Location of the Saved and Unsaved: Until, At, and After the Resurrection
Table of Contents
Where the Saints Will Be, At, and After the First Resurrection
We have seen in John 5:29 two distinct resurrections; one of the saved, and the other of the unsaved, with a thousand years between.
The first event that Scripture teaches us to look for, is the coming of Christ to take to Himself His heavenly saints (John 14:3; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 2 Thess. 2:1). This is the sure hope given to the believer.
“The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
The saints living when Christ comes, do not die: their bodies are changed, and made like Christ's glorious body (1 Cor. 15:51-54; Phil. 3:20, 21). It is after that, that all are manifested at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Cor. 4:5), where the Lord will express His approval of what He can of our actions, and also what He must disapprove of. 'All are in Christ, accepted in the Beloved while on earth, and are now there in bodies of glory. Their acceptance in Christ is unquestioned.
Between the time of His coming for us, and His glorious appearing with us (Titus 2:13), when He comes to reign over the earth, there is a period of about seven years, called the time of Jacob's trouble (Jer. 30:7; Dan. 12:1). During that time the Jews are brought in again through great tribulation (Matt. 24:21); and there are two companies of martyrs; Rev. 20:4 tells of their resurrection. "They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”
This is the last part of the first resurrection. All the blessed and holy are now raised from the dead, and get a heavenly place, but like the Old Testament, saints; they are not a part of the Church, the body of Christ (Col. 3:4; 2 Thess. 1:7, 8; Jude 14, 15 Rev. 1:7). All the heavenly saints share the reign of Christ.”
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(To be continued)
Where the Unsaved Dead Are, At, and After Their Resurrection
When the Lord comes as Judge, He judges the living at His appearing, and in His Kingdom, which is called Millennial, as it means a thousand years. It is the time when righteousness reigns, and judgment goes on every day (Isa. 32:1).
Some are cast into the lake of fire without dying, with bodies that fire cannot consume (Rev. 19:20, and 20:10). But the wicked dead, that is, those who have sinned and have died without Christ, are still in the prison, till the heavens and the earth flee away, preparatory to the new heavens and the new earth taking their place (Rev. 20:11, and chapter 21:1).
Here in Rev. 20:11-15, we find the resurrection of judgment. No blessed and holy are here. The latter were all raised before (verses 5, 6). All who have done or practiced evil are here, they were not born again. The flesh profiteth nothing. It cannot bring forth good fruit (Matt. 7:17).
Here then we see the dead, though now raised, body and soul reunited, yet they are the spiritually dead. There is a Great White Throne, a symbol of the holiness of God's judgment, and there before this Great White Throne of divine righteousness, they stand upheld in space, in a light that hides nothing, that shows the sinner every sin that he has committed from his birth to his death, for "God requireth that which is past." Eccl. 3:15.
He will not fail in His justice; the time of mercy is past. The Son of Man is the judge (John 5:22, 27; Acts 17:31). The wages of sin is death, and here it is the second death, the lake of fire. What eternal regrets, as they think of mercy despised, grace rejected, opportunities of salvation slighted, till the last.
The books give a true account of their works. That other book, the book of life, is there, to witness that their names are not in it, therefore they must be judged according to their works.
Mark it, there is no annihilation here, nor restoration to the favor of God. That cannot be now; there is nothing now but eternal judgment in the lake of fire.
What a wretched company are seen there in Rev. 21:8, and none can escape. The sea is emptied; death and hades hold them no longer. They must stand before the judgment throne of God (Rom. 14:10-12).
What about you, dear reader, have you come to Christ yet? If not, it will be "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”
In eternity there are three places,
The new heavens are filled with God's redeemed heavenly saints.
The new earth is filled with its redeemed earthly saints (2 Peter 3:13).
The lake of fire contains all the lost who die without Christ, or lived in their sins till judgment fell upon them.
Where will you be for eternity? Come to Jesus now. Now is the day of salvation. Tomorrow may be too late for you.
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(Concluded)
Where the Saved Dead Are, Till the Resurrection
Since Christ died and is risen again, and the Holy Spirit has come to dwell in believers on earth, with the completed Word of God, we are able to speak with assurance, and to enjoy in a fuller way, our portion in Christ.
We might take 1 Cor. 2:9, and Isa. 64:4, for Old Testament saints.
“Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him." And verse 10 for the present.
“But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”
We Christians, having the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, are now able to know and to speak with assurance, and in a different manner than in Old Testament times.
“Sheol" in Hebrew, and "Hades" in Greek, are often translated "Hell," but they mean "the unseen state," the state of the soul separate from the body.
“Gehenna" is the word used for the place of punishment of the unsaved; it is also often translated "Hell.”
Another word is used in 2 Peter 2:4 for the prison into which the unsaved are, until the resurrection, called the "chains of darkness." The Lord Jesus was never there. When He died, His soul was separate from His body; that was "Hades," translated "Hell" in Psa. 16:10, and Acts 2:27, 31.
