UFOs, aliens, invisible kingdoms, time travel, afterlife, adventures of good and evil, giants, dragons, sea monsters, and more have been the subject matter of countless science fiction stories and Hollywood blockbusters. But they are just fiction.
For authentic otherworldly phenomena, nothing beats the Bible. This is especially true when we take God’s Word seriously when it comes to life, death, and what happens afterward. One case…
Before I became a Christian, I imagined that when I died, I would reach the gates of Heaven alone, nervously crossing my fingers and asking for admission. I earnestly hope that my “good deeds” will outweigh my bad deeds and that they will give me a “passing” grade, opening pearly gates and recognizing wretched creatures like me with the skin of their teeth. increase.
Couldn’t be more wrong.
In fact, if you are a true reincarnation believer, you are already in Heaven before you die! And get this: You arrived there spiritually over 2000 years ago, accompanied by all the other believers who have lived through the ages.
This happens in the same moment regardless of when we were alive…no one arrives before us and no one comes after us—in the same “eternal moment” . Sounds ridiculous?
In Ephesians 2:3-7, the Bible says:
“But God is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us. It was dead for our wrongdoings, make We live with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and Raised we are with him and sat down Be with him with us in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. in Christ Jesus”
Note the past tense of the above phrase.
when did this happen? His first two events show us that we live in time. His last two events occurred when Jesus rose from the dead and then ascended 2000 years ago.
Jesus took us!
So where are we now? “… in Heaven” And why are we there? Because we are “in Christ Jesus.” If he’s there, we’re there too.
Nothing awaits in God’s timeless and eternal realm. His plan to redeem people for himself was accomplished, giving new meaning to Jesus’ words from the cross, “It is finished.”
Renowned Bible commentator Bill Macdonald wrote: 2) I grew up with him. 3) sit on him. These expressions represent our spiritual status in union with God. He represented us — not just us, as weTherefore, when he died, we died. We were buried when he was buried. So did we when he was made alive and rose and sat in heaven. We enjoy all the benefits of His sacrificial work because of our connection with Him. ”
We who live now are constrained by time and space, and must continuously experience events within the framework of past, present, and future. But in the divine realm, everything exists in the same moment forever. Try to get your head around it.
Canadian scientist and theologian Arthur Custance wrote: time and eternity:
“When a Christian dies, he passes out of this realm of time and space into another realm of pure spirit. All the events of God’s predestined future program that must come to pass must immediately flock to him. it is immediate. However, the second coming of the Lord is an event that cannot occur within the historical time frame until the church is completed and the end of the age comes. Those who survived him therefore await these events in the future, but the instant completion of these events must happen to him. ”
Therefore, Christians, there is no need to fear death. You have already died in your old life and are resurrected in your new life.
Sure, there are physical bits we haven’t yet experienced that we call ‘died’. But so that we may cast off this fallen “coil of man” and equip ourselves with a new, eternal body so that we may live forever in Christ and live a true life with Him.
…and it’s not a Hollywood hoax.
how about you
Are you reborn as these things apply to you?
— DC Collier is a Bible teacher, discipleship leader, and author focused on Christian apologetics. A mechanical engineer and internet entrepreneur, he is the author of My Origin, My Destiny, a book focused on the fundamental “value propositions” of Christianity. Click here for more information. [email protected]Here is the past column. The opinions expressed are his own.
