Founded by Bryant Wright, Right from the Heart is a
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What Happens When A Christian Dies? Oct 23 2012
"Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words." - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NIV
There is confusion, and perhaps some concern, about the timing of when Christians receive their new bodies. Does it occur at the moment of death or is there a waiting period before they are issued? When a Christian dies, the physical body begins to decompose, but our spirit is immediately with the Lord in heaven. But when Christ is preparing for His return, there will be the rapture. While the word "rapture" itself doesn’t appear in Scripture, 1 Thessalonians 4:7 does talk about being “caught up together” (which is what the word "rapture" means). So, those who are alive when Christ comes will be joined in the clouds with those who have already died and are with the Lord. Those who have already died will, at that time, be given a resurrected body that is like Jesus’ body. Those who are Christian and alive here on earth will also receive a new body. It will be a body that will not get sick. It will not be contaminated by sin. It will be a new body like Jesus’ – a resurrected body that never dies. The bottom line: as best as I can tell, we receive our new bodies at the rapture, not the moment we die.
If you’re not a Christian, not sure if you die today your spirit will be in Heaven with the Lord, don’t wait any longer to be sure. You don’t want to miss out on Heaven and you don’t want to miss out on a new body that never gets sick and dies.
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5 Comments
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Yes, report it NevermindI have always believed that I will recieve a new body in heaven with my cleansed soul. The Rapture hasn't happened yet so would this mean that heaven is for souls and we then will recognize souls when we enter not a cleansed body?
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Yes, report it NevermindThis devotions reminds me that our salvation is not yet complete. Although it is finished in the mind of God, we yet must live on earth after we have received forgiveness of sin through personal faith in Christ and eventually our corrupted bodies will be replaced in the rapture. It is then that salvation will be complete. And oh, what a truly great salvation it is....
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Yes, report it NevermindI'll leave the details to God, and continue to rest assured in the Promise.
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Yes, report it NevermindMy wife passed away on the day that this message was posted and we had a wonderful Celebration of her life this past weekend. What was different about this service was that it was a true celebration of a life lived for Christ in spite of a horrible desease that was endured for almost thirteen years. This very scripture was at the cornerstone of our celebration in that we did not "grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope" but rather celebrated the promise that our loved one was at that moment with Christ and that God had not left us throughout such a long illness!! Praise be to our God!!
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Yes, report it NevermindThe aspect of 1Thessa 4:13-18 that said the dead in Christ was always not clear to my mind until I asked my husband about it at about two occasions for a clarification as we study about the end time events that he made me realize that the dead here are surely not any saint-souls in the grave, but that they are the Ones who already died and are with Jesus in heaven. Only those of us who are still alive at the time of rapture that will get the "caught up" experience to join them and Christ in the air.
I am so glad this site is standing on the pure truth of the Word of God. Amen
I am surely subscribing now!