Death and the End Times: Part 1

Death and the end times – Part I

11 / 01 / 08
(Comments in parentheses and emphasis are mine)

FIRST THOUGHTS:

I cannot explain the depth of this study. I have been doing these studies and learning new and exciting truths of our Master for many years, and I have to tell you, this study on death and end times is one of the most exciting thus far.

Recall the study on the Breath of God giving life … to both the wicked and righteous. This study picks up where that one left off. It is ONLY when God removes His Breath (which is the same word used when speaking about His Spirit), that we die … but what happens when we die?

QUESTION: WHAT HAPPENS ONCE THE BREATH IS REMOVED? (In other words … the rest of the story)

I have heard different thoughts concerning death:

- The moment we die, we are either in hell or heaven (or some place in between).
- The moment we die, our flesh remains in the grave, but our soul is with Jesus.
- I have never heard, though, anyone at a funeral speaking of the deceased as “today, he is in hell”. (Seems like everyone will be in heaven, eh? Just a thought. Don’t ever ask me to do a eulogy … I might be too honest. )
Allow me to give you some passages that give us a clue about once we die:

- “And YHVH said to Moses: “You are going to rest with your fathers,” (Deuteronomy 31:16)
- “When your days are over and you rest with your fathers,” (2 Samuel 7:12)
- “Then David rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David.” (1 Kings 2:10)
- “Look on me and answer, YHVH my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;” (Psalms 13:3)
I could fill up pages with passages like the above. The fact is, I could not find any passages in the Old Testament that spoke of anyone who had died being anyplace BUT the grave … resting … waiting … simply sleeping until awoken. It seems as though it is God’s Breath, or Spirit, that is within a person (both the wicked and righteous) that keeps him or her alive. It seems that when a “spirit” is spoken about as leaving a body, it is God’s Spirit being taken back or removed. Could it be that man and his soul remain in the grave until judgment day OR until God calls Him out by giving the man Breath again (such as Lazarus or those rising from the grave when Yeshua (Jesus) was crucified, etc…)? Allow me to give you some passages that seem to speak about this. They seem to say that man does NOT rise when he dies, but waits in the grave until “spoken to” (Remember: we want truth and His word IS that truth):

- “… so man lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, men will not awake or be roused from their sleep.” (Job 14:12) (Till the heavens are no more man does NOT rise. That is judgment day.)
- (Regarding the end days) “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:2) (It sure looks as though the believers and non-believers alike will sleep in the dust of the earth until a certain day in the end. By these passages alone, it seems that no one rises and is “with Jesus” until the end. So where are they? IF believers are immediately with the Lord, then there would be no one rising to “everlasting life” in the end. This is NOT speaking only about the bodies left behind, because it is written: “I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, “ (1 Corinthians 15:50). Our bodies are NOT who we are … it is our souls. Our earthly bodies will not be with the Master. Our souls, those who are deemed saved in the end, will be wrapped with a new wrapping. One that is incorruptible.)
- “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:20) (How can Yeshua (Jesus) be the first fruit IF there were others like King David, Moses and the rest who believed in the Promise of the Messiah and whose spirits were rising before His did? Let me ask you, when does a farmer receive the fruit of his labors? Think of it this way: Although the fields have produce in them, it is not accounted for until the harvest time … in the end.)
- (Speaking of a time to come, before the 1,000 year reign:) “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16) (This was written AFTER Jesus went to be with His Father and is speaking of a time that is yet to come. Since the dead in Christ are still in their graves, God is fair … They will be “first in line” to rise!)
- “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out–those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.” (John 5:28-29) (Remember Yeshua (Jesus) calling Lazarus out from the grave? The same seems to be true here. We are sleeping in the grave until we hear His voice tell us to rise. Even Lazarus is still in his grave waiting. He simply rose in his flesh when he received the Breath of God … again.)
LOOK AT DEATH LIKE THIS:

There are passages that seem to indicate that being apart from the body is being with the Messiah upon death (as if it were the next moment). Let me explain what I believe they are speaking about:

- When you go to sleep soundly and wake up 8 hours later … what is your last memory? It is when you put your head down to sleep, of course, and the things that you were thinking of.
- If you ask anyone who has had a seizure (I have two family members that have had many, so I know), they will tell you that it was as if the time in the seizure never happened. This is why they are so confused when they wake up. They are in a different position or place from when they went into the seizure.
- How about when you are having surgery and they put you under? There was one time when I went in for surgery and when I woke up I asked those who were looking over me, “How much longer until the operation?” (AS far as I was concerned, no time had passed)

So, too, with the following passages. Remember that it was already clear that we sleep in the dust and “rise” when Yeshua (Jesus) comes again. So, when there are passages that “seem” to say differently, we must take the time to find out their thoughts. They do NOT actually say that they would be immediately with Him, but could be saying that to be dead, meant life the next waking moment was their “next stop”. Until then, they would neither think, praise, ponder, nothing … just sleeping in the dust.

- “I would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.” (2 Corinthians 5:8-9) (Yes, I can see how that this could be understood as being immediately, but based on the other Scriptures and Paul knowing the Scriptures, that he was speaking about his next waking moment as being with the Lord. Also, Paul knew that until he left his body of flesh, he was not with the Lord. In the grave, he is still with the body!)
- “I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.” (Philippians 1:23-24) (Again, we must use Scripture to define scripture. It says that they sleep until awoken … so it could be that Paul knew this.)
- “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7:59-60) (Two possibilities: First thought is that Stephen must have known about sleeping until the last day and, like Paul, spoke in this manner regarding his next waking moment. The second possibility is concerning the fact that there is no “my” in the original Greek text. So Stephen could have been simply saying, “Lord Jesus, receive YOUR Spirit”, or “take your Breath back”. For He then fell asleep. He knew that if God took back His breath, the pain would be over that Stephen was experiencing.)
LAST THOUGHTS:

I don’t want to burst any bubbles, but all those funerals that mentioned “Aunt Sue” being with Jesus today and rejoicing, well, it seems that she may actually be resting and still has to stand before God. She is simply farther ahead in the line.

We have read that flesh cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50). We know these bodies are only temporary coverings for our souls (who we are). This is only a study and NOT all-conclusive. It is just … “Something to think about!”

This is part of a series titled, Death and the End Times:

Death and the End Times: Part 1

Death and the End Times: Part 2

Death and the End Times: Part 3

Death and the End Times: Part 4