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What Happens After
Death?
By Jim Staley
This
is a great question in the light that
it is a proven fact that 100% of all
human beings will eventually experience
this phenomenon called death. It is
also a proven fact that there are many
different and variant opinions on this
subject. It is the intention of this
article not to explore the varying beliefs
and opinions of different religions
but to dig deep into the inspired scriptures
and see what they have to say about
this very pointed topic. Amazingly,
the Bible has a lot to say about this
subject and by the time we are finished
with this topic you will see that the
Bible's full context on this subject
only leads to one conclusion on "What
Happens After Death?"
In most Christian circles
it is typically taught, at least indirectly,
that when someone dies they immediately
stand before God for judgment. And either
they make it into the "Pearly Gates",
or they are thrown into the Lake of
Fire to be tormented day and night.
After careful examination of the scriptures
concerning this topic, I have found
and will attempt to share these findings,
that we do NOT go to heaven immediately
when we die. That there is a holding
place for both the righteous and the
wicked. And this holding place that
scripture calls Hades or Sheol will
one day be emptied by the voice of the
Messiah at the end of time as we know
it. Studying this topic has also solved
the mystery of the rapture as the two
are very much tied together.
Some might say that
this subject is not important. That
we will “find out when we get there”
type of thinking. According to scripture,
that line of thinking is the farthest
thing from the truth. The writer of
the book of Hebrews says in the sixth
chapter that this subject that we are
discussing is part of the “foundation”
of our faith.
1 Therefore leaving
the principles of the doctrine of Christ,
let us go on unto perfection; not laying
again the foundation of repentance from
dead works, and of faith toward God,
2. Of the doctrine of baptisms,
and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection
of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
3. And this will we do, if God permit.
The author states to
his audience that the resurrection of
the dead and eternal judgment is among
a short list of “basic 101” fundamentals
that every believer should be familiar
with. If this topic is “foundational”
as verse one implies, then it is important
to get back to the truth on this issue.
How can we claim to know anything at
all if we do not even know and understand
what happens after we die or the judgment
that will follow? When we share the
gospel with unbelievers, are we sure
we are telling them the truth when we
speak about death, judgment, hell and
heaven?
We will begin by examining
the most popular verses that are used
to support the idea that everyone is
immediately judged after death. Then,
we will discover what the rest of the
Bible says on the subject and you can
decide for yourself. This article answers
the following questions:
-
Are we judged immediately
after death?
-
Are there people
burning in hell right now?
-
When does the Great
White Throne Judgment take place?
-
Where do people
go immediately after death?
-
When does the Messiah
come back and why? (No dates. Sorry.)
PART I
Examining Popular Belief
At this point you might
be having trouble with the idea that
no one goes to heaven for judgment immediately
when they die because of a few verses
that you might be thinking of right
now in your mind. So let's tackle some
of the most popular. There are really
only three main passages that are used
to support the belief of immediately
being judged after death. We will deal
with these one at a time. But before
we do, let me make a true statement.
The power of suggestion is one of the
greatest powers on earth. It was
Hitler that said that if you tell a
lie loud enough and long enough, the
people will eventually believe it. I
will attempt to show you in one verse
that all of us read into the scriptures
what we already believe (eisogesis),
versus getting out of the scriptures
what the writer originally intended
(exogesis).
#1 Text used to support
immediate judgment.
The first passage we
will deal with is the thief on the cross.
Because most of us grew up believing
that people automatically go to heaven
when they die, even the translator stuck
his bias in here when translating this
verse.
Luke 23:43 And
He said to him, "Truly I say to you,
today you shall be with Me in Paradise."
On the surface it sure looks like Jesus
is telling the thief on the cross that
"today" he will be with Jesus in paradise.
But that interpretation is based purely
on the notion that we know EXACTLY where
the comma goes. And because there is
no punctuation in Hebrew, Aramaic and
Greek, we are left to sometimes guess.
