In my previous posting concerning life after death I showed Scripturally that all humans are made of flesh which God calls the soul (Heb.-nephesh), and that following death the soul returns to dust from whence it came. The Scriptures also reveal that each human has a personal spirit by which he/she can commune with God, and that the person’s spirit returns to God at the moment of death, as was the case of the man Jesus on the cross: “Father, unto Thee I commend (give up) My (human) spirit” (Lk. 23:46). As was proven in the posting concerning the manhood of Jesus He, being a human being, had to receive a human spirit from God at birth and had to give it up at death. Like the spirits of all human beings, His spirit returned to God Who gave it (Eccl. 12:7): “Then the dust (soul/body) will return to the earth as it was, and the (human) spirit will return to God Who gave it.” One verse (among many) that proves conclusively that the dead from Eden on are still in the grave having returned to dirt is Acts 2:29 where Peter states that David, the long ago deceased”… man after God’s own heart,” (centuries after his death) WAS DEAD AND (STILL) BURIED.” This statement was made 50 days after Jesus supposedly raised all dead saints to life and took them to heaven. But what does God say?

If we are to believe that “… all Scripture is God-breathed (inspired by God), then we must believe First Thessalonians 4:16 where Paul, being inspired by God, wrote that ALL WHO ARE IN CHRIST will rise to meet Him in the air upon His return, BEGINNING WITH THOSE IN THE GRAVE. Paul said in First Corinthians 15:51-54 that both dead and living saints IN CHRIST (the few) would be either on or in the earth when Jesus returned. If every true saint that had ever died prior to Christ’s ascension went to heaven with Him during His ascension, and if every true saint that has died since His ascension has gone immediately to heaven at death, then who are those in the grave that will rise to meet Him in the air upon His return? Answer: the true saints who have died having lived in obedience to His Word (Mat. 7:13,14). This will include King David. Those who would have all dead church people with Jesus in heaven at the present time use several Scriptures to try to “prove” their doctrine. Their problem is that they do not know what the Scriptures mean, nor do they consult other relevant Scriptures.

One such Scripture is Matthew 24:30,31 which tells us that Jesus will gather His elect (saints) from the four winds, from one end of HEAVEN to the other. Case closed? Not if we are seeking God’s Truth on the matter. Where is Biblical heaven? Jeremiah 4:25 and Matthew 8:20;13:32 tell us that birds fly and build nests in heaven, the same heaven from which Jesus will gather His people upon His return. Nests are built in trees, cliffs, the ground, etc. Birds and man both need oxygen to live. There is no oxygenated air above earth’s atmosphere, nor are there trees, cliffs, etc. Therefore, the heaven from which Jesus will gather His dead saints is the heaven in which man, birds, animals, etc. now live. The Biblical Truth is that “HEAVEN” COMPRISES ALL SPACE ABOVE GROUND LEVEL.

Another passage used to “prove” that man goes to heaven upon his demise involves the chariot ride of the prophet Elijah. In Second Kings 2:11 we find Elijah going up INTO heaven in a chariot. The Bible tells us explicitly that this took place during the reign of Ahaziah, whose rule lasted only two years–from 852-851 B.C. Note that God does not tell us that Elijah was taken “TO” heaven, but rather “INTO heaven,” meaning somewhere above earth’s surface. In Second Kings 2 Elisha was told that Elijah would be “taken from you,” and “taken from being your head (teacher).” Neither he nor we are told where God took him. We do know that he was not taken to heaven, for some 10 years later, during the reign of King Jehoram which lasted from 846-843 B.C., the king received a hand-written letter from Elijah warning him about a disaster that was coming as recorded in Second Chronicles 21:12-20. The hand-written message written on a physical surface had to have been hand-delivered by a human messenger. The passage states that the disaster took place just as Elijah said it would.

In John 3:13 Jesus said that no human other than Himself had ever ascended to and remained in heaven. This would have included Elijah and Enoch. In that Jesus had been in heaven “… from the beginning” (Jn. 1:1-4) until the time of His earthly stint, would He not have known that these two prophets were there? It is said of Enoch that : “… God took him.” We are not told where He took him. We do know He did not take him to heaven. Now that we have established that the dead from Eden to the present are still dead and have returned to dirt, let us search God’s Word to determine what will happen at the time of the three resurrections as explained by the Lord. The first such episode is known as the Resurrection of the Saints which we will look at initially. But first, a little background is in order.

In Acts 26:8 Paul asks King Herod, “Why should it be thought incredible to you that God would raise the dead?” Here, Paul is referring specifically to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul would later proclaim that Jesus was the FIRST to be raised from the dead (Acts 26:22,23). The Word “first” indicates that others would also be raised from the dead. (This is impossible if all dead saints are now in heaven. Are they in a heavenly grave awaiting the Lord’s return to earth?) To be continued.  L.J.