DEATH
DEATH COMES TO MOST HUMANS!
From what we read in Hebrews 9:27 “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,” we can assume that death will come to all humans. As we read through the Scriptures we are very much made aware of this.
There WERE and there WILL BE, exceptions to this rule – there were two humans that didn’t die, namely Enoch and Elijah.
On purpose we placed “MOST” in italics in the above header because we will show you that there WERE and ARE humans that will NEVER die.
Genesis 5:24 “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.”
2 Kings 2:11 “As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven.” These two godly men, Enoch and Elijah, never experienced death.
Now we come to a VERY EXCITING and BLESSED MYSTERY, namely that, what this website is all about, the BLESSED HOPE of born again believers, the RAPTURE.
When the Rapture happens all BORN AGAIN BELIEVERS (who are alive at the moment of the Rapture will, in a twinkling of an eye, be changed from a CORRUPTIBLE body (a body that can sin) into an INCORRUPTIBLE body (a body that can not sin) and from a MORTAL body (a body that can die) into an IMMORTAL BODY (a body that can NOT die) and we’ll meet the Lord in the air, from where we depart into Heaven.
1 Corinthians 15:51-53 “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all SLEEP (die), but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and WE (the born again believers alive at the time of the Rapture) WILL BE CHANGED. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that WE WHO ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN (alive at the Rapture ) until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep (born again believers who have died since Pentecost, the beginning of the Church). For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ (born again believers who have died since Pentecost) will rise first. THEN WE WHO ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN WILL BE CAUGHT UP TOGETHER WITH THEM in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”
Do you get the picture? MILLIONS of born again believers ALIVE at the moment of the Rapture, WILL NEVER DIE. They will be changed in a twinkling of an eye, from living in a mortal body into an immortal eternal body that will never change, no aging, no sickness etc. Just pure eternal perfect bliss with our eternal God.
Paul explains it nicely in 2 Corinthians 5:2 “For indeed in this HOUSE (our mortal body) we groan, longing to be clothed with our DWELLING (immortal body) FROM HEAVEN,”.
Jesus Himself says it beautifully in John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who BELIEVES in Me WILL LIVE (resurrection at the Rapture) even if he DIES (falls asleep in Jesus), and everyone who LIVES (born again believers alive at the time of the Rapture) and BELIEVES in Me will NEVER DIE (will be changed into an immortal eternal body).”
Many people in this world don’t think about death as they are too busy living their lives. They are enslaved to the worldly things all around them and have little or no time for God. Many don’t believe in God, thinking that live is just by chance and once you die you stop existing. What a shock they will have when they breath their last breath and move to the other side. They won’t have a second chance to change their lives and believe in God and His wonderful plan He ordained from eternity past. If you are reading this and are one of those described in the above paragraph then this MESSAGE IS FOR YOU! Read it very carefully and think deeply about it.
At this very moment you are reading this, God is SPEAKING TO YOU, God is CALLING YOU. This alone is a very special blessing to you! Don’t waste it!
Psalm 95:7-8 says
Today, if you would hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts
It doesn’t matter where you are, you can respond to His calling wherever you are.
It doesn’t matter who you are, His calling is to all SINNERS, including you.
It doesn’t matter what you have done, He will FORGIVE ALL SINS the moment you repent, believe in and accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour.
It doesn’t matter what other people think, they don’t worry about your eternal destiny.
What mattes is YOU and your relationship with God and your final destination the moment you die.
God cares and He is patiently and lovingly waiting for you with open arms to welcome you back.
Remember, tomorrow it may be TOO LATE. People don’t know when their appointed time (their time to die) will come.
Psalm 139:16 “And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me,”
Now let’s look at what happens the moment a person dies.
At present there are two places where people may go the moment they die.
One is a place where the unbelievers will go and that place is HADES.
The other place is where believers will go and that is PARADISE. With believers we mean people who have believed the Gospel and trusted in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Not people that believe with their heads but not with their hearts.
Here we show a chart of the places mentioned above.
Some scholars believe that believers will also appear before the Great White Throne Judgment. We totally reject this thought and fully belief that ONLY UNBELIEVERS will appear before this throne.
Let us explain why we believe that born again believers WILL NOT stand before this Great White Throne Judgment Seat.
First of all and most importantly it is that our salvation is purely and only by Grace. Nothing in us, from us or done by us can earn salvation. We are totally incapable of deserving salvation.
