Raptures & Resurrections

[n2thelight]

The Resurrection Body

 

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In ancient Egypt, Pharaohs drove their slaves to build huge pyramids to house their dead bodies. They filled these tombs with immense treasures of gold and all kinds of utensils that might be of service in their coming life. They cultivated the art of embalming, so that their bodies could be preserved for thousands of years with the least possible amount of decay. It's as if they thought that by taking such elaborate precautions, they could be prepared for the life to come. Apparently, they believed that their souls would one day return into those mummified bodies, and they wanted everything to be ready.

 

This is a stark contrast with the attitude expressed by Jesus. One of His disciples asked him, "Let me first go bury my father." Jesus said, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead" (Matthew 8:21-22, Luke 9:59-60). For Jesus, the dead body was of no consequence.

 

For Christians, the focus is not meant to be on the body that has died, but on the spirit that rises into the coming life. For two thousand years, Christians have been nourished by the hope that their loved ones who have died are happy in heaven with the Lord, not lying cold and dead in the ground. Nevertheless, some people believe that the resurrection will be a resurrection of the physical body that lies in the grave, and that when a person dies the soul remains unconscious for years or centuries until Christ comes again and brings all the bodies out of the grave and reawakens the souls that are sleeping within those bodies. Yet it is not only more comforting to picture a person rising immediately into the next life after death, but it is also more in keeping with the teachings of the Bible.

 

We Rise Soon after Death

 

Jesus tells of a poor man Lazarus and his rich neighbor who both died. The rich man ended up in hell, while Lazarus went up to heaven. (Luke 16: 22-24) Both of them came into the next life immediately after death. There was no hint here of a long wait to come back into their bodies, for the rich man's brothers were still alive on earth.

 

When Jesus was on the cross He promised one of the thieves, "Today you will be with Me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). Jesus did not say, "Just wait twenty centuries or more, and I will fix up your body again."

 

Since we rise immediately after death, people who have died are in the spiritual world, and they can be seen by those whose spiritual sight is open. For example, when Peter, James and John had their eyes opened to see Jesus in His glory, they also saw Moses and Elijah, who were clearly not in their graves. When Saul went to the witch of En Dor, he spoke with the spirit of Samuel who appeared as an old man (1 Samuel 28: 3-19), and Lazarus found himself in the bosom of Abraham in heaven (Luke 16:22-24). In fact, when Jesus said to the Sadducees that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the God of the living, not the dead, the clear implication is that Abramam, Isaac and Jacob had already risen from death into life (Matthew 22:31-32; Mark 12:26-27; Luke 20:37-38). He is "the God of the Living," not "the God of the dead who will centuries later come back to life."

 

Angels have sometimes appeared to people whose eyes were opened to see them. Very often, the Bible says that these angels are people. For example, we read that three men appeared to Abraham (Genesis 18: 2), and that when Jacob wrestled with an angel he wrestled with a man (Genesis 32: 24). Likewise, the angels were people who appeared to Joshua (Joshua 5: 13-14), Manoah and his wife (Judges 13: 6-11), Ezekiel (Ezekiel 9: 2-3,11; 10: 2-3,6), Daniel (Daniel 9: 21; 10: 5; 12: 6-7), Zechariah (Zechariah 1:8,11), and the women at the sepulcher (Mark 16: 5; Luke 24: 4). The Bible says these angels were people, and clearly none of them were still in the grave.

 

There Is a Spiritual Body

 

The Bible teaches that we rise with a different body than the one that is placed in the grave. "There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body" (1 Corinthians 15: 44). The natural body is what is "sown" in the grave, and the spiritual body is what is raised up (1 Corinthians 15: 37, 42-44). People on earth have an earthly body, while people in heaven have a spiritual, heavenly body (1 Corinthians 15: 46-49). The fact that people in the spiritual world have a spiritual body is evident from the appearance of angels mentioned above. For example, Saul recognized Samuel after his death because he had a body similar to the body he had on earth. Clearly it was Samuel's spiritual body, since his physical body was still in grave, and it was his spirit (1 Samuel 28:13) that had risen and was conversing with Saul.

 

The fact that there is a spiritual body is also clear from the story of Lazarus and the rich man. After death Lazarus was in the bosom of Abraham; the rich man lifted his eyes, and asked that Lazarus might dip his finger in water to cool his tongue (Luke 16: 22-24).

