WHAT HAPPEN WHEN A MAN DIES

ABSENT FROM THE BODY
AND TO BE PRESENT WITH THE LORD

“The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). Thus says Ecc. 12:7 “…and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”
The English word “breath” in this verse is translated from the Hebrew word neshamah; force of wind, a vital breath from God through which man received the spirit of life. It is the same Hebrew word used in Job 27:3; 34:14-15 (NIV) as follows:

“For as long as life is in me and the breath of God is in my nostrils”; 14“If it were his intention and withdraw his spirit and breath, 15all mankind would perish together and man would return to the dust”

Physical death is separation of the spirit from the body. The spirit returns to God who gave it and the body returns to the dust of the ground it came from. This is true to all breathing creatures (Gen. 7:22 NIV), and for both believers and non-believers.

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 is in accord with the above Scriptures, except for the common teaching of the additional description, i.e. consciously enjoying the bliss of heaven with the Lord. Conscious and heaven is not even mentioned in the verse. It was only hinted without any basis except for the spirit that came from God and returned to God. This is the verse where the interpretation is mainly drawn without reference to other Scriptures.

“Absent From the Body and to be Present with the Lord”

The crux of the problem that obscured the real meaning of the above verse is because the interpretation is confined to the qouted verse itself without affirmation with other Scriptures. 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 was the overwhelming verse that I once believed that once a saved person dies immediately he or she is consciously present with the Lord. Let’s examine this verse in relation with other Scriptures to comply with the principle that the Bible interprets itself.

“So we are always confident, 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 confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:6-8).

Consciousness and bliss of heaven is clearly absent in this Scripture. The apostle Paul was not merely talking about the state of being dead of those who are saved that they are with the Lord. From verse 1 to 10 of 2 Corinthians 5, Paul was talking about the process wherein the save can be ultimately with the Lord, whereby can enjoy the bliss of heaven. In my study I didn’t confine myself in verses 6-8 where I can make my own interpretation. As I continue reading through verse 10, I found out the saved are still to face judgment. Nothing in this verse that implies immediately enjoying the bliss of heaven with God; the dead is still have to go through the judgment seat of Christ in verse 10, and re-affirmed by Heb. 9:27 saying “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,” that is yet future at the second coming of Christ.

“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Heb. 9:27-28 NIV).

Those who died in Christ are still waiting for His second appearance to bring their salvation. It is axiomatic that this would happen in His second coming as the verse says “he will appear a second time.” Such scene of consciously with the Lord will not come immediately after death as I have formerly been thought to believe.

This is the result of dwelling alone on the verse “Absent from the body and to be present with the Lord” without investigating the verse itself and comparing it with other Scriptures, thus complying with the principle of understanding the written word of God.

“These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual (1 Cor. 2:13 KJV).

The saved still have to appear in the judgment seat of Christ (yet future), that each one may receive what is due (reward) him for things done while in the body―whether good or bad (2 Cor. 5:10).

What Happen When A Man Dies?
The first thing one should understand is Hebrews 9:27 that say: “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment.” I didn’t see anywhere in the Bible that say after a person die will immediately enjoy the bliss of heaven, or immediately be thrown in the lake of fire based in the understanding of the parable of Lazarus and the Richman, to be tortured forever and ever without facing judgment. The parable of Lazarus and the Richman is highly misunderstood. Understanding the word hell in Hebrew and Greek will shed light of the true meaning of the word hell in its context. I followed the Berean example of Acts 17:11. I check the Scriptures from what I have been thought, read, and heard from media‒‒all of these are done before prayer. Sorry for a bit of digression.

What then would be the state of being dead? This Scripture of Ecclesiastes 12:7 is appropriate answer to the preceding question.

“Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.”

True enough, the spirit return to God and therefore present with the Lord. Does the verse we investigate say “consciously enjoying the bliss of heaven in the bosom of father Abraham? Heaven isn’t even mentioned in the parable of Lazarus and the Richman. This parable had a great influenced in my former belief, because it was assumed in the parable that the scenario took place in heaven. The state of the dead body and the state of the spirit that returned to God must be examined and analyzed to see its textual content in the affirmation of other Scriptures, to see what they really mean. The spirit which is absent from the body and present with the Lord is the person himself [This is made clear in my Bible study of “What is Man”]. He or she is with the Lord and will remain unconscious until the soul‒spirit will be clothed upon with the new spiritual body.

