By referring to how those physically dead to those in the land of the living, will be resurrected to stand judgment at the Great White Throne Judgment where Jesus sits on the throne of His glory on earth.
According to the Bible, there are two judgments.....one when Jesus returns to separate the “sheep from the goats”...thereafter consigning the goats to eternal destruction in ‘the lake of fire’ where the devil and his demons will end up after the thousand year reign of Christ. These have been put into a deep, dark prison by God during that whole time, so as to bring about a thousand years of life, education and judgment for the living and the dead.
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. . . . .41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. . . . .46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:31-34,41,46 ESV)
The elect have already been judged worthy of life and are gathered to heaven when Jesus returns, to take up their positions as “kings and priests” first, (Revelation 20:6).....but their subjects will initially be those who survive the “great tribulation” when “the end of the age” takes place. These are seen in Revelation 7:3-4, 9-10, 13-14....after the gathering of the elect (144,000) who are seen already in heaven with God and the Lamb. Not all Christians are heaven bound.....and no one on earth is “left behind”. Everyone is where they are meant to be.
When the thousand year reign of Christ begins, only the tribulation survivors will be alive on earth as the nucleus of the “new earth”. (2 Peter 3:13) Thereafter, the general resurrection of the dead will take place, here on earth. (John 5:28-29) This is the other judgment period.....lasting for a thousand years....with no devil to interfere with God’s restoration of his original purpose. (Isaiah 55:11) What God starts, he finishes....
I cannot understand your “left behind” scenario because no one will be “left behind” who doesn’t need to be here. The earth is where God intended humankind to live forever originally. Only the sin of Adam made the coming of Christ as Redeemer and the choosing of members of his Kingdom necessary. But God originally purposed for mankind to live forever on earth...never in heaven.
This is not a training ground for heaven...it never was.
The former king Saul did for why he consulted with a medium to raise up the spirit of the prophet, Samuel. 1 Samuel 28:5-20
Did she raise up Samuel though? Consulting spirit mediums along with all forms of spiritism was forbidden under God’s Law. (Deuteronomy 18:9-12) Do you know why?
Saul himself was instructed by God to rid the land of these practices of what he forbade. At the time Saul consulted this medium, Jehovah had already abandoned him, and he was going mad because the living prophets would no longer speak to him. So under those circumstances please read the account again.....Did Saul see this ‘spirit’, or hear what it said? Or was it only the woman? If God would not permit the living prophets to speak to Saul then how would he allow a dead prophet to speak to him via a method that violated his law?
Kind of hard not to think about Jesus's account of the rich man in hell & the beggar named, Lazarus, in Abraham's bosom. Luke 16:19-31
You are assuming it is a parable but it was not written that it was a parable.
Look at this parable ‘in situ’.....look at it where it appears in the scriptures.....Luke chs 12-16 are all parables......this one is not singled out among the other parables as something other than an illustration, which is how Jesus taught.....
“This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 13:35 ESV)
“Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” (Matthew 13:10-13 - ESV)
Taken literally this parable makes no sense....are heaven and hades in speaking distance to one another? Would a drop of water on someone’s finger cool another in burning flames?
What is the meaning of the term “the bosom of Abraham”? If you don’t understand what Jesus was teaching, this parable could lead to all sorts of weird conclusions.....which it has....but look at the scripture above...
“This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand”.
Why say it if the Jews did not believe in the afterlife?
Because the Jews understood it to be a parable, not a real life scenario.
Taken literally it makes no sense to the Jewish understanding of death....
“For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and forever they have no more share in all that is done under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6,10 - ESV)
Sheol is the Jewish equivalent of “hades” in Greek. So because the Greeks believed in an immortal soul, these two words became confused.
Psalm 146:4...
“When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.” (Psalm 146:4 -ESV)
The Jews had no belief in life after death because they did not have belief in an immortal soul....that was introduced by the Greeks and the problem of mistranslation. It’s a belief that permeates all false religion.....but it was not something taught by the ancient Jews and is not part of their scripture.
When in light of the Great White Throne Judgement in the land of the living, you may discern with Him why they are seen as the dead then when resurrected, to be judged in the land of the living.
I really don’t understand this statement. The two judgment periods are clearly seen in the scriptures.
One happens when Christ returns to judge the sheep and the goats, and from his words in Matthew 7:13-14 “few” are seen as worthy of life. The “many” (or majority) are on the other road that “leads to destruction”.....but why are they rejected by Jesus as “lawless” ones? They identify Jesus as their “Lord” but he says he “never knew” them.....(Matthew 7:21-23)
Does that not give us reason to pause and examine what we believe so that it aligns with what actually Jesus taught, rather than what we might assume that he taught?
I do not believe that Christendom is true Christianity, but the “weeds” of false Christianity sown by the devil. (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43) It’s divisions, practices and false doctrines are proof of this IMO.
When Jesus says “I never knew you”....NEVER means “not ever”. Very serious.