What Happens at Death - 1 Thessalonians 5:23
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INTRODUCTION
Man is made up of three parts: spirit, soul, and body. Death takes place when the soul (Genesis 35:18And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
See All...) and the spirit (Genesis 25:8Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.
See All...) leave the body. This event happens to everyone regardless of the individual’s spiritual state at death. Saved or lost, a person’s spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 3:21Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?
See All...; Ecclesiastes 12:7Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
See All...). However, the soul’s destination is based upon whether or not a person has trusted Jesus Christ as Saviour during this life. There exists no midpoint between earth and heaven (or hell) to purge one’s sins, including places invented by religions to do so. For a saved person, the Bible declares that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
See All...). Unfortunately for the lost, this same outcome is not true. Following death, the Bible reveals that the lost man’s soul immediately goes to hell (Luke 16:23And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
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DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS
- (For children): If you are sad over a saved person’s death, read Ecclesiastes 7:1A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.
See All.... Why does the Bible say that the day of death is better than the day of one’s birth? The person’s troubles are over. If saved, the individual is with God (Philippians 1:21
See All..., 23). The sadness experienced at someone’s death is really for ourselves because we miss our loved one. Our saved loved one is happy and would not choose to return to earth. - (For everyone): Why is it important to pray for the salvation of loved ones before they die? How can we also use times of illness and serious injury to remind our loved ones of their need to be saved?
- Why should scriptural knowledge of death help us in the departure of saved loved ones? How should it sober us in the departure of lost loved ones?
PRAYER NEEDS
- Pray for your loved ones who may be lost.
- Thank God that death only temporarily separates the saved.
HYMN
ABSENT FROM FLESH! O BLISSFUL THOUGHT!
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