Romans 11:6 “But if it is by GRACE, it is NO longer on the basis of WORKS, otherwise grace is no longer grace.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by GRACE you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the GIFT of God; NOT as a result of WORKS, so that no one may boast.”
So if the “books” are opened at the Great White Throne Judgment which reveal the works of the people standing before the Throne, born again believers would be judged for salvation by their works. A complete contradiction to the two verses above. Completely unbiblical!
Secondly, the born again believers (the Church) are the Bride of Christ and are, from the very moment they repent and ask Jesus to be their Lord and Saviour, ONE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST, sealed with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit Who will NEVER leave them. Why on earth would Jesus Christ, the Judge on the Throne, want to judge part of His Body for salvation? Remember they are already SEALED for eternity with the Holy Spirit who will NEVER leave them. That is completely unbiblical!
Thirdly, just after the Rapture the Church (the Bride) will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ where all the Saints (born again believers) will be judged for the motives behind the works we did serving the Lord Jesus Christ while on the Earth. This Judgment is for rewards and NOT for salvation.
2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” More about this on our Topic Page “The Judgments”. In this Judgment Christians are rewarded for the motives behind the works they have done. All the works will be tested as by fire and if the motives were for selfish reasons the works are like stubble and will be burned up and no reward will be given. If the motives were to the glory of God the works will be like precious metal and stand the test of fire and the believer will get his/her reward, a crown.
Revelation 4:4 “Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden CROWNS on their heads.”
Most scholars believe they represent the complete Church in Heaven after the Rapture. They have been before the Judgment seat of Christ and received their rewards, golden crowns. The Greek word for crowns is “stephanos” which atlethes used to receive for winning events, they are REWARDS and not royal crowns.
Revelation 4:10-11 “the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.” Here, after they have received the crowns, the Saints take off their golden crowns and cast them before Him who sits on the throne. They ACKNOWLEDGE the reason they were able to the works with good motives is that IT IS God Who enabled them to do so and that all the glory and honor belong to Him and not to the believers, as without His Grace they would never have been able to do so.
So WHY would a Holy and Wise God give His people rewards and then make them stand before the Great White Throne for Salvation? Completely unbiblical!
Fourthly, the Church is the Bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem. with Jesus as the Corner Stone, the twelve Apostles are the foundation stones, the twelve tribes of Israel are the twelve gates. All those that belief the Gospel preached by Jesus and the twelve Apostles have become LIVING STONES in the New Jerusalem.
1Peter 2:5 “you also, as LIVING STONES, are being built up as a SPIRITUAL HOUSE for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
Ephesians 2:20 “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, CHRIST JESUS Himself being the CORNER STONE,“
Revelation 21:14 “And the wall of the city had twelve FOUNDATION STONES, and on them were the twelve names of the TWELVE APOSTLES of the Lamb.”
Revelation 21:12 “It had a great and high wall, with TWELVE GATES, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the TWELVE TRIBES of the sons of Israel.”
We are being built into a Holy Dwelling Place of God in Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 2:22 “in whom the WHOLE BUILDING, being fitted together, is growing into a HOLY TEMPLE IN THE LORD
Ephesians 2:23 “in whom you also are being built together into a DWELLING OF GOD in the Spirit.”
Now, if we are the Bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem and are caught up in the air at the Rapture, to be with the Lord for ever, why would Jesus judge His Bride for eternal life at the Great White Throne Judgment? Completely unbiblical!
Fifthly, the Marriage of the Lamb happens sometimes after the Rapture during the Tribulation period.
Revelation 19:7-8 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”
This happens BEFORE the battle of Armageddon as the coming of Jesus Christ from Heaven with His Saints (the Church) follows AFTER the Marriage of the Lamb.
Revelation 19:11 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.”
Revelation 19:14 “And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.”
Now, if we are the wife of Jesus Christ why on earth would He want to judge Her for salvation? COMPLETELY UNBIBLICAL!
THE MOMENT A PERSON DIES
Remember, a human has a body – a soul – a spirit.
