Harmony
Dec 22, 2006, 06:33 PM
Hi Ya'll, haven't posted here in a while, so i thought i would post something that may stir up a little discussion. Read this article and post what your opinion is. It should be an interesting conversation...
"On Tuesday, December 20, ABC aired a special two-hour program entitled, âHeaven: Where Is It? How Do We Get There?â To produce the program, Barbara Walters spent a whole year traveling the world, âinterviewing religious leaders, scientists, believers and non-believers alike to get a range of perspectives on heaven and the afterlifeâ (ABC News International, www.abcnews.go.com, (http://www.abcnews.go.com,) December 21, 2005).
Are we overlooking the obvious? Are we asking the question of the wrong people? The very inquiry of what happens after death is impossible for any living human to answer on his own authority, from his own experience. So the answers more often than not are just speculations, opinions, and feelings.
But there is someone who can speak authoritatively on what happens after deathâfrom experience: that someone is Jesus Christ!
Jesus is the only human being ever to have been resurrected to spirit life! (Others were brought back to physical, temporary lifeâMatthew 9:25; 27:52; Acts 9:40). After three days and three nights in the grave, Jesus Christ was resurrected and seen by more than 500 witnesses over a 40-day period (1 Corinthians 15:3; Acts 1). After that, the disciples watched as He disappeared into a cloud (Acts 1:3) to sit at the right hand of the Father, in heaven (Mark 16:19).
So what does Jesus say about heaven? Is it the place where saints will live for all eternity, in a state of blessedness? When Jesus was on this earth, notice His words, as recorded by the Apostle John: âNo one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heavenâ (John 3:13). The popular belief of departed moms, dads, grandparents, brothers, and sisters in heavenâwhere we will be reunited with them at deathâis just not in the Bible! And on the testimony of Jesus Christâthe only one who can speak with authority on the subject of life after deathâno man (or woman) has gone up to heaven.
So where are the dead? Waiting and resting in their graves, for the resurrection from the dead at Christâs return. As Peter was inspired to say on the Day of Pentecost, âLet me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day⦠For David did not ascend into the heavensâ (Acts 2:29, 34).
We are not going to heavenâJesus is coming back to earth! After the disciples watched Jesus ascend to heaven, 40 days after his resurrection, the angels made an important (and often overlooked) statement: âMen of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heavenâ (Acts 1:11). Paul was inspired to explain that this event will coincide with the resurrection of the saints, who will come out of their graves, rise to meet Christ in the air (not in heaven) and will come with Christ back down to earth. âFor if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus⦠For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And 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. Therefore comfort one another with these wordsâ (1 Thessalonians 4:14â18).
It is a comfort to know what happens after death, straight from the words of the One who has been there! If you would like to know more about your future in Godâs Kingdom on earth, read our Tomorrowâs World web site cover story âWill You Inherit the Earth?â
How do you find the real truth about heaven and the afterlife? Ask the right Person!"
Source:"Are you going to Heaven? Who really knows?" (http://www.lcg.org/cgi-bin/tw/commentary/tw-comm.cgi?category=Commentary1&item=1135351995)
"On Tuesday, December 20, ABC aired a special two-hour program entitled, âHeaven: Where Is It? How Do We Get There?â To produce the program, Barbara Walters spent a whole year traveling the world, âinterviewing religious leaders, scientists, believers and non-believers alike to get a range of perspectives on heaven and the afterlifeâ (ABC News International, www.abcnews.go.com, (http://www.abcnews.go.com,) December 21, 2005).
Are we overlooking the obvious? Are we asking the question of the wrong people? The very inquiry of what happens after death is impossible for any living human to answer on his own authority, from his own experience. So the answers more often than not are just speculations, opinions, and feelings.
But there is someone who can speak authoritatively on what happens after deathâfrom experience: that someone is Jesus Christ!
Jesus is the only human being ever to have been resurrected to spirit life! (Others were brought back to physical, temporary lifeâMatthew 9:25; 27:52; Acts 9:40). After three days and three nights in the grave, Jesus Christ was resurrected and seen by more than 500 witnesses over a 40-day period (1 Corinthians 15:3; Acts 1). After that, the disciples watched as He disappeared into a cloud (Acts 1:3) to sit at the right hand of the Father, in heaven (Mark 16:19).
So what does Jesus say about heaven? Is it the place where saints will live for all eternity, in a state of blessedness? When Jesus was on this earth, notice His words, as recorded by the Apostle John: âNo one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heavenâ (John 3:13). The popular belief of departed moms, dads, grandparents, brothers, and sisters in heavenâwhere we will be reunited with them at deathâis just not in the Bible! And on the testimony of Jesus Christâthe only one who can speak with authority on the subject of life after deathâno man (or woman) has gone up to heaven.
So where are the dead? Waiting and resting in their graves, for the resurrection from the dead at Christâs return. As Peter was inspired to say on the Day of Pentecost, âLet me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day⦠For David did not ascend into the heavensâ (Acts 2:29, 34).
We are not going to heavenâJesus is coming back to earth! After the disciples watched Jesus ascend to heaven, 40 days after his resurrection, the angels made an important (and often overlooked) statement: âMen of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heavenâ (Acts 1:11). Paul was inspired to explain that this event will coincide with the resurrection of the saints, who will come out of their graves, rise to meet Christ in the air (not in heaven) and will come with Christ back down to earth. âFor if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus⦠For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And 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. Therefore comfort one another with these wordsâ (1 Thessalonians 4:14â18).
It is a comfort to know what happens after death, straight from the words of the One who has been there! If you would like to know more about your future in Godâs Kingdom on earth, read our Tomorrowâs World web site cover story âWill You Inherit the Earth?â
How do you find the real truth about heaven and the afterlife? Ask the right Person!"
Source:"Are you going to Heaven? Who really knows?" (http://www.lcg.org/cgi-bin/tw/commentary/tw-comm.cgi?category=Commentary1&item=1135351995)