What happens when we die?

It has been said that we can all be certain of death and taxes. But what happens after death?

For Christians there is the blessed hope of the resurrection of the dead. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Without Christ there is the fearful prospect of judgement, punishment and peril. Jesus saves us from the coming wrath. See 1 Thessalonians 1:10 and 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10.

The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable. A mystery has been revealed and we shall not all sleep, but God's people will be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. The dead will be raised imperishable.

What a great hope! HOPE - happy outcome patiently expected. We have faith in Christ and in His second coming in glory to reign over all. FAITH - finding assurance in trustworthy hope.

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

The state immediately following death will consist of fellowship with Christ. We may be concerned and aware of our present time-consciousness and the time-interval between death and the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. But it may be possible that from God's point of view there will be no time interval at all and so the resurrection at the return of Jesus, the parousia, will be immediately after the believer's death. We now see in a glass darkly but one day we shall see clearly in the light of Jesus' glorious appearing.

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.

Precious stones of the New Jerusalem

Recently I preached on the Christian hope of a new heaven and a new earth. When I was preparing my sermon I came across a message from David Pawson and I thought it was well worth sharing with others. It is on You Tube under the title of Dark Diamonds. It refers to the twelve precious stones in the New Jerusalem mentioned in Revelation 21. I have put the link here so that you can see the presentation.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kXfCdcNRN60&feature=related