Tag Archives: death

Heaven: By Death or by Rapture

Posted on by
Reply

We should know

that for the Christian there are two avenues to heaven: one is through death and the other is through the Rapture. And since death is what we see now, we will start there.

Entrance into heaven through death. Some would say that when the body dies the soul goes into a time of sleep until Jesus comes. They call if “soul sleep.” But that is a false teaching. In 2 Corinthians 5:8 Paul tells us that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. In death the body dies but the soul lives on in heaven with the Lord.

But what happens to the soul at death? Is there any need for a change to the soul? To make it pure and holy? Yes. Since the soul is the entire nature of man and is his entire personality, the soul as well as the body is sinful. When we are saved, salvation comes to our soul (Ja. 1:21), but even after our conversion, the soul is affected by sin the same as our body is. Hence, the soul of the righteous, entering heaven needs a full cleansing. According to the Westminster Confession of Faith,

The bodies of men after death return to dust, and see corruption; but their souls, (which neither die nor sleep,) having an immortal substance, immediately return to God who gave them. The souls of the righteous, being then made perfect in holiness, are received into the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies.”2

Now, there is also the question of the intermediate state, or the intermediate heaven.

The intermediate heaven. This state is the state of the soul without the body, from the time between the death of the body to the point at which the body is raised and transformed at the Rapture. There is much false teaching on this subject, such as soul sleep—as previously mentioned. And there is also the Catholic doctrine of purgatory: that after death the soul goes to a place to be purged from sins by much pain and suffering, so to be purified for heaven. But this is such a slam to God, teaching that the sufferings of Christ were not sufficient to atone for our sins, that we must add our own sufferings to His. Really, we can add nothing!

However, aside from false teaching, there are some things that we can consider a bit regarding the intermediate state. I say “a bit” because Scripture in not clear on the subject; and it gives us no definite teaching. Nonetheless, here are two passages we could examine for maybe a small bit of truth.

Luke 9:30-31. Here is the Mount of transfiguration, where while Jesus was praying (with Peter, James and John present), His face was changed and His clothing became white and gleaming. And then suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and they were talking to Jesus about His departure (His death). Now we know that both of these men died a long time before this; but here they stand in some kind of a glorified body. I would say that this is definitely an example of the intermediate state of heaven.

 Here is what we may observe from this passage regarding what the intermediate state is.

  • It is having some kind of a glorified body.
  • It is being able to speak in a normal language. They did not use any kind of heavenly language.
  • It is having friendly communication with Jesus. They were talking with Jesus as a close friend; they were discussing His departure. This suggests that we may have regular communion with Jesus and will be discussing whatever is on our heart.

Revelation 6:9-11. Here is a passage revealed to us as the Lamb (Christ) broke the fifth seal during the Tribulation. It opens up to us the conversation of certain people who were martyrs for their faith. In verse ten we have a portion of that conversation—a prayer to God. They cried out to Him with a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

And then in verse eleven is the response by God. “There was given to each of them white robes and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer…”

Here is what we may observe from this passage regarding what the intermediate state is.

  • There will be prayer in the intermediate state. These martyred souls were waiting on God to avenge their blood and were crying out in prayer to Him. We may also conclude that there will be a sense of anticipation for God to make all things right.
  • They will know what is happening on earth. These martyrs seem to know what is happening on earth—that God was refraining from judging (v. 10). It may be this way for all who die before the Rapture.
  • They will have bodies that are able to wear clothing. They were given white robes.
  • They are holy and pure—cleansed from all sin. The white robes are symbolic of purity; Jesus will give them these garment to remind them of their holiness and of His shed blood for them.
  • We will be at rest in the Lord. They were told to rest for a while longer. This state of rest is confirmed to us in Revelation 14:13 of what this intermediate state basically is—that we will rest from our labors; the labor of keeping the commandments of God and having faith in Jesus. So, here in this state we will have glorified souls perfected in God, and we will no longer have a need to persevere in the faith. We will be at rest in the Lord and waiting for our new glorified body.

Entrance into heaven through the Rapture. When God sees that the time is right for the dead to be raised, and for their souls to be united with new bodies, and for the living to be rescued from what is to come on this earth, then He will…

descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:16-17).

This passage (above) pretty much lays it out, but let me summarize it in chronological order.

1. All believers from all ages of history who have died, they will be raised up and their decayed bodies will be transformed into imperishable, new bodies (1Cor. 15:53-54).

2. And the souls of those resurrected dead will merge with their new transformed bodies, so they will at last be souls with new bodies. Hence, this will be the end of their intermediate state (as previously discussed).

3. Then those who are alive will be changed (transformed) very quickly— “in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52).  And they will be caught up (snatched up) together with those previously dead.

4. And then we will all meet the Lord in the air; and we will from then on, and always, be with the Lord in heaven.

2 John MacArthur, The Glory of Heaven (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 1996), p. 71.

The Fourth Seal — Revelation 6:7-8

Posted on by
Reply

Stephen Nielsen's avatarStudying Bible Prophecy

In the breaking of the fourth seal John looked up and saw an ashen horse; and its rider’s name was Death; and one called Hades was following him.

An ashen horse. The ashen horse and its rider give us an image of death—or of dead bodies. And the one who follows him, Hades, tells us that all who die will soon stand before God and will be given a judgment of eternal hell. Thus, we may be sure that those who die under this seal are not believers; for when believers die, they will go straight to heaven to be with the Father.

