The Dead in Christ

.... When Jesus left this world and returned to the Father, He issued an invitation and a promise to us all:

.... "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."

(John 12:26)

.... "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."

(John 14:2-3)

.... Therefore when we reach the end of our mortal lives and pass from this world to the next, the most important thing to understand is that we will follow once more in Jesus' footsteps, and in a fuller sense come into the presence of the Father and of Jesus Himself:

.... "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better."

(Philippians 1:21-23)

.... "We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord."

(2 Corinthians 5:8)

.... Those who are dead in Christ have really only died to this world – which is considered a benefit and a blessing in itself (Job 3:18-19; Isaiah 57:1-2). In the sense that really matters, in which they are one spirit with Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:17), they have not truly died at all, but have passed from death into the truer, fuller life. Therefore in the sense of this world, they are usually not referred to as being ‘dead’ but as being ‘asleep’ in Christ (John 11:11-14; Acts 7:60; 1 Corinthians 15:6,18).
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.... In other words, in this sense, ‘asleep’ simply means that they are at rest from the labors of this world. Let’s follow the life of Jesus again in order to demonstrate this point:

.... "But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep."

(1 Corinthians 15:20)

.... We know that during the three days of His death, Jesus was very active in the heart of the earth, among the dead. He certainly was not asleep in this way! (Genesis 3:15) We also saw, from the story of the rich man and Lazarus, that everyone else in that realm was active and aware. They still had compassion and feelings (Luke 16:26), they could feel pain or comfort (as appropriate), they’ve all kept their memories, and they've all kept up with the latest news, apparently brought to them by the new arrivals (v 29). They cared about the loved ones they left behind, and their families still mattered to them (vs 25-28). Even in Hades itself, emotions such as love endured: "for love is as strong as death . . . many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it." (Song 8:6-7).

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.... Furthermore, the people in this realm were aware of the concept of justice and of judgment to come (Luke 16:25). The same thing would be seen at a later time, in the revelation of the souls of the martyrs, who were under the altar:

.... ‘And they cried with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"’

(Revelation 6:10)

.... In this passage we also see that they were aware of the passing of time, as they waited for the day of His glory and the resurrection of the dead.
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.... The dead in Christ are presently in a place of rest and repose, called Paradise, and in this place they never express regrets, doubts or apprehensions over themselves nor worry about their own future. But they do care about the ones they’ve left behind, in the hope that they will one day join them. Likewise for ourselves, on this side of death, we can have no greater comfort than to know that a departed loved one has gone to this place to be with the Lord, and that we will one day see them again.

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.... But Paradise, in itself, is still a holding place. This situation will change again on the great resurrection day, which we will discuss in our future postings.

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Daily Bible Reading: 1 Timothy 5