And that is exactly what the translators
did. And they guessed based on their
own presuppositions of what they already
believed. Therefore, this is one of
those times that we are forced to look
at the whole of scripture on this subject
in order to find out where the comma
should go. And we will do that for the
rest of this article. But in the meantime,
let's re-look at this verse and put
the comma in a different position and
see how it completely changes the meaning.
Read the verse with the pause after
the comma.
Luke 23:43
And He said to him, "Truly I say to
you today, you shall be with Me in Paradise."
One way makes it sound like the thief
will be in Paradise "that day". The
other says that he is "told that day"
that he will be in Paradise. This scripture
just cannot be used to support the idea
that we go immediately to heaven when
we die. Nor can it be used to prove
that you don't. Because it is not definitive,
it must be thrown out of our pot of
proof texts for both sides. It is not
good biblical hermeneutics to base an
entire doctrine on where a comma goes
in a verse when no one knows exactly
where the comma really should go. But
as you will see when we get to the overwhelming
verses that support another viewpoint,
it is much more likely that the comma
goes after the word "today", rather
than the word "you".
Also, Jesus Himself
did not enter Heaven that day. For John
20:17 tells us that He had not ascended
into heaven yet.
John
20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me
not; for I am not yet ascended to my
Father: but go to my brethren, and say
unto them, I ascend unto my Father,
and your Father; and to my God, and
your God.
If you are to believe,
as we are taught, that Jesus meant "that
day", then he was lying in John 20:17.
Both passages are in conflict UNLESS
you interpret the passage as suggested,
which lines up with all of the rest
of the scriptures dealing with the afterlife.
# 2 Text used to support
immediate judgment.
The parable of Lazarus
is the second proof text that is used
to support the idea that we are judged
immediately after death. Here is the
story in its entirety.
Lazarus And The Rich
Man
Luke 16:19¶
There was a certain rich man, which
was clothed in purple and fine linen,
and fared sumptuously every day:
20
And there was a certain beggar named
Lazarus, which was laid at his gate,
full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with
the crumbs, which fell from the rich
man’s table: moreover the dogs came
and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass, that the
beggar died, and was carried by the
angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich
man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lifts up his
eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham
afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father
Abraham, have mercy on me, and send
Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of
his finger in water, and cool my tongue;
for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember
that thou in thy lifetime receivest
thy good things, and likewise Lazarus
evil things: but now he is comforted,
and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between
us and you there is a great gulf fixed:
so that they which would pass from hence
to you cannot; neither can they pass
to us, that would come from thence.
27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore,
father, that thou wouldest send him
to my father’s house:
28 For I have five brethren; that
he may testify unto them, lest they
also come into this place of torment.
29 Abraham saith unto him, They
have Moses and the prophets; let them
hear them.
30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham:
but if one went unto them from the dead,
they will repent.
31 And he said unto him, If they
hear not Moses and the prophets, neither
will they be persuaded, though one rose
from the dead.
1 ¶ Then said he unto the disciples,
It is impossible but that offences will
come: but woe unto him, through whom
they come!
2 It were better for him that
a millstone were hanged about his neck,
and he cast into the sea, than that
he should offend one of these little
ones.
Strangely enough, this
is the only parable that uses a real
name (Lazarus). And because of this,
most gloss over the real meaning keeping
with the context of the rest of the
scriptures and take it not as a parable
that is trying to illustrate a point
and principle, but literal in every
point. Laziness in rightly dividing
the word of truth results in bad doctrine.
And as we shall see, is no light crime
in the eyes of God. I will not go into
what I believe is the real meaning of
this strange parable in this article
because I explain it in great detail
in "Is Hell Eternal Torment?" (coming
soon) One thing I will say is that parables
are always told to illustrate a point
or principle and to not be reality in
themselves. Just because Jesus uses
a proper name, for some reason we immediately
think he is telling a true story instead
of a thought provoking parable. Is Jack
and the beanstalk a real story just
because we use a proper name? Can people
really climb beanstalks? Of course not.
This parable is trying to make a point
(to the Pharisees that are standing
right there) that unless you believe
Moses and the Prophets and "testify"
that Jesus is the Messiah, you cannot
enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is
NOT saying that people immediately go
to hell or heaven after death.
