now isn't that clear, friends? You say, can we be sure that David will be saved? Is he a saved man? Yes, Hebrews 11:32 puts him on God's honor roll with all the faithful of the ages. David will be saved, but in the days of Stephen and Peter he was in his grave and he had not gone to heaven. Neither have any other righteous people. They're all asleep in the graves waiting for the coming of Jesus.

The soul does not live on in conscious torment or conscious paradise and glory after death. Those things will come after the judgment. how could there be punishment until after the judgment has taken place? How could a person be rewarded until his life record has been examined and his judgment has taken place? No, God is righteous; God is just; He will give out those things after the resurrection, after the judgment takes place at the end of this world.
 
I was going to say that punishment prior to judgement day doesn't make sense to me... but I don't understand anything about what happens to you after you die. I just know I'm going to heaven LOL.
 
There are two things that happen to us:

We either are going to be with God for eternity or we will be separate from Him for eternity. Period.

There is no need to have flowing words that only speak to the flesh. The truth is that the Bible is God's Word and His word does not return void, but goes forth and prosper where its been sent.

If He says it, that settles it for me.
 
Ok based on your article blazingthru Our Spirit returns to God, our Soul dies, and our body of course dies and during the rapture our body is resurrected so it can be turned into our spiritual body. Do i have that correct?
 
There are two things that happen to us:

We either are going to be with God for eternity or we will be separate from Him for eternity. Period.

There is no need to have flowing words that only speak to the flesh. The truth is that the Bible is God's Word and His word does not return void, but goes forth and prosper where its been sent.

If He says it, that settles it for me.

Nice & Wavy, what do you mean?
 
Very interesting article, OP.

Although I'm familiar with the Rapture, I come from the theological viewpoint that there isn't a rapture. However, I'd like to take a shot at answering the question.

I think the author of the article errs in that he asserts that there are two waiting places for souls when they die and that heaven and hell will be populated only at the final judgment.

Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell are often referred to as "The Four Last Things."

When a person dies, his soul is immediately judged by Christ.
"Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment," (Hebrews 9:27)

If his soul is deprived of God's life-giving, sanctifying grace, then he immediately descends into hell.

If his soul is not deprived of God's grace yet he needs that final finishing-off of his purification/sanctification, then through Christ's blood he is purged and goes to heaven. Some people die having cooperated with God's grace and completed their sanctification process, and immediately go to heaven.

Hell is currently populated. Heaven is currently populated.

When Christ returns to judge the living and the dead, then will be the Final Judgment.
 
Very interesting article, OP.

Although I'm familiar with the Rapture, I come from the theological viewpoint that there isn't a rapture. However, I'd like to take a shot at answering the question.

I think the author of the article errs in that he asserts that there are two waiting places for souls when they die and that heaven and hell will be populated only at the final judgment.

Galadriel which viewpoint is this?

That was where I was thrown off, because I had never heard of a waiting place in Christianity, only Catholicism's purgatory.
 
@Galadriel which viewpoint is this?

That was where I was thrown off, because I had never heard of a waiting place in Christianity, only Catholicism's purgatory.

Purgatory is not a waiting place per se, but rather the completion of our inner "cleaning" or sanctification prior to entering heaven.

The Rapture is an eschatological (eschatology = death, judgment, heaven, hell) belief connected to certain interpretations of the Book of Revelation.

My view (and interpretation) is based in Catholic eschatology:

-there will be a falling away from the faith (the Great Apostasy)
-the lawless one, the man of sin will be revealed (Antichrist)


II Thessalonians 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 2:6And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming

-the Church will endure a very great, very terrible persecution
-Christ will return to judge the living and the dead, and His Kingdom will have no end
 
Ok based on your article @blazingthru Our Spirit returns to God, our Soul dies, and our body of course dies and during the rapture our body is resurrected so it can be turned into our spiritual body. Do i have that correct?

Yes, the spirit is the same as the breath it knows nothing, its air. it returns from God whom gave it but not knowing anything because its air, The other things mentioned arenot biblical the bible doesn't speak of a waiting place or that the breath knows anything and is able to view and do whatever here on earth or in heaven. Death is just like sleep, when we are in a deep sleep we are not aware of anything that goes on especially time. Thats why we should spend a good deal of time in prayer before we go to sleep for we never know if we will wake the next morning or not. as for the resurrection. The bible says our corruptable bodies will become incorruptable it doesn't say we will now have a spiritual body. our bodies we have now will change. We will continue to be flesh and bone.

I'm sending you a pm.
 
YThe other things mentioned arenot biblical the bible doesn't speak of a waiting place or that the breath knows anything and is able to view and do whatever here on earth or in heaven. Death is just like sleep, when we are in a deep sleep we are not aware of anything that goes on especially time.

I know a few people who hold this view. If this is so, then how did Moses and Elijah appear on the mountain with Christ and speak with Him?

Matthew 17:1-8

1After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
5While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
6When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” 8When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.
 
I know a few people who hold this view. If this is so, then how did Moses and Elijah appear on the mountain with Christ and speak with Him?

Ok, now that leads me to another question. In the familiar spirits thread they were saying it wasnt possible for the OP's uncle to be speaking to her because people that are dead do not appear or speak..So if Jesus allowed Moses and Elijah appear then why is it not possible that other people that are dead can't appear to the living? That may be another thread but its just another thought I had..
 
Ok, now that leads me to another question. In the familiar spirits thread they were saying it wasnt possible for the OP's uncle to be speaking to her because people that are dead do not appear or speak..So if Jesus allowed Moses and Elijah appear then why is it not possible that other people that are dead can't appear to the living? That may be another thread but its just another thought I had..

Read this:

"And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light." Matthew 17: 2

Jesus wasn't in the flesh when they came to Him...He was in the spirit along with them.
 
Ok, now that leads me to another question. In the familiar spirits thread they were saying it wasnt possible for the OP's uncle to be speaking to her because people that are dead do not appear or speak..So if Jesus allowed Moses and Elijah appear then why is it not possible that other people that are dead can't appear to the living? That may be another thread but its just another thought I had..

Indeed! I'll start another thread so that this one won't go off topic.
 
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