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Immediately after death the spirit leaves the body and goes to the Spirit World to await the resurrection, when it will be reunited with a new, perfected immortal body. The spirit is eternal and continues to be a cognizant entity, even when not inhabiting a physical body.
The Spirit World is not the same place as either Heaven or Hell. It is a sort of an intermediate destination. Heaven (for most) or Hell (for a tiny minority) will come later. The Spirit World is said to be comprised of two parts (states of existence, actually, as opposed to literal places). First, there is Paradise. It is a wonderful place of peace and rest where the righteous (regardless of religion) will reside. Jesus told the repentant thief who hung next to Him on the cross that He would see him in Paradise on that very day, and yet when He appeared to Mary on Easter morning, He told her not to touch Him since He had not yet gone to His Father in Heaven. Clearly then, Heaven and Paradise are not one and the same. Second there is the Spirit Prison. This is where the wicked will remain until they are resurrected. Christ (in spirit form) was said to have visited the spirits in prison during the three day period when His body lay in the tomb. While He was there, He preached His gospel to those who had not had the opportunity to hear it during their lifetimes. Even though two thousand years have passed since Christ’s ministry, millions of other people have lived and died without hearing the good news of His atoning sacrifice. Others have heard the news, but for one reason or another, were just not ready to accept it.
There is no scriptural basis for the common assumption among Christians that either Paradise or the Spirit Prison have since ceased to exist. There is every reason to believe that they continue to exist today as in the past. Besides, in Revelation, we are told that we will stand before God to be judged when Christ returns to Earth to begin His millennial reign. That would make no sense at all if we were already in Heaven and had been since the time of our death – unless, of course, we are to assume that God might want to change His mind after having us around awhile.
Christ will not personally be in Paradise, as He is once again with His Father in Heaven. His presence will be felt, though, by those in Paradise and the work of spreading His gospel will continue among the spirits who are waiting there for the Millennium to begin. The righteous who did not know of His gospel while on earth will have the opportunity to hear it during this period of time – which may be hundreds or thousands of years, depending upon when they died. Those who heard it but did not accept it during their life will have yet another opportunity to do so. Each of us is a product of our culture and environment. We have each had different life experiences. In the Spirit World, many of the factors that influenced our decisions in this life will no longer cloud our vision. We will be able to see things more clearly than we were able to while here on Earth, encumbered by so much baggage. God will make sure all of us have a truly equal chance to recognize and accept the truth we are taught, even if it is not until after we die.
With respect to those in the Spirit Prison, their wait will be considerably less pleasant. They will be fully aware of the misery they brought into the world. They will be wracked with guilt over their sins and will be tormented by the knowledge that they lived wicked and depraved lives. For them, the Spirit World will be hell-like. But it will not necessarily be a permanent state. The gospel of Jesus Christ will be taught to them too, spread by believers who are hopeful that they will respond to Christ’s gift of forgiveness. This is something they can still do at that time. God won’t close the door until they have been given every opportunity to repent of their sins and acknowledge that those sins can be forgiven as a result of His Son’s sacrifice. If they choose to sincerely repent, they too can be forgiven. This is not to say that they all will, but they will be given that opportunity. Eventually, “every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ.” Whether that confession will be accompanied by remorse for one's sins and gratitude for His sacrifice will be the determining factor for what happens next.
Morning Katzpur!
As I'm sure you must know, the Scriptures were written without punctuation, and much of the OT - without vowels as well, as one reads the Hebrew language and inserts the vowels as one goes along.
With regard to punctuation though, scholars have debated for centuries about where the comma belongs in the text about the thief beside Christ on the cross. Many feel that it should read:
"Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in Paradise."
Instead of:
"Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
One little comma can change such a lot, and not one of us knows the truth of it - yet.
As far as the Great White Throne Judgment goes, all people will be judged by their deeds and what is in their hearts, which motivates one's deeds.
We all know that "No one comes to the Father but through the Son," and that "He who denies Me, denies My Father also."
The Bible doesn't say that Earthly death is anyone's last chance for salvation. Personally, I believe that 'last chance' will take place at the Great White Throne Judgment. (Of course, I may be wrong.)
There is a belief that each of us are given a quasi- microchip in our brian ( a sense of a creator, a sense of a need for seaching ). With missionaries and churches reaching out to remote areas the word is being disseminated worldwide but. , unless a man be born of water and spirit he,/she cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Secondly one is NOT a child of God unless he believes in the son of man. So as a human who interprets the word a person who never heard the word is damned!! In this scenario I defy ME and THOSE who elect themselves ( justifiable or not) to judge the unaware past or future . We must default to God in all those cases ie, fetuses, ignorant, and millions never presented the word!!!! It's Gods CALL!!!! It's just too difficult to solidify a judgment by we sinners. God knows the heart of every man.
"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse..."
This passage is frequently quoted by people who believe that everyone who has ever lived has had a fair chance to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ and to accept Him as their Savior. I don't see that verse as saying this at all. To me, it's one thing to acknowledge a Creator, and something else entirely to recognize that Jesus Christ was sent to earth to atone for our sins and to grant us eternal life. I believe there are billions of people who died without ever hearing of Jesus Christ. To begin with, it took time for Christianity to spread to all of the populated nations of the world. Undoubtedly, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people lived their lives without ever having heard the Christian gospel taught, realizing that they could be forgiven of their sins and that they could live again after they'd died. Even today, billions live in countries where they are not free to even study Christianity, and in some of these places, children are actually indoctrinated against Christianity from an early age. For this reason, I believe it's completely unrealistic to assume that Romans 1:20 means what many people say it does.
The question was asked of me on another thread, "I read that mormons believe that those who never heard the gospel get a second chance after death when they are in "spirit prison."
I'll respond to that question shortly, but I thought it would be interesting to see what everybody else thinks. For obvious reasons, I am asking this question of my fellow Christians. What do you think happens to people who die without ever hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ? How are they to accept something they have never been taught?
I would dare to say they all lived happily ever-after.
After the age of accountability........roughly the teen years........everyone is responsible for their own destiny.....God says He is knowable to all by His creation and therefore all will be accountable whether the gospel is heard or not, the verse is quite clear. Children who die young are not mentioned specifically in the word, but we can assume a loving God will care for them in a wonderful manner.
If I were most of you there is another verse I would worry about as well.................
Rom 2:16 on that day when, according to MY gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
Seeing as there are many who scoff at Paul's writings.......this verse seems to put a premium on knowing which verse or verses Paul is talking about......it says MY gospel meaning only one...............just a fwiw
If one cannot live with in the direction of Jesus teaching only , can he actually be Christ One?
Many people were saved in Jesus ministry, long before Paul came along.
Which do you suppose hold the more valid claim ?
Those under Jesus, or those under Paul ?
Who will be judge on that day ? Paul or Jesus ?
Jesus Told the disciples not to be called master, father, or rabbi, (teacher) , Paul did the opposite.
Jesus designated the Holy Spirit to teach all believers in His place . Paul designated "gifted"teachers to teach in God's place.
On judgment day who's Lord ship matters most that one obeyed in this life ?
After the age of accountability........roughly the teen years........everyone is responsible for their own destiny.....God says He is knowable to all by His creation and therefore all will be accountable whether the gospel is heard or not, the verse is quite clear. Children who die young are not mentioned specifically in the word, but we can assume a loving God will care for them in a wonderful manner.
There is no such teaching as the age of accountability
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