Here are a few observatory points worth
mentioning:
1. Abraham's
bosom is not heaven. It is not even
a place. It is a figure of speech. The
word "bosom" refers to the part of the
chest between the arms. In particular,
the loose part of clothing that was
created above the sash that was tied
around the waist, used to carry things
in. When someone says, "I was in Abraham's
bosom"; Are they saying that they were
in heaven? No. They are saying that
they have come from the line of Abraham
or the faith of Abraham. And so are
physical or spiritual descendants of
him. Jesus also said this because the
Jewish leadership at the time of Christ
believed that they were saved on the
righteousness of Abraham. And because
the rich man represents the Pharisees,
Jesus is saying that the poor man was
the one who was "of the line of Abraham",
and not the Pharisees that "thought"
they were in Abraham.
2. If in the
New Jerusalem there will be no more
pain, crying, etc... Do you really think
that we will all be able to see all
of our unsaved loved ones burning in
hell for all eternity as the parable
suggests and not experience incredible
ongoing grief for their souls? An allegorical
interpretation is much more believable.
That Jesus was poking again at the religious
leaders and warning them of their coming
demise.
3. Why would
the rich man's one request be ONE drop
of water? Why not the phone number to
the Culligan man? Would one drop of
water really make any difference to
a man that is engulfed in flames as
the traditional view holds? Again, it's
a parable trying to get at a point using
parts of reality and sarcasm.
4. The Jews did
not believe in people burning for eternity.
That was the Greeks. If they even remotely
thought that Jesus was being serious,
they would have rebuked him on it as
they were constantly looking for reasons
to nail him. They believed, as there
Tenach said (O.T.), that people slept
after death until the Final Judgment.
This would have been no light issue
with the Pharisees if Jesus was actually
teaching this. (This point will be elaborated
on in the upcoming article on Hell.)
5. The word for
"hell" in this passage is "Hades", which
means "the Pit, grave or dark place"
and not "Gehenna", which is what they
called the "fiery hell". Secondly, the
rest of scripture teaches that NO ONE
is thrown into the Lake of Fire UNTIL
after the thousand year reign of Christ
as we will see shortly. I go into great
depth on "Hades, Sheol and Gehenna"
in the article on hell. If Jesus
is saying that the rich man is actually
immediately in hell after his death,
then he is contradicting dozens of other
scriptures on the subject including
John in Revelation 15 where John explains
that no one is thrown into the lake
of fire UNTIL AFTER the Great White
Thrown Judgment. (We will explore that
passage shortly.)
These points are brought
up to emphasize the fact that this is
not a picture of what heaven and hell
look like. But rather a word picture
intent on nailing the Pharisees that
were standing there listening that if
they did not believe that he was Messiah,
they too would die as the rich man.
#3 Text used to support
immediate judgment.
2Co 5:8
We are confident, I say, and willing
rather to be absent from the body, and
to be present with the Lord.
Again at first glance, this verse appears
to be saying that when we are absent
from the body, we are immediately present
with the Lord. But if Paul is saying
this, then he is in serious contradiction
with his own teachings on this subject
in his other letters. He would also
be contradicting John, Luke, Daniel,
Isaiah, Jesus and a hosts of others!
It is interesting to note that when
Paul actually teaches on this subject
he makes it very clear, as we shall
see. But when he is talking about another
subject, as here, we not only miss his
point but pull something out of the
verse that was unintended by the author.
This verse is to be taken metaphorically
and was not intended by Paul for us
to stretch it like we have. He even
tells us two verses later to keep laboring
because we will all eventually appear
before the judgment seat of Christ.
It is also interesting to note that
Paul does not say, "absent from the
body is to be present with the Lord",
but rather "absent from the body, and
to be (future tense) present with the
Lord".
8 We are confident,
I say, and willing rather to be absent
from the body, and to be present with
the Lord.
9 Wherefore we labour,
that, whether present or absent, we
may be accepted of him.
10 For we must all appear
before the judgment seat of Christ;
that every one may receive the things
done in his body, according to that
he hath done, whether it be good or
bad.