What kind of death is this? First of all, we know that the rider (Death) and his follower (Hades) has the authority (or the power) granted to them from God to bring death to a fourth of the earth. Hence, death to around one billion people will…

View original post 606 more words

The Hypocrisy of the Mask

Posted on by
1

It is interesting watching people. Some rarely wear a mask, even when they are in crowds. Others wear a mask all the time: when they walk around outside, with a partner or by themselves; when they are driving alone in their car; and I suppose, even when they are alone in their house.

Most people who always wear a mask say that they are following science and that science is reliable. But I have heard time and time again that the science says that masks are not 100%. Some are even saying that they are less than 20% reliable. And most of the scientists say that the mask does not protect you; it protects others around you from the virus. So, if that is true, those people who are diligent at always wearing their masks, must be doing it for a totally unselfish reason. Now do you really think they are doing it for others? I doubt it.

So, I think, bases on the science, we can be somewhat certain that masks are not that reliable—specially to protect ourselves. But let’s just say that they are 100% reliable. If everyone is not wearing them all the time, those that don’t wear them all the time will corrupt the entire system? The best example of this hypocrisy is what happens in restaurants. The law says that everyone is required to wear a mask to enter the restaurant. But once you sit down to eat you can take it off—so you can eat. And everyone does. Oh, and if you get up from your seat to go to the restroom you must put your mask back on. And if you don’t you can bet that someone will scold you—the manager, or just anyone! It is as if there is something sacred and safe about the restaurant booth or table. It’s a free zone.

We also see the same thing with speakers. It’s okay for them to remove their mask so we can hear them clearly.

So, I think we have established that masks don’t work that well; and we have also established that if everyone is not wearing it all the time, like when they are eating in a restaurant, that substantially increases our risk of getting the virus. So why even bother to wear a mask? Here are three reason why people wear a mask:

1. Some people honestly trust that wearing a mask will keep them from getting the covid virus and keep them from dying. And their trust is based on what the news media and what their governor is telling them.

2. Whether people believe that masks are effect or not, they are compelled out of fear to follow orders. This fear is a fear of being fined or jailed, or both; or it is also a fear of being thought of as a noncompliant person, or an odd one, or a person who is bringing more of the virus to us.

3. Many are wearing it because they think that it is just the right thing to do. So, in many cases they are just blindly following orders with the hope that it will do some good. I suppose I fall into this category.

Concluding remarks:

I think what we are talking about has a prophetical ring to it. That is, in the future the Antichrist will use pandemics to keep us, by fear, under control. Have you noticed how many times the media gives us the covid 19 death statistics? Why? It is to keep us in fear! So that we will be more compliant to what they (the government) want us to do.

But we need not fear. For one thing, the death rate really isn’t that high compared to other diseases. Also, for a Christian, we need not fear death—because death is just our being transferred into another state, a better life; the resurrection life.

Unprecedented

Posted on by
Reply

The world is headed fast toward globalism, and things like this pandemic are speeding it up as nations are learning more and more how to work together in a crisis.

Ernesto E. Carrasco, M.C.Ed.'s avatarErnie's Musings

For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. (Isaiah 64:4)

Tune your television to any news station you like these days and you will hear the word “unprecedented” repeated often. The rapid worldwide spread of the Wuhan Bug[1] is unprecedented. Those infected by the virus display no symptoms for up to 21 days yet remain contagious and spread it to others unknowingly. That is unprecedented. The shelter-in-place orders around the world are unprecedented. The effect of the virus on the global economy is unprecedented. The loss of employment in the United States (and around the world) – currently over 17% — is unprecedented. Many store shelves are empty of cleaning supplies, drinking water, assorted food items, and TOILET PAPER…

View original post 1,157 more words

Coronavirus in the US: Thoughts and Questions

Posted on by
3

Okay, my first thought is this: If we compare this virus to the flu, it really seems like the flu is much deadlier. Last year there were 34,157 flu related deaths. And no one hardly said anything. Am I missing something?

Also, what about abortion? In 2016, 623,471 deaths came as the result of abortions. And nobody has been saying anything. Or what about suicide? In 2017, 47,173 deaths from suicide occurred. And where was all the concern for that?

Oh, here’s a real winner. Everybody’s so concerned about our troops in Afghanistan. So many of our men are being killed over there. Well in the total war, 1,833 of our troops have been killed; that’s an average of about 96 deaths per year. If you compare that number to the flu last year, the flu has been 356 times deadlier that the Afghanistan war.

I’m just trying to put some perspective on this. Can anyone tell me why this coronavirus is so concerning—more than other things like I have mentioned? I mean I know it’s a big deal, but I’m just wandering why we seem to be so much more upset about this virus than other viruses, and about abortion and suicide (not to mention so many other diseases).

And here are some questions I have:

  • Should the government be spending so much money on this coronavirus? If God has allowed this virus to happen maybe we should just take it as His way of disciplining us. Does this make any sense to anyone? I mean, everyone will die at some time in their life.
  • Is this coronavirus a harbinger of things to come? If so, how can we prepare for it? How can we let this virus prepare us for things to come? What does the bible say about future viruses? Or future disasters that will cause deaths? Should we try to control them or just be ready to face them?
  • Will this coronavirus in some way work together for our good? Maybe God has allowed it to benefit us in some way, to draw us to Him for His help. I have heard that there are bipartisan efforts gong on. There is some unity happening. Sometimes I guess it takes a disaster like this to bring us together.  Maybe God is in it all. What do you think?

I just want to say that I am super proud of President Trump and the whole Trump team the way they have responded to this virus. I think President Trump has been especially resilient the way he has faced the press. He has a great, positive attitude, and just because of that I know we will come out of this much better than anyone ever thought. I just feel that he was made for this kind of disaster. No one could handle it better.

My sources: All the data was gathered from reliable government websites.