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As a kid I was taught that when you die a person either goes to heaven or hell immediately.
But later on in my life I came across teaching that said we don't go to heaven or hell immediately after they die. That when die we wait until Jesus comes back to be resurrected then our eternal destiny will be determined. Is that true?
I understand about our bodies will be changed when Christ comes back. However, I'm hearing/reading that when you die (now or down the line) that your soul does not go to heaven or hell immediately.
You are in a sleep state until Christ returns, then are raised and judged. Then and only then will you know whether or not you will be going to heaven or hell. Right now no one is in heaven or hell. The dead remain dead until Christ returns to raise them from the grave and judged them.
That is what I want to know if that is true or not.
Anyway, if you read accounts of people who have had the experience of dying and being brought back, most say they were conscious of their spirit being in another place, not "sleeping" and waiting to be judged. Most say it was a peaceful, beautiful and blissful experience and they didn't WANT to come back...but it wasn't their time to go yet. I believe hell is something we create for ourselves while we're here, not a physical place "bad" people go to once they die. There's no way to know for certain until we experience this transformation ourselves...but it's certainly interesting to ponder!
Last edited by Miss Blue; 06-25-2011 at 09:13 AM..
Anyway, if you read accounts of people who have had the experience of dying and being brought back, most say they were conscious of their spirit being in another place, not "sleeping" and waiting to be judged. Most say it was a peaceful, beautiful and blissful experience and they didn't WANT to come back...but it wasn't their time to go yet. I believe hell is something we create for ourselves while we're here, not a physical place "bad" people go to once they die. There's no way to know for certain until we experience this transformation ourselves...but it's certainly interesting to ponder!
Last edited by Miss Blue; 06-25-2011 at 09:14 AM..
As a kid I was taught that when you die a person either goes to heaven or hell immediately.
But later on in my life I came across teaching that said we don't go to heaven or hell immediately after they die. That when die we wait until Jesus comes back to be resurrected then our eternal destiny will be determined. Is that true?
My personal belief (and my Church's teaching on the subject) is that when we die, our spirit leaves our mortal body and continues to exist as a fully cognizant entity in either Paradise (for the righteous) or Hell (for the wicked). We will continue to learn, grow, progress and be able to make choices affecting our eternal destiny -- right up until when Jesus Christ returns to earth to begin His millennial reign. During this period of time, those in Hell who repent of the sins they committed here on earth and accept Him as their Savior will be released from this state of suffering and join those who await Him in a state of peace and rest. Once our physical bodies are resurrected, made immortal and perfect, and our spirits return to occupy them, we will all stand before God to be judged and then assigned to reside permanently in Heaven (almost everyone) or Hell (an infintisimal few). You must understand, this doctrine varies from denomination to denomination. You can expect to get a number of different answers to your question.
My personal belief (and my Church's teaching on the subject) is that when we die, our spirit leaves our mortal body and continues to exist as a fully cognizant entity in either Paradise (for the righteous) or Hell (for the wicked). We will continue to learn, grow, progress and be able to make choices affecting our eternal destiny -- right up until when Jesus Christ returns to earth to begin His millennial reign. During this period of time, those in Hell who repent of the sins they committed here on earth and accept Him as their Savior will be released from this state of suffering and join those who await Him in a state of peace and rest. Once our physical bodies are resurrected, made immortal and perfect, and our spirits return to occupy them, we will all stand before God to be judged and then assigned to reside permanently in Heaven (almost everyone) or Hell (an infintisimal few). You must understand, this doctrine varies from denomination to denomination. You can expect to get a number of different answers to your question.
Luke 16:26 says that there is a gulf between Heaven and Hell over which no one can pass. What your church is teaching you is very danerous. Things like that are told to people to make them feel that Hell is not permanent and that you can "make up" for a sinful life if you die before you repent.
As a kid I was taught that when you die a person either goes to heaven or hell immediately.
But later on in my life I came across teaching that said we don't go to heaven or hell immediately after they die. That when die we wait until Jesus comes back to be resurrected then our eternal destiny will be determined. Is that true?
This is aka the soul sleep doctrine and IIRC is espoused by the SDA folk.
It matters not as when you die, you will not be aware of any time lapse and thus your day of judgement will happen immediately to you even if millions of years have elapsed.
But none of this is true anyway as it all comes from the same book of lies.
Well as the ol' saying goes absence from the body and presence with the Lord sort of implies an immediate transformation to a heavenly body yet what really is the "timeline'"? Is their a time by which we "sleep" which is also implied dozens of times over suggesting a "waiting" period or a final judgement perhaps centuries from now? There is both speculation and some straight forward biblical answers such as why at the initial return of Jesus where the "church" (believers) are "caught up" or as we say raptured (pre tribulation most likely senario) and Jesus raptures the dead first then the living. Haven't those dead already joined Jesus? Whats with that? Anyway, the reference to the dead in various scripture verses are "those who are sleeping or are asleep. For how long were they so-called asleep and why would they be discribed as asleep ? Why would the term sleep be needed if the transition is upon death? Hmmmmmm.
Das
Last edited by DASULAR17; 06-21-2011 at 11:19 PM..
Reason: formating
When you die, you die...you're soul doesn't "go" anyplace..... It's the end. You ARE your "soul"..and when you die, you cease to exist, except in other's memories...therefore, it's a good idea to be a good person and leave good memories!
Since we are talking beliefs here and my beliefs are as good as the next persons. I hope this post will not be deleted like the last one was.
The OP was this
Quote:
As a kid I was taught that when you die a person either goes to heaven or hell immediately. But later on in my life I came across teaching that said we don't go to heaven or hell immediately after they die. That when die we wait until Jesus comes back to be resurrected then our eternal destiny will be determined. Is that true?
No-one knows what is true. No-one knows what happens for certain after death until we get there. Time may be measured differently in those different circumstances. IF there is an existence after physical death.
However, using pseudo-logic is a good way to try to determine what probably happens.
1) there are many different belief systems. Jesus does not figure in all of them, only in some of them. Other religions would not want to be 'judged' by Jesus, just as you would not want to be 'judged' by another religion's figurehead. This means that either all the other religions are wrong or we are wrong to have a belief that one figurehead is the "correct" one.
2) We can determine what are the common experiences reported by those who have survived a near death experience. These maybe physical characteristics of death, but given that we do not all react to chemical drugs the same way, it is unlikely that we would all react in the same way to chemicals released into the body during the death experience.
3) We can take into account the numerous reports of previous-life remberances. This has a bearing on the finality of a place after Earth and whether we stay there forever or not.
4) Historically, many secret societies and occult groups as well as shamans etc claim to be able to shift a part of themselves out of body. Eg: their consciousness. This suggests a possibility for some part of us to exist after death of the physical. Most religions believe in such an existence after physical death.
So, I am afraid as I have pointed out that the OP has very little meaning in this context unless it is being adressed as an academic question to Christian scholars who may be able to answer it with reference to the Christian bible. Even so, it is a matter of belief and may be interpreted differently by different scholars.
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