And when is the Great Judgment? When
all of God's enemies are swallowed up
at the end of time.
Part II
If Not Immediately,
Then When?
The rest of this article
will focus on the proof texts of what
the whole of scripture really teaches
on the subject of "What Happens After
Death?" The first thing you will notice
when studying this subject is that there
are two resurrections.
The Two Resurrections
John 5:28
"Do not marvel at this; for the hour
is coming in which all who are in the
graves will hear His voice 29 and come
forth—those who have done good, to the
resurrection of life(#1), and those
who have done evil, to the resurrection
of condemnation.(#2)”
Here, Jesus is saying
that the Father has given him the authority
to judge all mankind (vs.27). And according
to this passage, this judgment will
happen all at one time in the future.
There is nothing in these passages that
suggests that anyone is judged instantly
after they die. If that were the case,
there would be no need for Jesus to
say that an hour is coming in which
everyone who is dead will be raised
up to be judged. (vs.28,29) There is
also an interesting tidbit of information
that is given to us in verse 29. Jesus
says that when all who are in the graves
“come forth”, those who have done good,
will go to “the resurrection of life”,
and those who have done evil to “the
resurrection of condemnation”. As if
to imply that there are two resurrections.
And as we shall see, that is exactly
what He is saying. Do not be quick to
assume that everyone is raised at one
time. He simply says that "all" will
hear his voice and "all" will be raised.
Some to reward. Some to punishment.
Let's move on to Acts.
Luke also makes it very
clear here in Acts that there is a resurrection
of the dead by quoting Paul's words
on the subject.
Acts
24:15 And have hope toward God, which
they themselves also allow, that there
shall be a resurrection of the dead,
both of the just and unjust.
Again Luke records:
Luke 14:13
“But when you give a feast, invite the
poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.
14 “And you will be blessed, because
they cannot repay you; for you shall
be repaid at the resurrection of the
just."
Jesus is telling His
hearers in this scenario that the poor
cannot repay the one who invited them
to the feast, but they will eventually
be repaid. He tells them that they will
be repaid at “the resurrection of the
just”. If one stands before God immediately
after death, God would have to judge
them in order to reward them with eternal
life, or eternal punishment. And that
would make Jesus a liar here because
he says that will not be repaid UNTIL
the first resurrection.
Dan. 12:13
“But go thou thy way till the end be:
for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy
lot at the end of the days.”
In context, God is revealing
to Daniel the events of the last days.
Daniel gets too curious about when these
events will exactly happen and the Lord
said to him to
“go your way until the end comes: For
you shall rest (die), and you will stand
in your rightful place at the end of
days”. We learn from this
passage that Daniel will die and he
will not stand again until the final
day. It is worthy of noting that the
Hebrew word for “rest” is “nuwach” meaning
“to rest, settle down and remain, to
be quiet, to be given rest”. The Lord
does not tell Daniel that he will be
with Him when he dies, but rather that
he will settle down, be quiet, rest,
and remain in the grave until the last
days when the trumpet shall sound and
he is raised to “stand in his lot” to
meet his Lord once again.
Is 26:19
Your dead shall live; Together with
my dead body they shall arise. Awake
and sing, you who dwell in dust; For
your dew is like the dew of herbs, And
the earth shall cast out the dead.
Isaiah prophesies
here that the dead will eventually live
again. He also
states that he himself will rise from
the dead TOGETHER with the rest of the
dead. Isaiah understands and is teaching
us here that he will not live again
until the day that “the earth shall
cast out the dead”. The context confirms
that the day Isaiah is talking about
is the final day-The day that the Messiah
returns to rule and reign over the entire
earth.
Up to this point, it
is obvious that scripture teaches that
there is a point in time that the dead
will be raised for judgment. And this
point is NOT immediately after death.
Let's continue.
Jesus was the "First
Fruits" of those that would raise from
the dead.
I Cor. 15:20 But
now Christ is risen from the dead, and
has become the first fruits of those
who have fallen asleep.