“…it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:44). “Now we know that if the earthly tent (the natural body) we live in is destroyed (or die), we have a building from God, an eternal house (spiritual body) 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 (or disembodied spirit)” 2 Corinthians 5:1-3).

The moment the soul‒spirit is clothed upon with the glorified incorruptible body, then, it (the spiritual body) will become a living soul; that spiritual body will become conscious as the same person when still in the flesh with its memories. The same situation with the physical Adam when God breathed the breath of life to his nostrils, his physical body became conscious; except for memory and the character which is still to be build up and develop―this is only in the case of Adam, for we are already in the process of being built and molded in the very image of God.

It is true indeed, and there is no question that absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, because that’s what the Bible says. But it is natural for man to add something which is not in the text, which is merely a pretext that makes it out of context by saying, “Consciously enjoying the bliss of heaven in the bosom of father Abraham” (Did the Bible say so?). The word conscious and heaven is added to the verse; this is hint from the parable of Lazarus and the Richman, and from that point of view more conjectures branches out. The prime one is the doctrine of continuous consciousness after the body dies and said to be enjoying the bliss of heaven, and the return of the spirit of the dead as a ghost to haunt their loves ones. And, in addition to this belief, their spirit that already enjoying of being with the Lord will be brought back to earth to join their body which is the dust of the ground to be resurrected, sighting from a different context that makes it out of context, that said, “The dead in Christ shall rise first” and “This is the first resurrection.” What is resurrection for, when you are fully conscious and enjoying the bliss of heaven? What is this scenario of going back to earth joining with the body that returned to the dust of the ground to be resurrected when the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:1-4, if our earthly body is destroyed, God have prepared spiritual body in heaven (not the dust of the earth) for us to be clothed?

Satan is capitalizing on this doctrine of continuous consciousness immediately after death, and deceived people about the scary connotation of the word Ghost, leaving the joy and comfort of the bliss of heaven with God and His angels for a while, and return to earth to visit and haunt their love ones as a ghost. This doctrine has a great influence to the familiar stories of haunted house infested with ghosts.

Resurrection is simply to rise from being dead or from unconsciousness to consciousness. It is not the dirt of the ground that will be resurrected but the spirit which is the person that belong to the first resurrection, by clothing with spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:44; 2 Corinthians 5:1-4). This is not to overlook that there is a bodily resurrection that will occur after one thousand years from the first resurrection. This is a different subject to deal with in a separate paper.

The book of Hebrews chapter 11:39-40 tells about the people of God in the Old Testament time that they died without receiving the promised:

“These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us [Christ followers] so that only together with us would they [people of faith of the Old Testament and martyrs of the New Testament] be made perfect.”

I would like to emphasize the last part of the above verse “…only together with us would they be made perfect.” Are they not perfect yet? Those who died and present with the Lord are not in their perfect state yet, their perfection link to the followers of Christ who were still alive. I am taking note of this, “…only together with us would they be made perfect.”

The question is: What event described in the Bible that they would be “together with us” so they would be made perfect? Whatever and whenever it would be, they are now in the state of being unconscious, because they are still disembodied spirit until they will be clothed upon with the spiritual body (1Corinthians 15:44; 2 Corinthians 5:1-3).

This event that they will be made perfect will occur at the second coming of Christ‒‒not immediately when they fall asleep or died and their spirit is present with the Lord (Ecc. 12:7). 1Thessalonians 4:13-18 will tell us when this event will occur:

“13Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus [in His second coming] those who have fallen asleep in him. 15According 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. 16For 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 [This is the first resurrection when they will be clothed upon with spiritual body, it is not the dust of the ground that shall be resurrected]. 17After 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. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words.”

However, by comparing Hebrews 11:39-40 and 1 Thessalonians 4:17 that says:
“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.”

