Not All Will Die

At this writing we are all part of the ultimate statistic. That is, as Mel Gibson's character in the movie "Braveheart", William Wallace put it, "all men die...". There is, however, a point in time, at the end of this current age, when not all will experience physical death. How so, you ask?

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." (1 Cor 15:50-54)

And...

According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thess 4:15-17)

But what of those who do not believe? What will become of them at the last day? First, let me define what a non-believer is: this is a person who has not believed on or put their trust in Jesus Christ as the author of their eternal salvation. More on this in a later post. Just like many believers, many non-believers will die physically at the hands of men. And many non-believers will die by Christ at His return. (see Rev 19:19-21)

Not all non-believers will physically die, however. Some, though not many, will survive the terrible tribulations of the last days. The survival of any non-believer will be purely by the grace of God.

Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. (Zech 14:16-17)

"I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations... (Isa 66:19) (Read Isaiah 66 in its entirety).

And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance,
as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls. (Joel 2:32)

The reason I call these survivors "non-believers" is because according to 1 Cor 15 and 1 Thess 4, quoted above, all believers, alive or asleep, will be raised or changed to receive resurrection bodies upon Christ's return at the end of the tribulation period. If all believers are changed then who would inhabit the Mellinial Kingdom of Christ for 1000 years?

There are several reasons we know some people will be in physical, natural bodies, as we now possess, in Christ's 1000 year Kingdom. The primary reason being the rebellion that Satan will raise against the Holy City at the end of the 1000 years. Saved, sealed, body-redeemed believers are not capable of rebellion!

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Twice Born Or Twice Dead

Here’s the question, “Will you be born twice, or will you die twice?”

Most of us would like to avoid the topic of “death”. Largely Americans are in denial about death, especially their own. Of course, no one wants to die, but it is a statistical inevitability... 100% of us will die. However, not all will die twice. That depends on your births.

John 3:5-8 "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." (NIV)

We, all human beings, are born of “water”, when we pass through the womb. That is our first birth. Our second birth must be spiritually.

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Romans 8:1 (KJV)

"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." II Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)

Concerning the “second death”

He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death. Rev 2:11 (NIV)

Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. Rev 20:6 (NIV)

Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Rev 20:14-15 (NIV)

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars-their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." Rev 21:8 (NIV)

Most of us are not murderers, nor do we practice magic arts, but many qualify as “the unbelieving”. If we do not believe that Jesus came to deliver us from condemnation then we are “the unbelieving”. All we need to do is believe that the Father has sent Him and rely upon Him and we shall pass from death (the second death) into life eternal.

Sixteen Hour Days?

Shortened Days

I am neither a scientist nor a writer, which should become painfully obvious as you read my hypothesis for the coming of sixteen hour days. I am simply a layman who prayerfully studies the scriptures with a contemplative mind. This idea was developed several years ago but has gone heretofore unpublished. Now may be the time. I may or may not be the originator of this hypothesis but I have never heard it from any other source.

According to National Geographic,

Saturday's Chile earthquake was so powerful that it likely shifted an Earth axis and shortened the length of a day, NASA announced Monday. ...[t]he story is quite similar to the December 26, 2004, magnitude 9.0 Sumatra earthquake...

With each of these earthquakes the earth has been shaken on its axis and the days have become shorter as a result. Though this shortening has been minuscule, to say the least, I accept these shorter days as proof that my 16 hour day hypothesis could someday pass into the realm of theory...someday.

My first conception of this hypothesis came to me while studying the scriptures. Firstly:

The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night. (Rev 8:12 NIV)

A day minus one third of the night and one third of the day would be 8 hours shorter than our current 24 hour day, or 16 hours. You don't buy it? Why any need for shorter days? Here is one very good reason...

The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire. They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him. (Rev 16:8-9 NIV)

(Sounds a little like "global warming", doesn't it? Could global warming possibly be caused by the sun?)

And as stated by Christ Himself:

Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now-and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. (Matt 24:20-22)

I have personally heard shortened in this instance presented thus, "the tribulation period is shortened to three and one half years as opposed to being longer than three and one half years, because if the tribulation period were longer then no flesh would be saved." This never made much sense to me, for scripture mentions many times that this period is three and one half years, 1260 days or time (1yr), times (2yrs) and half a time (1/2yr). How can a three and one half year period of time be shortened to three and one half years?

Merriam-Webster Online defines shorten, in one instance, as; 1 b : to cause to seem short, and 2 obsolete : to deprive of effect.

Indeed, by comparison, sixteen hour days would "cause to seem short" a normal day and would "deprive of effect" the "scorching" effects of an intensified sun.

Eccl 1:15 states...