21 For since by man (came) death,
by Man also (came) the resurrection
of the dead.-Parenthesis not in original
text.
22 For as in Adam all die, even
so in Christ all shall be made alive.
23 But each one in his own order:
Christ the first fruits, afterward those
who are Christ’s at His coming.
24 Then comes the end, (the end
of the thousand years) when He delivers
the kingdom to God the Father, when
He puts an end to all rule and all authority
and power.
25 For He must reign till He has
put all enemies under His feet. The
last enemy that will be destroyed is
death.
There is a tremendous
amount of material here in just these
few verses to last for hours of discussion.
But for the sake of time, we will be
brief in our explanations. In verse
20, we are told that Christ is the “first
fruits” of those that have fallen asleep.
Paul is not using these words lightly.
He knows exactly what he is saying.
Most Christians are not familiar with
the Biblical Feast Days, so Paul's direct
hint here eludes the masses. Because
of this, we completely miss the significance
of what Paul is saying here when he
says that Jesus is the “first fruits
of those who have passed away”. If you
read the article entitled Passover-
The Last Supper, (coming in
Spring) then you will know that Jesus
prophetically fulfilled the spring feast
of Passover down to the last detail
when he died on the first day of the
Feast of First Fruits (called Passover).
The significance of
Jesus waiting three days to raise from
the dead are many (Mat.12:40 is one).
But, there is one that takes its place
at the top of the list. Scripture tells
us that the Day of First fruits starts
the day after the weekly Sabbath, after
Passover. First fruits was, and still
is, the day that the priests would cut
some of the Barley from the fields and
take the sheaves of Barley and wave
them before the Lord. It was to represent
the first of all the harvest that would
happen in the Fall. They asked for God’s
blessing on their crops for the rest
of the year by waving the first fruits
of that harvest before the Lord in the
Spring believing that the harvest in
the Fall would be a fruitful one.
The Feast of First fruits
just so happens to start three days
after Passover (Passover being the day
that Jesus died). Jesus rose from the
dead some time between the closing of
the regular Saturday Sabbath and the
beginning of the next day, which was
Sunday before sunrise. (Biblical days
begin and end with the sun going down.)
At the very time that they began the
celebration of First fruits (Saturday
night) in hope for the final harvest
in the fall and the priests were waiving
the sheaf offering before the Lord as
a sign of the first fruits of the harvest
to come, Jesus was rising from the grave
and presenting Himself before the Father
as the “First Fruits” of the great and
Final Harvest that would occur at the
end of time. (Wow! Is our God a God
of detail or what?) Jesus rose on First
fruits and this is why Paul says this
in this passage.
Paul had the entire
Old Testament memorized, which was the
requirement of anyone that was a student
of Gamliel, as Paul was. This gave Paul
a huge advantage of proving to the Jews
that Jesus was the Messiah that they
had been waiting for, because he knew
every prophesy by heart. Paul was not
just a good orator and persuasive speaker.
He pointed to the facts and let the
people decide for themselves. And this
was no different. Paul knew that the
Messiah was to raise on First fruits
and he is pointing out the fact that
Jesus was the first to raise from the
dead and the rest of His saints will
be raised at the "Great Harvest" at
the end of time.
Up to this point,
we have Isaiah, Daniel, Luke, Paul,
and John all speaking of this moment
in time called the “resurrection of
the just and the unjust”. There can
be no doubt that there is such a resurrection
for both the righteous and the wicked.
The question at this point is when does
this resurrection take place? Does it
happen immediately when we die? Does
it happen at the end of time? Does everyone
rise at once? Or, is there another resurrection
for the unjust? Again, let us search
the scriptures themselves, and see what
they have to say in answer to these
questions.
First, we will look into the “resurrection
of the just” and determine when it happens
in time and if it is separate from the
“resurrection of the unjust”. Here is
a very familiar verse that will point
us in the right direction.
1 Thessalonians
4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of an archangel, and with the trumpet
of God. And the dead in Christ will
rise first.
