Bible Studies
No natural disaster, destruction of a grave, or the unavailability of remains for burial, will prevent God from raising up the bodily remains of a departed believer in the form of a resurrected body when the Rapture takes place.
The whereabouts of such bodily remains is not beyond the omniscience of God. Nor is it beyond the omnipotence of God to raise it up in resurrected form, regardless of what ever became of it, after the soul departed.
There isn’t anything that Man or clergy can do, at a wake, funeral, or in Church, to change either the location or the environment of an already-departed soul.
The answer to prayers asking for such changes is, “No,” as no one can be prayed into Heaven, or out of the Torments of Hades.
Furthermore, there will be no exits from the lake of fire.
. . . Just as believers who depart this world (prior to the Rapture) have an interim body in Heaven, departed unbelievers in the Torment section of Hades have some type of a body as well, subject to experiencing agonizing pain and suffering (1).
. . .
There are no longer any souls in the Paradise section of Hades.
The Paradise of Hades WAS the home of all departed believers prior to our Lord’s resurrection. It is in this Paradise where Jesus and the criminal on the cross next to His, spent the three days and three nights after the crucifixion, and before His resurrection took place (2).
However, the Torment section of Hades will continue to fill with departing souls of unbelievers, until it is emptied when the Rev. 20:13 event takes place.
At that time, all the unbelievers who had been suffering in the Torment section of Hades since their earthly departure, are tossed into the lake of fire, where they will spend all of never-ending eternity future.
These verses make it clear that on the day of departure, it will be the beginning of the best times for some, and the beginning of the worst times, for others.
.. .
When children play Hide and Seek, following a countdown giving players a fair chance to prepare, whoever is “It” will call out, “Ready or not, here I come!,” and then begins the search for those in hiding.
Some attribute similar words of ”ready or not” to the Grim Reaper or the Angel of Death.
There is an old saying that goes something like this; May you find yourself in Heaven a half hour before the devil knows you’re gone. The truth is, God sets the timing of our departure, closing the door of opportunity, just as He closed the door on Noah’s Ark (3) .
The timing and circumstances of one’s departure may have nothing to do with one’s age, health, or situation. With the closing of the door, thI'me window of opportunity to make any changes WHERE or HOW (with or without reward and privileges) one will be experiencing eternity, closes as well.
...
As of the Fall of Man, we all come into this world spiritually dead.
As of the Church Age, where one will find himself or herself after departing this world is in the hands of the one we see in the mirror.
WE make that individual determination by the response WE make when we are presented with the unadulterated Gospel Message.
You either believe it and are Heaven-bound, or you don’t, and are then headed for Hell (4).
One never knows when his or her last opportunity to do so has passed.
. . .
Whatever happens or does not happen once the course of a born-again believer’s post (after) salvation spiritual life has begun, has a lot to do with HOW one will experience eternity, but has got NOTHING to do with WHERE.
The WHERE question has already been answered .
. . .
We can all agree that it’s nice to know where we are going when the times comes (5), but where does this, “to die is gain” mind set of Phil. 1: 21 NASB220 come into the picture?
“For me (Paul is speaking), to live is (for) Christ, and to die is gain (Phil. 1: 21 NASB parentheses mine).”
Most Christians in the present time will never reach this level of spiritual maturity. Their hearts are clearly still very much attached to the here and now, giving credence to the old saying, home is where the heart is.
Before we can have free hands to pick up the cross and follow Him, we first might have to put a few things down.
As for those who do reach this high level of spiritual maturity, they will not want to leave this world before they have finished all the individual work that God has in mind for them to do.
But on the other hand, they will have no desire to remain here on Earth, once they have completed it, and eagerly look forward to going home and being with the Lord in Heaven.
Until our day of departure arrives, the best and the worst times can also be a fair description of the post salvation spiritual life of an advancing disciple.
On the one hand, it is the best of times as he or she continues to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord (6), experiencing more and more intimacy in his or her walk with the Lord.
On the other hand, it can be the worst of times, having to deal with the inevitable persecution (7), adversity, and distractions that are there to stop his or her forward progress in his or her individual plan (8) that God has in mind.
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(1) Luke 16: 23, 24 (2) Luke 23: 43 (3) Gen. 7: 16 (4) John 3: 16, 18/John 8: 24 (5) Rom. 8:1 (6) 2Pet. 3: 18 (7) 2Tim. 3: 12 (8) 1Cor. 12: 11, 18
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