Whatever transpires at death is really not such a great secret if we believe in the Bible If we do not believe in the Word of God then death is a journey into the dark unknown. The story of Lazarus and the rich man explains the process in such a manner that there should not be any doubt or question if we believe. The rich man died, he was buried, and in Hell, he lifted up his eyes. The problem began when we began to add shape and twist the scripture fit our own ideology.
It easier to believe that our destiny is to live among the clouds and be entertained by celebrity preachers and rock stars than to believe that God has a plan to establish his Kingdom here on earth.
It easier to believe that our destiny is to live among the clouds and be entertained by celebrity preachers and rock stars than to believe that God has a plan to establish his Kingdom here on earth.
Understanding the Word of God through reconciliation of the scripture rather than reinterpretation is preferred when seeking to maintain the scripture's integrity. New interpretations have the tendency to inject errors into a more than two thousand-year-old Gospel. Reinterpretation allows us to stray farther and farther from the intended message by injecting modern day euphemisms into the message.
Since this thesis is about Heaven and meeting God, let's consider a scripture that is often misinterpreted as pertaining to standing before God in Heaven. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." (2nd Corinthians 5:10)
The pronoun "We" occurs 26 times in the chapter, and in every instance, it means the Believer, and the Epistle is addressed to the "Church" and "Saints" at Corinth, so the Judgment here spoken of is for Believers "only."
Now we could jump ahead to the Revelations given to John and pollute the whole message of Paul or when the time arrives in our study we can seek to reconcile what is being said with what has been said.
The "Time" of the Judgment is when the Lord comes (1st Corinthians 4:5), and the "Place" is "in the air" (1st Thessalonians 4:17) and before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Keep in mind Jesus' narrative of the rich man and Lazarus as we take a closer look at the scriptures pertaining to the Judgment day. Lazarus died and the angels carried him to a place of rest; the rich man proceeded straight to Hell.
1st Thessalonians 4:13-18. "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if, we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleeps in Jesus will God bring with him. For this, we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
There are three groups of people mention in this narrative:
* Them also which sleeps in Jesus will God bring with him.
* The dead in Christ shall rise first.
* Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air
The destination is to MEET the Lord in the air and it does not say they proceeded to a place known as Heaven and sat around singing and walking. Keep these thoughts also in mind as we study other verses of the prophecy and as we reveal the destination of those who were caught up.
Each of these following scriptures will reference a moment in time known as judgment day. For as long as I can remember, I have heard about that day and that it was coming. After Judgment day, all judged righteous will proceed to Heaven to live for eternity. Judgment Day, it is a Bible study aid, fuel for movies and Playground acronyms. How much do we know about Judgment day and how much do we really know about Heaven?
The Bible does not contradict itself; therefore, the scriptures that I am referencing must be reconciled with each other. If we can reconcile these scriptures then we will have a clear understanding of what heaven is and what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. Jesus speaking to his Disciples he often began by saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like..." He wanted them to have a clear understand what awaited them.
"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all of the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory; and before him he shall gather all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a Shepherd divides his sheep from the goats:" (Matthew 25:31-32)
The question that I should ask now is who are the Holy angels that are taking part in judging the world? As we know, the regiment of angels diminished when Satan corrupted a third of the Heavenly host in the original war.
"Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?" (1st Corinthians 6:2)
"Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life?" (1st Corinthians 6:3) Paul is speaking to the Corinthians about judging in rightness. Part of the justification of sin we truncated a verse and said God said, "Don't judge".
"For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem. I will also gather ALL NATIONS, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat,' and will plead with them there for MY PEOPLE and for my heritage ISRAEL, whom they have scattered among the Nations, and parted my land." (Joel 3:1-2)
When Christ comes back to the Mt. of Olives (Zephaniah 14:4) and the Jews will look upon Him whom they "pierced" (Zephaniah 12:10), and a nation, the Jewish Nation, shall be "born (converted) in a day." Isaiah 66:8. This will complete the judgment of the Jews.
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1st Thessalonians 4:16-17)
The above verses will be the basis of our discussion, and judgment is the common thread, but there seems to be a difference in how this judgment is carried out. By adding the word, “this” judgment seems to muddle the water even more as to how the differences between Joel 3:1-2 and 1st Thessalonians 4:16-17 can be reconciled.
The common opinion that the Millennium is to be ushered in by the preaching of the Gospel, and after the Millennium there is to be a "General Resurrection "followed by a "General judgment," and then the earth is to be destroyed by fire. This is what most have been taught but this is not all scriptural.
Continued in Part 3b
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