We can now see that
at the final trumpet, all those that
have died will hear the voice of Christ
as the sound of a trumpet and will be
awakened and arise to be given a new
body that is incorruptible. And this
trumpet is sounded as our Messiah is
coming back at HIS Second Coming and
OUR first resurrection.
1 THES 4:13
13 ¶ But I do not want you to be ignorant,
brethren, concerning those who have
fallen asleep (died), lest you sorrow
as others who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus
died and rose again, even so God will
bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the
word of the Lord, that we who are alive
and remain until the coming of the Lord
will by no means precede those who are
asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of an archangel, and with the trumpet
of God. And the dead in Christ will
rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them
in the clouds to meet the Lord in the
air. And thus we shall always be with
the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another
with these words.
These set of verses
are used quite often to support the
theory that the church will be “raptured”
before the Second Coming of Christ.
But it is easy to see from looking at
the context of all of the rest of the
scripture on this topic, that this is
simply not the case. We know from the
rest of scripture that the last trumpet,
the rising of the dead in Christ and
the return of Christ all happen at the
same time. And this will be the end
of time as we know it. These verses
are simply saying that when Jesus does
return, those who have died in Christ
and are in the graves (fallen asleep)
will be raised. Those who are His that
are still alive at His coming, will
be caught up together with those who
were dead. And all together, all of
the saints will come back down to earth
and will rule and reign for a thousand
years. This is the first resurrection.
Is. 26:19
Your dead shall live; Together with
my dead body they shall arise. Awake
and sing, you who dwell in dust; For
your dew is like the dew of herbs, And
the earth shall cast out the dead.
20 Come, my people, enter your chambers,
And shut your doors behind you; Hide
yourself, as it were, for a little moment,
Until the indignation is past.
21 For behold, the LORD comes
out of His place To punish the inhabitants
of the earth for their iniquity; The
earth will also disclose her blood,
And will no more cover her slain.
22 In
that day the LORD with His severe sword,
great and strong, will punish Leviathan
the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that
twisted serpent; And He will slay the
reptile that is in the sea
This entire chapter
and previous two describe the events
of the last days when the earth will
“no longer cover her slain” and the
wicked beast will be slain. But as we
will see, Isaiah is speaking of two
different time periods. The first is
when he will be raised from the dead,
and the second is when the serpent will
be slain. By finding out when the serpent
gets slain and when this Great Judgment
happens, we can then determine when
each of these events happen. John reveals
for us this exact time.
Rev. 19:20
Then (meaning after the great battle
on earth right before Christ returns
to set up shop in Jerusalem-read previous
chapters for context) the beast was
captured, and with him the false prophet
who worked signs in his presence, by
which he deceived those who received
the mark of the beast and those who
worshiped his image. These two were
cast alive into the lake of fire burning
with brimstone.
21 And the rest were killed with
the sword which proceeded from the mouth
of Him who sat on the horse. And all
the birds were filled with their flesh.
20:1 ¶ Then I saw an angel coming down
from heaven, having the key to the bottomless
pit (This would be Hades) and a great
chain in his hand.
2 He laid hold of the dragon,
that serpent of old, who is the Devil
and Satan, and bound him for a thousand
years;
3 and he cast him into the bottomless
pit, and shut him up, and set a seal
on him, so that he should deceive the
nations no more till the thousand years
were finished. But after these things
he must be released for a little while.
4 And I saw thrones, and they
sat on them, and judgment was committed
to them. Then I saw the souls of those
who had been beheaded for their witness
to Jesus and for the word of God, who
had not worshiped the beast or his image,
and had not received his mark on their
foreheads or on their hands. And they
lived and reigned with Christ for a
thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead did
not live again until the thousand years
were finished. This is the first resurrection.
(Meaning, he just finished describing
some of the events of the first resurrection)
6 Blessed and holy is he who has
part in the first resurrection. Over
such the second death (At Second Resurrection)
has no power, but they shall be priests
of God and of Christ, and shall reign
with Him a thousand years.
