Luke 23:39-43:”39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?
41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. “
43 Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.””
I Thessalonians 4:14-17: “14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
15 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.
16 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.
17 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.”
Matthew 24:30-31: “30 At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.
31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”
So the question is are those who have died now asleep and do not know anything, but when Jesus returns they will suddenly come back to life and pop up out of their graves and rise to meet him in the air? Or are they already with him when they die and will be coming back with him in the clouds when he returns? Jesus’ statement to the thief on the cross told him he would be with Jesus that very day in his Kingdom. Paul’s statement in I Thessalonians 4:14 says those who have died (fallen asleep in him) will be coming with him when he returns, but in verse 16 says the dead in Christ will rise first (before those of us who are left). In Matthew 24 Jesus does not offer any clue. If they are already with him when he comes, how can they rise from the grave at that time? The thief was assured that the moment he died he would be with Jesus in his kingdom. The testimony of the fifty eyewitnesses to heaven reported in Heaven Is Beyond Imagination all tell of being more alive in the spirit after they died than they ever were before. They were in his kingdom and with him soon after their death, even though it was a temporary death.
Here is how I resolve this situation. When we die our spirit goes to be with Jesus in his kingdom if our names are written in the Book of Life. We spend all the time with him there until the end of the age when he returns to Earth, the Second Coming. At that time we will be coming with him as the Scripture says. However those who have remained alive on Earth until his coming, will not have seen us since we died. As far as they know, our lifeless bodies have remained buried in the ground. But when Jesus returns they will see us again for the first time, and for the first time they will see we are not in the grave any more. For them it will seem like we have just risen, since this is the first they have seen us since we died, even though our spirits have been with Jesus all the time our bodies have been in the grave.
As to the resurrection of our physical bodies, we know Jesus’ physical body rose with him, but even though it resembled his physical body it was distinctly different. He could suddenly appear someplace and also suddenly disappear. Walls were no hindrance. Physical bodies as we know them cannot do any of this. I think he had a resurrected version of his physical body to fulfill the prophecy that he would rise from the grave. He needed a risen physical body to prove to us earthlings that he had indeed risen from the grave. We can’t see spiritual bodies with our earthly eyes.
From my studies of eyewitness accounts of heaven, it appears heaven is not made of atoms and molecules as this life is. It is not clear what it is, but it does not have the limitations of this life. Here molecules break down and those in the body have to be restored through ingredients in the food we eat. We have a digestive system to break down the foods we eat into smaller components that form the basis of creating new molecules to replace those we have lost. Our heavenly bodies have no digestive system and they never break down. Eating is not required there, but can be done strictly for pleasure. Our heavenly bodies never break down and last forever. Personally, I do not want my earthly body back after I am gone. Why would I want a body that can break down and have to be restored? I have already been dealing with it for 80+ years and I will be happy when I don’t need it anymore. My heavenly body, whatever it is, is all I will ever need or desire.
My son passed at 25 from seizures. In 2021, 20 years later, another son passed. The last went to his sister and said I have to go get Jeffery. Mike got Jeffery and brought him to see me, their mother. They glowed like lights in new black clothes and shoes, belt and came to me and hugged me then I fell asleep. I cannot move when they visit and I cannot talk. In my dreams I can talk with them but cannot feel them. Husband passed and came in person to let me know a problem but he could not speak. I hugged him with so much joy. He was sad but I got it fixed. He smiles now in my dreams and I feel him next to me. Things happen that could be him. God takes them to heaven paradise like Jesus said. I have had angels come to my room and my friends husband saw the same angels. I feel blessed and honored to have read your book and receive your emails. It is taking on a terrific task but only gifted to a special person chosen by God. Thank you so much for sharing! My spirit has been quiet lately due to medication but it will return. Always does. When losing a child, our spirit changes. My friend lost her daughter and her spirit is sharp and beautiful! God bless!
Thank you for sharing your story. God does allow departed persons to come to us to minister to us. Perhaps someday I could collect some of these stories, but most come and go without any sharing making them hard to collect. I personally had my first wife come to me about a week after she was murdered and I was able to see her in a vision the way she is in heaven now. She was healed, whole, beautiful, and full of joy and confidence. She was able to communicate to me that God was pleased with me. I have occasionally heard of other stories, and they all come with a blessing and word of encouragement to the person receiving the visit as you were.