Scriptural Truth of Life After Death
Introduction
Bible Translations:
HCSB – Holman Christian Study Bible
NIV – New International Version Study Bible
The Voice
Study prepared by: John W Cadwallader
Believers Who Have Died, The Comfort of Christ’s Coming
NIV – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
13 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. 14 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. 15 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. 16 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. 17 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. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
HCSB Notes – The term asleep in this context is a metaphorical reference to Christians who have died. This metaphor is particularly appropriate because of the future resurrection of the body. Just as a sleeping person expects to rise-up in the morning. Christians who have died will experience a bodily resurrection and will rise-up once again.
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HCSB Notes – The revelation that Paul received relates to what has been called the rapture. It refers to the event when believers who are alive at the Lord’s coming are caught up {Gk. Harpazo} in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. The term “rapture” is derived from rapturo, the Latin translation of the Greek term. The Greek term means “to snatch or take away suddenly.” Paul referred to this event as a mystery {some truth previously hidden but now known}
The Mystery of Resurrection
HCSB 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 50 Now I say this, believers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit nor be part of the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable (mortal) inherit the imperishable (immortal). 51 Listen very carefully, I tell you a mystery [a secret truth decreed by God and previously hidden, but now revealed]; we will not all sleep [in death], but we will all be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed], 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at [the sound of] the last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [who believed in Christ] will be raised imperishable, and we will be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed]. 53 For this perishable [part of us] must put on the imperishable [nature], and this mortal [part of us that is capable of dying] must put on immortality [which is freedom from death]. 54 And when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the Scripture will be fulfilled that says, “Death is swallowed up in victory (vanquished forever). 55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin [by which it brings death] is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory [as conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord [always doing your best and doing more than is needed], being continually aware that your labor [even to the point of exhaustion] in the Lord is not futile nor wasted [it is never without purpose].
Mystery of the Resurrection. This “Mystery of God” is “Now revealed”. As we progress through this study we will see that the “Resurrection of Christ” is the key element of “The Mystery of God”. The Mystery was necessary to enable God’s sovereignty and man’s freedom to co-exist. 1Co 2:7-8 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: [8] Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they …
7 On the contrary, we speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Many people fear death; perhaps it’s the idea of the unknown that stirs the imagination. Death is the great enemy that stands before believers; but through Jesus’ own death and resurrection, the power of death is broken. Paul uses the gentle image of the faithful being asleep as a new perspective on the finality of death. One minute you close your eyes to this world; the next you are celebrating with Jesus and experiencing the resurrection of the body. Those sleeping will not even miss a moment; it will all happen in the blink of an eye.
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The Day of the Lord
The Voice 5 Now, brothers and sisters, you don’t need further instruction from us or anyone else for that matter regarding how the seasons and times will play out. 2 That’s because you know the truth well enough. The day of the Lord will race onto the scene and surprise us like a thief in the night. 3 People will be going about their business chanting, “All is well! All is at peace!” and in the next moment, ruin and destruction will suddenly seize them as labor pains grip a woman about to give birth; for them there will be no escape. 4 My brothers and sisters, it will be different for you. You do not dwell in the darkness, so that day will not surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all children of light. You are sons and daughters of the day. We are not created of night, nor are we owned by darkness.
HCSB Notes – The phrase Day of the Lord often signifies a time of God’s wrath and judgment poured out in an uncommon way. Here the Day of the Lord refers specifically to the end-time period of God’s judgment on the unbelieving world known as the great tribulation. The description of the Day of the Lord coming as a thief in the night emphasizes that it will come unexpectedly!
The Voice – Acts 2:20 The sun will become a void of darkness, and the moon will become blood. Then the great and dreadful day of the Lord will arrive.
The Voice – 2 Peter 3:10 The day of the Lord will come unexpectedly like a thief in the night; and on that day, the sky will vanish with a roar, the elements will melt with intense heat, and the earth and all the works done on it will be seen as they truly are.
On that day—though men and women have spent lifetimes scanning the skies hoping that “perhaps today” is the day of salvation—on that day, the confessed lovers of God and Jesus will glow with all the wonder of children at Christmas.
There are clear premonitions in the Bible about what we can expect on that day; but can anyone, with our rudimentary human knowledge, know what to expect? Jesus confessed that even He did not know the day or the hour when these final moments will play out, so how can we truly know? Likely this fear of the unknown is what took root and began to spread like weeds within the Thessalonians’ community. Where fear takes root, faith withers; and people who once focused on the bright hope of the Son turn away.
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“The Day of the Lord” is a biblical term and theme used in both the Hebrew Bible (יֹום יְהוָה) and the New Testament (ἡμέρα κυρίου), as in “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come” (Joel 2:31, cited in Acts 2:20).
The Great Day of His Wrath
The End of the World, commonly known as The Great Day of His Wrath,[1] is an 1851–1853 oil painting on canvas by the English painter John Martin.
Please Note: Do not confuse the “Lords Day” with the “Day of the Lord”
The Lord’s Day
The Lord’s Day in Christianity is generally Sunday, the principal day of communal worship. It is observed by most Christians as the weekly memorial of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is said in the canonical Gospels to have been witnessed alive from the dead early on the first day of the week. The phrase appears in Rev. 1:10.
All Christians who are born again will not have to experience the “Day of the Lord”
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Jesus Teaches Nicodemus
NIV – John 3:1-3
3 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
2 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[a]”
Jesus the Way to the Father
NIV – John 14:5, 6
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
What does the Bible say about how to be born again?
John 3:3-7 3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” 4 ” How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again .’ 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. 1 Peter 1:23 23 For you have been born again , not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
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