So far, we know that
one of the things that happens at the
First Resurrection is that Satan is
thrown into the bottomless pit during
the thousand year reign of Christ in
the New Jerusalem and the false prophet
and antichrist are the FIRST to ever
be thrown into the "Lake of Fire". Let's
keep reading.
7 Now when
the thousand years have expired, Satan
will be released from his prison
8 and will go out to deceive the
nations which are in the four corners
of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather
them together to battle, whose number
is as the sand of the sea.
9 They went up on the breadth
of the earth and surrounded the camp
of the saints and the beloved city.
And fire came down from God out of heaven
and devoured them.
10 The devil, who deceived them,
was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone
where the beast and the false prophet
are. And they (The devil, the beast
and the false prophet) will be tormented
day and night forever and ever.
11 ¶ Then I saw a great white throne
and Him who sat on it, from whose face
the earth and the heaven fled away.
And there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and
great, standing before God, and books
were opened. And another book was opened,
which is the Book of Life. And the dead
were judged according to their works,
by the things which were written in
the books.
13 The sea gave up the dead who
were in it, and Death and Hades delivered
up the dead who were in them. And they
were judged, each one according to his
works. (This is the Second Resurrection
that happens at the end of the thousand
year reign of Christ.)
14 Then Death and Hades were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second
death.
15 And anyone not found written
in the Book of Life was cast into the
lake of fire.
This lengthy passages
starts out with the end of the tribulation
in the battle of Armageddon where the
antichrist (beast) and the false prophet
are captured and thrown into the Lake
of Fire alive.
They are the only two
up until this point in time that have
been put into the Lake of Fire. Then
Satan, the serpent, is bound for a thousand
years while those that are Christ’s
rule and reign on the earth. Then, Satan
will be let loose to deceive the nations
and then he will be thrown in the Lake
of Fire with the false prophet and the
beast. Then comes the second resurrection
(vs. 13), where all of the people that
have been dead that did not make it
in the first resurrection and those
who have died during the rebellion when
Satan is released after the thousand
year reign of Christ, will now stand
before the Messiah for judgment. Verse
13 very clearly tells us that there
are two resurrections: The one of the
just- when Christ comes back the second
time to redeem those that are His; And
the one of the unjust- the rest of the
dead that were not raised at the first
resurrection that are raised after the
rebellion at the end of the thousand
years.
Many more scriptures
could be examined to continue to drive
home the fact that no one is judged
until the end of time. But, I believe,
that these are more than enough to bring
us to a solid conclusion on this subject.
So what is the answer to our original
question “What Happens After Death”?
Nothing. Instead, what we have discovered
is that there are scores of verses that
teach that there are two resurrections:
One that happens at the return of Christ
and the other at the end of the thousand
year reign of Christ. We have also learned
that the first to be thrown into the
Lake of Fire is the Anti-Christ and
false prophet at the first resurrection.
No one else is thrown in until the end
of the thousand years where the second
resurrection takes place for the unjust.
And by logical conclusion, because scripture
is so abundantly clear on the subject,
we have learned that no one goes to
heaven for judgment immediately after
they die. But all must wait until "their
time", at the end of time.
I will close with one
final thought. Paul says in Hebrews
chapter 6 that the resurrection of the
dead is supposed to be basic 101 doctrine.
How can the scriptures be so clear on
this issue and yet the majority of Christianity
teach the error that when you die you
are immediately judged?
f we cannot even understand
the scriptures on this one basic doctrine,
how can we then be so proud and confident
of all the rest? How can we have confidence
in the more complex doctrines when we
have bannered such an error for so many
centuries on such a basic one?
May God begin to open our eyes to seek
HIM and only HIM and may He reveal the
truth to all that seek diligently to
find that which has been hidden for
so many years. This is a very serious
subject according to Paul. And in my
opinion, Christianity has a lot of explaining
to do on why it has bannered so high,
a belief that is so ill supported.
May we all derive doctrine
from the FULL COUNCIL of scripture and
not by the parsing of a few misinterpreted
scriptures that are found here and there.
We must draw a strong line between TRUTH
and TRADITION. Otherwise we are no different
than the Pharisees of times past.
Jim
Staley
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