There are two distinct resurrections. In John 5:29, one is called "the resurrection of life;" and the other "the resurrection of damnation," or judgment. In Acts 24:15, "a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and of the unjust." And in Revelation, the one is called "the first resurrection"; the other is "the dead" (Rev. 20:4-6). Rev. 20:5 lets us know that there is a thousand years between the two.
The unseen is now opened up to us in definite, unmistakable language. To the thief on the cross, the Lord said,
“Verily, I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise.”
What assurance and joy these words would convey to the heart of the thief who had only asked a share in His kingdom, and now finds himself a chosen companion of his Redeemer for 'the blessedness of paradise, which means "a garden of pleasures," which is neither a prison, nor is it an unconscious state.
The Lord was, when He died, in the unseen state,-that is, absent from the body, but present with the Father, into whose hands He commended His Spirit (Luke 23:46); and the thief was also absent from the body, and present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8).
This was also what Paul wrote by inspiration about himself, and again in Phil. 1:21, 23, "To die is gain;" and, "Having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better,”
We see in these verses, enjoyment of the Lord's presence follows the death of one who dies in the Lord (Rev. 14:13).
In 2 Cor. 5:1-4 we see that the body is the tent or tabernacle that the person lives in. He may be unclothed, that is, the person without his body; or he may be clothed with his body (compare verses 6, 8).
Our bodies are mortal bodies at present, but when Christ comes for His saints, then our bodies will be immortal (1 Cor. 15:53); these words are not applied to the soul. There is proof in Scripture that the soul is still living after the body is dissolved.
2 Cor. 12:2-4 distinguishes between the person, and his body or tent, also Luke 12:4, 5.
“Fear Him, which after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear Him." Still the person is living, though his body is killed.
The Lord lifts the curtain in Luke 16, showing us one saved, and one lost; one in torment, and one in bliss; both unclothed.
This is indeed a solemn picture: what must the reality be! Each, like Judas Iscariot, has gone to "his own place" (Acts 1:25).
Abraham's bosom to the Jew is the place of bliss, and there Lazarus was carried. His name means "God is my help.”
The rich man had everything but God. He had left God out.
The poor man had nothing, but he had God, and so bliss was his portion: and all who neglect Moses and the Prophets, that is, the Word of God, will be lost.
It is indeed a prison (2 Peter 2:4-9) in which the unsaved are, until the resurrection, when they will be sentenced. Yet they are already "in torments;" not a drop of water to cool their tongues; already "tormented in this flame." We do not argue about whether it is literal fire or not. If this is a picture, what must the reality be!
Here also we see "a great gulf fixed" between them. There is no mercy, no changing then, no escape from the righteous judgment of a Holy One who will deal with the guilty. There is no salvation after death. "Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2).
During this time the blessed Savior who died for sinners, by His Word and Spirit still says,
“Come unto Me, and all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matt. 11:28.
And, "Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37.
And, "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation." Heb. 2:3.
Soon the time will come when He shall say, "Depart from Me, ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.' Matt. 25:41.
In 1 Peter 3, Noah, a preacher of righteousness, warned the ungodly world, but they would not hear. Then the flood swept them all off the face of the earth, into the prison where they now are, awaiting their judgment; there is no gospel there. Noah, by the Spirit of Christ, did the preaching while they were still on the earth. There is no hope for them now. Remember also Sodom and Gomorrha (Jude 7), "suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”
There is no purgatory in the Word of God. "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John 1:7. If we are believers, we are already purged from our sins (Heb. 1:3); already perfected by Christ's one sacrifice (Heb. 10:14).
Purgatory denies the all-cleansing efficacy of the all-atoning blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is "made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Cor. 1:30).
All believers are children of God. It is not religion, it is trusting Christ, that saves the soul. Make sure, dear reader, that you are one of those who have trusted in the Savior and His finished work.
When the Lord Jesus hung upon the cross, He was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21). On that cross He went through all the sorrows of death, and bore the judgment, was forsaken of God as the victim bearing sin. He finished the work, went down into death to annul him that had the power of death. And this He did; death could not hold Him.
He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane that He might be saved out of death, so He went down thus into the grave,-the lower parts of the earth. His body saw no corruption. He was in no prison, except that His body was in the grave. His Spirit was with the Father. Satan was defeated, and we are delivered from his power (Heb. 2:14, 15; Eph. 4:8; John 17:4, 5). We, as believers, now by the Holy Spirit are united to that glorified One, the Savior of sinners, the believer's Advocate and Great High Priest, the Church's Head.
The death of believers is called sleep as to this world (John 11:11-14, also 1 Thess. 4:13-15). "They know not anything" (Eccl. 9:5), but that is "under the sun." Ecclesiastes is wisdom under the sun; it does not reach up to heavenly things. "Sleep" refers only to the body, and not to the soul. The soul does not sleep.
We have already noticed that this does not mean unconsciousness to the bright scene of happiness with the Lord where they wait with Him for the time when soul and body will be reunited and glorified.
(To be continued)