This would be the event described in the Bible that we will be together with them so they would be made perfect who have fallen asleep in Christ. That would be the event of rapture and resurrection at the second coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. This doesn’t happen immediately at death, or when absent from the body. But from the perspective of those who died; it is immediate, without missing a heartbeat.

Mean while, the dead has no consciousness or awareness of the passing of time. We, the living are aware that those Old Testament people are dead for several hundreds or thousands of years. But at the time of resurrection, those thousands of year gap would only be a fraction of second for them. It’s kind of like a continuous consciousness without missing a heartbeat. This will be re-affirmed by more Scriptures as follows:

DEATH IS SLEEP:(Sleep is the metaphor for death)
I am avoiding the use of the words “soul sleep” because it will raise contempt that such phrase is nowhere in the Bible [Is the word trinity in the Bible?]. If you are in a dreamless sleep you are unconscious, no knowledge of passing of time. Although the phrase "soul sleep" itself is unscriptural, the idea that the dead are "sleeping" is Scriptural. By using the concordance it will give us all the Scriptures containing the word sleep. I hope those who read the following Scriptures will agree with me, that death is sleep, or say, will agree with the Scriptures‒‒not with me.

"And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers..." (Deut. 31:16).

"And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou [David] shalt sleep with thy fathers. (II Sam. 7:12).

"David slept with his fathers..." (I Kings 2:10).

"Solomon slept with his fathers..." I Kings 11:43).

Job said, "...for now shall I sleep in the dust..." (Job 7:21).

Take note of this one:
David said "...lest I sleep the sleep of DEATH..." (Psa. 13:3).

"For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep [are dead]" (I Cor.. 11:30).

"Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep ... the dead shall be raised..." ( I Cor. 15:51-52).

"...the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep" (I Thes. 4:14).

"...My daughter is even now dead ... the maid is not dead, but sleepeth." (Mat. 9:18 & 24).

"For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption." (Acts 13:36).

It is said even of our own Lord:

"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruit of them that slept" (I Cor. 15:20), etc., etc.

If these Scriptures are true, which I believe they are, either Abraham is dead, buried and sleeping with his fathers, just as Moses, David, etc., or these Scriptures can’t be trusted. This nullified the common interpretation of the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus. By the way, where do we read of "heaven" in the parable of Lazarus and the Richman? There is not the slightest hint of the word heaven in this parable! Abraham’s "bosom" is no more heaven than anybody’s bosom is heaven.

How about Ephesians 5:5 said that No idolater will be with the Lord?
Interestingly, not only did all these patriarchs go to sleep, but they went to sleep with their fathers, and many of their fathers were idolaters! The Scripture said No idolater will be with the Lord. So there we have a dozen Scriptures stating that God likens death to sleep. This is another Scripture that makes me think that no Bible believer should ignore.

In spite of those irrefutable Scriptures of death is sleep, it is hard for me to let go with the knowledge I was born with through the teachings of the church where I belong. It is not easy for me to change from what I formerly believe, but I feel accountable to the Creator of the universe to reject the truth in which I became aware of. Instead, I work and study hard to look for a verse to defend the belief once I uphold, but to no avail. And, to my horror, I found out I am against the tenet of Christian belief that the Bible does not contradict itself. Since the Scriptures I found were irrefutable, there is no option but to relent, submit and accept His written words. In so doing God continue to reveal more new knowledge in my study of His Word.

Now ponder on this: In what way is being conscious and tortured in the flames of Hell analogous to sleep? "God says death is "sleep." Now in what way is conscious torture in Hell fire analogous to "sleep?" In what way is a blissful life in Heaven analogous to "sleep?" Well, of course, it’s not analogous at all. How can the unconscious experience torture? How can the unconscious experience the joyful bliss of heaven? Yet God plainly says, many times, that death is "sleep" God awakens dead people out of sleep.

Therefore, the teaching that the dead Rich man and dead Lazarus are not asleep is wrong and unscriptural. It is only in the figurative language of a parable can it be said to be different.

