The story continues, citing reasons NO ONE should miss being in Heaven.
It’s a life of bodily resurrection, not mere spirit immortality. That entirely new idea in the first century is no more welcomed by many in the 21st. When we say bodily resurrection, however, we don’t mean the skeleton men rising from their graves and contesting the Argonauts in the movie Jason and the Argonauts. No, but splendid, powerful physical specimen clothed in brilliant light that would immediately bring us to our knees before them, much as the apostle John fell as a dead man before the Glorified Christ in Revelation 1:12-17. Which leads to the question, “Do the dead in Christ now have bodies?” NO. They are presently spirits—souls—Revelation 6:9 says. When their body died, THEY ascended to Paradise to be with Jesus. It’s a life of recognition. Are the dead aware of each other? YES, remember...YOU...the spirit within your body recognizes ME—the spirit within mine. Once WE—the spirit within us—exits the body—the body dies, but WE live on. Since it’s the spirit within us who recognizes the spirit within others, why wouldn’t we continue to recognize others who have left their body? It’s a life of peace. What are the dead in Christ doing? They REST—Luke 16:25, Revelation 14:13. Even Revelation 6:9-11 relates to rest. While the souls of God’s people question WHY their positive service to humanity would be attacked and vilified, God graciously soothes them with the assurance that they can wait...i.e., rest from cares and concerns in perfect security until his perfect will is achieved in history. Resting...in a state of constant ecstasy...likely sharing with each other their personal spiritual journey through life to endless life, perhaps rejoicing in Song. End Part III
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