 

The body we have in the spiritual world is not the body that we put into the grave. The Bible says that our physical body is corruptible and mortal, which means that it does not last, but rots and dies. "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption" (1 Corinthians 15: 50). "We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out" (1 Timothy 6:7). When we go to our eternal home "then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it" (Ecclesiastes 12:5, 7; compare Genesis 3:19). So our earthly body cannot go to heaven, but when we put off our physical body, our corruptible and mortal life is changed into an incorruptible and immortal life (1 Corinthians 15: 53-54). Evidently when Paul said this, some people were wondering if everyone would sleep a long time in the grave before the resurrection, for Paul reassures people that we will not all sleep, and that it will not take ages but will happen immediately, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, that is, when we die.

 

The Grain of Wheat

 

One of the ways that Jesus teaches us about the life after death is by saying, "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain" (John 12: 24; compare Matthew 13:31; Mark 4:31; Luke 13:19). This is very similar to the analogy that Paul uses: "Someone will say, 'How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?' Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as he pleases, and to each seed its own body." (1 Corinthians 15: 35-38)

 

When a seed is put into the ground, the outer husk of this seed simply rots away. But within that seed is a germ of life that is raised up with a completely new plant or body around it. Paul says very clearly here that the body which is raised is not the body which is put into the ground. Furthermore, when the farmer plants his seed, it immediately begins growing. It does not remain dormant in the ground for centuries before a new life begins. Likewise, when our bodies are buried in the ground, the germ of life within each of us is immediately raised up clothed with a new body appropriate for the spiritual world.

 

Objections

 

Those who believe in a resurrection of the physical body may quote passages to support that belief, but an examination of those passages will show that this is not the teaching of the passages themselves, but is an assumption that is read into them.

 

What about Job's Prophecy?

 

Job says, "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin [worms] destroy this [body], yet in my flesh shall I see God" (Job 19:25,26, King James Version). Some people have assumed that the "latter day" means the end of the world, and that "worms destroying this body" means the body rotting in the grave. In fact, the original Hebrew does not mention either "worms" or "body". A more accurate translation is: "And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh shall I see God…" (New King James Version).

 

Job was not talking about his body rotting in the grave, but about the fact that his skin was already virtually destroyed by the boils that covered him from head to foot (Job 2:7, 19:20). When he said, "in my flesh I shall see God," he was not talking about some future time when his body would be resurrected, but he was saying that he would see God before he died, while he was still alive in the body he had. At the end of the book of Job God did appear to Job, and Job said, " I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You" (Job 42:5). And so the prophecy was fulfilled, that in his flesh he would see God. We can also see that God redeemed him at that time, for we are told, "The Lord accepted Job. And the Lord restored Job's losses…. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before" (Job 42:9-10). The same chapter shows us what Job meant by "the latter day," for we read, "Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning" (Job 42:12).

 

Taken in context, this passage says nothing at all about the resurrection of the physical body centuries later, yet it has been taken as a primary passage supporting that concept.

 

What about the Last Day?

 

In one passage Jesus says that He will raise people up "at the last day" (John 6: 39-54). From that passage alone, we would not know whether He meant "the last day of the world" or "the last day of their earthly lives." In a similar way, Jesus says in the previous chapter, "The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth" (John 5: 28, 19). The context shows He was speaking not of a resurrection still centuries distant, but in the present tense. "The Father raises up the dead, and gives life to them…. The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live" (John 5: 21, 25). Clearly, this resurrection was already taking place. Consequently, when Martha spoke of her brother Lazarus remaining in the tomb until "the resurrection at the last day," Jesus corrected her by saying, "I am the resurrection and the life," implying that the resurrection was present. Jesus continued, "He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die." When we view the teachings about being raised at "the last day" in this context, it becomes clear that it must mean "the last day of their lives."

