Hi Rollo, Thats a good question you ask. There are so many different views and depending on who you talk to you will get a variety of answers. However, I always like to see what the bible has to say on the subject.
First thing to understand about death is that the bible tells us what happens to us after we die.
Psalm 146:4 "his spirit goes out, he returns to the ground; on that very day his thoughts perish"
Eccl 9:5,10 "The living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing at all....there is no work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, where you are going."
these two verses show there is nothing after death. It is a place of inactivity. Jesus said it was like being 'asleep' when he spoke of Lazarus who had died...he said in John 11:11, 13, 14 " Lazarus our friend has fallen asleep, but I am traveling there to awaken him...then he said plainly "Lazarus has died"
And consider, Jesus himself was dead for 3 days...when he was resurrected was when he returned to heaven.
However, the bible holds out the hope of a 'resurrection' to ALL who have died.
Jesus proved this hope is real when he resurrected Lazarus before a crowd of people. He brought a dead man back to life. Lazarus woke from death. Jesus disciples believed that all would eventually be brought back to life as Acts 24:15 shows " And I have hope toward God....that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.
Yes all bodies will be resurrected.
...since all bodies have sinned..
...all bodies are Judged and sentenced..
...all bodies are present before the Judge, For their Judgement and Sentencing.
Some Bodies, while alive In their natural blood life of their body, with the ability of Thought, and ability to Make Choices....
Freely CHOSE Christ.
They shall be Raised To Glory of Eternal Life.
Some bodies, while alive In their natural blood life of their body, with the ability of Thought, and the ability to Make Choices...
Freely CHOSE To Reject God, Reject Christ.
They shall be Raised To Damnation.
John 5:29
AFTER Bodily Death...the Life (Blood) of the Body is No More.
AFTER Bodily Death, Bodies Are Not Resurrected WITH (its Life, its Blood)...
A Resurrected Body, VOID of its natural Life (Blood), Has No means To Make A Confession of Belief and Become Forgiven, Saved, or Born Again.
1)
From the beginning...Bodies in their own natural blood Life were Offered an Opportunity To Hear, trust, believe and follow God...(and a yearly date to make a sin Offering for Forgiveness....)or not....
Their continued Belief to the end of their natural life...resulted in their bodies To be Kept in the Book of Life....and their Bodies shall be Resurrected in Glory of everlasting Life.
2)
From Jesus' Day...Bodies in their own natural blood Life were "Offered" an Opportunity To Hear, trust, believe in God, In Christ and follow Him, and submit To His Once and Forever Receiving Of Forgiveness, Sanctification, Salvation, Quickening of their spirit, Indwelling of Gods Holy Spirit, To KEEP that man Forever In and With God, (being Kept, By The Lords Supreme Power Himself)..."or not."
3)
The mystery of Death; is dependent upon Whose Understanding....Gods ...or mans.
4)
Mans understanding; Bodily Life ceases.
No functioning/ Blood Flowing to Beat the Heart...the Body Dies., is Dead, knows nothing, feels nothing.
5)
Gods understanding;
Same as man....with Addition;
A man Alive. With his natural life (blood), functioning/flowing/....But separated From God (in disbelief of God)....is according To God, a Dead man.
6)
^^^^ That man is Offered Salvation While ....Alive in His Natural Physical Blood Life.
....Some men Accept God Offering, Christ's Offering....Many Do Not.
7)
Point Being....
ONCE a man IS physically Dead,
(And the man Rejected God or Christ's Offering... while physically Alive...
The physically Dead Mans Blood (Life) is Not Again Given Him When he IS Resurrected on Judgement Day.....THUS .... there IS no means For a natural man To fulfill The Requirement of The living natural sinful man To Confess Belief or become Forgiven.
The Door is Shut!
The urgency in Scripture is repeatedly Taught....To bodily alive men..."Spiritually separated (Dead) from God...to become Saved....before they LOSE their Opportunity...and physically Die In their Sin of Disbelief and Without Forgiveness and Salvation, that DEAD BODIES, void of their Blood Life, having Rejected God, CAN NOT RECEIVE.
Urgent.....a man does not KNOW the hour his physical blood life shall END, and he LOSE opportunity to become forgiven and Saved.
8)
A mans Demise to being raised UP to damnation has NOTHING to do with Gods Love.....and Everything to do with He is Faithful, His Word True....and man has been warned of the Consequences FOR mans Belief in God and FOR mans Rejection of God.
Men Alive in their own Blood Bodily Life, WHO Reject God, Christ, and physically die IN their Sin Against God, ....Shall NOT be forgiven, or Saved.....less God be a liar....God Forbid.
9)
Gods Mercy is revealed FOR the Damned.
THEY were Never GIVEN "ever lasting Life".
THUS they do NOT "continue" IN Spiritual LIFE forever, being Separated from God.
Our Service to the Lord...of the Living in our Natural blood life...IS to Speak His Word of Truth, that others may hear and know Salvation IS Come to the Earth, by the Power of God....that;
A man CAN become Forgiven, bodily dead IN Christ, Sanctified, kept with Christ, recorded In the Lambs Book of Life, his soul Restored, his spirit Born Again with Gods Seed, Have the Indwelling Power of God, to KEEP that man Forever Sealed unto God....NOW...while the man IS Alive in his own natural blood life.
Reject the OFFER, and the Consequence is Damnation, eternal separation from God...
Life departed out of his Living soul, and returned to God....and his body and soul destroyed and forgotten.
No, men do not get a 2nd chance, AFTER they are physically, bodily dead.
Men have hundreds and hundreds of days of chances, during their Alive Bodily (blood) life....to Choose or Reject God, Reject Christ.
God Bless,
Taken