Once and for all, let’s take a look at this Scripture: What happens after one dies:
"If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change comes. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee; thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands." (Job 14:14-15).
Have we not just read Hebrews 9:28 that the dead are in the state of waiting for Christ second appearance? When a person dies, he must: WAIT ... FOR APPOINTED TIME ... TILL CHANGE COMES ...
We know that Christ was the "firstfruit" of them that slept (I Cor. 15:20, 42, 43, 52, 53, 55, I Thes. 4:16-18). The "dead in Christ" are now "ASLEEP" according to the Scriptures. Thus, the phrase “soul sleep” derives from, which does not exist in the Bible, the same with the word “Trinity”, the foundational doctrine of Christendom is nowhere in the Bible.

THE THIEF ON THE CROSS:
We are familiar with the scenario on the cross at Calvary, but the point of interest in this study is what Jesus had said to the thief on the cross in the book of Luke 23:43, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” How could it be in the same day the thief would be with Jesus in paradise when He was buried for three days? Jesus, himself after his resurrection admitted that He had not yet ascended to His Father by saying to the women, “Touch me not for I haven’t gone to my Father.” Jesus promised the thief that same day he will be with Him in paradise. And true enough at the twinkling of an eye, the thief saw himself meeting with Jesus in paradise―right that same day as Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, today…” There is no other logical reason to explain the promised of our Lord to the thief that will not contradict any Scripture of the Bible, but through the process of not knowing the passing of time.

If anyone would like to believe in the doctrine of continuous consciousness immediately after physical death, then he or she must look from the perspective of the living through the process which the thief had gone through on the cross, i.e. immediately he is consciously meeting the Lord with other saints and, saints of the Old Testament times (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

Let me share with you in this writing the personal experienced I have gone through of not knowing the passing of time. This was the time when I have a colonoscopy test. I was watching the monitor and I can clearly see the inside part of my body just at the very beginning of the process. I vividly remembered just a gap of like wink of an eye the continuity of what I saw in the monitor (although a little bit drowsy), then I heard the doctor saying, “It’s done,” and at the same time pulling out the instrument. I couldn’t believe that it was just as easy as that. In reality it took a long period of time in working on the process without my consciousness of the passing of time.

I know others who had undergone colonoscopy test had different experience than I have. On the same day the woman who had gone through the same test ahead of me, I found her still sleeping when I was wheeled to the recovery room. But I am sure when she wakes up she would not know that she had already undergone the test.

The crux of the problem is because in essence the verse in question is confined inside the border and cannot be accessed with other Scriptures related to it for comparison, thus it becomes the basis of human concept of continuous consciousness after death, and immediately enjoying the bliss of heaven or suffering with eternal torture in hell, i.e. without going through judgment.
In reading this paper you have now gotten out that confined this verse to itself alone for interpretation.

“Absent from the body and to be
present with the Lord”

Do you now see the difference in viewing this verse with the affirmation of other Scriptures by comparing spiritual things with spiritual? (1Cor. 2:13). What we see now are lots of disregarded Scriptures that contradict the popular teachings of being consciously enjoying the bliss of heaven in the bosom of father Abraham. It is good to listen to theologians, especially those considered to be spiritual giants. It is good to listen to the preachers that preach from the pulpit, not negledcting to follow the example of the people from Berea in the book of Acts. The Bereans listened attentively to the preaching of Paul, and they study everyday to see if Paul’s teachings are true.

“Now the Berean’s were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11).

Are we like the Bereans that search the Scriptures to see what we are being taught are biblically true? Or we just do not care to spent time with the Lord in studying the Scripture to know Him more and to grow in the grace and knowledge of His word? Do we just believe what we are being taught without looking into the Scriptures ourselves? Our endeavor is not only to learn, but to be closed to Him. When we pray and study the word of God every day we develop intimate personal relationship with Him, thus He directs us to understand perplexing Scriptures that we encounter in our study. In my personal Bible study of the Scriptures new light of understanding which differs from some of what I formerly believe was slowly changing my insight in the word of God. I came to learned some of what I believed is in conflict with the Scriptures, or maybe I am developing new views of the Scriptures against the ones I have accepted without investigating, which I opted to leave them as they were. I made some lists of my former belief that becomes apparently different in meaning as I continue studying the word of God. It is necessary to write them separately to remain in focus in the subject being dealt with in any of them. #