 

Resurrection from Evil or Despair

 

There are two different ways in which the Lord brings us from death into life. Every person who dies is brought to life in the spiritual world, either in heaven like Lazarus or in hell like the rich man. Our body dies but our spirit lives on in the next life. There's another way in which the Lord brings us from death into life: he brings us out of evil, which is spiritual death, and gives us heavenly life. Many passages in the Bible that speak of resurrection are referring to the second kind of resurrection, which is coming from an evil state into a good one (see Romans 6:4; Ephesians 2:1, 5-6; Colossians 2:12; 3:1). So for example, we read, "He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies" (Romans 8:11). Taken out of context, this might seem like a reference to physical resurrection. But the context shows that is referring to giving us spiritual life while we are still alive on this earth, for the passage says, " If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness…. If you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (Romans 8:10, 13). Sometimes a misunderstanding of the Bible arises from confusing these two kinds of resurrection.

 

For example, Ezekiel had a vision of dry bones that were brought together, had flesh put on them and were brought to life. Some people have taken this as a description of how our bodies will be reassembled at the time of resurrection. But in fact, the dry bones that appeared in that vision were not dead people. Rather, the Lord said to Ezekiel that these bones represented the people of Israel, who felt like "dry bones" because they were in captivity (Ezekiel 37:11). The Lord bringing the bones of out of their graves was a symbol of His promise to bring the people of Israel back from their captivity into their own land. It was not a prophecy of a physical resurrection.

 

Something similar is meant by Isaiah's prophecy, "Shake yourself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem" (Isaiah 52: 2), and Daniel's words: "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:2; compare 1 Kings 16:2). Paul says, "Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light" (Ephesians 5: 14). This does not refer to people who are physically dead and a physical resurrection, but to those who are spiritually dead and their regeneration.

 

What about the Firstborn from the Dead?

 

The Bible says that Jesus was the "first born from the dead" (Romans 8:18). Some people have taken this to mean that no one was ever raised from the dead before Jesus was. This would imply that all who died prior to Jesus remained asleep in the ground at least until after His resurrection. But this is a distortion of that teaching. Often being "first" does not mean first in time, but first in importance, as when Jesus speaks of the first commandment (Mark 12:29; Matthew 22:38), and when He says that "the first shall be last and the last shall be first" (Mark 9:35; 10:31, Matthew 19:30; 20:16) Jesus is not only said to be the first born from the dead, but also the first born of every creature (Romans 8:15). He is said to be first born because he existed from eternity and created all things, and because he is pre-eminent among all that have been raised from the dead (Romans 8: 16-18; compare John 1:1-9). When Jesus was about to be raised from the dead, He prayed, "And now, O Father, glorify Me with Your own self with the glory which I had with You before the world was" (John 17:5). Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58), so there was no need for Abraham to wait in the grave for centuries to be raised to life, and Jesus could be first among the dead even though others had died and were raised before Him.

 

What about the Natural Bodies Raised by Jesus?

 

There are many stories of people who were raised from the dead by Jesus and the prophets before him (Luke 7:11-16; 8:41-56; Matthew 9:18-26; Mark 5:22-43; John 11:1-54; 1 Kings 17:17-23; 2 Kings 4:32-37; 13: 21; Acts 9:37-40; 20:9-12). When Jesus worked the miracle of raising someone from the dead, the person's physical body came back to life. Some people have assumed from this that all resurrection will involve the physical body coming back to life. This assumption is unwarranted. When those who died were brought back to life in the physical body, the physical body was never made immortal or incorruptible. All of those people soon left their physical bodies in the grave once more. Furthermore, in every case those who were brought back to life were resurrected within a few days of having died. We are never given an example of someone being brought back to life after thousands of years of sleep in grave. If Jesus had wanted us to think that resurrection happens after thousands of years in the grave, He could have raised Abraham or David from the dead. Instead, He raised people who had just died, to show that resurrection takes place soon after death, and the life of the soul continues even when the life of the body ends.

 

What about Jesus' Body?

 

Jesus' resurrection shows the pattern which ours will follow, yet there must also be a difference. Some have thought that we will rise with our physical bodies because Jesus rose with His. But if leaving behind the physical body makes us different from Christ, staying in the grave for centuries would make our resurrection even less like His. Jesus repeatedly told His disciples that He would rise on the third day (Matthew 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 27:63; Luke 9:22; 18:33; 24:7; 24:46; Mark 8:31), and Scripture also shows that what is true of Him in this case will also be true of us. "After two days will He revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight" (Hosea 6:2). "Today you will be with Me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). At the same time, Jesus taught that for the rest of us the spirit would rise without the body when He said, "A spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have" (Luke 24:39).

