A look at what happens at death, and the final fate of the wicked and the righteous.
In this series I will debunk the popular fairy tale I often hear Christians describe pertaining to death and judgment. Tell me if you have heard this one before. Each of us is really some immortal soul living inside a fleshly shell body. Death isn’t really the opposite of life but must take on some flowing definition.
At death, who someone really is just goes somewhere else without ever really dying. Death isn’t really death to anyone. It is a pass to one of two imaginary places: heaven or hell.
Hell is some sort of fiery torture destination. It is in the center of the earth or in some fantasy art looking cave somewhere. The wicked go here to live forever but in burning pain. It is the thing of pagan legend.
Heaven is more of a vacation destination. It is in the clouds or some floating paradise somewhere outside the atmosphere. The righteous go here right at death to be rewarded. It is the happy hunting ground meets Nirvana meets Valhalla meets the dream world all rolled into one belief. It is whatever and wherever you want it to be. I guess its location and description change depending on which story teller or dream weaver you ask.
And then you have the little old Bible’s description of death and judgment which totally contradicts all this. It is different on the who, what, when, where, and how of this entire mythological story: which is passed down from generation to generation. The two versions simply can’t coexist or find any real common ground.
According to scripture: death is a real and definable thing that came as the result of sin. It is a punishment which is the opposite of the great gift of life which God gave man. Only the righteous will receive eternal life. The wicked will be destroyed in fire such that they no longer have life.
When someone dies; it really is them and not just a token slogan acted out by a shell. When someone is dead they can no longer think, talk, move, or function in any fashion. Death is the process of going from a living state to a non-living state.
Resurrection is the exact opposite of death. It occurs when someone goes from being dead to being alive. If there is no death; there can be no resurrection. This would be like trying to wake someone up who is operating heavy machinery while listening to their ipod. You can’t wake someone who is awake any more than you can resurrect the living.
The scriptures speak of two specific times when massive resurrections take place. These both lead directly to a judgment for those raised. None are eternally rewarded or punished prior to this. The two resurrections and judgments go hand in hand and can’t be separated.
The first resurrection will occur when Christ returns. All the dead who are his will rise to meet him in the clouds. They will be resurrected and changed into an immortal and spiritual body. Once the dead come up, the living members of the true church will also rise to take on this change along with the dead in Christ. These are the saints who go to Christ because they have been found righteous in his eyes.
There will be another resurrection a thousand years later. This will include all the dead who didn’t rise to Christ plus all who live and die during the thousand year span. This leads directly to those in the book of life receiving it and the wicked being cast in the lake of fire. They are thrown in to serve the purpose of the second death and fulfill the function of destruction. They will not live beyond this time. Eternal life is only for those in the book of life (hence the name).
Along with eternal life the righteous are promised to live on earth with God and Christ. The “earth” was precisely what I meant to say because the kingdom promised the saints is a coming kingdom. The righteous are promised the earth and not heaven. Christ, God, and the kingdom will come to them once the wicked are disposed of. This is the plan of God. Sorry if isn’t what you had drilled into your mind by others.