1. All mankind will die one day.
As stated on the page entitled “the Doctrine of Depravity” all mankind has inherited death as the natural end of their physical life because Adam decided to disobey God, thus bringing sin and death into the world. Also, Hebrews 9:27 says “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” That word appointed means someone’s destiny or calling or fate. So everyone’s fate or destiny is to die at some point. As a result, every human being will die one time. But as the second part of that scripture states all mankind will be judged. Every single person at some point in the not so distant future will have to stand before God. That’s why the annihilation theory does not work. No one dies and then just stays in the grave forever. All souls are eternal. All souls live forever. This is also why Christians don’t believe or don’t claim the saying “you only live once.” Because if a person only lives once, then none of the actions that we commit ultimately matter. Only life here and now matters. But before we discuss the topic of judgment, we will explain what happens to a person’s body, soul and spirit once they die.
2. Our bodies are buried in a grave and our spirits are reunited with the Lord.
Once a person dies, Ecclesiastes 12:7 and Ecclesiastes 3:20 explains what happens to a person’s body once they die. That scripture says a person’s physical body (or “the dust”) is buried into a casket or some kind of burial plot and then dirt covers their body until their body starts to deteriorate and decompose. (The term dust is used to refer to the fact that human beings are but dust - Genesis 2:7). That’s why funerals are held. Loved ones gather to celebrate the life of their loved one and then the deceased is taken to a cemetery to be buried.
Ecclesiastes 12:7 then says the spirit returns to God where it came from. The spirit of a person is the what gives a person life. It’s the oxygen that we all breathe. So the phrase “the spirit will return to God who gave it” means that once a person dies that person ceases to breathe and no longer exists as a physical being. The soul of that person still exists but they no longer breathe and thus they don’t have a physical body.
All human beings have a soul, however. That’s what a human being is. And a person becomes a full, alive human being once God gives that being a spirit and brings it to life. That is what happened in Genesis 2:7. The soul of a person is their mind, will and emotions. It’s what makes the person who they are. It’s their personality, actions, beliefs, emotions and thoughts. That’s why some people claim that once they have fallen in love with someone they have found their “soul” mate. They have fallen in love with who that person is. Genesis 2:7 could also say man became a "living soul."
Now, most theologians and church fathers believe according to Luke 16:22-23 that the soul of the Christian goes to heaven, which is what is called Abraham’s bosom. Another term that is used interchangeably is paradise. It just refers to heaven, the presence of God. Hades is a term that refers to the state of the departed dead. It’s another term for hell. But at some point all souls are judged by God.
3. The rapture of all Christians will happen at some point soon.
The Bible says that the only alternative that Christians have to physical death is the rapture. In other words, the only thing that can prevent a Christian from dying is the rapture of the church. The word "rapture" is a translation of the Latin word "rapio." Rapio means "caught up." So the rapture is the snatching or catching up of all believers into heaven. It is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 which says that at the sound of the trumpet of God "the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord."
The Bible states that it will be a sudden, instantaneous event. It is not something that will happen over a period of time. The only event that had to proceed the rapture is the first coming of Jesus Christ to the world, when he lived, died, was buried and rose from death. Since His death, burial and resurrection has already happened, nothing else has to happen before the rapture. It could happen at any moment in time. If a Christian is not randomly raptured up, then they will experience physical death.
4. After the church is raptured up, the Great Tribulation will happen.
The statement that was just made is called a pre-tribulation view of the rapture. So, here at Born Again Ministries DMV we believe that the rapture will occur before the Great Tribulation. The reason why that is so important is because the Bible states in Matthew 24:21 "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be." So the G.T. will be a time of unprecedented pain, sadness, horror, economic collapse and moral decadence that the world could not even imagine. The Bible states that during this time all Spirit-filled, born again believers will be in heaven during this time. Only unbelievers who don't know the Lord will be forced to endure the great tribulation.
The book of Daniel describes exactly how it will happen. Daniel 9:24-27 says that sometime soon in world history a charismatic, powerful, influential individual will make a pact with a ten-nation confederacy promising peace and safety. This person is called the Antichrist. The entire Great Tribulation will last for 7 years. The first 3.5 years will be the portion of time when the Antichrist makes his treaty and all will seem right with the world. Then, at the end of the first 3.5 years, the treaty will be broken and all hell will break loose on the earth. A lot of different books, scholarship and writings have been published on the subject of the Great Tribulation. But in a nutshell, that is what will happen. If you still desire further detail and clarification, feel free to email us.
5. All souls will appear before the presence of the Lord to be judged.
So, as stated above, all believers will be raptured up to meet the Lord in the air. All unbelievers will be raptured up also, but they will be caught up to stand before God at a great white throne judgment. This is similar to when a person is sentenced by a judge. When a person is locked up in jail for a crime, they are a given a future court date where they are forced to stand trial. If the defendant is declared guilty, then they are sentenced. So, right now, the grave is just the holding cell for all unbelievers.
First, we will review the fate of the non-believer. This passage is given in Revelation 20:11-15. It’s very important to understand that when souls appear before the Lord, we will appear in bodily form. We will have a full, alert conscience. We will not be spirits. Since all non-believers have not confessed Christ as their Lord and Savior and instead have denied Him, the Lord will judge them according to their works which will only land them in hell. That’s what the Bible means when it says ““And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire (v.15).” Verse 10 says that hell will be a place where ”people are tormented day and night forever and ever.” That’s the eternal suffering place for the unbeliever.
The rapture and judgment for the Christian, however, is given in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 and 2 Corinthians 5:10. (This information is also given in 1 Corinthians 15 towards the end of the chapter.) All Christians will stand before the judgement seat of Christ to receive our rewards for how we have lived our lives and contributed to the kingdom of God by serving in ministry and sharing the gospel.
6. After the Christian is judged, God gives us new bodies and creates a new heaven and a new earth.
Philippians 3:20-21 states that the bodies of all Christians will be renovated and transformed. Some people have interpreted this passage to mean that we will be angels. All we know is what the scripture says, which is, we will have a glorious body. Then Revelation 21 describes this entire process of the renovation of heaven and earth. Verse 1 states what happens. This new heaven and new earth is a literal, real city where all of God’s children will dwell. It contains a mountain (v. 10), a long wall , a temple and a river. It will be similar to visiting a vacation destination resort like Beverly Hills. This is very important because unfortunately some people have a wrong or warped view of heaven. Christians will not just sit on clouds all day playing harps for all eternity. Most theologians believe that heaven will be a perfect pristine city where we will serve the Lord with different activities that we enjoy forever.