 

The Graves Opened and the Dead Appearing

 

After Jesus rose from the tomb, the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. (Matthew 27:52-53). This passage is not explicit. Were their physical bodies raised, or their spiritual bodies? How long had they been "sleeping"--centuries, or just a few days? What happened to those saints afterwards? Where are they now? Does the holy city mean the Jerusalem in this world, or the new Jerusalem in heaven (Revelation 21:2; 22:19)? This passage clearly shows that the Lord's resurrection brings resurrection to others, but it does not give us any reason to expect centuries of sleep before our resurrection.

 

Eternal Life Has Begun

 

Eternal life is not something that is waiting for us in the distant future. There is no reason to think that we have to wait for a long time, for Jesus tells us that for those who accept the life He gives, the kingdom of heaven is already within them (Luke 17:21), and they have already begun living eternally (John 5:24, 17:2, 1 John 5: 11, 12, 20). That life is not interrupted by death, but rather becomes more abundant and complete.

 

http://www.whatthebiblesays.info/ResurrectionBody.html

[RevelationWriter]

20 hours ago, WilliamL said:

True.

And the Great Multitude is spoken of again in Rev. 19:1-2, 6-8, before the event of "the marriage supper;" and this Great Multitude is called the "wife" of the Lamb:

19:6 "...for the marriage of the Lamb came [aorist simple past tense], and His wife made [aorist simple past tense] herself ready.”

So the marriage here has already been consummated, which consummation is only then followed by a marriage supper, just as in a traditional Jewish wedding in the time of Christ.

- The Consummation of any marriage comes After The Marriage (reception) Supper.

But we see that after The Marriage Supper Of The Lamb He goes to earth to set up His Davidic Throne.

[RevelationWriter]

7 hours ago, Sister said:

RevelationWriter

Revelation 7:9   After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

Revelation 7:13   And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

Revelation 7:14   And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

This would be all the saints, even from past generations who went through their tribulations also.  Not just the last generation.  It says multitudes which no man could number.  There are not multiples which cannot be numbered who serve Christ in the last days.

 

Yes they are all accepted into the Kingdom of God at the first resurrection.

 

Still following you

Bingo

 

Paul was given everything, but It was up to John to reveal.

John 15:15   Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

No it's comprised of everyone who followed Christ whether dead or alive from all generations.

 

The picking up of the 144K, and the rest of the tribulation saints are all part of the FIRST RESURRECTION.  The 144K get picked up earlier, but it's still of that same 1st resurrection.

Revelation 20:4   And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
 

Yes this one - he is just zoning in on the last day saints, but all the rest are still in this same resurrection.
 

It doesn't say the Great multitude did not die?  It's just showing all the saints together who are separate from the 144K.

They will all be in the New Jerusalem serving Christ and reigning with him for the 1000 years.  They wont be disappearing anywhere only to come back.

At the 2nd judgement, the wicked who are found guilty not written in the Lambs book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire.  That's it.  No more to enter the kingdom after this.  All the wicked gone.  

What we have left are only saints.  Now God is going to melt the heavens & the earth to get rid of all the contaminations and make a new one.  Even death and hell will be destroyed in that great melting.

What I have a problem with is this.  When the new earth is made, it will not be as the former, made out of our material, but made out of what heaven is made out of - spirit.  So it will be a different material for the spiritual.  I envision earth now to resemble heaven, only everything in heaven consists of spirit.  God's throne is spirit, his angels spirit,  I see the trees there as spirit, made out of a different material, even the food, water, everything.  Flesh and blood cannot exist in that same spiritual environment, which is why the saints have to be changed to spirit before they can enter. 

This is my problem which I cannot solve;

Those who get accepted in the 2nd judgement who did not know Christ - will they be turned to spirit straight away?, because their works were accepted ( this is what they are judged on here, a different judgement) if so, it only makes sense that they be brought back to life in the flesh and taught first, just like Israel has to do in the millennium.  But where would this fit in? I'm going deeper now.

God does everything in order, but sometimes there's gaps in between and we find those details in other scriptures.  In other words, when the 2nd judgement has taken place, there might be a few years before he melts the earth.

