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What Happens After Earthly Death |
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What happens at death... are we "alive" after earthly death?
First consider dictionary definitions... Life - the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body. Death - a permanent cessation of all vital functions : the end of life. Biblical references... 2Corinthians 5:1... "For we know that if our earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens." 2Corinthians 5:8... "... we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord." Philippians 1:23... "But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better;" Luke 16:22... "...the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s arms..." Luke 9:29-30... "And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming. And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah," Luke 23:43... "And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” 1Corinthians 15:53 ... "For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality." Discussion thoughts... the Corinthians and Philippians scriptures both say the same thing... at the time of death we will immediately be in God's presence. Our earthly body at that time will be of no consequence (our earthly body may be buried, lost at sea, cremated, eaten by wild animals, vaporized by an atomic explosion, or whatever)... and will be resurrected in a new form at some later time! 2Corinthians 5:1 says... when we die and leave this earthly tent (our body)... we will have an eternal body! Notice it says "heavens" (possibly implying "Heaven" and "Paradise") Luke 16:22 states it rather simply by saying when the poor man died he was carried by angels to be with Abraham (our discussion entitled "Are Paradise and Heaven the Same?" explains that Abraham was in "Paradise")... the implication is obvious... the poor man was alive after his earthly death, as was Abraham, as they sat together (in Paradise)! In Luke 9:29-30... we see Moses and Elijah alive with Jesus when they appeared with Jesus as Jesus prayed with Peter, John and James (this was before Jesus died on the cross... Moses and Elijah would have been in "Paradise"... Jesus had not yet gone to "Heaven" so it appears Jesus joined Moses and Elijah in "Paradise" and this is what Peter, John and James witnessed). In Luke 23:43... what Jesus said to the thief hanging on a cross beside him, when Jesus was near death on the cross, is very wonderful and clear... today you will be with me in paradise... that one verse says it all... TODAY you will be with me in Paradise! (Notice it does not say "later", or "next year", or "resurrection"... it says "today"!) My Beliefs... there are probably other scriptures that confirm the above scriptures, but these are sufficient for me to form my own conclusions. My belief is that believers, immediately at earthly death, will be transported to Paradise to be in the presence of God and all past believers, as believers await the 1st resurrection... believers will be in recognizable form, clothed in some form (see other studies on how believers will be clothed and are Paradise and Heaven the same) and believers will be able to converse with others (just as Moses and Elijah, in Paradise, were talking in Luke 9:30).
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