What happens to a believer when

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The Persecuted Church

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What happens to a believer when he dies?

Does every believer go to heaven automatically. Since there is no purgatory to further suffer for cleansing and there is no soul sleep; and there is no annihilation of the soul as evolutionists and Jehovah Witnesses teach, all believers have a hope, an assurance.

Angels show us that spirits can live and function without bodies so a lack of a physical body should not be considered a problem. The Transfiguration, which is found in three gospels: Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; and Luke 9:28-36. Moses, Elijah appeared alive. Moses, had died and yet Moses is conscious even though he had died. In Luke 16:19-31, the story of the rich man and Lazarus, makes it obvious that the rich man is conscious, Lazarus is conscious, and Abraham is conscious even though they are all dead. There was a place for the believer to be and live after death before the Christ’s death and there is a place to live after Christ’s death.

A believer still feels death as a result from sin. The souls of the believers at their deaths are made perfect in holiness and they immediately pass into glory; their bodies rest in their graves until the resurrection. Upon death a person’s spirit / soul are separated from the body, free from sin and suffering. Death brings the believer immediately into God's presence (Acts 7:59; Phil. 1:23; II Cor. 5:6-8; Rev. 6:9-11; 7:9- 17).

If you are born again you are a pilgrim on earth heading for another home in heaven

Hebrews 9:27, it is appointed unto men once to die.” This is universal to all mankind. But death is not the same thing for believers as it is for unbelievers. Our passing brings us into our eternal possession.

Our citizenship

Hebrews 12:23 “to the general assembly and church of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect.”

The Greek word is apographo which means to write (a copy or list), i.e. enroll: (Strong's Concordance.) Thayer's Greek Lexicon says it means to enter in a register or records specially, to enter the names of men, their property, and income in public records to enroll. This is where Revelation speaks about being written in the Lamb’s book of life

Phil 3:20-21: “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.”

This is broken up into two parts, first heaven waits for our spirit upon death and then with the coming of the Lord our corruptible bodies are to be resurrected to be united with our soul. We then live on earth, co- rule and reign under the Messiah for his 1,000 year millennium.

II Corinthians 5:1: “For we know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens. For verily in this we groan, longing to be

clothed upon with our habitation which is from heaven: if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For indeed we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened; not for that we would be unclothed, but that we would be clothed upon, that what is mortal may be swallowed up of life. Now he that wrought us for this very thing is God, who gave unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Being therefore always of good courage, and knowing that, while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord (for we walk by faith, not by sight); we are of good courage, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord. Wherefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well-pleasing unto him. For we must all be made manifest before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether it be good or bad.”

Paul was confident the state of the soul after death is better than its condition while it is in the flesh.

The body (earthly house) is put in the ground decays from death, but God has prepared another (a building from God), a house that is not made with hands, eternal in the heavens so that we are not naked as man not angels we are to have a body and not just be a spirit. In our present condition in the body we groan “longing to be clothed upon with

our habitation which is from heaven.”

We will have to wait in heaven before the resurrected glorified body is given. We will still look the same (only better). In I Cor. 15:50-58, Paul explains in the resurrection, mortality must put on immortality. we that are in this tabernacle do groan. In Romans 8 all creation groans and v.23 “even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.”

Philippians 1:21-23: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if to live in the flesh, if this shall bring fruit from my work, then what I shall choose I know not. But I am in a strait betwixt the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ; for it is very far better.”

2 Cor. 5:1-8. He sums it all up in verse 8 saying, we are always confident knowing that while we are home in the body we are absent from the Lord. and he goes on to say to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. When all our earthly tent is dissolved, we will be in the presence of God. lit., “being at home in the body we are away from home from the Lord.” This is why we now walk by faith.

Paul states to be absent from the body, by death, the believer is in God's presence.James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

This is why Paul could say Philippians 1:23. "Having a desire to depart and to be with Christ; which is far better."

Isa. 25:8-9 “He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people he will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken. And it will be said in that day: "Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation."

Our salvation is completed by the resurrection/rapture as new permanent bodies, that are incorruptible and eternal are given (Rom.8). The rapture is focused on those who are alive on the earth to be transformed into eternal incorruptible glorified bodies. The resurrection is to give the same glorified bodies to those who died; it is to bring the whole church together in the transformation (1 Cor.15:52)

The believer in heaven finds himself in a state of rest (Heb.4); all his pain and physical infirmities are gone. Revelation 7:16- 17)

Christ dwells on earth in Israel in the Millennium. The earth will be returned to the state of what it was before the fall, with a few exceptions. But in the meantime Christ is in heaven. Those who have found peace with God on earth will experience the perfect peace of God in heaven after they move from their body to the new address of heaven.