 

- There are only Two Resurrections in The Revelation Of Jesus Christ. - Rev.20:4-6 - Pick which one you might come back in if your planning on being resurrected.

- The 144k are killed by the time of Rev.14. their spirits go with The Lamb. As the 144k will be killed for not worshiping the Image of the beast in Rev.13:15

- It is The 24 Elders who are also of the 1st Resurrection to Reign with Christ for the 1,000 yrs along with all those beheaded by the beast.

As it is The 24 Elders who testify in Rev.5 that they will Reign On Earth as they are Kings & Priests. - Rev.5:10 - Rev.20:6

Remember The 24 Elders having thrones in heaven and Crowns. - Rev.4:10  As so 'The King Of Kings...' will have with Him their 'Many Crowns' which they cast. - Rev.19:12

We see that it was King David & The Priest Zadok established The 24 Divisions of God's Priesthood in 1Chron.24.

* Plus Jesus told His 12 Disciples that IN The Regeneration when He sat on His Throne of glory

they too would sit on 12 Thrones as Judges for the 12 Tribes of Israel (144k). - Matt.19:28 - "I saw Thrones and Judgment was committed to them' - Rev.20:4

The 1,000 Year Reign of 'The King Of kings and Lord of lords' is about the establishment of His Davidic Kingdom on earth

with His 12 disciples as Judges of The 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel and with The 24 Elders of the 24 Divisions of The Kingly Priesthood.

- The first Rapture/Wedding of no Resurrection is The Great Multitude and The Lamb.

- But the 2nd Rapture of the 1st Resurrection is of those left behind and those for His Davidic Kingdom on earth and those killed by the beast.

Gentile assemblies have taught that we will all Reign with Him as Kings & Priests for the 1,000 years but that's not a position assigned to us for His Davidic Kingdom.

Jesus does not Marry Israel. Because God said He is already Married to Israel. - Jer.3:14 - Jesus is to be Israel's King. Not Israel's Husband.

- There are some other things I'd like to address but they deserve their own Thread Topic.  

[RevelationWriter]

22 hours ago, WilliamL said:

True.

And the Great Multitude is spoken of again in Rev. 19:1-2, 6-8, before the event of "the marriage supper;" and this Great Multitude is called the "wife" of the Lamb:

19:6 "...for the marriage of the Lamb came [aorist simple past tense], and His wife made [aorist simple past tense] herself ready.”

So the marriage here has already been consummated, which consummation is only then followed by a marriage supper, just as in a traditional Jewish wedding in the time of Christ.

 

[WilliamL]

1 hour ago, RevelationWriter said:

- The Consummation of any marriage comes After The Marriage (reception) Supper.

This is a common misunderstanding, based upon current practices, not the ancient traditional one.

"The three "C" of bible weddings: Contract, Consummation, Celebration"

This quote is from the following excellent website that explains the ancient wedding practice in detail, with biblical examples:

http://www.bible.ca/marriage/ancient-jewish-three-stage-weddings-and-marriage-customs-ceremony-in-the-bible.htm

[RevelationWriter]

- I having trouble replying to people and the things I want to in 'quotes'.

So anyway I will say concerning TGM

seeing The Angel ask John: 'Who are these arrayed in white robes, and Where did they come from?' - Rev.7:13

"These Are The Ones Who Came Out Of The Great Tribulation."

The Angel answered his own question cause he wanted it to be known Who they were and Where they Came From.

So The Great Multitude will only be of those during the time period of The Great Tribulation.

These people are not from any other time period.

 

 

 

[RevelationWriter]

28 minutes ago, WilliamL said:

This is a common misunderstanding, based upon current practices, not the ancient traditional one.

"The three "C" of bible weddings: Contract, Consummation, Celebration"

This quote is from the following excellent website that explains the ancient wedding practice in detail, with biblical examples:

http://www.bible.ca/marriage/ancient-jewish-three-stage-weddings-and-marriage-customs-ceremony-in-the-bible.htm

- Consummate mean to 'finish' the contract.

So the start Wedding is not the 'finished' contract. Nor is the Marriage Supper-Reception the finishing of the contract.

Living together as One is the Union of when the contract is Consummated.