What is twisted cannot be straightened;
what is lacking cannot be counted.

And if it's counted it's not lacking! (Mine)

Scientifically speaking, there are several scales with which to measure a day, and consequently a year. The astronomical unit of time is 1 day (d) of 86,400 SI seconds. Sidereal time is time kept with respect to the distant stars. And the mean solar day is the average time of a single rotation of a planet with respect to its star. Sidereal days and solar days (or synodic period of rotation) vary from planet to planet. Neptune for example has a 16 hr 6.6 min "day".

Earthquakes and the effects

The end of this age will be plagued with earthquakes, and their effects will be devastatingly more severe than anything known to date.

Rev 6:12-14

I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.

Rev 8:5

Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it on the earth; and there came peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning and an earthquake.

Rev 11:13

At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

Rev 11:19

Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm.

Rev 16:17-20

The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, "It is done!" Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found.

Whether or not one is familiar with scripture, most everyone understands that the book of Revelation is the last book of the New Testament, as well as the last book of the Canonized Scriptures. Consequently, because the last book speaks of the last times we often fail to understand that some books of the Old Testament also speak of events that will take place at the end of this current age of time. The following are a few that speak of the severity of the last days quakes.

Isa 13:9a,10,13a

See, the day of the LORD is coming...The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light...Therefore I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the LORD Almighty...

Isa 24:18b-20a

...The floodgates of the heavens are opened,
the foundations of the earth shake.
The earth is broken up,
the earth is split asunder,
the earth is thoroughly shaken.
The earth reels like a drunkard,
it sways like a hut in the wind;...

Conclusion

Therefore, taking into account Jesus' statements as recorded in Matthew 24 concerning "cutting short the days" along with "a third of the day and also a third of the night being without light" per Revelations chapter 8, the severity of end times earthquakes and the recent scientific observations of the "shortening of days" impact of recent quakes, I believe my "16 hour days hypothesis" should at least be considered in the realm of possibilities.

(All quotes are taken from the New International Version unless otherwise noted)

Not all believers will quote: "Go to heaven"

It should probably more aptly be stated, "Not all believers will...quote: "LIVE IN heaven".

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. (2 Cor 5:1-8 NIV)

This speaks of the new body that we shall receive after this age. It refers to it as our "heavenly dwelling". In another place, 1 Corinthians 15, it is called a "spiritual body" and a "celestial body" as apposed to one "terrestrial".

Only a spiritual body can ascend into the heavenly realm, but not all shall dwell there. For;

"I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." (1 Cor 15:50-54 NIV)

At this "last trumpet" those who are alive at his coming will be changed to receive their new spiritual bodies. And we may go to heaven for a very short while but we will not remain there, for,

"You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth." (Rev 5:10)

At the end of this current age God will bind the Deceiver, and Christ will rule upon the earth for one thousand years. And we, believers, will be participants in his government and "will reign on the earth" with Him. At the end of that 1000 year age this heaven and earth will pass away a New heaven and earth will be created in the form that God originally intended. Man and creation will no longer be subjected to decay.

I believe that on the new earth, and beyond into the heavens, there will be those in celestial bodies and those in physical bodies. I understand this from Rev 22:1-6

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place."

The passage "And they will reign for ever and ever" speaks of those in celestial bodies. And the fact that there is the "river of the water of life" and "the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations" says to me that there are those present who are in physical bodies, otherwise why the need for "healing of the nations"?

A side note: "...the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month..." makes clear that there will also be a 12 month year, the measurement of time, in eternity. I find this interesting for "there will be no more night" either.

Why "New Heavens"

You may or may not have heard 17 "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. (Isa 65:17) Q: why "new heavens"

We can all pretty well understand why a "new earth", but "new heavens"...?

Ever wondered what God's long-term plan for man would have been had Adam & Eve obeyed and NOT eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and HAD eaten from the tree of life and had never died?

The Amplified Bible has a footnote for Isaiah 65:17 stating: "A new universe is here meant. The Hebrew has no single word to express the thought of cosmos, so heavens and earth are substituted." So, a new heavens and earth means a New Universe. But why?

Given the very little we know of the cosmos, would we even know what a new universe would look like?

In studying scripture, seeking to understand our future state of being, after this life and what it will be like for those who remain in the body, I've come to what I believe to be some very interesting conclusions.
1. Not all believers will quote: "Go to heaven"
2. Though "...as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Heb 9:27) Not ALL will die, AND not all who will not die are necessarily "Believers".
3. Not only will there be those in physical bodies after this age, but also into eternity! (?)
4. That there are four (4) distinct groups of people upon the earth during what the Bible calls the Great Tribulation.