At the Moment of Death you will be....
As a believer in Jesus Christ, can you accurately fill in that blank? Or maybe you might ask, Does it really matter? Yes it actually does matter because the Word of God offers us clear information about both death for the believer and the eternal state. But it also offers clear information about what death looks like for the unbeliever as well. Christians need to be clear about both.
I have noticed that many Christians have drifted with the culture into using unclear and frankly, un-Biblical, terminology when discussing death and the afterlife, and it is concerning. I have noticed it again it in the wake of this recent spat of suicides being committed by the comments made by believers regarding the deceased. Such epitaphs as RIP and similar sayings really have no Christian basis in Biblical truth and do not accurately reflect the state of things for the dead.
First, the person who dies as a Christian does not enter into a state of soul-sleep or some extended period of physical rest in that sense. I was talking with my neighbor the other day who commented that it would be completely over for him when he was six feet under the ground. Although I didn't get the opportunity to talk to him about his relationship to God, I reminded him that at death we will be more alive than we have ever been before in this life.
The apostle Paul said, "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8). This demonstrates that as believers we can anticipate being present in heaven with Christ the moment we physically die. Secondly, the unbeliever who dies is also very present, yet in another environment. In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus told the Pharisees a parable about a rich unbelieving man who died and Lazarus, a believer who also died. In the parable Jesus emphasized the immediacy of the eternal state for both of them. Lazarus the believer was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. When the unbelieving wealthy man died and was buried, the Scripture says that in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes....
I want you to see something very noticeable about both of these men. Both of them were conscious, present, and aware of themselves immediately upon their physical death. If we remember that death simply means separation of the real person from the body, then what follows is much easier to understand.
Neither the believer or unbeliever at the time of death is in a state of soul-sleep or is temporarily unconscious. In fact, it is quite the opposite. We are essentially more aware, conscious, and present in our immediate surroundings than we ever could have been in our previous life on earth. So what are we awaiting at death? We simply await the resurrection of our former bodies to be transformed into our immortal body which will never die, get sick, or suffer. If that is true you ask, what kind of body will we have in heaven until we are officially resurrected? We are not told that in Scripture, but we evidently will have some kind of intermediary physical presence until the final resurrection takes place.
However, the bottom line remains the same. At death we can expect to be ushered into one of two immortal environments which are both real, visible, immediate, and eternal!
I have noticed that many Christians have drifted with the culture into using unclear and frankly, un-Biblical, terminology when discussing death and the afterlife, and it is concerning. I have noticed it again it in the wake of this recent spat of suicides being committed by the comments made by believers regarding the deceased. Such epitaphs as RIP and similar sayings really have no Christian basis in Biblical truth and do not accurately reflect the state of things for the dead.
First, the person who dies as a Christian does not enter into a state of soul-sleep or some extended period of physical rest in that sense. I was talking with my neighbor the other day who commented that it would be completely over for him when he was six feet under the ground. Although I didn't get the opportunity to talk to him about his relationship to God, I reminded him that at death we will be more alive than we have ever been before in this life.
The apostle Paul said, "To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8). This demonstrates that as believers we can anticipate being present in heaven with Christ the moment we physically die. Secondly, the unbeliever who dies is also very present, yet in another environment. In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus told the Pharisees a parable about a rich unbelieving man who died and Lazarus, a believer who also died. In the parable Jesus emphasized the immediacy of the eternal state for both of them. Lazarus the believer was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. When the unbelieving wealthy man died and was buried, the Scripture says that in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes....
I want you to see something very noticeable about both of these men. Both of them were conscious, present, and aware of themselves immediately upon their physical death. If we remember that death simply means separation of the real person from the body, then what follows is much easier to understand.
Neither the believer or unbeliever at the time of death is in a state of soul-sleep or is temporarily unconscious. In fact, it is quite the opposite. We are essentially more aware, conscious, and present in our immediate surroundings than we ever could have been in our previous life on earth. So what are we awaiting at death? We simply await the resurrection of our former bodies to be transformed into our immortal body which will never die, get sick, or suffer. If that is true you ask, what kind of body will we have in heaven until we are officially resurrected? We are not told that in Scripture, but we evidently will have some kind of intermediary physical presence until the final resurrection takes place.
However, the bottom line remains the same. At death we can expect to be ushered into one of two immortal environments which are both real, visible, immediate, and eternal!
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