And when The Lamb-The King Of kings and Lord of lords has

for 1,000 yrs established His Davidic Kingdom of Israel unto His God for the new earth; then God brings His 'Bride' that will come to Him to live in unity- Rev.21

Because in the 'tabernacle' of the flying mountainous City of New Jerusalem is where His Bride resides.

The only ones who follow Him where ever He goes is The 144,000. - Rev.14

[Sister]

revelationWriter

I will make this one short and not give you too much to answer in one go.

 

Quote

 

So The Great Multitude will only be of those during the time period of The Great Tribulation.

These people are not from any other time period.

 

If the "Great Multitude" are only those of "The Great Tribulation" (saints of the last days), then where are the rest of the saints who have died from all generations going back to Christ?

Don't they get a mention?

 

[WilliamL]

9 minutes ago, RevelationWriter said:

- Consummate mean to 'finish' the contract. ...

Living together as One is the Union of when the contract is Consummated.

With respect to earthly marriage, consummation means the sexual union, when bride and groom begin to cohabit as one flesh. Under the old wedding customs, only after that consummation had taken place did the wedding feast begin, because the bride had first to be fully proven to the groom to be a virgin. See Deut. 22:13-17 about the token of the virginity.

When Jesus Comes for his Bride, the consummation will be a spiritual union, after which they will begin to cohabit as one. When Christ takes up his Bride to heaven in the Rapture, that consummation will have already been completed.

[Serving]

Hi,

I'd just like to add an opposing view if I may ..

 

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For Christians, the focus is not meant to be on the body that has died, but on the spirit that rises into the coming life.

This is the first I've heard that believers concentrated on the dead body itself, the pagans did, sure, but not those who heard & accepted Christ's teachings .. a strange thing to say?

Nevertheless,

 

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 For two thousand years,  Christians have been nourished by the hope that their loved ones who have died are happy in heaven with the Lord, not lying cold and dead in the ground.

All the examples I am aware of in the bible instead focussed on the hope of the resurrection on a certain set DAY in the future opposed to being consciously taken to heaven immediately after death .. this can also be seen even in mainstream Christianity, because looking back,  just as many believers did not believe that one went straight to heaven after death, so we should balance the above presumption with what was really happening 'on the ground' ..

Nevertheless, mainstream Christianity aside, I can quote some examples of what believers in Christ's day certainly believed, this is the more important focus .. regardless of what mainstream Christianity teaches, be it yesterdays teachings or todays :

2 Timothy 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

What day? ..

2 Timothy 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

At His appearing .. the day of the 2nd coming itself.

Luke 14:14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.

AT the Resurrection .. that is SINGULAR .. it is not the language of an ongoing process of being whisked into heaven immediately after death but the opposite ..

Luke 20:36 Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.

So what resurrection?

John 11:24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

That resurrection .. the day of resurrection .. that set aside and literal day itself.

There are other examples teaching this very thing, I have never read that man goes straight to heaven after physical death .. sure the Catholics taught it .. and millions of others now teach it, but it wasn't always so ..

 

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Nevertheless, some people believe that the resurrection will be a resurrection of the physical body that lies in the grave,

An unfortunate modern interpretation .. the scriptures taught we'd become like the angels .. spirit beings and NOT flesh .. glad you see this too.

 

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  and that when a person dies the soul remains unconscious for years or centuries until Christ comes again and brings all the bodies out of the grave and reawakens the souls that are sleeping within those bodies.

Not just 'unconscious', but totally unaware of all things .. time stands still for the dead .. meaning .. death is like a mere blinking of the eyes regardless of how long one has been dead for .. nevertheless, see above.

 

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Yet it is not only more comforting to picture a person rising immediately into the next life after death,

"Comforting" should never be practiced for the 'sake of comfort itself', God calls that "Tickling of the ears" and He is against 'comfort for comforts sake', it comes down to this, if one is "offended" in the Lord when tribulations come for His Names sake, then all the "comforting" in the world comes to naught .. comfort on it's own is false comfort indeed because though the truth can be sweet in ones mouth, the harsh reality is usually bitter in one's belly .. that is the norm and not the exception unfortunately.

 

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but it is also more in keeping with the teachings of the Bible.

 I disagree .. See above.

 

 TO BE CONTINUED :