THE UNBELIEVERS:
The moment an unbeliever (those who have died in their sins since Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden) dies his/her body goes into the grave (where it will undergo decay, dust to dust), while his/her soul and spirit will go to Hell in Hades. This is already a place of torment as you can read in Luke 16:22-23 “and the rich man also died and was buried.“In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in TORMENT“. They will stay there until after the Millennium reign of Jesus Christ on the Earth, when the Great White Throne is set up to judge ALL unbelievers, see Revelation 20:11-15. “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” The bodies of the unbelievers are resurrected and united with their soul and spirit from Hell (Hades), to stand before the Great White Throne. This is not a judgment for rewards. There they will be judged for whether or not they accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. They will be judged according to their deeds written in the Books. As their deeds are like filthy rags in God’s sight, none of their deeds can pay the penalty for their sins and are found guilty. Then the BOOK OF LIFE is also opened and every name of ALL unbelievers standing before the Great White Throne will be checked whether or not it is written in the Book of Life (of Jesus Christ Who gives eternal life to all that believe in Him as Lord and Saviour). But because ALL ARE UNBELIEVERS (didn’t believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour Who died as the perfect Sacrifice for the penalty of Sin and redeemed those that did believe in Him as their Lord and Saviour) they are found GUILTY and because their names are not written in the Book of Life, they will be thrown into the LAKE OF FIRE, which is the second death (separation from God), for ETERNITY.
Because they didn’t believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour their names ARE NOT written in the BOOK OF LIFE.
THEY WILL ALL END UP IN THE LAKE OF FIRE FOR ETERNITY.
Revelation 20:15 “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
Remember, this judgment is ONLY for UNBELIEVERS. The born again believers are seated on their thrones beside the Judge Jesus Christ, the Mighty God.
THE BORN AGAIN BELIEVERS:
The moment a born again believer (those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour since Pentecost, the beginning of the Church) dies, his/her body goes to the grave where it will undergo decay (dust to dust) or if cremated, ashes to ashes) while his/her soul and spirit go to Paradise, which is now in the Third Heaven, where God dwells. (See the top of the chart). There they will be at rest with the Lord, but never the less very conscious of where they are. They will be there until the last person chosen in Jesus makes the commitment to belief and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and the Church is COMPLETE and the Father will tell His Son, the Groom, to go and get His Bride, the Church.. The moment the Rapture happens, their bodies will be resurrected and reunited with their souls and spirits to accompany Jesus into the air where they will meet the born again believers who are still alive at the moment of the Rapture and who are changed from a mortal body into an immortal body and are CAUGHT UP in the clouds. The COMPLETE CHURCH (THE BRIDE) will be there. Angels will be there. Most of all Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour will be there. What an amazing gathering that will be! Again we stress this will happen in a twinkling of an eye. So there won’t be bodies floating through the air up to Heaven as often portrait in paintings etc.. A twinkling of an eye is faster than the blinking of an eye.
We are often asked by people “What about my husband, wife, daughter, or son who has died? Will he/she be in heaven? I worry about them. I don’t think they believed. I don’t want the to be in hell.” Our answer to them is always the same. We DON’T KNOW. You will have to leave it in the hands of God as He is the only One that knows the hearts of ALL HUMANS, there is NO exception! At some point in their lives they may have trusted in the Lord Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. If they are still alive and don’t believe and you also don’t believe, the best thing you can do is this.
ACCEPT JESUS AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOUR!
Now you have read all this there is NO MORE EXCUSE for you.
Now You KNOW that:
All humans are sinners and need to be saved from the Lake of Fire.
You are a SINNER and are on your way to the Lake of Fire.
You need a Saviour.
That the ONLY Saviour who can save you from going to the Lake of Fire is the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
That the eternal Son of God, the Word, came into the world in obedience to God the Father’s will. At the incarnation the Son of God took on the body of Jesus that was prepared for Him (see Hebrews 10:5) and became also the Son of Man. Jesus Christ is FULLY God and FULLY Man. He was God’s perfect sacrifice, the Lamb of God, to pay the penalty for our sins and redeem those that believe and trust in Him as their Lord and Saviour.
That Jesus died for us on the Cross. (Mark 15:25)
That Jesus was buried. (Mark 15:46)
That Jesus rose again on the third day. (Mark 16:6)
That He ascended into Heaven and sits at the right hand of God. (Mark 16:19)
That the moment you TRULY BELIEVE and TRUST IN and ACCEPT Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, you are BORN AGAIN and are sealed with the Holy Spirit who will dwell within you and will NEVER leave you. You will NOT go to the Lake of Fire. Isn’t that GOOD NEWS?
Don’t let anyone or anything stop you! Do it NOW! Tomorrow may be too late!
NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION!
Once you are saved you can start praying for your loved ones. You can study the Bible and grow and then tell your loved ones.
God is calling you! He is knocking on the door of your heart right now! Only YOU can open the door and let Him in. You can see in the picture below there is no handle on the door at the outside. YOU have to open the door of your heart from the inside and invite Jesus in. You WON’T REGRET it.
Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."
DO IT NOW!
