Five things the Bible says about what we should expect at the moment of death and beyond. [Spirituality & Religion]
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[/center] First, believers will be taken into the presence of Christ in heaven. Christ is in heaven now (Acts 1:2; 3:21; 1 Thes 1:10; 4:16; 2 Thes 1:7), and believers will go to be with Him. Jesus said to the thief on the cross, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43). And on two different occasions Paul spoke of death as ushering us into the presence of Christ.
Second, heaven is a place of resplendent glory, and being with Christ in the glory of heaven will be far superior to our present earthly lives. (Philippians 1:23) Being in heaven with the Lord, is referred to as being "at home." One of the things that will make heaven so great, is that we will finally feel that we are in our true home.
Third, when in heaven we will be looking forward (as we should be already in this life) to the resurrection of our bodies from the dead. Disembodied existence is not God's ultimate and final and greatest purpose for us. As great as it will be to be in heaven after we die, God has something greater in store: being resurrected from the dead, so that we will live soul and body, forever in the new heavens and new earth.
Fourth, we are in these bodies and still sin, however, at the moment of death, believers will be made perfect and cleansed from ALL sin. This follows from the point that believers are taken to heaven immediately at death. Heaven is fully pure and free from all tarnish and sin, and therefore when God takes us to heaven, He makes us fit for the experience of it by making our hearts perfect in holiness. This agrees with His purpose to make us completely like Christ (Romans 8:29) and, at the return of Christ, to present us to Himself, without spot or wrinkle or sin (1 Thessalonians 5:23; Ephesians 5:27).
And finally, we can see from all these things, that death is not the end of our existence. We have bodies and souls. Death is the separation of body and soul, not the end of our personhood. When we die, our bodies become lifeless and are no longer the place where we "reside," but we continue to exist as souls, either with Christ in glory, or separated from Christ. The decision is ours.
Are there many paths to God?
John 14:6
6 – Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father [c=#BF0000]except through me[/c].
Acts 4:12
12 – Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
1 Timothy 2:5-6
5 – For there is one God and [u]one mediator between God and men[/u], the man Christ Jesus,
6 – who gave himself as a ransom for all men–the testimony given in its proper time.
John 3:16
16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Why Jesus?
Because we have no access to God our Father in heaven, without Jesus. Ephesians 2:18 - “For through Him we have our access in one Spirit to the Father.”
John 14:6 - “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
The Bible might say that but who wrote it? What was their mental state at the time of writing it? How reliable a commentator were they? How accurately was it translated? Are they a first hand witness? Did they have an agenda? Was it passed on through many generations by word of mouth before being eventually written down?
Just because something is written down does not mean it is reliable, accurate or.....true.
Mark, I respect your beliefs. Naturally when people ask questions, I’m going to respond. Everyone has a right to respond, including you. I welcome all responses, whether they believe or not. I just ask both parties to respond in a respectful manner.
Because I love God and what He has done for me in my life, including saving my life, I promised God I would share what He means to me with others...no hidden agenda about it. I’m not paid to do it...I get cursed at about it...criticized about it...belittled about it, and called every name in the book 😆, so no....it’s not easy, there’s no agenda, and though I know what I know, I’ll only quit sharing, when I close my eyes for one last time, because that’s how much I love Him. He didn’t have to save me, but He did. He’s always given me His very best. I cannot give Him less. He deserves it. I just naturally share, since I love God. I’ve done it for the last 40 years, so you can see how much He means to me. No one has to listen and I think it’s awful how you were treated. That makes me sad. It was not right. No one is no better than the other, follower of Christ or not! I’m so sorry you experienced that. Once you told them you were not interested, they should have left it alone....and you.
Peace and love. I think you’re a pretty special guy.
Even if we are on diametrically opposed sides of the whole belief debate, it doesn't mean I can't respect you, and I certainly do, even if I may not always have shown it during the course of our conversations, which I am somewhat embarrassed to admit, and which I regret. Maybe we ought to converse about something less controversial in future. What is your opinion of Donald Trump's Mexican wall? (I'm joking. Seriously!!!) 😉
😂 I couldn’t agree more. I hope I didn’t offend you in any way during our discussion. That was not my intention. We’re good. I don’t think we better discuss politics though, for the same reason we won’t discuss our beliefs on spiritual matters. 😆 Yes, something less controversial will do. 😆 Take care, Mark. @MarkA
@TheWildEcho Yeh, it’s crazy. They did that because it contains words that could it be used in sexual conversation. They have done that to me as well. For example, if I had said that Christ was stripped and shamed before all, they’d mark it as nudity. You’ll see. They will do it to this message as well.
@LadyGrace John 16:4, should not be taken literally. It was addressed to the Jews who refused to accept Jesus as the Messiah. Accepting Jesus does not mean screaming "Jesus" on top of your longs days and nights. It mean accepting his teaching of love for all, compassion, brotherhood, justice and applying them to your daily file. That's the key to the kingdom you yearn for. That's why it's also said in the new testament, the kingdom of God is not place. It is within you. Those teachings of universal love and justice are not known to Christianity. All major religions has them at their roots. The essence of God is everything if your heart is pure and open.
In context of the sixteenth chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament, we’re told that Jesus continued His farewell to His disciples, set on the last night before His crucifixion. Jesus speaks about the work of the Holy Spirit, the joy of the believers and His victory over the world, something they were puzzled about, which would be revealed in time.
@eMortal no one said anything about screaming in order to worship God. You are awfully presumptuous to suggest “what I yearn for”. I already know Jesus as my Savior and what that entails. I serve Him in my daily life. It also means many more things than you’ve listed here. Such as commitment. He doesn’t want half our heart. The key to salvation is total commitment. The Kingdom of Heaven is a very real place....God’s dwelling place, where He sits on the right hand of God the Father. For those who love and commit to Him, yes...it is also within their hearts, a gift given by the Holy Spirit, Himself.
Those teachings of universal love and justice are not known to Christianity? Nothing could be further than the truth. It’s not about denominations. It’s about a relationship with Jesus. Those who love and serve Jesus, have His qualities and characteristics.. They are made in His image.
